Diversity Visa Program

Under the Immigration Act, “diversity immigrants” refer to foreign nationals selected by the Diversity Immigrant Visa Lottery.

This is open only for applicants from eligible countries that have a historically low immigration rate to the U.S.

Every fiscal year, only a limited number of immigrant visas are available for the participants of this program. For this reason, the Diversity Visa Program is also known as the Green Card Lottery (or DV Lottery).

The U.S. immigration laws set strict requirements for the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program and its application process.

If you do not complete your lottery entry form correctly or if you submit it at the wrong time, you will be automatically disqualified from the DV program.

For entry into the Green Card Lottery (aka, the DV program), you must:

• Be a citizen of a foreign country with a low immigration rate to the United States. This list may change periodically as it is issued every year by the Department of State
• Have graduated from at least high school (or comparable to completion of a 12-year course in the U.S.)
• Have at least two years of qualifying work experience
• Not be eligible for any other way to get U.S. citizenship
• Hold a valid passport

There are strict eligibility requirements for this program. If you are selected but do not meet the requirements, your immigrant visa will not be issued.

Applicants must meet general requirements applicable to all immigrants, such as passing health and criminal background checks and demonstrating sufficient means of support.

There are two major eligibility parameters for the Green Card Lottery:

1. Requirement of Education and Work Experience

To be eligible for the immigrant visa after being selected, applicants must meet have completed a high school education or have two years of work experience in an occupation that requires at least two years of training or experience.

2. Country of Origin

Applicants must have been born in a country that has sent less than 50,000 immigrants to the United States in the previous 5 years – not including diversity immigrants, refugees, or asylum seekers.

If your native country is not eligible for the Diversity Visa, there are still two ways you can qualify.

• You can claim your spouse’s country of birth, provided they were born in an eligible country or
• If neither of your parents was born or legally resided in your country of birth at the time of your birth, you can choose your mother’s or father’s country of birth.

It is important to note that your country of residence or nationality is not a factor in the lottery.

The Diversity Visa Program is open every year for four to five weeks. It is usually held in the fall but there is no fixed date for it. Results are then available in the spring of the following year.

Once the registrations are open, you can submit your application. This is an online form that cannot be downloaded or printed and must be submitted electronically. There is no charge for registering, nor fee to enter the lottery and you can not submit more than one entry.

You can access the form through the U.S. State Department’s official website. Please keep in mind that the application can only be done on this website and not on any other internet sites. No paper entries are accepted for the Diversity Visa Lottery.

If you have a spouse or children at the time of your application, you must include them on your original entry form. Otherwise, your case will be disqualified.

When you complete your registration, you will receive a confirmation number. You will need it the following year to check the status of your entry and to confirm your participation in case you have been chosen.

Each year, the DOS (Department of State) conducts a random selection of those who have submitted an entry. This is also based on available visas in each country from all the registered participants who have sent in their applications.

All the information about successful applicants in the annual lottery is updated on the Electronic Diversity Visa website. Please note that the DOS will not notify winners of the lottery program. The only way to check the status of your entry is to access the website through your lottery confirmation number. If you have lost it, the DOS will not be able to resend another confirmation number to you.

Selected lottery winners will be directed to a confirmation page where they will get further instructions on how to proceed, including the fees connected with their ongoing application.

The Diversity Visa Lottery Program is completely managed by the U.S. Department of State (DOS). If you are a permanent resident in the United States at the time you are selected, the USCIS will process your adjustment of status.

Before proceeding with your application, the USCIS needs to assess if you:

• Have correctly applied to and won the lottery
• Are already in the U.S. on an immigrant visa
• Are eligible to file a Form I-485 (Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status)
• Are legally admissible to the U.S.

Once you have been selected as a Diversity visa lottery recipient, you can proceed with your application to legally immigrate to the United States.

You will need to scan and email a valid DS-260 application form along with your other documents.

Your Diversity Visa Program visa interview can be scheduled only after you have submitted your application bundle, which must include:

• Your birth certificate
• Any court or prison records
• Military records (if applicable)
• Police certificates
• Photocopy of your passport’s biographic data page

Importance of the Diversity Visa Program

Every year, the Diversity Visa program grants permanent residency to individuals selected at random from countries with low immigration rates to the United States.

This program provides a legal avenue for individuals and families who would otherwise have no means of immigrating to the United States.

Many people around the world apply for this lottery every year to get the benefits associated with living in the US, but less than 0.5% of applicants are accepted.

How Many Diversity Visas are Allocated to Each Country?

The Diversity Visa program distributes visas among six regions: Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, North America and Oceania.

Within each region, visas are randomly allocated among all applicants from that region, but no single country can receive more than 7% of the total diversity visas.

Regions that sent more than one-sixth of the total number of immigrants to the United States in the previous five years are considered “high-admission regions,” while those that sent less than one-sixth are “low-admission regions”.

The proportion of Diversity Visas given to the low-admission group is based on the proportion of recent immigrants from the high-admission group and vice versa.

Ineligible Countries

The list of eligible countries can change each year. The following countries’ natives are ineligible for the DV-2024 lottery, which had its entry period in 2022. Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, China (including Hong Kong), Colombia, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, South Korea, United Kingdom (excluding Northern Ireland) and its dependent territories, Venezuela, and Vietnam. Get in touch with an immigration expert if you are uncertain if you qualify to take part in the Diversity Lottery.

Entering the Diversity Visa Lottery Guarantees a Visa

One common myth is that entering the lottery guarantees a visa. However, winning the lottery only makes an individual eligible to apply for a visa and there are a limited number of visas available.

Winning the Diversity Visa Lottery Means Automatic Citizenship

Another misconception about the Diversity Visa Lottery is that winning the lottery means automatic citizenship.

However, winning the lottery is only the first step in the immigration process. After winning the lottery, applicants must undergo a rigorous screening process, including background checks, medical exams and interviews before being granted a visa.

Even after receiving a visa, applicants must still meet residency and other requirements before they can become US citizens.

It is Easy to Cheat the Diversity Visa Lottery System

Some people believe that it is easy to cheat the Diversity Visa Lottery system. However, the US government takes fraud and misuse of the program very seriously.

The Department of State has implemented strict rules and regulations to ensure the integrity of the program. Applicants who are found to have committed fraud or cheated the system will be disqualified from the program and could face legal consequences.

The Diversity Visa Lottery is a Scam

This misconception is likely due to the many scams and fraudulent activities that have been associated with the program. It is important to understand that the Diversity Visa Lottery is a legitimate program, and the only way to apply is through the official website of the US Department of State.