Which Countries Are Not Eligible For Dv Lottery 2023?
Contents
Which countries are rejected for DV lottery?
What countries didn’t make the list? – As the aim of the Diversity Visa is to diversify the population of the United States of America, the government has found it necessary to remove countries from the eligible list. If your country didn’t make the list, the reason is because more than 50, 000 nationals from your country have already arrived in America in the past five years.
Residents and nationals from any of the following countries are, unfortunately, ineligible to apply for the green card lottery in this years draw: Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, China (mainland born), Colombia, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, South Korea, United Kingdom (except Northern Ireland) and its dependent territories, and Vietnam.
If your homeland doesn’t feature above then you’re welcome to enter the lottery, so click here to apply.
Who is eligible for DV Lottery 2023?
DV Lottery 2023 Eligibility Criteria – For someone to be able to apply for the DV lottery, they must meet some eligibility criteria. Here are the requirements:
The applicant must be born in a qualifying country. You can see the list of eligible countries by checking the Diversity Lottery Instructions, page 16.You must have a high school education or an equivalent, or at least two years of experience in qualifying work. To get more information on this, you can check the Diversity Lottery Instructions, pages 2 and 9.You need a passport, more specifically a passport that is currently valid. At the same time, there are some exceptions for stateless individuals, as well as some people coming from countries controlled by communism. If this applies to you, it is important to check the Diversity Lottery Instructions, pages 10 and 11.You need photographs that you took no more than six months before you submit the lottery package. It is not permitted to wear eyeglasses in the photograph. Moreover, you are not allowed to submit the same photograph you submitted the previous year, as it will be disqualified. For more instructions and specifications regarding the photograph, you can check pages 4, 6, and 8 of the Diversity Lottery Instructions.
Which countries cannot apply for DV Lottery 2024?
The U.S. Department of State (DOS) has released its instructions for the Diversity Immigrant Visa “Green Card” Lottery Program (DV-2024) for fiscal year 2024 (October 1, 2023, through September 30, 2024). The Lottery Program for DV-2024 registration will be open for only 34 days from October 5, 2022 at noon (EST) through close at noon (EST) on November 8 th,
- There are no significant changes from last year’s Lottery Program.
- The DOS makes 55,000 “green cards” available annually to persons from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States.
- Applicants for Diversity Visas are chosen by a computer-generated random lottery drawing.
- The DOS will notify a participant’s selection exclusively online.
Beginning in May 2023, applicants can check the status of their registration online via Entry Status Check at www.dvlottery.state.gov to determine whether they were selected. Entry Status Check will also notify selected participants and provide them with instructions on the procedures for the application process and will confirm appointments for visa interviews.
All entrants must check on the DOS website via the Entry Status Check to determine whether they have been selected to participate in the Lottery. The Entry Status Check is the ONLY manner in which entrants will be notified of their selection. The DOS will NOT mail any correspondence to the selected applicants nor will it send out an email.
Furthermore, the Entry Status Check will be the only way in which selected individuals will be provided further instructions on immigrant visa procedures. The Diversity Visa “green cards” are available only to citizens of countries with lower rates of immigration and no visas are available to citizens of countries sending more than 50,000 immigrants to the United States in the past five years.
Within each region, no country may receive more than 7% of the available Diversity Visa “green cards” in any one year. Countries Ineligible to Participate in DV-2024 Lottery Program For the DV-2024 Lottery Program, natives of the following countries are not eligible to apply because they are the principal source countries of Family-Sponsored and Employment-Based immigration, or “high admission” countries: Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, China (including Hong Kong SAR), Colombia, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Republic of Korea (South Korea), United Kingdom (which includes Anguilla, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, Montserrat, Pitcairn, St.
Helena, Turks and Caicos Islands – but not Northern Ireland), Venezuela and Vietnam. Foreign nationals born in Macau SAR and Taiwan are eligible for the Diversity Visa Lottery. Last year, natives of Hong Kong SAR and Venezuela were eligible to participate in the DV-2023 Lottery Program but are not eligible to participate in the DV-2024 Lottery Program.
