The US embassy has announced a new immigrant visa lottery. The Diversity Immigrant Visa Lottery (DV-99) programme will be held this year. Irish-born people will be able to apply for an immigrant visa which gives the right to live and work in the US.
The registration period will be for 30 days from noon on October 24th, 1997, to noon on November 24th, 1997. The number of visas available to each eligible country is determined at random, up to a maximum of 3,850 per country.
Successful applicants must have a pass Leaving Certificate or two years work experience within the last five years in a skilled occupation as defined by the US Department of Labour. They do not have to have an actual offer of employment, but must be capable of supporting themselves in the US.
An embassy spokesman said that although a number of people and organisations advertised in newspapers promising visa assistance and help in getting "green cards", the DV programme was a "pure lottery".
"Anyone who can clearly write his or her name and address on a piece of paper can enter. The only cost to enter the lottery is the price of the paper and postage," he said.
For information on preparing entries, phone the US embassy for a recorded message at 01 667 2707, or 01 668 8049.