DIVERSITY IMMIGRANT VISA PROGRAM
(DV LOTTERY)
Another way to secure a green card is through the lottery program, also known as the Diversity Lottery. This program annually gives, by random selection, approximately 55,000 green cards to people from most countries in the world.
Who Qualifies
In order to enter the green card lottery drawing, first, an applicant must be either a native of an eligible country or entitled to be “charged” to one of the eligible countries. This means that if you were born in a country whose natives are ineligible to participate in the lottery, but your spouse was born in a country whose natives are eligible, you can claim your spouse’s country of birth for lottery purposes-provided that both you and your spouse are on the selected entry, are issued visas, and enter the Untied States simultaneously. “Cross chargeability” also allows you to enter the lottery by claiming the nativity in one of your parents’ countries of birth that is eligible, if you were born in an ineligible country, if neither of your parents was born there or resided there at the time of your birth.
Second, an applicant is required to either have a high school education, or two years of work history within the past five years in an occupation which requires a minimum of two years of training or experience.
There is no minimum age to apply for the program, but the requirement of a high school education or work experience for each principal applicant at the time of application will effectively disqualify most persons who are under the age of 18.
Eligible and Ineligible Countries
For DV-2012 (the lottery which is now closed), natives of the following countries were not eligible to apply because the countries sent a total of more than 50,000 immigrants to the U.S. in previous years.
- BRAZIL, CANADA, CHINA (mainland-born), COLOMBIA, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, ECUADOR, EL SALVADOR, GUTEMALA, HAITI, INDIA, JAMAICA, MEXICO, PAKISTAN, PERU, PHILIPPINES, 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-2012, no countries were added or removed from the previous year’s list of eligible countries. For a full list of eligible countries, please visit the U.S. Department of State website.
Because there is a separate determination made before each annually entry period, the list of countries whose natives are not eligible may change from one year to the next. This is why we suggest that you check to determine if your country of nationality or chargeability is listed for the year of application.
The next lottery (DV-2013) will probably take place in the Fall of 2011. It is called DV-2013 because visa numbers under that lottery will be issued in the fiscal year that runs from Oct 1, 2012 through September 30, 2012.
When and How Should You Apply?
The Department of State will only accept lottery forms that are submitted electronically at www.dvlottery.state.gov during the registration period. The registration period for DV-2012 began on October 5, 2010, and was closed on November 3, 2010. You are allowed to either prepare and submit your own entry, or have someone, such as an attorney, submit the entry for you.
Selection Notification and Fraud Alert
Starting May 1, 2011, you are able to check the status of your application by returning to www.dvlottery.state.gov and entering your unique confirmation number and personal information. Entry status check will be the sole means of informing you of your selection for the lottery. Consequently, it is important that you be wary of the fraudulent letters sent allegedly on behalf of the U.S. government, falsely informing you of your selection, and requesting further documentation or payments as notifications to those selected in the lottery are not sent by e-mail or mail.
Can you Apply for the Lottery if you are in the United States?
Yes. An applicant may be in the United States or in another country, and the entry may be submitted from the United States or aboard.
Who Must You Include in Your E-DV Entry?
You must include your spouse and all unmarried children under 21 years of age at the time of your entry application. These family members will be considered for the lottery simultaneously with you.
We can certainly help you with the lottery application but you can also visit the website at the Department of State and apply online.
