Citizens of 18 other countries cannot apply next year
The United States has declared 19 countries including Bangladesh ineligible for the upcoming Diversity Visa (DV) 2013.
The State Department in an announcement said all these 19 countries ‘sent a total of more than 50,000 immigrants to the United States in the previous five years.
The 18 other countries are: Brazil, Canada, China (mainland-born), Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Pakistan, Peru, the Philippines, South Korea, United Kingdom (except northern Ireland) and its dependent territories, and Vietnam.
Persons born in Hong Kong SAR (special administrative region), Macau SAR and Taiwan, however, are eligible for the programme, the announcement said.
It also mentioned that for 2013 fiscal year, 50,000 diversity visas will be available and the annual DV programme makes visas available to persons meeting simple, but strict, eligibility requirements.
CHANGES IN ELIGIBILITY:
For DV-2013, natives of South Sudan and Poland are now eligible for selection.
The Department of State implemented the electronic registration system beginning with DV-2005 in order to make the DV process more efficient and secure.
-With The Daily Star input
