February
1995
the
CEN-TA PEDE
david ingram's US/Canadian
Newsletter
FREE U.S. TAX ASSISTANCE
another
quick reminder
The U.S.
Internal Revenue Service will be providing free assistance on U.S. income
tax issues at the Vancouver Consulate from March 3 - 17, 1995. Please call
the Consulate to schedule an individual appointment or to register for
seminars. (604) 685-4311, ext 246
NORTH TO ALASKA (OR SOUTH TO ARIZONA)
the 1995 DV-96 "GREEN CARD"
LOTTERY
The 1995
lottery for the 96 fiscal year (Oct 1, 95 to Sept 30, 96) is open to 55,000
lucky lottery winners. Unfortunately, it is NOT OPEN TO CANADIANS BY BIRTH
unless the Canadian can lay claim to being charged to another
country under Section 202-b of the Immigration and Nationality Act. This
might happen where you were born in Canada while your parents were here on
vacation from Hong Kong. You are a Canadian citizen by birth but you are
also a citizen of Hong Kong because your parents were. Therefore, you
may enter the lottery. Likewise, if your spouse was born in the Bahamas and
you were born in Canada, you would be "charged" to the Bahamas and
have "BAHAMAS" on the top left hand corner of your envelope.
YOU DO NOT NEED PROFESSIONAL HELP TO ENTER THIS
LOTTERY. If you decide to seek professional help,
look at page 83 of the January newsletter for a list of competent US
immigration lawyers. The following paragraph is a warning AGAINST
some of the ads you will see in the newspapers.
The
application is a simple one page form as described further on. Anybody who
can read and write can fill in that application although it does have to be
in English.
Paying
$200 to fill in a simple one page form is a little extreme.
There
are another 55,000 Diversity Immigrant Visas "up for grabs" with
the 1995 US Immigrant Visa LOTTERY. And, while the 1992 and 1993 lotteries
were open to Canadians, the 1994 was closed to Canadians and this 1995
lottery is also closed to Canadians. The 1995 lottery is open to persons
born in:
*
all African Countries,
*
Hong Kong and all other Asian countries EXCEPT Mainland China and Taiwan
(Formosa), India, the Philippines, Vietnam and South Korea.
*
Almost All European countries such as Albania, Algeria, Argentina, Austria,
Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany,
Gibraltar, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein,
Lithuania, Luxembourg, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, San Marino,
Sweden, Switzerland and Northern Ireland. Note that Great Britain and its
territories are NOT included.
*
The Bahamas is the only country which qualifies from North America.
*
All countries in Oceania.
*
Columbia, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Jamaica, and Mexico do NOT
qualify. All other countries in South America, Central America, and the
Caribbean do qualify.
The
lottery began at (EST) 12:01 A.M., JAN 31, 95 AND CLOSES AT 12:00 P.M.
(midnight), Wednesday, March 1, 1995. This has been written on February 20,
1995. When you read this, you likely have less than one day to act. The
application must be in Portsmouth, NH, USA by Midnight, Wednesday, March 1,
1995. START TYPING IF THIS APPLIES TO YOU.
ONLY ONE
APPLICATION may be submitted per person but a husband and wife may each
submit one and use the other's birthplace as their own justification.
Do NOT
SEND IN ANY MANNER WHICH REQUIRES SPECIAL HANDLING! No registered,
certified, or return requested mail will be accepted.
All
Applications are to be mailed to:
DV-96
Program
National
Visa Center
Portsmouth,
NH, 002?? (- specific
USA
However,
each area has a specific zip code. If you are from:
Asia,
use 00210
South
America
Central
America &
Caribbean,
use 00211
Europe,
use 00212
Africa,
use 00213
Oceania,
use 00214
Bahamas,
use 00215
Remember,
your return address may be in CANADA, but if you were born in Greece, you
would use 00212 as the zip code in the mailing address. GREECE would be
typed or printed on the top left hand corner of the envelope.
In this
lottery, each entry will be recorded. More than one entry will mean
automatic disqualification although a husband and wife may apply
individually. The entry must be in an envelope 15 cm to 24 cm in length and
9 cm to 11 cm in width for machine processing. The address must be clearly
printed and / or typed and should be in the following format:
_____________________________________________________________
_______
|
<------15 cm to 24 cm ( 6" to 9 1/2 ")----> ________ | ^
|
Applicant's native country (i.e. GREECE) | 50 | | |
|
Applicant's full name |cents | | (3 1/2"
|
Applicant's address |______| | to
| as
shown on application | 4 1/2")
| | |
| DV-96
Program | |
|
National Visa Center | (9 cm
|
Portsmouth, NH, 002??____ (as above) | to
| U.S.A.
| 11 cm)
| | |
|______________________________________________________________|___|___
It must
be mailed regular (or special delivery with no receipted signature required)
mail. NO REGISTERED, COURIERED OR HAND DELIVERED MAIL WILL BE ACCEPTED.
