What is the Diversity Visa Lottery Program?
Each year, 50,000
immigrant visas are made available through a lottery to people
who come from countries with low rates of immigration to the United
States. None of these visas are available for people who come
from countries that have sent more than 50,000 immigrants to the
United States in the past five years.
If
you receive a visa through the Diversity Visa Lottery Program
you will be authorized to live and work permanently in the United
States. You will also be allowed to bring your spouse and any
unmarried children under the age of 21 to the United States.
The
State Department holds the lottery every year, and randomly selects
applicants from all qualified entries. Because
it is likely that some of the first 50,000 persons who are selected
will not qualify for visas or pursue their cases to visa issuance,
more than 50,000 entries are selected to ensure that all of the
available diversity visas are issued. However, this also means
that there will not be a sufficient number of visas for all those
who are initially selected. Once 50,000 are issued or the fiscal
year ends, the lottery is closed. Therefore, selected applicants
who wish to receive visas must be prepared to act promptly on
their cases -- random selection by the Kentucky Consular Center
computer does not automatically guarantee that you will receive
a visa.
Applicants
who are selected will be notified
by mail between May and July 2009 at the addresses listed
on their applications and be informed of their place
on the list. Interviews with those selected will begin in
October 2009. The Kentucky Consular Center will send
appointment letters to selected applicants four to six weeks
before the scheduled interviews with U.S. consular officers
at overseas posts. Each month visas will be issued, visa
number availability permitting, to those applicants who are
ready for issuance during that month.
The
latest visa lottery is for fiscal year 2010. However, the
applications
must be submitted electronically between
noon, 12:00pm EDT (GMT-4), on Thursday,
October 2, 2008 and noon, 12:00pm EST (GMT-5), on Monday, December
1, 2008 (not
before or after). You are encouraged not to wait until the last
week to submit your application because heavy demand may result
in delays on the State Department website. Paper
entries will not be accepted. Persons who are selected
are entitled to apply for an immigrant visa that will be issued
between October 1, 2009 and September 30, 2010.
Am I
Eligible?
You must be from a qualified country and meet an education
or training requirement:
- You or
your spouse must be a native of a country that is eligible to
participate in the Diversity Visa Lottery (if you were born
in an ineligible country but your spouse was born in an eligible
country, you can claim your spouse’s country of birth as
long as you are issued visas and enter the U.S. simultaneously).
You may also be eligible to apply if your parent was born in
a country that is eligible to participate (if you were born
in an ineligible country, but neither of your parents was born
there or resided there at the time of your birth, you may be
able to claim nativity in one of your parents’ country
of birth). For a list of eligible countries, click on the appropriate
region:
For DV-2010,
natives of the following countries are not eligible:
BRAZIL, CANADA, CHINA
(mainland-born), COLOMBIA, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, ECUADOR, EL SALVADOR, GUATEMALA, HAITI,
INDIA, JAMAICA, MEXICO, PAKISTAN, PHILIPPINES, PERU, POLAND, SOUTH KOREA, UNITED KINGDOM (except Northern Ireland) and its dependent
territories, and VIETNAM.
Persons born in Hong Kong SAR, Macau
SAR and Taiwan are eligible. For DV-2010, Russia has returned to the list of eligible countries. Kosovo has also been added to the list of eligible countries. No countries have been removed from the list of eligible countries for DV-2010.
- You
must also have a high school diploma or the equivalent, defined
as successful completion of a 12-year course of elementary and
secondary education; OR you must have two years of work experience
within the last five years in an
occupation that requires at least two years of training or experience
to perform.
To determine eligibility
based on work experience, definitions from the Department of Labor’s
O*Net OnLine database will be used. Follow these steps to find out if your occupation qualifies: Select “Find Occupations” and then select a specific “Job Family.” For example, select Architecture and Engineering and click “GO.” Then click on the link for the specific Occupation. Following the same example, click Aerospace Engineers. After selecting a specific Occupation link, select the tab “Job Zone” to find out the designated Job Zone number and Specific Vocational Preparation (SVP) rating range. To qualify for a Diversity Visa on the basis of your work experience, you must have, within the past five years, two years of experience in an occupation that is designated as Job Zone 4 or 5, classified in a Specific Vocational Preparation (SVP) range of 7.0 or higher.
How Do I Apply?
Follow
all directions exactly. Millions of applications are rejected
each year for failure to follow the directions.
