Citizenship, Naturalization & Diversified Visa Program
U.S. DEPARTMENT of STATE — BUREAU of CONSULAR AFFAIRS
Diversified Visa Program Lottery Requirements
The Department is aware of the August 17, 2021 court order issued by the U.S. District Court for the District of Colombia in Gomez v. Trump, 02-cv-01419 (APM), and will provide updated guidance on this topic once it is available.
Diversity Visa 2021 Applicants: DV applicants for the 2021 fiscal year (DV-2021) should wait to be notified of the scheduling of an interview in accordance with the phased resumption of visa services framework. All DV-2021 diversity visa program applicants must be found eligible for, and obtain, their visa or adjust status by the end of fiscal year 2021 (September 30, 2021).
Diversity Visa 2022 Applicants: All DV-2022 diversity visa program applicants must be found eligible for, and obtain, their visa or adjust status by the end of fiscal year 2022 (September 30, 2022).
Before you can enter the DV-2023 Lottery, you must pass the DV Lottery eligibility test. If you pass the DV Lottery eligibility test, you are welcome to register and enter the DV-2023 Lottery for a chance to win one of the 50,000 permanent resident cards (green cards) that will be granted to the winners in January 2023.
The green card lottery (or the “diversity lottery”) for 2021 (DV-2023) is opening soon (October 7, 2021)! The most important thing to know: There’s only one way to legitimately enter. Don’t listen to any of the websites out there that say they will give you a special service, it’s never legitimate.
*******************************************************************
On December 1, 2020 the USCIS has changed the Citizenship test . Pleas b advised to these new parameters:
With the new 2020 version of the civics test, the USCIS officer will ask you to answer 20 out of the 128 civics test questions. You must answer at least 12 questions correctly to pass the 2020 version of the civics test. All questions on the test are asked orally.
There are no changes to the English portion of the naturalization civics test. You must demonstrate an understanding of the English language, including the ability to read, write, and speak basic English.
2020 Version of the Citizenship Test
New fees for Citizenship and Immigration Services effective December 23. 2016.
These new fees must be included with your application submission or USCIS will reject your application.
________________________________________________________________
Applications and the Government Shutdown
There are numerous questions regarding application set in before the shutdown. One question involves an applicant who has petitioned for a hearing and is waiting on their appointment. If the applicant has not been given an appointment and their green card expires please read the following note,
If you filed a N400 application with at least 6 months left on a Permanent Resident card, you are still eligible to make an appointment and get a stamp a VALID foreign passport that extends her Permanent Resident Card validity until the N400 interview. Please make this appointment when there are 30 days or less left on the card or if you plan to travel past the date the card is currently valid for.
Please the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services customer hotline to make an appointment at:
800-375-5283. For people who are deaf, hard of hearing or have a speech disability: TTY 800-767-1833
________________________________________________________________
We’ve added new data about DACA. Click on the link below
https://www.uscis.gov/daca2017
There is new information being introduce each day regarding Immigration and Naturalization. Please check this site for all new and important updates.
On Jan. 17, 2017, a new rule, “Retention of EB-1, EB-2, and EB-3 Immigrant Workers and Program Improvements Affecting High-Skilled Non-immigrant Workers” amending DHS regulations went into effect. The regulatory amendments provide for the automatic extension of the validity periods of certain Employment Authorization Documents (Form I-766) for up to 180 days if the employee:
Timely filed to renew Form I-776, Employment Authorization Document (EAD);
Is applying to renew such EAD in the same category as the previous EAD (A12 and C19 are considered the same category for this extension); and
Is in a category that is eligible for the extension.
For more information, please see the Auto-Extended EAD Fact Sheet (PDF, 499 KB) Retention of EB-1, EB-2, and EB-3 Immigrant Workers and Program Improvements Affecting High-Skilled Nonimmigrant Workers Rule.
***************************************************************
This is the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services website.
http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis
http://www.uscis.gov/citizenship or call 1 800 375 5283
***************************************************************
Connecticut Legal Services Immigration Hotline - Connecticut Legal Services provides free legal services to low income households only. People who are not financially eligible for legal services will receive information about other places to get assistance.
email - Connecticut Legal Services or call 1-800-798-0671
All too often, individuals seeking immigration benefits are deceived by people pretending to be "immigration experts." This is against the law. Today, in partnership with several other agencies, USCIS is launching a public education initiative to combat the unauthorized practice of immigration law (UPIL).
Additional resources for Immigration Services
Integrated Refugee & Immigration Services
235 Nicoll Street 2nd Floor
New Haven CT 06511
Yelner, Olia (DHS only)
203-562-2769
Refugee and Immigrant Services - En una agencia de repoblación de repoblación de refugiados reconocida federal mente en New Haven, Connecticut. http://www.irisct.org/
Jerome N. Frank Legal Services
Yale Law Services School
127 Wall Street
New Haven, CT 06520
203-432-4800
http://www.law.yale.edu/academics/JeromeNFrankLSO.htm
International Institute of Connecticut - Stamford
22 Grove Street
Stamford CT, 06902
Delva, Claude (DHS only)
Reyes, Josefina (DHS only)
203-965-7190
International Institute of Connecticut – Bridgeport
670 Clinton Avenue
Bridgeport CT 06605
Santos, Donna (DNS only)
203-336-0141
USCIS – Finding Legal Advice
Pro Bono representation for individual who are in removal proceedings (who must see a judge)
http://www.justice.gov/eoir/office-of-legal-access-programs
New Haven Legal Assistance
New Haven Legal Assistance Association proporciona servicios legales a individuos, familias y grupos en el área metropolitana de New Haven que de otra manera no pueden pagar servicios legales.
Hartford Legal Aid
Proporciona servicios legales a individuos, familias y grupos en el área metropolitana de Hartford que de otra manera no pueden pagar servicios legales.
Connecticut Pro Bono Chapter
American Immigration Lawyers Association – Connecticut Chapter
****************************************************************************
Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF) - es una organización nacional sin fines de lucro cuya misión es proteger y promover los derechos civiles de más de 29 millones de latinos que viven en los Estados Unidos.
The National Council Of LaRaza (NCLR) – es una organización privada, sin fines de lucro, no partidista, exenta de impuestos establecida para reducir la pobreza, la discriminación y mejorar las oportunidades de vida para los hispanoamericanos.
Worldwide Consulates by Country - En este sitio web donde encontrará detalles sobre consulados de todo el mundo.
https://www.embassy-worldwide.com/
La Casa Del Inmigrante – es una agencia que otorga servicios a bajos costos de carácter migratorio, servicios de impuestos, seguros de todo tipo. Trabajando con abogados de inmigración y defensa, para lograr el apoyo y beneficio necesario para nuestros clientes.
https://www.lacasadinmigrante.com/
SUNY Visa and Immigration Resource: This (free/customizable resource) is based on the understanding that individuals have the basic right to access information in their native language during experiences of trauma. Joe spearheaded an initiative to create a plain language document explaining the U and T Visa process, worked to secure funding to translate this document into 120 languages, and created the technological infrastructure to make this resource available to any institution of higher education in the country.