THE
QUALIFYING COUNTRY OF BIRTH (FRANCE, CHILE, PERU, LATVIA, NEW ZEALAND,
NORTHERN IRELAND, ETC.) MUST BE IN THE TOP LEFT CORNER OF THE RETURN
ADDRESS.
The
application inside should also be typed or clearly printed in the following
format:
1. Last
name, First name and middle name with last name underlined
2.
Applicant's date and place of birth
3. Name,
date and place of birth of applicant's spouse and children. .. (Note -
parents do not qualify and must apply themselves)
4.
Applicant's mailing address (phone number is optional)
5.
Applicant's Native Country if different from country of birth. (see first
paragraph)
Please
note! Documentary proof of education, etc., should NOT be submitted with the
application. However, every applicant must have at least a high school
(senior matriculation) education or its equivalent. One form of equivalency
would be two years of work experience (out of the last five years) in a
field which requires at least two years training or experience.
All mail
received will be individually numbered: After the end of the application
period, a computer will randomly select cases from among all the mail
received.
The
first letter randomly selected will be the first case registered, the second
letter selected, the second registration, etc. It makes no difference
whether an application is received early or late in the application period.
When a case has been registered, the applicant will immediately be sent a
notification letter, which will provide appropriate visa application
instructions. The registration will at the same time be forwarded to the
consular office which will process the case; all subsequent visa processing
information will be obtained by the applicant directly from that consular
office.
Applicants
who are not registered will not be informed or notified.
Individuals
who are accepted must make their move in a timely manner. (You do not get
two years to think about it - take it or leave it.)
Remember,
any individuals taking advantage of this lottery program should dispose of
major capital assets before they leave Canada if those assets have a lot of
built in Canadian Tax Free Capital Gains. The U.S. tax system will tax that
asset at its original cost if sold by the Canadian after they are living in
the U.S.
IF YOU
NEED HELP United States Immigration (to the U.S.) (in alphabetical order)
* Greg
Boos, LLB in Bellingham at (206) 671-5945 (Fax 676-5459) (Greg Boos is
extremely knowledgeable in Native Indian Cross border Issues as well)
* Mark
Carmel, J.D. at 366 North Broadway, Jericho, New York, 11753, or 1500-5600
Yonge St., Toronto, ON, M2M 4G3, (905) 736-1792, Fax (905) 738-0756, or
*
Michael Jacobsen J.D. in Vancouver at (604) 736-0065 - Fax (604) 736-0032 or
his Everett partner
* Dennis
Olsen, J.D. (former U.S. Consul in Vancouver, now practicing in Everett, WA)
at (206) 304-1030, Fax (206) 304-1065 (Note Dennis Olsen also works with
Customs)
* Terry
Preshaw, J.D., in Vancouver at (604) 689-8472 (Fax 688-0099);
DV-96 REGISTRATION APPLICATION
________________________________
____________________________ Applicant's last name First Middle names
____________/___________/_________
Date of
birth (Month, day, year)
_________________________________
___________________________ ___________________________
City
Province / Region Country of Birth
Name,
date, and places of birth of spouse
__________________________________
___________________________ ___________________________
Spouse's
last name First Middle names
____________/___________/_________
Date of
birth (Month, day, year)
_________________________________
___________________________ ___________________________
City
Province / Region Country of Birth
Names,
dates and places of birth of child(ren)
__________________________________
____________________________ ___________________________
Child's
last name First Middle names
____________/___________/_________
Date of
birth (Month, day, year)
_________________________________
___________________________ ___________________________
City
Province / Region Country of Birth
__________________________________
___________________________ ___________________________
Child's
last name First Middle names
____________/___________/_________
Date of
birth (Month, day, year)
_________________________________
___________________________ ___________________________
City
Province / Region Country of Birth
(use
back of page if more children under 21)
APPLICANT'S
MAILING ADDRESS
__________________________________
__________________________________
Street
Address
__________________________________
________________________________
__________________________ __________________________ ____________
City
Province Country Postal code
STATEMENT
ON CHARGEABILITY:
I was
born in the nation of _________________ and am a citizen of
_________________
but I am
(married to) or (a child of) a citizen of
_______________________________________ (which qualifies as an
underrepresented country). I claim the benefits of cross-chargeability.
(fill in
countries and delete sections not applicable; remember to place a qualifying
country in the upper left hand corner of the mailing envelope)