- Entries
for the DV-2010 must be must
be submitted electronically between
noon, 12:00pm EDT (GMT-4), on Thursday,
October 2, 2008 and noon, 12:00pm EST (GMT-5), on Monday, December 1, 2008 (not
before or after) at http://www.dvlottery.state.gov.
You are encouraged not to wait until the last week to submit
your application because heavy demand may result in delays
on the State Department website. Paper entries will
not be accepted.
- You may prepare
and submit your own entry, or have someone submit the entry for
you. Failure to complete the form in its entirety will disqualify
your entry.
- You will
be asked to submit the following information:
| 1. |
Full
name
Last/Family
Name, First Name, Middle name |
|
2. |
Date
of birth
Day,
Month, Year
|
| 3. |
Gender
Male
or Female |
4. |
City/Town
of Birth |
5. |
Country
of Birth
The name
of the country should be that which is currently in use for
the place where you were born.
|
| 6. |
Country
of Eligibility or Chargeability for the DV Program
Your country of eligibility will normally be the same as your country of birth. If you were born in a country that is not eligible for this year’s DV program, you may still be able to claim “chargeability” to the country where your spouse was born or where one of your parents was born, with certain restrictions -- see our frequently asked question #1 . Your country of eligibility is not related to where you live. |
7. |
Your
Recent Photograph (also see #15 and #16 for spouse
& children)
You will
need a computer file containing your digital photo (image)
which will be submitted online with your entry form. The image
file can be produced either by taking a new digital photograph
or by scanning a photographic print with a digital scanner.
If
the submitted digital images do not conform to the following
technical specifications, the system will automatically reject
the entry form and notify the sender:
- Color photographs in 24-bit color depth are required. Black and white, monochrome, or grayscale photographs will NOT be accepted.
- The
image must be in JPEG format (Joint Photographic Experts
Group).
- The
maximum image file size is 240 kilobytes (240 KB).
- The image resolution must be 600 pixels high by 600 pixels wide.
You can verify that your photograph meets the technical requirements by testing it at: http://www.dvlottery.state.gov/photo.aspx
If
the submitted digital images do not conform to the following
specifications, or if they are manipulated or not recent,
the entry will be disqualified:
- You
must be directly facing the camera; your head should not
be tilted up, down or to the side, and should cover about
50% of the area of the photo.
- The
photo should have you in front of a neutral, light-colored
background. Photos taken with very dark or patterned, busy
backgrounds will not be accepted.
- Photos
in which your face is not in focus will not be accepted.
- Photos
in which you are wearing sunglasses or other paraphernalia
that detracts from your face will not be accepted.
- Photos
with head coverings or hats are only acceptable due to religious
beliefs, and even then, may not obscure any portion of your
face. Photos with tribal or other headgear not specifically
religious in nature are not acceptable. Photos of military,
airline or other personnel wearing hats will not be accepted.
|
8. |
Mailing
Address
In Care of, Address Line 1, Address Line 2,
City/Town, District/Country/Province/State, Postal Code/Zip
Code, Country
This
must be clear and complete, because any future mailings will
be sent there. |
| 9. |
Country Where You Live Today |
10. |
Phone
Number (optional) |
11. |
Email
Address (optional) |
12. |
The Highest Level of Education You Have Achieved, As of Today
You must indicate which one of the following represents your own highest level of educational achievement: (1) Primary school only, (2) High school, no degree, (3)
High school degree, (4) Vocational school, (5) Some university courses, (6) University degree, (7) Some graduate level courses, (8) Master degree, (9) Some doctorate level courses, and (10) Doctorate degree.
|
13. |
Marriage
Status
Unmarried,
Married, Divorced, Widowed, or Legally Separated |
14. |
Number
of Children that are unmarried and under 21 years of age (except
children who are already U.S. legal permanent residents or
U.S. citizens)
Include all natural children, as well as all legally-adopted and stepchildren,
who are unmarried and under the age of 21, except those children
who are already U.S. citizens or Legal Permanent Residents,
even if you are no longer legally married to the child’s
parent, and even if the spouse or child does not currently
reside with you and/or will not immigrate with you.
Failure
to list all such children will result in your disqualification
for the visa. Married children and children 21 years or older
will not qualify for the Diversity Visa. However, if your electronic DV entry is made before your unmarried child turns 21, and the child turns 21 before visa issuance, he/she will be treated as though he/she were under 21 for visa-processing purposes. |
15. |
Spouse
Information
Name,
Date of Birth, Gender, City/Town of Birth, Country of Birth,
Photograph
Failure
to list your spouse will result in your disqualification
for the visa. The
recent photograph of your spouse has the same requirements
as the one you submit for yourself (see #7 above). Group or
family photos will not be accepted; there must be a separate
photo for each family member. |
16. |
Children
Information
Name,
Date of Birth, Gender, City/Town of Birth, Country of Birth,
Photographs
Include
all children declared in #14 above
The
recent photographs for each child have the same requirements
as the one you submit for yourself (see #7 above). Group or
family photos will not be accepted; there must be a separate
photo for each family member.
|
How Much
Does the Lottery Cost?