Additionally, last year, natives of Peru were not eligible to participate in the DV-2023 Lottery Program but are eligible to participate in the DV-2024 Lottery Program. NOTE: Even if you were born in one of the ineligible countries you may still qualify for a Diversity Visa if your spouse was born in an eligible country (and you are applying for the visa together) or if one of your parents was either born in or at the time of your birth was a legal resident of an eligible country.
Registration Procedures The entries for the DV-2024 Lottery Program must be submitted electronically between noon (EDT/GMT-4) Tuesday, October 5, 2022 through noon (EST/GMT-5) Monday, November 8, 2022. The DOS will only accept entries made on an electronic diversity entry form which will be available at www.dvlottery.state.gov during the registration period.
The DOS will not accept mail-in entries. Only one entry by and for each person during each registration period is permitted. Receipt of more than one entry per person will disqualify the person from registration, regardless of the source of the entry. The procedures for submitting an entry in the DV-2024 Lottery Program are as follows: Entry Form Contents.
The DOS will only accept completed Electronic Diversity Visa Entry Forms submitted electronically at www.dvlottery.state.gov during the registration period. All entries by an applicant will be disqualified if more than one entry for the applicant is received, regardless of who submitted the entry.
The entry form will ask the applicant to submit the following information: Full name; (exactly as shown on your passport); Date of birth; Gender; City/town and Country of birth; Country of eligibility or chargeability; Photograph according to the specifications described below; Current mailing address; Country where you live today; Phone number (optional); Email address; Highest level of education completed; Marriage status; Number of children that are unmarried and under the age of 21 years of age and each child’s information including name, date of birth, gender, city/town of birth, country of birth and photograph that meets the previously described specifications (failure to list all children, who are eligible, will result in disqualification of the principal applicant and refusal of all visas in the case at the time of the visa interview); and Spouse’s information, including name, date of birth, gender, city/town of birth, country of birth and spouse’s photograph that meets the previously described specifications (failure to list your spouse will result in disqualification of the principal applicant and refusal of all visas in the case at the time of the visa interview).
Photograph Requirements. The entry will be disqualified if photographs are not submitted of the applicant, his/her spouse and each child under the age of 21 (including all natural children as well as legally-adopted and stepchildren, except a child who is already a U.S.
citizen or lawful permanent resident) even if the child no longer resides with the applicant and does not intend to immigrate under the Lottery Program. The photographs must be submitted electronically with the entry form. Group or family photos will not be accepted. There must be a separate photo for each family member.
Each applicant, his/her spouse and each child will therefore need a computer file containing his/her digital photograph which will be submitted on-line with the 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.
- The submitted digital images must conform to the following specifications: New Digital Image 1.
- The image must be in the Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG) format; 2.
- The image must be in color – 24 bits per pixel (black and white or 8-bit images will not be accepted); 3.
- The maximum image size accepted is 240 kilobytes (240KB); 4.
The minimum dimensions accepted are 600 pixels (width) by 600 pixels (height) and the height must equal the width; Scanning a Submitted Photograph 5. Scanner Resolution must be at least 300 dots per inch (dpi); 6. The image must be in the Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG) format; 7.
The maximum image file size accepted is 240 kilobytes (240KB); 8. Image resolution must be 600 by 600 pixels; 9. The image must be in color – 24 bits per pixel (black and white or 8-bit images will not be accepted); Additional Specifications 10. The applicant, spouse or child must be directly facing the camera; 11.
The head of the person being photographed must directly face the camera and should not be tilted up, down or to the side; 12. The head should cover about 50% of the area of the photograph; 13. The photograph should be taken with the person being photographed in front of a neutral, light-colored background (photographs taken with a very dark or patterned background will not be accepted); 14.
- Photographs in which the face of the person being photographed is not in focus will not be accepted; 15.
- Photographs in which the person being photographed is wearing sunglasses or other paraphernalia which detracts from the face will not be accepted; and 16.
- Photographs of applicants wearing head coverings or hats are only acceptable due to religious beliefs and still may not obscure any portion of the face of the applicant.
