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John Stahl

Diversity Visa (DV-2018) Green Card Lottery Public Meetings

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EIIC announces dates for Public Immigration Information sessions for the community at Bronx and Queens offices and continues to offer free assistance with green card lottery applications and general consultations

The annual diversity visa lottery registration and application period opens once again on October 4th through noon on November 7th for those who are eligible to apply for a green card to reside permanently in the United States. Applications will only be accepted online via the U.S. Department of State official website at www.dvlottery.state.gov.

In recent years there has been an increase in online scams promising green cards or quicker service for a fee.  EIIC’s Immigration Attorney and Director of Immigration Legal Services, John A. Stahl, Esq., urged those interested in applying to note, “There is no fee to apply and there is only one official website to register.” He advises individuals to ignore any email offers to help complete or expedite the application process.

Please call either of our offices if you need assistance with your application. Alternatively, if you have questions about any immigration matter, please note the dates and places of our upcoming public meetings from 6pm to 8pm:

  • October 25, 2016, Queens, EIIC Office, 59-26 Woodside Ave, 2nd Floor, Woodside, NY
  • October 27, 2016, Bronx, EIIC Office, 4275 Katonah Ave, Woodlawn, NY

The immigration legal services staff at the Center is once again appealing to potential applicants to apply early this year, cautioning that the official DV Lottery website can get frozen closer to the deadline of noon on Monday, November 7th. Regretfully, we will be unable to accommodate last minute walk-ins during the final week of the DV Lottery registration period.

If you are a member of a local group or organization and would like our staff to speak to your group on the DV Lottery in October or on any immigration topic at a future meeting, please contact John A. Stahl, Esq., Director of Immigration Legal Services and Immigration Attorney at 718-478-5502, extension 201.

Check our website for additional information and upcoming public meeting dates at www.eiic.org

EIIC Immigration legal services staff has helped many apply who are currently in the United States on the visa waiver program or on a temporary work visa and are still in status. “The green card lottery is a yearly opportunity for qualified applicants who are legally in the United States or overseas to attain permanent resident status here with no strings attached”, according to EIIC’s Immigration Legal Services Director, John A. Stahl.

Each year, 50,000 green cards are made available through a lottery system to individuals who come from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States. The State Department’s Kentucky Consular Center holds the annual lottery and chooses winners randomly from about 8-10 million qualified entries. About 100,000 entries are selected and given the opportunity to apply for permanent residence. If permanent residence is granted, then the individual, their spouse and any unmarried children under the age of 21 will be authorized to live and work permanently in the United States. “The DV Lottery is one of the few ways that exist to apply for a green card. Despite the low allocation of green cards to Ireland, it is worth the effort, if you really do want a long term option to stay legally in America,” stated Siobhan Dennehy, EIIC’s Executive Director. “I equate the odds to playing the New York State Lottery as there are over 8 million applications from all over the world annually. Although you apply for the green card in 2016, you will not be notified about your application until 2017 and you won’t actually receive the green card itself until 2018, that’s why they call it the 2018 DV Lottery, which can be confusing.”

Only natives of certain countries are eligible to apply for the green card lottery. Those born in the following countries are NOT eligible to apply for the DV-2018 lottery because a total of more than 50,000 immigrants came from these countries to the U.S. in the previous five years: Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, China (mainland-born), Colombia, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Haiti, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, South Korea, United Kingdom and its dependent territories (except Northern Ireland) and Vietnam. Persons born in Hong Kong SAR, Macau SAR and Taiwan are eligible. An applicant may, however, claim the country of birth of their spouse, if eligible, or of either parent if they were born in a country of which neither of their parents was a native or a resident at the time of their birth.

All applicants also must have a high school diploma or the equivalent, defined in the United States as the successful completion of a 12-year course of elementary and secondary education or they must have two years of work experience within the last five years in an occupation that requires at least two years of training or experience to perform. Entries for the DV-2018 diversity visa lottery must be submitted electronically from noon on Tuesday, October 4, 2016 through noon on Monday, November 7, 2016. Applicants may access the electronic diversity visa entry form at www.dvlottery.state.gov only during the 30-day registration period beginning October 4th. Paper entries will not be accepted. All entries by an applicant will be disqualified if more than one entry for the applicant is received, regardless of who submitted the entry. Applicants may prepare and submit their own entries, or have someone submit the entry for them. The Department of State will issue DV lottery entrants an electronic confirmation number and notice upon receipt of a correctly completed Electronic Diversity Visa Entry Form.

