Date: Tue, 27 Feb 1996 20:16:40 -0500 From: Ron Buckmire Subject: Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center Assists With Diversity Visa Lottery LA Gay and Lesbian Center to provide assistance with applications for Diversity Visas (The Lottery) The Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Community Services Center's Immigration Law Project is pleased to announce that it will be holding two (2) *FREE* workshops to assist persons to complete the basic application for the diversity visa program (the lottery). The workshops are scheduled for MONDAY MARCH 4 at The Center, 1625 North Schrader Boulevard in Hollywood. The first workshop begins at 7pm, the second at 8pm. The diversity visa program, often referred to as ``the visa lottery'', is an annual program which sets aside 55 000 permanent residence visas for individuals, regardless of current immigration status (i.e. undocumented immigrants can apply if they so choose), who are born in countries from which the United States has admitted relatively less immigrants than 'high admission' countries. Immigrants born in Canada, China (mainland and Taiwan), Colombia, The Dominican Republic, India, Jamaica, Mexico, The Philippines, El Salvador, South Korea, the United Kingdom and all dependent territories except Hong Kong and Northern Ireland are EXCLUDED from the diversity visa program. There are two very limited exceptions to this general exclusion. Applicants must also have either a high school education or its equivalent, or, within the past five (5) years, have had two (2) years of work experience in an occupation that requires at least two (2) years of training or experience. Applicants are sorted by computerized lottery. Successful applicants will be notified by July 1, 1996, with instructions on how to complete the immigration process. Diversity visa applications have a one-month period in which to submit their application. That period ends MONDAY MARCH 11, and applications must have received by INS by that date in order to qualify for the ``drawing''. An applicant can submit only one (1) application. (If more than one is submitted then all of your applications are deleted.) Because the application requires a recent 1 1/2 inch by 1 1/2 inch photograph of the applicant, applicants must bring this -- as well as a 32-cent stamp -- with them to the Center's workshop. The Immigration Law Project will provide the rest of the materials and instruction by our volunteer immigration attorneys. Due to a limited space, persons interested in receiving assistance with their diversity visa application MUST reserve a spot in one of the workshops by calling the Immigration Law Project at 213.993.7677 extension 770. For more information about Queer Immigration Issues, check out http://www.qrd.org/qrd/world/immigration --- RON BUCKMIRE Math Department, Occidental College, 1600 Campus Road, Los Angeles, CA 90041 RON@OXY.EDU||staff@QRD.ORG||+1 213 259 2536||+1 213 259 2958 (fax) Check out the Queer Resources Directory ----- End Included Message -----