[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 22, Volume 1]
[Revised as of April 1, 2003]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 22CFR42.33]

[Page 229-231]
 
                       TITLE 22--FOREIGN RELATIONS
 
                     CHAPTER I--DEPARTMENT OF STATE
 
PART 42--VISAS: DOCUMENTATION OF IMMIGRANTS UNDER THE IMMIGRATION AND NATIONALITY ACT, AS AMENDED--Table of Contents
 
         Subpart D--Immigrants Subject to Numerical Limitations
 
Sec. 42.33  Diversity immigrants.

    (a) General--(1) Eligibility to compete for consideration under 
section 203(c). An alien shall be eligible to compete for consideration 
for visa issuance under INA 203(c) during a fiscal year only if he or 
she is a native of a low-admission foreign state, as determined by the 
Attorney General pursuant to INA 203(c)(1)(E)(i), with respect to the 
fiscal year in question; and if he or she has at least a high school 
education or its equivalent or, within the five years preceding the date 
of application for a visa, has two years of work experience in an 
occupation requiring at least two years training or experience. The 
eligibility for a visa under INA 203(c) ceases at the end of the fiscal 
year in question. Under no circumstances may a consular officer issue a 
visa or other documentation to an alien after the end of the fiscal year 
during which an alien possesses diversity visa eligibility.
    (2) Definition of high school education or its equivalent. For the 
purposes of this section, the phrase high school education or its 
equivalent shall mean successful completion of a twelve-year course of 
elementary and secondary education in the United States or successful 
completion in another country of a formal course of elementary and 
secondary education comparable to completion of twelve years' elementary 
and secondary education in the United States. In order to be considered 
comparable to a U.S. high school education, a foreign course of study 
must provide the alien with the minimum academic records required for 
admission to study in U.S. universities or colleges as determined in the 
most recent edition of the publication entitled ``Foreign Credentials 
Required for Consideration of Admission to Universities and Colleges in 
the United States.
    (3) Determinations of work experience. For all cases registered for 
the 2003 Diversity Visa Program, consular officers shall use the 
Department of Labor's O*Net OnLine to determine qualifying work 
experience.
    (4) Limitation on number of petitions per year. No more than one 
petition may be submitted by, or on behalf of, any alien for 
consideration during any single fiscal year. If two or more petitions 
for any single fiscal year are submitted by, or on behalf of, any alien, 
all such petitions shall be void and the alien by or for whom submitted 
shall not be eligible for consideration for visa issuance during the 
fiscal year in question.
    (5) Northern Ireland. For purposes of determining eligibility to 
file a petition for consideration under INA 203(c) for a fiscal year, 
the districts comprising that portion of the United Kingdom of Great 
Britain and Northern Ireland, known as ``Northern Ireland'', shall be 
treated as a separate foreign state. The districts comprising ``Northern 
Ireland'' are Antrim, Ards,

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Armagh, Ballymena, Ballymoney, Banbridge, Belfast, Carrickfergus, 
Castlereagh, Coleraine, Cookstown, Craigavon, Down, Dungannon, 
Fermanagh, Larne, Limavady, Lisburn, Londonderry, Magherafelt, Moyle, 
Newry and Mourne, Newtownabbey, North Down, Omagh, and Strabane.
    (b) Petition for consideration-- (1) Form of petition. An alien 
claiming to be entitled to compete for consideration under INA 203(c) 
shall file a petition for such consideration. The petition shall consist 
of a sheet of paper on which shall be typed or legibly printed in the 
Roman alphabet:
    (i) The petitioner's name;
    (ii) Date and place of birth (including city and county of which the 
alien claims to be a native, if other than the country of birth;
    (iii) Name(s), and date(s) and place(s) of birth of spouse and all 
child(ren), if any, (including legally-adopted and stepchildren, 
regardless of whether or not they are living with the petitioner or 
intend to accompany or follow to join the petitioner), but excluding 
those children who are already U.S. citizens or LPRs); and
    (iv) Current mailing address.
    (2) Signatures. The petitioner shall personally sign his or her 
signature on the sheet of paper, in his or her native alphabet. (Neither 
an initialed signature nor block printing of the petitioner's name will 
be accepted. The use of either will result in the disqualification of 
the entry).
    (3) Photographs. The alien shall also affix to the entry a 
photograph of himself or herself and photographs of his or her spouse 
and all unmarried children under the age of 21 years. The photographs 
shall meet the following specifications:
    (i) The photograph must be between 1\1/2\ by 1\1/2\ and 2 by 2 
inches (37 to 50 mm) square;
    (ii) The alien shall print his or her name and date of birth on the 
back of the photograph;
    (iii) The alien must be directly facing the camera; the head of the 
person being photographed shall not be tilted up, down, or to the side, 
and must cover about 50% of the photo area;
    (iv) The photograph must be taken with the person in front of a 
neutral, light-colored background;
    (v) The alien's face must be in focus;
    (vi) The person in the photograph shall not wear sunglasses or other 
paraphernalia which detracts from the face;
    (vii) Photos with the alien wearing head coverings or hats are only 
acceptable due to religious beliefs, and even then, may not obscure any 
portion of the face of the applicant. Photos of applicants wearing 
tribal, military, airline or other headwear not specifically religious 
in nature will not be accepted;
    (viii) Photographs may be either color or black and white.
    (4) Submission of petition--(i) General. A petition for 
consideration for visa issuance under INA 203(c) shall be submitted by 
mail to the address designated by the Department for that purpose. The 
Department shall establish a period of not less than thirty days during 
each fiscal year during which petitions for consideration during the 
next following fiscal year may be submitted. Each fiscal year, the 
Department shall give timely notice of both the mailing address and the 
exact dates of the application period, through publication in the 
Federal Register and such other methods as will ensure the widest 
possible dissemination of the information, both abroad and within the 
United States.
    (ii) Form of mailing. Petitions for consideration under this section 
shall be submitted by normal surface or air mail only. Petitions 
submitted by hand, telegram, FAX, or by any means requiring any form of 
special handling or acknowledgement of receipt such as express or 
priority mail, second day airmail, fax, hand or messenger delivery) will 
not be processed. The petitioner shall type or print legibly, using the 
Roman alphabet, on the upper left-hand corner of the envelope in which 
the petition is mailed his or her full name and mailing address, and the 
name of the country of which the petitioner is a native, as shown on the 
petition itself. Envelopes shall be between 6 and 
10 (15 cm to 25 cm) in length and between 3\1/2\ 
and 4\1/2\ (9 cm to 11 cm) in