DOS Processing of Entries After an applicant submits his/her entry, the DOS will send him/her an electronic confirmation notice of receipt of a completed entry form. Applicants will be selected at random by computer from among qualified entries. All entrants must check on the DOS website via the Entry Status Check whether they have been selected to participate in the Lottery on or after May 6, 2023 through September 30, 2024.
- The Entry Status Check is the ONLY manner in which entrants will be notified of their selection.
- The DOS will NOT mail any correspondence to the selected applicants nor will it send out an email.
- The DOS normally notifies more than 100,000+ applicants that they have been selected through the DV Lottery Program.
However, only 55,000 “green cards” are available annually. The green cards based upon the DV-2024 Lottery Program will be issued between October 1, 2023 and September 30, 2024. However, because more individuals will be registered than there are immigrant visas available, a registered applicant who wishes to receive his/her immigrant visa must be prepared to act quickly after being notified, especially if he/she is assigned a favorable lottery number in the random selection process.
The DOS emphasized that random selection in the lottery process does NOT guarantee that an applicant will receive a “green card.” Education or Work Experience Required In order to qualify for a “green card” through the Diversity Visa Lottery Program, each applicant must have at least a high school education or its equivalent or, within the past five years, have two years of work experience in an occupation requiring at least two years of training.
A high school education or its equivalent is defined as successful completion of a 12-year course of elementary and secondary education in the United States or successful completion in another country of a formal course of elementary and secondary education comparable to a high school education in the United States.
- Evidence of educational work experience should not be submitted with the lottery entry but must be submitted to the consular official or U.S.
- Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) officer at the time of the visa or adjustment of status interview.
- In order to determine eligibility based on work experience, definitions from the Department of Labor’s (DOL) O*Net On-Line database will be used.
DOS Does Not Charge to Enter the DV Lottery Program There is no charge to enter the annual DV Lottery Program. The DOS does not employ outside consultants or private services to operate the program. A qualified entry submitted electronically directly by the applicant has an equal chance of being selected by the computer at the DOS Kentucky Consular Center as does an entry submitted electronically through a paid intermediary who completes the entry for the applicant.
- However, if an applicant or a paid intermediary submits more than one entry per person, the person will be disqualified from the program.
- A special DV Lottery Case processing fee will be payable later to the DOS by persons who “win” the lottery and are processed for a “green card” based upon the lottery program.
©2023 Masuda, Funai, Eifert & Mitchell, Ltd. All rights reserved. This publication should not be construed as legal advice or legal opinion on any specific facts or circumstances. The contents are intended solely for informational purposes and you should not act or rely upon information contained herein without consulting a lawyer for advice.
How can I increase my chances of winning the green card lottery?
The first thing you should do is make sure that you fill out the forms correctly and meet all requirements of the green card lottery. Next, if you are legally married, take advantage of that and apply on two different forms to double your chances of success.
How can I increase my chances of winning DV lottery 2023?
Both Spouses, If Eligible, Should Enter the Diversity Visa Lottery Drawing – The best way to increase your family’s chances of success is to have all eligible family members register for the DV lottery. For details on who meets the country, educational, and other eligibility requirements, see Winning a Green Card Through the Visa Lottery,
A winning applicant can bring both spouse and unmarried children under age 21. For example, let’s say you and your spouse are both citizens of New Zealand, you both work in skilled jobs, and both graduated from secondary school. As a family, you now have two eligible applicants who might win the lottery.
You can file one application under your name, and your spouse can file one application under their name. You will each receive a confirmation number. If one of you wins, the other applies for a U.S. green card as a derivative spouse. It is important to remember that each person applying for a diversity visa must meet the eligibility requirements.
Is DV lottery 2023 over?
The U.S. Department of State Electronic Diversity Visa Entrant Status Check for DV-2024 applicants is available until September 30, 2024. The Entrant Status Check for DV-2023 applicants will remain open until September 30, 2023.
Which country has the highest chance in the DV Lottery?
Diversity visa lottery 2023 results – Immigrant visas allow visa lottery winners to live and work legally and permanently in the United States with lawful permanent residence. A maximum of 7% of the program’s visas are available to persons born in any single country, authorities said.
How many people won the DV Lottery 2024?
