CAIRO: The Diversity Visa (DV) Lottery Program 2012 opened its registration to qualifying countries, including Egypt, on October 5, but with a couple noticeable changes. The DV Lottery switched from its paper applications to a fully electronic visa application. In regards to the new changes, Roberto Powers, consul general at the US Embassy in Cairo, said, “The new form allows greater access to the lottery by qualifying applicants.” Powers also noted that the new form allowed the applications to be processed at a faster pace as well as provide greater security for the applicants and helps combat fraud. Perhaps the most important change is that applicants now have to print and retain their confirmation page. This confirmation page contains a unique code that is the only way for applicants to be able to check the DV website and see if their application has been selected. Powers stressed to anyone interested in applying to check the requirements on the website (travel.state.gov) as well as double check their applications before submitting and keep their confirmation code. He said that one of the biggest mistakes applicants make is failure to provide complete information, such as not including all family members asked for. The congressionally mandated program has been running since 1990 and has increased their number of total visas available through the lottery to 50,000. This year, 3,500 visas will be allocated to Egyptian applicants, which is about 7 percent of the total visas. In the past 10 years, Egyptian applicants have received nearly 30,000 DVs. Last year, Egyptians received more 32,000 non-immigrant visas and more than 6,000 immigrant visas, which more than half allocated through the lottery program. In last year's lottery, there were over 12 million qualified applicants and with their dependents the number rose to 16.5 million. In recent years, Egypt has been one of the countries whose citizens received the largest number of immigrant visas from the DV program. Powers stated that the applicant's race, religion, sex, or family size has no effect on their chances of being selected and are chosen at complete random by a computer program. The lottery closes on November 3, 2010 and applicants are not chosen until May 1, 2011. In other visa news, the newly developed Business Visa program is up and running. This program currently benefits 62 Egyptian companies and their employees by allowing visa interviews without previously scheduled appointments. Powers noted that nearly 100 percent of the applicants that applied through the program have qualified for visa issuance and that the program is fully supported as well as the notion of promoting business opportunities between the US and Egypt. “We are committed to facilitating legitimate travel to the United States,” stated Powers.
