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)
CEN-TA Cross Border Services - Tax, Visas, Immigration
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