The U.S. Department of State has announced the winners for the 2024 Diversity Visa lottery, Out of the millions who entered last year’s lottery, 55,000 applicants have been selected to apply for permanent resident status. The Diversity Immigrant Visa Program provides foreign nationals from countries that typically do not send many immigrants to the U.S.
a chance to obtain green cards. The program is often used by applicants who otherwise would not have a path to legal immigration in the United States. The entry process is simple — applicants fill out an online form and there is no fee to enter. To check whether they’ve been selected, entrants must visit the ” DV Entrant Status Check ” portal on the State Department website.
On the site, foreign nationals can enter the confirmation information they received when registering for the visa lottery to check their status. The State Department does not notify selectees directly (either by mail or email), so the only way to confirm whether you’ve been selected is through the status check portal.
Results will be available on the portal through the end of September 2023. Being selected in the lottery does not guarantee an applicant will be approved for a green card — it simply means they are eligible to apply for a diversity visa. If selected, applicants must complete the green card application process to prove they are admissible to the U.S.
The process itself includes filing Form DS-260 (the online immigrant visa application), attending a visa interview at a U.S. Embassy or consulate, and paying any required government filing fees, Selectees are encouraged to start the application process as soon as possible, as all of the diversity visas available this fiscal year must be issued no later than September 30, 2024.
Where to play DV Lottery 2024?
The only authorized Department of State website for official online entry in the Diversity Visa Program and Entrant Status Check is dvprogram.state.gov.
How old can apply for DV Lottery 2024?
How can I apply for a Green Card Lottery System with iVisa.com? – To apply for a Diversity Visa Lottery, you don’t have to meet any Green Card Lottery Maximum Age Limit criteria. However, if you meet all other criteria, you can complete your application procedure with us in just three steps that are:
First, you need to visit our website to fill out an application form with the essential data Second, double-check all the data you have filled in the form and pay the processing fee Third, upload your documents if needed and send the form.
Who is eligible for DV 2024?
In addition to the nationality requirements, applicants must possess at least a high school diploma or its equivalent; or two years of work experience in an occupation that requires at least two years of training or experience.
Can I apply for DV Lottery 2025?
How can I apply for the DV Lottery? – Participation in the annual DV Lottery is basically free of charge, and all eligible persons can register for it on the website of the U.S. Department of State. However, what many do not know is: In every lottery up to 40 % of all participants are disqualified because of formal or deadline errors in their application! The admission or rejection of applications for the Diversity Visa Lottery is an electronic process, but participants are not informed about the outcome.
However, the Green Card service agency The American Dream guarantees your participation in the official DV Lottery!Each application is individually checked by state-approved emigration consultants and is submitted to the US authorities in due form and time.With their expert knowledge, our team has already accompanied more than 21,000 Green Card winners on their way to the USA!
Apply now & win a Green Card Select language English Français Español Türkçe Italiano Polski Deutsch
Why is India excluded from DV lottery?
Where can I get more information about this process? – To learn more details about the Green card lottery for India and other travel requirements, enter iVisa.com, Don’t forget to reach out to our customer service via chat online if you want to obtain personal assistance.
Why am I not winning the DV lottery?
