The U.S. Diversity Immigrant Visa Program’s lottery made it possible for foreign nationals to qualify for the DV lottery. Below is all you need to know about the United States DV lottery program. The steps to apply for the Diversity Visa lottery program are available below. See all you need to know about DV-2022 and how to avoid scams.
Also, check out how the eligibility and qualifications for the visa lottery program.
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What is Diversity Immigrant Visa?
The DV program, also known as the green card lottery, is a lottery program by the United States government. The program aims to issue the United States Permanent Resident Card, popularly known as a green card.
The program provides a total number of 55,000 visas per year. The Department of State is the administrative arm of the green card lottery. The green card lottery is structured to promote the diversity of the immigrant population in the United States by selecting applicants from various countries. These selected applicants must be from countries with low numbers of immigrants in the last five years.
Over the years, the DV lottery program receives a significant number of applications. As of 2020 alone, around 13 million people registered for the program.
How to Apply for Diversity Visa Lottery Program?
To apply for the Diversity Visa program or green card lottery is pretty simple. Within few minutes, you can fully apply for the diversity immigrant visa lottery.
Entries must be done electronically at the official website of the DV lottery (dvlottery.state.gov).
Note: the Department of States will not send notifications to selected applicants. So, applicants must use their unique confirmation number to check results online.
Each applicant is allowed one entry. Applying more than once will lead to disqualification. The program selects winners at random. So, applicants must go to the website to check for the listed chosen applicants.
How Much Does Diversity Visa Lottery Application Cost?
Entry for the green card lottery program is free of charge. So, applicants must beware of agencies that charge fees for applications. Also, some agencies charge fees from applicants to increase their chances of being selected. Note that these agencies are fake. Only the Department of State makes selections. All you need to do is to complete the form provided by the website.
Further, only those who are chosen in the lottery must pay a fee to continue the process.
Eligibility and Requirements for DV-2022
To apply for the green card lottery, you must have been born in an eligible country. Eligible countries are countries that have not sent more than 50,000 immigrants to the United States in the previous five years.
Exceptions to eligibility by country:
- The applicant may claim the spouse’s country of birth instead if desired.
- The applicant may claim a parent’s country of birth if neither parent was born in the applicant’s country of birth and did not have a lawful residence there at the time the applicant was born.
Also, to qualify for the DV lottery, applicants must have completed at least a high school education or at least two years of work experience in an occupation that needs at least two further years of training or experience.
Further, applicants must also satisfy general requirements applicable to all immigrants, mainly related to health, criminal background, and means of support.
Ineligible Countries for the Recent DV Lottery
Below is a list of countries that do not qualify for the recent green card lottery program. This is because these territories have sent over 50,000 immigrants to the United States in the previous five years.
Countries not eligible for the diversity visa lottery program 2022
In alphabetical order
- Bangladesh
- Brazil
- Canada
- China (mainland and Hong Kong)
- Colombia
- El Salvador
- Guatemala
- Haiti
- Honduras
- India
- Jamaica
- Mexico
- Nigeria
- Pakistan
- Philippines
- South Korea
- The Dominican Republic
- The United Kingdom and its dependent territories (except Northern Ireland)
- Vietnam
When is the Application for Diversity Visa Lottery 2022 Closing?
Entry into the Diversity Immigrant Visa lottery is closing on Friday, September 30. By the end of the fiscal year 2022, all DV-2022 diversity visa program applicants must be eligible for and receive their visa or alter status.
How to Identify Visa Lottery Scam
There have been many reports of scams by false agencies claiming to be the Department of State or are affiliated with it. The Department of State has issued a warning against these fraudulent agencies.
Entry into the green card lottery program is free of charge. Hence, any agency charging fees from applicants is a false agency. Only chosen applicants are to pay a fee to continue in the process.
Also, emails and letters purporting to be from the Department of State and informing the recipient that they have been awarded a permanent residency card is a scam. The Department of State will not send correspondence to applicants. Applicants must use their unique confirmation number to check results online.