There is no fee for entering the diversity visa lottery.
If you win, you must pay a fee for an immigrant visa and a separate
diversity visa case processing fee.
While
you may apply for the lottery yourself without a fee, you may also
choose to have a private service
assist you. These firms will generally charge between $50-$70.
An attorney will typically charge more.
A qualified
entry submitted electronically directly by you has an equal chance
of being selected by the computer at the Kentucky Consular Center
as does an entry submitted electronically by a private service or
attorney who completes the entry for you. Every entry received during
the lottery registration period will have an equal random chance
of being selected within its region. However, receipt of more than
one entry per person will disqualify the person from registration,
regardless of the source of that entry.
Please
note:
There
is no fee charged by the U.S. Government for sending an entry
to the lottery program. A diversity processing fee is only charged
after you win, when you apply for the diversity visa at a U.S. Consular
office. At that time, you and each accompanying family member will
be charged a diversity visa processing fee and an immigrant visa
fee. Both of these fees are not refundable if the visa is refused.
If the visa is issued, a separate visa issuance fee is charged for
each visa.
How Can
I Find Out If I Won?
Starting with DV-2010, all entrants, including those NOT selected, will be able to check the status of their entry through the E-DV website and find out if their entry was or was not selected. Entrants should keep their own confirmation page information from the time of their entry (October 2, 2008, to December 1, 2008) until they may check the status of their entry online. Status information for DV-2010 will be available online from July 1, 2009, until June 30, 2010.
Applicants will be selected at random by computer from
among all qualified entries. Those selected will be notified by
mail (not by email) between May and July 2009 at the addresses listed on their
applications. Only the winners will be notified. Persons not selected
will NOT receive any notification, so check your status online before June 30, 2010. U.S. embassies and consulates
will NOT be able to provide a list of successful applicants.
Winners
will be sent instructions and information on fees. Being selected
as a winner in the diversity visa lottery does not automatically
guarantee that you will be issued a visa, even if you are qualified.
The number of entries selected is greater than the number of immigrant
visas available, because not everyone selected will be qualified
for the visa or will choose to complete the processing.
Interviews
with those selected will begin in early October 2009. The Kentucky
Consular Center will send appointment letters to selected applicants
four to six weeks before the scheduled interviews with U.S.
consular officers at overseas posts. Each month visas will be
issued, visa number availability permitting, to those applicants
who are ready for issuance during that month.
Once all 50,000 visas have been issued, the diversity visa program
for the year will end.
DV-2010 visas
will be issued between October 1, 2009 and September 30, 2010.
Applicants must meet ALL eligibility requirements under U.S.
law in order to be issued visas. Processing of entries and issuance
of diversity visas to successful applicants and their eligible
family members MUST occur by midnight on September 30, 2010.
Under no circumstances can diversity visas be issued or adjustments
approved after this date, nor can family members obtain diversity
visas to follow to join the applicant in the U.S. after this
date.
HELP!
List of Qualifying Countries by Region
AFRICA
ALGERIA
ANGOLA
BENIN
BOTSWANA
BURKINA FASO
BURUNDI
CAMEROON
CAPE VERDE
CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC
CHAD
COMOROS
CONGO
CONGO, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE
COTE D’IVOIRE (IVORY COAST)
DJIBOUTI
EGYPT
EQUATORIAL GUINEA
ERITREA
ETHIOPIA
GABON
GAMBIA, THE
GHANA
GUINEA
GUINEA-BISSAU
KENYA
LESOTHO
LIBERIA
LIBYA
MADAGASCAR
MALAWI
MALI
MAURITANIA
MAURITIUS
MOROCCO
MOZAMBIQUE
NAMIBIA
NIGER
NIGERIA
RWANDA
SAO TOME AND PRINCIPE
SENEGAL
SEYCHELLES
SIERRA LEONE
SOMALIA
SOUTH AFRICA
SUDAN
SWAZILAND
TANZANIA
TOGO
TUNISIA
UGANDA
ZAMBIA
ZIMBABWE
Note: Persons born in the Gaza Strip are chargeable to Egypt.