Reasons for Lottery Denials – Broadly speaking, the Lottery denials can be grouped into 5 categories: 1) 221(g); 2) lack of qualifications; 3) inadmissibility criteria; 4) Lottery-specific inadmissibility; and 5) failure to comply with the Lottery instructions:
221(g) denials/administrative processing — As discussed elsewhere on this website, 221(g) can be invoked by a consular officer when either the applicant failed to bring a necessary document (e.g., a police certificate from another country); the consul wishes to initiate a check of the authenticity of the applicant’s documents (e.g., diploma) or bona fides of a relationship (e.g., marriage or parental); or there is a security/criminal/technology/or other check initiated by a US government agency. The problem with these checks is that they must be completed by and the visa issued by September 30. Otherwise, the “winning Lottery ticket” is invalidated. Annual 221(g) “victim-rejectees” due to the September 30 deadline include those living in high-fraud countries with protracted document verification processes initiated by consuls; those applicants interviewed in August or September; and Muslim males from the Middle East subject to heightened security checks. 212(a)(5)(A) Lack of Qualifications — The Lottery requirements for qualification are not demanding: one can qualify with either the equivalent of a US high education or within the last 5 years having 2 years of work experience in an occupation that requires at least 2 years of training or experience. But a consul can challenge an applicant’s education and work experience in a variety of ways. For example, a consul may question the applicant’s education by concluding that a) while the high school certificate is authentic, it does not equal the completion of an American high school; b) the high school graduation certificate is not authentic (i.e., it is counterfeit/fake); or c) the applicant had not actually attended or completed the required courses. For example, one consul suspected that the applicant had not attended the school and decided to administer a Russian-language (his 3rd language) test to the applicant, leading to a denial. In the Age of Trump, the Department of State has recently empowered consuls to administer such “tests” to Lottery winners; while ostensibly a tool to fight fraud, this tool is obviously subject to abuse. When a consul does refuse on these grounds, the refusals can be either Section 212(a)(5)(A) for failing to establish qualifications or a permanent bar under Section 212(a)(6)(C)(i) for presentation of bogus credentials. Inadmissibility Criteria, including 212(a)(4)(A) Public Charge — The same inadmissibility criteria that apply to other immigrants also apply to Lottery winners: medical, criminal, security, unlawful presence, etc With the implementation of the new public charge rules in 2018–2020, Lottery winners are particularly vulnerable to being refused on these grounds. Among Lottery winners, the following individuals may find themselves more likely to be denied as public charges under Section 212(a)(4)(A): a) older winners (>50); b) those with limited assets (e.g., real estate); c) those who do not know English; d) those with few marketable skills or limited work experience; e) those without relatives or a sponsor in the US; and f) those without a job offer in the United States. Lottery-Specific Permanent Inadmissibilities, including 212(a)(6)(C)(i) and 212(a)(6)(E) Sham Marriages — Being selected in the Lottery prompts the winner to ensure that his or her loved one will also be eligible to immigrate. So if at the time of selection the winner is not married, he or she must get married before the visa interview to ensure that his spouse will be able to immigrate as well. This is also fertile ground for fraud, with single winners entering into bogus marriages for money and the possibility of immigrating. This category of marriages, called “pop-up marriages” because they arise after the selection in the Lottery, is subject to intense consular scrutiny — and sometimes wrong conclusions. It is not uncommon for the consul to conduct separate interviews with the husband and wife (“what is his favorite toothpaste?” “what side of the bed does she sleep on?” “show me the key to your apartment”) or for the Embassy to send consular investigators to interview neighbors. If the consul decides that the marriage is a sham, the Lottery winner is permanently barred as an “alien smuggler” (Section 212(a)(6)(E)) and the spouse is permanently barred for a material misrepresentation (Section 212(a)(6)(C)(i)). 212(a)(5)(A) Alleged Failure to Comply with Lottery Instructions — In addition to 221(g), this is the area where the overwhelming majority of Lottery winners are rejected. The reasons we have encountered over more than 25 years are manifold. The top 3 include: a) “defective” photograph — not “recent”; colored instead of a light background; photo was “photoshopped”; an ear is not visible; the photo does not look like the applicant; the lighting is non-compliant (e.g., there was a shadow cast); b) failure to list family members — omitting a spouse with whom no longer live; omitting children who are not immigrating; c) “wrong” English-language spelling of name in the entry — indicating the spelling in the local language. Interpretation of these instructions is ripe for consular overzealousness: How can a consul determine whether the entry photo was “recent” when the photo submitted was more than 12 months before the visa interview? What is a “light” background? How can a consul decide that you are married when you are not? How can a consul determine whether you have 1 or 2 children? How can a consul determine you were unable to obtain a photograph of your son now living with your ex-wife in another country? Over 25 years we have encountered dozens of issue offshoots and refusals arising from mere consular suspicions that the Lottery instructions were violated. “You can play next year” is the common phrase of solace for these Lottery refusals.
How DV lottery winners are selected?
