The winners of the visa lottery to reside in the United States have started receiving official notifications that they can start the processing. In Cuba, the visa was granted to 2,703 people, which ranked the island in 11th place in the world, the State Department reported this Thursday.
A total of 83,884 applicants were chosen throughout the world. According to immigration officials, this is a normal number because the consulates take into account that not everyone appears or don’t meet the requirements.
The total quota of the lottery is 55,000, but making draws where more can fit in is also a consequence of the fact that there is no quota per country. Almost 14 million people participated in the lottery.
In addition, another reduction is proposed in the 83,884 visas given out if they do not meet the consular requirements. The Bulletin of the Office of Consular Affairs of the Department of State published in a release that during the visa interview (at the consulates), the heads of households must demonstrate having completed secondary education or the equivalent, or two years of experience in a profession that requires at least two years of training and has been exercised in the last five years. It added that the chosen applicants must initiate the proceedings immediately, with the obligation to follow the instructions in the notification letter and to fully complete the form.
The bulletin also indicates the categories in which the beneficiaries will be inserted, which is the normal one for the other immigrant visa applicants and informs the date in which the different categories are being processed, be it of relatives, different levels of kinship, work or general.
Some categories have a 10-year delay.
