Green Card lottery becomes a commodity

Green Card lottery becomes a commodity

JAKARTA (JP): If you happen to pass the U.S. embassy on Jl.
Merdeka Barat, Central Jakarta, you will likely see long queues
of people eager to apply for visas.

They might want to visit the country on a business trip, to
study, to visit a friend or just for a vacation.

Whatever the purpose is, it seems that the long queue never
gets any shorter, especially since Indonesia was hit by the
economic crisis, and anti-Chinese riots broke out in Jakarta and
several other towns.

America appears to be the most alluring country of all, as
many see it as being the land of milk and honey with
opportunities awaiting them on every corner. For some, even the
idea of being an illegal immigrant is no longer so bad, as long
as a living can be made.

Obtaining an American visa is not easy. Some even say that it
is becoming increasingly difficult and complain that their
applications are turned down even though they claim to have
fulfilled all the necessary requirements.

This situation has given rise to new business opportunities as
various agencies have emerged offering services assisting those
who are interested in obtaining a legal permit to reside and work
in the United States. They even provide services in relation to
the green card lottery.

The annual lottery, held by the U.S. government, allows the
winner to apply for a visa under the Diversity Immigrant Visa
program.

While participating in the lottery is free of charge, these
agencies charge US$25 to US$55 for their services in assisting
applicants to complete, correct and review the lottery
application forms as they claim the slightest mistake in
completing the form could result a candidate being disqualified.

"The fee is not for the application form, it is our service
fee for ensuring that your application form is delivered on time
and without any mistakes," Ceni Sunata from the US Green Card
Registry agency told The Jakarta Post, adding that her agency
could assist applicants in filling in the lottery forms for those
who were not fluent in English.

"We also ensure that the applications are sent at the right
time, as being a day early or late will disqualify the
applicant," she said while declining to reveal the ideal time for
submitting the applications.

She also admitted to having no record of how many people had
obtained lottery visas through her agency.

According to a statement issued by the U.S. Embassy, this
year's applications must be received between noon on Oct. 1, 2001
and noon on Oct. 31, 2001.

From the qualified entries received during the mail-in period,
approximately 50,000 applicants worldwide are selected at random
by computer and will be notified between April and May 2002,
along with instructions on how to apply for an immigrant visa,
the statement said.

The program is called DV-2003 as the visas will be issued by
September 2003.

No fee is charged to enter the program and no outside service
can improve an applicant's chances of being selected, according
to the statement.

Participating in the lottery is simple, and detailed
information on the process can be found at
http://travel.state.gov, a U.S. embassy spokesperson told the
Post.

"We encourage people to apply directly. It's unnecessary to
use a private agency as this is a very simple process," he said.

During the last program, 537 Indonesian citizen obtained visas
through the lottery, he added.

One participant who tried his luck in 1998 with the help of an
agency said he had to enclose $55 when he sent in his
application.

"I received a post card explaining that my application had
been received and was being processed, but I never received any
news about it afterwards," said the applicant, who refused to be
named.

"It's rather embarrassing now that I think of it, of how I let
myself be tricked," he added.

Meanwhile, for those who are willing to pay a larger sum of
money for a faster result, some agencies also offer the service
of training visa applicants for the interview at the embassy and
preparing the necessary documents to make one look convincing.

"Why don't you come over to our place so we can negotiate the
price and details in private," a woman from the agency told the
Post when contacted by telephone. (06)