AFGHANISTAN
BAHRAIN
BANGLADESH
BHUTAN
BRUNEI
BURMA
CAMBODIA
EAST TIMOR
HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION
INDONESIA
IRAN
IRAQ
ISRAEL
JAPAN
JORDAN
KUWAIT
LAOS
LEBANON
MALAYSIA
MALDIVES
MONGOLIA
NEPAL
NORTH KOREA
OMAN
QATAR
SAUDI ARABIA
SINGAPORE
SRI LANKA
SYRIA
TAIWAN
THAILAND
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
YEMEN
Natives of the following Asian countries are not eligible for this year’s diversity program: CHINA - [mainland-born ], INDIA, PAKISTAN, SOUTH KOREA,
PHILIPPINES, and VIETNAM. The HONG KONG S.A.R. and TAIWAN do
qualify and are listed above. MACAU S.A.R. also qualifies and
is listed below (EUROPE).
Persons born in the areas administered prior to June 1967 by Israel, Jordan, and Syria are chargeable, respectively, to Israel, Jordan, and Syria.
ALBANIA
ANDORRA
ARMENIA
AUSTRIA
AZERBAIJAN
BELARUS
BELGIUM
BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA
BULGARIA
CROATIA
CYPRUS
CZECH REPUBLIC
DENMARK (including components and dependent areas overseas)
ESTONIA
FINLAND
FRANCE (including components and dependent areas overseas)
GEORGIA
GERMANY
GREECE
HUNGARY
ICELAND
IRELAND
ITALY
KAZAKHSTAN
KOSOVO
KYRGYZSTAN
LATVIA
LIECHTENSTEIN
LITHUANIA
LUXEMBOURG
MACAU SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION
MACEDONIA
MALTA
MOLDOVA
MONACO
MONTENEGRO
NETHERLANDS (including components and dependent areas overseas)
NORTHERN IRELAND
NORWAY
PORTUGAL (including components and dependent areas overseas)
ROMANIA
RUSSIA
SAN MARINO
SERBIA
SLOVAKIA
SLOVENIA
SPAIN
SWEDEN
SWITZERLAND
TAJIKISTAN
TURKEY
TURKMENISTAN
UKRAINE
UZBEKISTAN
VATICAN CITY
Natives of the following European countries are not eligible for this year’s diversity program: GREAT BRITAIN and POLAND.
GREAT BRITAIN (UNITED KINGDOM) includes the following dependent
areas: ANGUILLA, BERMUDA, BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS, CAYMAN ISLANDS,
FALKLAND ISLANDS, GIBRALTAR, MONTSERRAT, PITCAIRN, ST. HELENA,
TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS. Note that for purposes of the diversity
program only, Northern Ireland is treated separately; Northern
Ireland does qualify and is listed among the
qualifying areas.
BAHAMAS,
THE
(In North
America, natives of CANADA and MEXICO do not qualify
for this year's diversity program.)
AUSTRALIA
(including components and dependent areas overseas)
FIJI
KIRIBATI
MARSHALL ISLANDS
MICRONESIA, FEDERATED STATES OF
NAURU
NEW ZEALAND (including components and dependent areas overseas)
PALAU
PAPUA NEW GUINEA
SAMOA
SOLOMON ISLANDS
TONGA
TUVALU
VANUATU
SOUTH AMERICA, CENTRAL AMERICA, AND THE CARIBBEAN
ANTIGUA
AND BARBUDA
ARGENTINA
BARBADOS
BELIZE
BOLIVIA
CHILE
COSTA RICA
CUBA
DOMINICA
GRENADA
GUYANA
HONDURAS
NICARAGUA
PANAMA
PARAGUAY
SAINT KITTS AND NEVIS
SAINT LUCIA
SAINT VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES
SURINAME
TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO
URUGUAY
VENEZUELA
(Countries in this region whose natives are not eligible for this year’s diversity program are: BRAZIL, COLOMBIA, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, ECUADOR, EL SALVADOR,
GUATEMALA, HAITI, JAMAICA, MEXICO, and PERU.
The
information provided in this website is not legal advice and
should not be interpreted as legal advice. This website is intended
to provide a basic understanding of this information in summary
form. This information may not be comprehensive, is subject
to change, and may not apply to all individual circumstances.
Any information received here should be confirmed with the appropriate
government agencies or with an attorney, particularly as it
relates to your individual circumstances. Your use of this website
indicates your agreement to be bound by our Terms
of Use.
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