Applicants must also attach separate digital photographs of themselves, their spouses and unmarried children less than 21 years of age (except children who are already permanent residents or U.S. citizens). The photographs must be in the Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG) format and meet specific resolutions (minimum 600 pixels high by 600 pixels wide), color depths (24-bit color) and kilobytes (maximum 240 KB) requirements. If a photograph print is scanned, the print must be two inches square and be scanned at a resolution of 300 dots per inch (dpi) and with specific color depths. The photograph must be taken within the last six months and no glasses may be worn in the photo. If the digital image does not conform to the specifications, the application will be automatically disqualified.

Applicants will be selected at random by computer from among all qualified entries. All applicants will be required to go back to the website to find out whether their entry has been selected in the DV-2018 lottery or to find out they have not been selected. Selectees will only be notified of their selection through the “entry status check” available starting May 2, 2017 at the website www.dvlottery.state.gov. The online entry status check will be the only means by which selectees will be notified of their selection for DV-2018. The Kentucky Consular Center will not be mailing out notification letters. Those selected in the random drawing are not notified of their selection by e-mail. Those individuals not selected will be notified of their non-selection through the web-based “entry status check.”

No fee is charged to enter the annual DV program. The U.S. Government employs no outside consultants or private services to operate the DV program. Any intermediaries or others who offer assistance to prepare submissions for applicants do so without the authority or consent of the U.S. Government. Use of any outside intermediary or assistance to prepare a DV entry is entirely at the applicant’s discretion. A qualified entry submitted electronically directly by an applicant has an equal chance of being selected by the computer at the Kentucky Consular Center as does an entry submitted electronically through a paid intermediary who completes the entry for the applicant.

The current immigration laws carry heavy penalties for visa overstays.  Those who have overstayed their visa by 6 months, face a 3 year bar upon their departure from the United States, if they have overstayed for one year or more, they are subject to a 10 year bar. Successful lottery applicants who are undocumented in the US must be processed for a visa at a US Consulate abroad under existing immigration laws. Departing the US will trigger the 3 or 10 year bars making them ineligible for a visa. Undocumented lottery winners with a relative petition or an employer labor certification pending before April 30, 2001, may be eligible to be interviewed in the United States under Section 245(i), provided they have not triggered the 3/10 year bars by leaving the US.

Inquiries may be made to the EIIC at their Woodside, Queens’s office at (718) 478-5502 or at their Woodlawn, Bronx office at (718) 324-3039 or on the EIIC website www.eiic.org.

The EIIC is a member of the Coalition of Irish Immigration Centers, for further information about Irish centers in the US providing free assistance with DV lottery applications please refer to their website at www.ciic.usa-org

DV-2018 Handout

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Reports of Increased Immigration Enforcement Efforts by ICE – Know Your Rights

 

Recent reports indicate that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) has plans again to launch a “surge” of arrests targeting recently arrived Central American woman and children over the next 30 days.

There is NO indication of any increased enforcement efforts in New York State or City at this time.

However, here is a list of tips and rights that you should know in case you feel that in the future you could be arrested and detained by ICE:

  • The group of immigrants that may be at risk should there be a raid are only:
    • If you have been seen as a threat to the national security in the past
    • If you are either undocumented or a lawful permanent resident but have been convicted of certain criminal offenses whether they are old convictions or more recent ones such as, driving under the influence, drug crimes, domestic violence, unlawful gun possession, and child endangerment.
    • If you entered the United States after January 1, 2014 and have either:
      • Were ordered deported or removed in immigration court after January 1, 2014;
      • Agreed voluntarily to return to your home country
      • Arrived after January 1, 2014 and have overstayed your visa status
      • You did not go to court for a hearing and were ordered deported (HOWEVER if you have a case pertaining to this right now and are going to court you should not be at risk)
  • ICE cannot do raids to arrest immigrants at schools, places of worship, hospitals, weddings or funerals.
  • If you feel you might be arrested, should there be a raid, you should tell your family now where all your employment and other documents are pertaining to your identity and theirs. In the case that you are arrested they will be able to take your documents to an attorney who can fight your case or state your options.
  • If you feel you might be arrested in a raid in the future you should see an attorney now to find out information about your options.
  • What to do should ICE come to your home or approaches you in public:
    • ICE agents might wear plain clothes or say they are police or say they are investigating a crime.
    • If ICE comes to your home they should have a warrant signed by a judge. If they do not have a warrant signed by a judge you DO NOT have to open your door. Ensure that they slip the warrant under your door and that the warrant has your name on it before opening the door.
    • Ask an ICE agent to see their ID
    • Inform them if there are children or elderly people in your home.
    • If any ICE agent does not have an ID or signed warrant with a judge’s signature and your name on it, politely tell them “I do not consent to you being in my home. Please leave.” If they search your rooms say “I do not consent to your search”.
    • You DO NOT need to answer any questions that an ICE agent might ask. Under the 5th amendment you have the right to remain silent.
    • Should you answer any questions that an ICE agent asks you, DO NOT lie about your answers. The best thing to do in this situation is to remain silent and politely decline to answering their questions.
    • Anyone who is arrested must be told these four things before being questioned by the police:
      • You have the right to remain silent
      • Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law
      • You have the right to an attorney
      • If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you. So stay silent until you have an attorney present.
    • DO NOT sign any papers that ICE gives you without first speaking with your attorney.
    • You DO NOT need to share information on where you were born or your immigration status.
    • You DO NOT need to give them your passport or other documents.

