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Some of the questions we get are tough, others are pretty simple. We thought this was going to be a doozy, and unfortunately, we were right. According to the Department of State, "the Congressionally mandated Diversity Immigrant Visa Program makes available a maximum of 55,000 permanent residence visas each year to eligible persons." However, the program's mission is to award visas to "persons from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States." It's responsible for only a fraction of the total number of green cards awarded. In 2005, a total of 1,122,373 persons were awarded lawful permanent residence. That's up sharply from 2004, when 957,883 became LPRs. The majority (around 66%) "lived in the United States when they became LPRs." In terms of a country breakdown, Mexico accounted for 14% of the new citizens, while India made up 8%, and China was responsible for 6%. Each year the State Department undertakes the momentous task of deciding which of the many applications will be approved. For those hopeful of gaining citizenship, the process can be confusing. Those who apply should be aware of fraudulent web sites. Many look quite convincing. While researching this question, we were nearly duped
ourselves.
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