Asian Journal- The Filipino-American Community Newspaper

The US State Department recently announced the opening of the registration period for the Diversity Visa Lottery. This lottery is for a special class of immigrants, known as "diversity immigrants," where a maximum of 55,000 diversity visas are made available to persons from countries with low rates of immigration to the US.

"Low rates of immigration to the US," means that the diversity lottery is available to people from countries that have sent no more than 50,000 immigrants to the US over the past 5 years. Obviously, Filipinos are NOT ELIGIBLE for the diversity visa lottery. This is because, as everyone knows, more than 50,000 Filipinos have immigrated to the US in the previous 5 years. In fact, the Philippines has one of the highest rates of immigration to the US of any country. The backlogs, waiting times, or priority dates, are so long because so many Filipinos are under petition and are hoping to immigrate to the US.

The reason I bring up the diversity lottery is that I know that many Filipinos are desperate to immigrate to the US, and will cling to any hope, promise, or program that could help them immigrate to the US, whether they are qualified or not. (In the past, Filipinos would apply for asylum, Community claiming "persecution" by the NPA. They would file for amnesty, asserting that they were in the US before 1982. They might have also filed for the SAW program, claiming that they worked on the farms in the mid 80’s. Even though they were not qualified, some Filipinos nevertheless went ahead and applied.

I have also seen ads in Filipino newspaper, both in the US and in the Philippines, where people or companies are offering, for a fee, to assist people in submitting their diversity lottery application. However, the law is crystal clear: Filipinos are not eligible for the diversity visa lottery program. No matter how much (or how little) these people may charge for assisting you in applying for this lottery program, you are wasting your money. Do not waste your time and money applying for something that you are not eligible for. Instead, if you would like immigrate to the US or legalize your status in the US, I would recommend that you seek the advice of a reputable attorney, who can evaluate your situation and determine if there are possible legitimate ways for you to obtain a green card.

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Michael J. Gurfinkel is licensed, and an active member of the State Bar of California and New York. All immigration services are provided by, or under the supervision of, an active member of the State Bar of California. Each case is different. The information contained herein (including testimonials, "Success Stories," endorsements and re-enactments) is of a general nature, and is not intended to apply to any particular case, and does not constitute a prediction, warranty, guarantee or legal advice regarding the outcome of your legal matter. No attorney-client relationship is, or shall be, established with any reader.

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( Published October 9, 2009 in Asian Journal Northern California p. B3 )