DO ALL THE FAMILY MEMBERS NEED TO ATTEND THE INTERVIEW FOR GREEN CARD? – Yes, the applicant and the family members must attend the Visa interview. If your family members plan to immigrate later on some other date, then you should attend the interview separately.
How successful is the Green Card Lottery?
Chances of winning the Green Card Lottery – According to our long-term in-house analyses, the chances of winning a Green Card are currently about 1:25 to 1:75 (depending on the region you live in) – for Europeans, most recently about 1:45. This means that approximately every 45th participant actually wins a Green Card.
Which country has the highest chance in the DV Lottery?
Diversity visa lottery 2023 results – Immigrant visas allow visa lottery winners to live and work legally and permanently in the United States with lawful permanent residence. A maximum of 7% of the program’s visas are available to persons born in any single country, authorities said.
Why is DV Lottery rejected?
What Can Be Done to Challenge Lottery Denials? What Other Options are There? – Although US law prohibits “arbitrary and capricious” decisionmaking, “abuses of discretion”, and decisions made “not in accordance with law”, as can be seen above, that has not stopped the endless consular mutations of the reasons for Lottery visa denials.
We are the only firm to undertake two class action lawsuits against the Department of State for its faulty administration of the program and written about some of the consular abuses in denying Lottery applications. All denials of Diversity Visa applications are “appealable”: the denied applicant has the absolute right to request reconsideration, presenting new evidence and documentation or questioning the accuracy of a consular decision.
Over the years, we have successfully requested reconsideration of scores of Lottery denials, including wrongful accusations of sham marriage; allegations of fake diplomas; conclusions that an applicant lacked the required work experience; refusals on public charge grounds; education equivalency rejections; photograph deficiencies; spelling problems; disqualifications for failure to provide information in an entry or a photograph; consular questioning of the existence of a marriage or death; and erroneous findings of a crime of moral turpitude.
- Some of our submissions, such as in the case of a baseless sham marriage accusation, have included more than 50 documents.
- To address consular suspicions, additional evidence can be presented.
- For example, to address a diploma authenticity challenge, a letter from the country’s Ministry of Education or an apostilled-diploma can be presented.
Proof of class attendance in the form of a yearbook, a school gradebook, or actual classwork from the time of enrollment may be submitted. In cases where work experience is questioned, payroll documents, pension fund records, and work product may be submitted.
- Some issues, such as the usage of an old photograph, may not be resolvable.
- In others, it may become necessary to deal with local statutory act registrations, family law, DNA tests, hospital records, custody agreements, payment of alimony, court decisions, consents to immigrate, etc It is important to remember that even in cases where there has been unintentional noncompliance with the rules, the consul has discretion to issue a Diversity Visa.
For example, if a newborn’s birth coincided with submission of the DV entry, and the baby was not included in an entry because he/she did not have a name yet or there was no photo available at the time of submission of the entry, it would be appropriate to use such positive discretion.
- The consul is also supposed to be conscious of the September 30 deadline and try to expedite 221(g) cases before closure of the program.
- Finally, where a challenge to a refusal decision is not viable, other options may be available.
- For the refused spouse of a Lottery winner (e.g., he has a past criminal record), there are two options: 1) a waiver application can be filed after the Lottery winner’s entrance to the US as an immigrant (of course, the waiver must be decided and approved by September 30), or 2) an I-130 immediate relative petition may be filed with a subsequent waiver application.
For a child who does not receive a Diversity Visa by September 30 and is separated from his parents who successfully adjusted status in the US after winning the Lottery, humanitarian parole may be an option. As can be seen, the stakes are very high. Attending a Diversity Visa interview alone can lead to thousands of dollars in expenses for a family: nonrefundable visa fees; travel expenses; medical exams; translator costs.
- At the least a Lottery visa refusal leads to a cancelled nonimmigrant visa and difficulties in receiving a visa to visit or study in the US again.
- At its most serious, a Lottery visa denial can lead to a permanent bar from the United States.
- For many, winning the Lottery presents the only realistic ticket to immigrate: without a close relative or job offer in the US or special talents or wealth, the avenues for immigration to the United States are nearly closed.
