August 19, 2003	Tuesday	Jumadi-us-Sani 20, 1424

WASHINGTON, Aug 18: Foreigners hoping to win US immigrant status through the State Department’s annual “Diversity Visa” lottery will no longer be allowed to submit entries on paper and must now do so electronically, according to new regulations announced on Monday.

“Starting this year, all persons registering for an opportunity to apply for a US immigrant visa under the diversity lottery will have to do so electronically through a designated internet website,” the department said in a statement.

“The department will no longer accept paper entries or mail-in requests for diversity visa registration,” it said.

The new rules have been implemented to improve efficiency in the lottery and reduce the potential for fraud by applicants who may pose a security risk United States seeking to exploit weaknesses in the current system, it said.

Each year, some six million people enter the lottery hoping to win one of 55,000 immigrant visas that the department makes available to citizens of foreign countries.

Details of the new rules, including the website address for the entries and the deadline to enter the lottery, are expected to be announced by the end of August, a State Department official said.

That website will have a standard form for all applicants to fill out, the department said. The entries must be accompanied by digital photographs of the entrant, it added. —AFP