Business Immigration Weekly for July 3, 2015

DIVERSITY VISA LOTTERY PROGRAM FOR 2015 ENDED DUE TO GREEN CARD EXHAUSTION

The Department of State (DOS) recently announced that all immigrant visas allotted for the Diversity Visa Lottery Program for fiscal year 2015 have been used. The Diversity Visa Lottery Program allocates for 50,000 immigrant visas "green cards" to be granted annually to foreign nationals that meet certain requirements from countries that have low rates of immigration to the United States. Last year, the DOS received over 9.3 million entries. The DOS notifies over 100,000 individuals that they were selected to ensure that the full 50,000 visas are used during the fiscal year. The program works on a first-come first-serve basis, therefore, selectees that either do not meet the program requirements or that wait too long to complete the process may not be able to obtain a green card. Green cards are available for individuals with scheduled interviews at US Embassies and Consulates abroad during July, August and September as well as applicants that are waiting for final adjudication on their adjustment of status applications. Applicants who request that their visa interview appointments at consular posts abroad be rescheduled and those that must return to the post to overcome an initial visa refusal are at risk of not having a green card available to them.