For more Know Your Rights information in English and Spanish.

 

Diversity Visa Lottery (DV-2017) Online Entry Status Check Now Open

Those who submitted an entry under the Diversity Visa 2017 green card lottery (DV-2017) can check the status of their application online starting on May 3, 2016, at noon. The entry registration period for the 2017 Diversity Visa program (DV-2017) was between October 1, 2015 and November 3, 2015.

All DV-2017 applicants must check their status online, and will not receive a notification letter or e-mail from the U.S. government. DV Entry Status Check will only be provided through the Department of State secure online site. Until September 30, 2017, entrants are able to check the status of their entry through the E-DV website at http://dvlottery.state.gov/ESC. Entrants need to use their own confirmation page information from the time of their entry to check the status to find out if their Diversity Visa Lottery entry was or was not selected. Entrants will need to enter their last name, year of birth and confirmation number from the receipt.

Please keep your confirmation number until at least June 30, 2017, even if you are not selected on May 3, 2016. The Department of State may select more DV-2016 entries on October 1, 2016 or after.

All lottery applicants who were assisted at our office would have received a copy of their application confirmation page with their confirmation number. Please contact our office if you need the information again.

It is expected that the next application period for the DV Lottery will be between October and December this year. Official dates, rules and eligible countries should be announced by late September. For more information, go to the official US State Department website at www.dvlottery.state.gov. You may also contact our office in the early fall for more information and assistance to complete another application. Be aware that the application for the DV lottery is free and you do not need to pay anyone to enter.

Emerald Isle closed while making improvements

Emerald Isle Immigration Center is proud to have been an integral part of the Woodlawn community for over 20 years. Since 1993, we have grown in service and in size. Earlier this year we were fortunate to become the owner of our long-time office at 4275 Katonah Avenue. Over the past weeks we have discovered the need to make emergency repairs to our building.

These emergency repairs have caused the occasional temporary closing of our office in the Bronx. For this we apologize to our clients and community. Please be assured that we will reopen as soon as possible.

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Fifth Circuit Court upholds suspension of Executive Action programs and Obama administration will file an appeal of the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court

 

The Emerald Isle Immigration Center’s Executive Director Siobhan Dennehy expressed “disappointment but no surprise” that late yesterday a divided three judge panel of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals denied the federal government’s appeal of the preliminary injunction that has temporarily stopped President Obama’s deferred action initiatives from being implemented. Finally, however, this decision clears the path for the Obama Administration to take this case to the U.S. Supreme Court. The Obama administration should move quickly to petition the United States Supreme Court for review.

Specifically, the Fifth Circuit Court’s decision continues the hold on the expansion of the deferred action for childhood arrivals program (DACA) and the deferred action program for parents of US citizen and permanent resident children (DACA) which were announced almost one year ago by President Obama. Together, these programs could provide as many as five million immigrants and their families with temporary relief from deportation.

This unfortunate decision is a another setback which will further delay the implementation of these programs. Should the Obama administration file a timely request and the U.S. Supreme Court decide to review the decision by early next year, a final decision will be reached by next summer. Those who qualify under these programs should not be deterred from continuing to gather the necessary documents and information and remain in the United States in anticipation of further more favorable developments in the coming months. Potential applicants should secure reliable advice from qualified immigration counsel and beware of immigration scams.