Local rush to join green card lottery for immigration to U.S.
Local rush to join green card lottery for immigration to U.S.
By Edith Hartanto and Kornelius Purba
JAKARTA (JP): Many people dream about living in America and
Indonesians are no exception. For the past few months there have
been various schemes floated by immigration agents promoting
green card lottery applications.
Green card lotteries are probably the least burdensome way to
obtain an immigration visa to the United States, as there is no
application fee. Other procedures, in contrast, are long,
complicated and expensive.
The United States' Immigration Act of 1990 makes 55,000
permanent (immigrant) resident visas available each year by
random selection through a diversity visa lottery (DV-2000),
popularly known as the green card lottery.
According to a U.S. State Department media statement, the
Nicaraguan and Central American Relief Act (NCARA) passed by
Congress in November 1997 reserves 5,000 of the 55,000 annually
allocated visas for the NCARA program.
Natives of the following countries are not allowed to apply
for the green card lottery program: Canada, China (mainland and
Taiwan, except Hong Kong), Colombia, Dominican Republic, El
Salvador, Haiti, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Philippines, Poland,
South Korea, United Kingdom (except Northern Ireland) and its
dependent territories, and Vietnam. They are listed as high-
admission countries.
According to the State Department, high-admission countries
are those from which the United States has received more than
50,000 immigrants during the last five years in the immediate
relative, family and employment preference categories.
Each year, the Immigration and Naturalization Service adds the
family and employment immigrant admission figures for the
previous five years to identify the countries which must be
excluded from the annual diversity lottery.
Several Indonesian immigration agents, who act as brokers,
offer services to help prospective applicants complete the
application forms correctly, handle them and arrange their
delivery to the U.S.
"We make sure that all applications delivered are safely
received in U.S. so that the applicants are eligible for the
draw," said a representative of one agent.
National Visa Service, US Green Card Center, I.I.S. Indo.
(International Immigration Service Indonesia) and National Visa
Lottery Agency are among the agents who frequently advertise
their services.
The service fee charged by the agents varies, ranging from Rp
250,000 (US$22.50) for one person to $US90 for a couple. The
lottery program itself is free.
Is it that easy for an applicant (to be lucky) to win the
lottery, which some say is like picking a needle in a haystack?
No one can answer the question. The fact is that many people
have joined the green card lottery program to try their luck.
Dudi Sutjipto, a resident of Ciputat, South Jakarta told The
Jakarta Post during a break in an immigration seminar that he
became interested in joining the green card lottery program after
reading an advertisement in a paper.
"Later I opened some websites on the program. They're
interesting, and I think I'm qualified. Who knows? It's worth a
try. Some of my relatives are studying or working abroad.
"So I decided to try my luck," the 29-year-old architect said.
While he is still single, Dudi says he hopes his chances (of
getting picked) will be bigger.
When asked what made him pay that much money to the agent in
this economic crisis, he said:
"Well.. if you want to gain something you have to give up
something, right? I do not really want to care about that. I'm
just interested because a great number of people all over the
world are participating in the program."
Lisa Wijaya, a 27-year-old bank employee said she joined the
lottery scheme simply because she wanted to live abroad.
"Look at it this way. The country's situation has not yet
improved. And this lottery program is for free and very easy."
"For some people, joining a lottery is a foolish thing ... but
I could not possibly leave work and go through a long immigration
procedure myself. It's too complicated, time-consuming and must
be very expensive."
Indrawan, a 40-year-old private company employee said he was
not tempted by the scheme offered on a website.
"The competitors...woow. Too many people are taking part in
the 'lucky' draw. The chance of getting picked is very small. I
thought of joining the program before, but then I decided not to,
learning that a brokering agent charged a fee in U.S. dollars for
its services. It's too expensive.
"Let's say it costs $50, meaning that we have to pay some Rp
550,000. It's too much. Besides, we do not know how the lottery
works. Is it fair?"
But after the Post told him that the draw itself was free,
Indrawan nodded his head in confusion. "Well, I'll have to think
about it again, then."
Bonnie, a project engineer, offered a contrasting opinion. "I
joined the draw simply because it is easy and appealing. I know
the possibility is very small, but who knows?"
Claim
The agents operating here claim their services are more than
just profit-oriented.
"We help those who want to join the program. Many people here
are still confused even about filling up the application forms.
We guide them to avoid mistakes in the very simple things like
writing their names (first, middle, last name)," Titi Susilowati,
an I.I.S. Indo. employee, said.
I.I.S. Indo. charges US$50 for one person or a family and
US$90 for two people (for a couple of a husband and wife).
There are agents which set lower rates. The U.S. Green Card
Center on Jl. Teh No. 21 F-G in West Jakarta, for example, asks
for only Rp 250,000 for one person and Rp 350,000 for a family.
"Our deadline is October 10 and I think many residents here
are very interested in joining the program," said Dwi Yanti, one
of U.S. Green Card Center staff.
One may ask if it is worth using the agent services to join
the green card lottery program?
According to Craig J. Stromme, press attach at the U.S.
Embassy, there is no connection between the immigration agents
and the embassy.
"We do not have any relations with such agents and we do not
collect fees. The lottery is free and there is no initial
application fee or anything like that."
He also reiterated that it was very easy to join the draw.
"The procedures and requirements are very simple and clear.
You can do it yourself," he said, adding that residents could
open http://www.usembassyjakarta.org on the Internet for further
information about visa and green card lottery programs.
He, however, had no idea on how large the "haystack" was or
how many Indonesians applied.
The website contains information on visas, green card lottery
(DV-2000) and immigration matters.