Visa Lottery To Require Applicants to File Online

Foreigners who want to participate in a lottery for US immigrant visas must now do so online.

The US State Department announced yesterday it would no longer accept mailed or paper applications for the diversity visa lottery, an option for foreigners who are not eligible for visas through business or family ties.

Applications filed electronically will cost the department less, reduce duplicate filings and be more reliable for some applicants than their home country mail service, said Kelly Shannon, Bureau of Consular Affairs spokeswoman.

Applicants will apply through the consular affairs Web site and will be required to submit a digital photo.

About 6 million people apply to participate in the visa lottery annually, the department said. From those applications, about 90,000 to 100,000 are chosen to vie for the chance for one of about 55,000 visas, Shannon said. Those chosen must go through another application process before the visa is granted.

Carl Shusterman, a Los Angeles immigration lawyer, criticized the rule as elitist.

"Some of the winners are in incredibly poor countries like Bangladesh," he said. "In those cases you have to wonder, do people even have electricity?"