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width. Envelopes not bearing this information and/or not conforming to 
the restrictions as to size shall not be processed for consideration.
    (c) Processing of petitions. Envelopes received at the mailing 
address during the application period established for the fiscal year in 
question and meeting the requirements of subsection (b) shall be 
assigned a number in a separate numerical sequence established for each 
regional area specified in INA 203(c)(1)(F). Upon completion of the 
numbering of all envelopes, all numbers assigned for each region shall 
be separately rank-ordered at random by a computer using standard 
computer software for this purpose. The Department shall then select in 
the rank orders determined by the computer program a quantity of 
envelopes for each region estimated to be sufficient to ensure, to the 
extent possible, usage of all immigrant visas authorized under INA 
203(c) for the fiscal year in question.
    (d) Approval of petitions. Envelopes selected pursuant to paragraph 
(c) of this section shall be opened and reviewed. Petitions which are 
legible and contain the information specified in paragraph (b) of this 
section shall be approved for further consideration.
    (e) Validity of approved petitions. A petition approved pursuant to 
paragraph (d) of this section shall be valid until Midnight of the last 
day of the fiscal year for which the petition was submitted. At that 
time, the petition is automatically revoked pursuant to INA 203(c)(1) 
and no diversity immigrant visa numbers can be allotted after that date.
    (f) Order of consideration. Further consideration for visa issuance 
of aliens whose petitions have been approved pursuant to paragraph (d) 
of this section shall be in the regional rank orders established 
pursuant to paragraph (c) of this section.
    (g) Allocation of visa numbers. Diversity immigrant visa numbers 
should be allocated in accordance with INA 203(c)(1) and shall be 
allotted only during the fiscal year for which a petition to accord 
diversity immigrant status was submitted and approved. Under no 
circumstances shall immigrant visa numbers be allotted after Midnight of 
the last day of the fiscal year for which the petition was submitted and 
approved.
    (h) Further processing. The Department shall inform applicants whose 
petitions have been approved pursuant to paragraph (d) of this section 
of the steps necessary to meet the requirements of INA 222(b) in order 
to apply formally for an immigrant visa.
    (i) Maintenance of information concerning petitioners who are visa 
recipients. (1) The Department shall compile and maintain the following 
information concerning petitioners to whom immigrant visas are issued 
under INA 203(c):
    (i) Age;
    (ii) Country of birth;
    (iii) Marital status;
    (iv) Sex;
    (v) Level of education; and
    (vi) Occupation and level of occupational qualification.
    (2) Names of visa recipients shall not be maintained in connection 
with this information and the information shall be compiled and 
maintained in such form that the identity of visa recipients cannot be 
determined therefrom.
    (i) Diversity visa lottery surcharge. In addition to collecting the 
immigrant visa application processing fee, as provided in Sec. 42.71(b) 
of this part, the consular officer shall also collect from each 
applicant for a visa under the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program such fee 
for the processing of the diversity lottery as the Secretary of State 
prescribes.
    (ii) [Reserved]
    (j) Processing fee. In addition to collecting the immigrant visa 
application and, if applicable, issuance fees, as provided in 
Sec. 42.71(b) of this part, the consular officer shall also collect from 
each applicant for a visa under the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program 
such processing fee as the Secretary of State shall prescribe.

[59 FR 15301, Mar. 31, 1994, as amended at 61 FR 1524, Jan. 22, 1996; 66 
FR 39437, July 31, 2001; 66 FR 54136, Oct. 26, 2001; 67 FR 38893, June 
6, 2002; 67 FR 51753, Aug. 9, 2002]

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