People born on the island of Ireland will be eligible for a new US visa lottery programme which opens in October.
Some 50,000 immigrant visas are expected to be distributed through the "Diversity Immigrant Visa Lottery Program" between October, 2003 and September, 2004. The visas are issued every year to improve diversity in the US and give people the right to live and work there.
About 180 countries are eligible to apply for the visas but some countries which send large numbers of immigrants to the US are excluded. While Northern Ireland is included this year, Britain is excluded because it has sent more than 50,000 immigrants to the US in the last five years.
Countries such as China, India, Jamaica and Mexico are excluded for the same reason.
The US embassy in Dublin has emphasised that place of birth, and not citizenship, is the relevant criterium for qualification.
Millions of people are expected to apply for the visas when the registration period opens on October 7th and closes on November 6th.
Successful applicants from the Republic must have a pass Leaving Certificate or two years of work experience within the last five years in a skilled occupation. They do not need an offer of employment but must be of good health and character and be capable of supporting themselves in the US.
There is no formal application form and no application fee. Applicants are asked to send a number of specified details, together with a photograph to the Kentucky Consular Centre in Kentucky.
A US embassy spokeswoman said the distribution of visas was "a pure lottery" so any agencies promising to improve an applicant's odds were promising something they could not deliver. "We are aware that many visa and immigration services charge exorbitant fees and make unrealistic claims."
Applicants will be selected at random by computer with a greater numbers of visas going to regions with lower rates of immigration. No one country may receive more than 7 per cent of the Diversity visas in any one year.
Any applicant who sends more than one entry will be disqualified, regardless of who submitted the entry.
Those selected for visas will be notified by post between May and July, 2003 and given further instructions. The visas will then be issued between October 1st, 2003 and September 30th, 2004.
Information on preparing entries for the lottery can be obtained by sending an A4 stamped self-addressed envelope to the Consular Section (DV-2004), US Embassy, 42 Elgin Road, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4. More information is also available on the US embassy's website at: www.usembassy.ie
