December 2002 issue

In the seven years since its inauguration in 1995, the Diversity Visa program has brought more than 350,000 immigrants to the U.S. Congress created the program to ensure that the United States receives a balanced mix of immigrants, one that represents all corners of the globe. The 2003 program of the visa lottery includes citizens of Poland for the second year in a row. For five years before 2002, there was a hiatus in Poland’s participation in the lottery as Poland had sent a total of more than 50,000 immigrants in the past five years to the U.S., thereby making citizens of Poland ineligible to participate in the lottery.

Poland was eligible to participate in the first three years of the Diversity program. In 1995, 3,851 Poles received Diversity visas, 3,849 received them in 1996 and 3,838 in 1997. In fiscal 2002, which ended September 30, the Embassy in Warsaw issued 2,325 Diversity visas to citizens of Poland. (Some Poles applied for and received Diversity visas at other embassies, and some in the U.S. if they were eligible to adjust status.)

The Diversity Visa lottery annually admits some 50,000 immigrants for permanent residence to the United States. Natives of Poland, Ukraine, Belarus, Latvia and Lithuania are eligible to apply for Diversity Visa 2003 and 2004. These are the five countries for which immigrant visas are processed at the U.S. Embassy in Warsaw. Each country may receive up to approximately 3,850 visas a year under this program.

Interviews for Diversity Visa 2003 began October 1 and continue until September 30, 2003. All persons who won registration to apply for visas under Diversity Visa 2003 have already been scheduled for interviews or will be notified when to come for their interviews by about July 2003.


The registration period for Diversity Visa 2004 ended November 6, 2002. Registrants are chosen
through a random computer-generated lottery drawing. Those selected will be notified directly by mail during May, June and July of 2003. Those who are not selected will not receive any notification, and the Embassy here in Warsaw will
not have a list of selected applicants.


Applications must meet ALL eligibility requirements under U.S law, including medical examinations and clean criminal records, in order to be issued visas.

There are two basic application requirements:

1. Applicants must be natives of a qualifying country. You are usually considered a native of the country in which you were born. Poland, Ukraine, Belarus, Latvia and Lithuania are qualifying countries.
   
2. They must have EITHER a high school education or its equivalent, defined as successful completion of a 12-year course of elementary and secondary education; OR two years of work experience within the past five years in an occupation requiring at least two years of training or experience to perform.
   

For more details, please consult the Department of State website: travel.state.gov, or the U.S. Embassy website, www.usinfo.pl