The September 30 time constraints add another pressure to resolve any problems quickly and efficiently. To see how we have helped individuals overcome Lottery visa denials over the years, please visit the Case Studies section. Please contact us to find out how we can assist you.
Why is Canada excluded from DV Lottery?
Frequently Asked Questions – The official title of the status is Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR) or Resident Alien. It is called a “green card” because in earlier years the document that provided evidence of that status was a small, green card. The card itself is now very high tech with embedded images, holographs, and more.
LPR status allows you to remain in the US indefinitely, to live where you choose, and to work at any job (except a few government jobs reserved for citizens). LPR status is not citizenship, but after being in LPR status for five years you may apply for US citizenship if you choose. This is a true lottery.
It is not merit based. You just enter, and if your application is picked by a computer-generated random number, then you may apply for LPR status in the U.S. You do not need a family sponsor or an employer sponsor. Some countries are eligible; some are not.
This is a diversity lottery. It is meant to give LPR chances to those from countries that do not usually send many immigrants to the U.S. Note whether your country is eligible. Countries that usually send many immigrants to the U.S, such as Canada, China, India, Mexico, the UK, and so on are not eligible.
No, eligibility is based on your native country, your country of birth, and not your countries of citizenship. For example, if you were born in Canada, but you have acquired citizenship in Peru, you are not eligible for the lottery, even though someone born in Peru would be.
- Your ineligibility is based on birth in Canada.
- There are some exceptions for birth during diplomatic postings or “cross charging” to your spouse’s country, so read the eligibility rules carefully.
- You may file only ONE application.
- If you file more than one, all of your applications are disqualified.
- So be sure none of your well-meaning relatives or friends file for you.
The point of the multiple disqualifications is to ensure that each person has one equal chance to win, and that no one can “stuff” the application box with hundreds or thousands of applications. Note, however, that if you are married, each of you may file for yourself and list the spouse as a family member.
That means that you get one chance as the “principal” applicant, and another chance as the “derivative” spouse. Use an address that is reliable for at least a year (preferably longer) into the future. If DOS notifies you that you have won, you want to be sure to get that notice. If necessary use the address of a friend or relative who is settled in a place and on whom you can rely to notify you immediately if the notice comes in.
Do not use any of them! No one can increase your chances of winning the lottery, so be wary of any person or organization that promises increased success, especially for a fee. They are just trying to take your money. This is a lottery, a gamble, and it is based on computer-generated random selection.
- Contact an immigration attorney immediately to ensure that you do all that you can as quickly as possible to provide the stacks of information needed for the LPR issuance. The LPR application requires a lot of documentation – health certificates, birth certificates, and much more.
- Respond immediately! Just like the airlines, DOS “overbooks” and selects more people than they have spaces, because they know that some people who win will not follow through to LPR status. You want to be sure that you get one of the available spaces. Talk with your immigration lawyer about the best way to respond.
- Get a job offer. You must have a job offer to complete the process. Do not panic if you are a student with no job. Any job will do; it does not have to be your dream job in your chosen field. A job offer in a fast food restaurant or a shopping mall store is fine. The government needs to know that you have some way of supporting yourself in the U.S. Do not confuse a job offer with actual employment in a job. You do not have to be employed at the time that you file. Indeed, you may not be lawfully permitted to work until after you have LPR status. Talk with your immigration lawyer about the job offer vs. employment issue.
It also is important to remember that entering the DV Lottery is not considered the same as applying for Lawful Permanent Residence. However, if you win and you go through the application process (see Q8 above), then your answer to this question would usually be, “yes.” If you win, be sure to talk with your attorney before you fill out a visa application or travel abroad.
- The DOS web site is the official source of information on the lottery.
- The Visa Services cannot give you any additional information.
- If you wish to talk with an attorney about entering the lottery, you have the right to do so, but remember that the attorney must follow the same lottery rules that appear on the DOS web site.
Many reputable attorneys are providing information free on their web sites, because they know that there is minimal help that they can provide at the lottery application stage. Remember, if you win, we strongly recommend that you contact an attorney immediately to be sure you get all of the required documents properly submitted within the specified time period.