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)