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Philly Man Helps Immigrants Apply For "Green Card Lottery"

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - A Philadelphia immigration advocate helped dozens of people qualify for the federal government's "green card" lottery, which closed on Wednesday.

Robert Braun, who operates Rosa's and document service - parked near 16th and Callowhill streets by the U.S. Immigration office - says he has seen people from several countries applying in the past month for the Diversity Visa Lottery:

"We see a lot of people from West Africa, Sierra Leone, Ghana, Nigeria. We see people from North Africa, we see people from Eastern Europe, Albania, Romania, Bulgaria. We see people from some of the smaller countries of Southeast Asia."

Braun says 50,000 people will qualify for the "Green cards" which enable them to come work and live in the United States and eventually apply for citizenship.

He says the effort is designed to increase the diversity of immigration from a variety of countries across the world.

Winners of the lottery will learn the decision on their applications next June.

Applicants applied online and submitted a digital photo to qualify for "green card" status and a path to citizenship. 

Reported by Mark Abrams, KYW Newsradio 1060

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