Other Embassy News 2009

Remarks on Diversity Lottery 2011 by Sandra Ingram, Consular Chief U.S. Embassy Dhaka | In Bangla (PDF)

October 5, 2009

Good Afternoon.  Thank you for the opportunity today to speak to you about the 2011 U.S. Diversity Visa Lottery.  The DV lottery entrance period will run from October 2 until November 30.   As this year's application season gets underway, I would like to take this opportunity to share some important information with the public regarding the Diversity Visa program.  I'll make a brief statement and then open the floor to questions.

To provide some background, the Congressionally-mandated Diversity Immigrant Visa Program makes 50,000 permanent resident visas available each year to nationals of countries with historically low rates of immigration to the United States.  Diversity Visa recipients are drawn from a random selection among all entries worldwide.  After being selected in the lottery, DV entrants whose names are drawn must appear at the U.S. Embassy for an interview to demonstrate that they are qualified for the visa.  Receiving a “winner” letter does not in itself qualify an entrant for a visa.

There are two important requirements that all applicants must fulfill in order to qualify for a Diversity Visa.  First, applicants must fill out the online entry form clearly and correctly, and submit a recent photograph.  Second, applicants must show that they have either the required education or work experience.  We strongly encourage prospective applicants to evaluate their educational and occupational qualifications before entering the lottery.

Let’s go back to the first requirement – to fill out the online entry completely and correctly.  It is the responsibility of each applicant to ensure that their name, date of birth and other information is correct at the time they apply.  Additionally, all eligible family members must be included in the online application.  Mistakes in the online entry may cause an applicant to be disqualified from DV.   

In their online entry, entrants must use photographs that meet a certain standard.  At a minimum, photos must be at least 600 by 600 pixels in size and in color.  Previous photo standards for e-DV will still apply (light background, facing forward, face must fill a certain percent of the photo, etc.)  Entrants may test their photos for suitability through the photo validator link on the e-DV website before submitting their entries.

The second requirement is that the applicants have either the required education or work experience.  To meet education requirements, entrants must have a high school education or its equivalent. A “high school education or equivalent" is defined as the successful completion of a formal course of elementary and secondary education that is comparable to a high school education in the United States.  Generally, a Bangladesh government-issued HSC is considered to be the equivalent of a U.S. high school education.  A minimum two-year technical board certificate or a first-year pass from a university will also qualify.

The majority of Bangladesh’s Diversity Visa entrants qualify based on their education.  However, those who do not qualify educationally may qualify based on their occupations if they can demonstrate that they have two years of work experience within the past five years in an occupation requiring at least two years of training or experience. The U.S. Department of Labor maintains the official database used to determine whether an occupation qualifies.  Entrants may use the Department of Labor’s website to determine if their occupation meets the requirements.

Entrants should read the DV 2011 instructions carefully to avoid disqualification. Detailed instructions for DV 2011 will be translated into Bangla and posted on www.dvlottery.state.gov and on our website dhaka.usembassy.gov  once available and will also be available at the U.S. Embassy and the American Center.  The instructions are now available in English, and will be translated into Bangla soon.

There are a few changes to this year’s DV process that I would like to highlight.  A new requirement this year is for each applicant to submit an email address.   Applicants will NOT receive their “winner” letter by email.  DV entrants will still receive the first notification by regular mail, but they may receive follow-up information from KCC by email.

As was the case this past year, entrants will be able to check the status of their entry online.  Applicants should keep a copy of their confirmation page so they can check their status on the e-DV website.  Starting next July, they will be able to see whether or not their name was drawn in the lottery.

Due to instances of unscrupulous agents defrauding visa applicants, we strongly recommend that entrants complete their own applications if at all possible and double-check their entries before submitting them.  We encourage them to complete the applications with the help of a trusted friend or relative.

We have seen many applicants disqualified for entries submitted by agents or cyber cafe operators not following the DV rules carefully. Beyond that, many of these applicants are victimized by agents who misuse the personal information of applicants and extort money from them, or press them to commit fraud or misrepresent the truth in their interviews.  This will disqualify them as entrants.

Let me just briefly highlight a few examples of what can happen:

• An agent can enter entrants’ information incorrectly; making it difficult for them to prove their identity on the day of their interview.  As a result, they could be disqualified, or they may not be able to prove their identity and qualify for a visa before the end of the fiscal year.
• Agents can have a DV letter sent to their own address and hold the “winning” letter for ransom until entrants pay large amounts of money.  Some people have been forced to pay many lakh of taka.
• Agents can add family members, such as a false spouse or child, to entrants’ applications without the entrants’ knowledge.  When this fraud is discovered, entrants may be permanently ineligible to receive a U.S. visa.

To help applicants avoid this fraud and manipulation, our motto for DV-2011 is “Take Control!”  We urge applicants to take control of the application process by carefully checking over their data entry, by watching the computer operation submit their online entry, and by making sure they print out the confirmation screen. 

In closing, I would just like to wish everyone who applies the best of luck.  And for those who are selected, we look forward to meeting you on your interview date at the U.S. Embassy. 

At this time, I'm happy to take questions about DV2011.