Green card hopes alive

Hong Kong Chinese are still eligible for the US green card lottery even though mainlanders are banned.

Washington announced yesterday it would accept 7,254 immigrants from certain Asian nations in the draw for 55,000 places.

It will allow Hong Kong people to apply for permanent residents' visas under its policy of treating the SAR separately to China.

Chinese citizens are understood to be excluded from the draw because of the country's high level of immigration to America.

Taiwanese are also banned, as are applicants from India, the Philippines, South Korea and Vietnam.

The US is moving the draw to autumn, instead of February and March, to give missions abroad more time to process visas, officials said.