The America Visa Lottery, also known as the Diversity Visa Program, started in 1986 and helps address the issue of under-representation of people from countries with low immigration rates in the U.S. population by granting them permanent resident status and eligibility to apply for citizenship in the U.S.. This visa lottery can grant you U.S. citizenship if you meet the requirements set by the program; this guide will explain everything you need to know about applying for the 2024/2025 America Visa Lottery visa and increase your chances of winning!
What is American Visa Lottery and how does it work?
The United States of America Visa Lottery is a chance to immigrate to this country on the basis of a simple lucky draw. The premise is that all 50 states hold their own lotteries each year, but residents from 38 states don’t qualify because their states have met their allocated limit. A list is created and posted on the website with all unclaimed spots in different categories (family, employment). This gives non-residents living in qualified countries another chance at moving to the US.
However, not every international citizen has an equal opportunity because some U.S. citizens are eligible for both a country’s lottery and USA visa Lottery as long as they meet citizenship requirements.
Benefits of the America Visa Lottery
The American Visa Lottery gives you a chance to become an American citizen at one of the 50,000 visas available each year. If you win, you’ll be able to live in America, work in America and call it home. Once accepted into the lottery, winners go through background checks before they receive their visa. Once received, they can use this visa once they become a U.S. citizen or green card holder in order to enter any country that has diplomatic ties with America. So if you’re living outside of the United States and are looking for a way to legally migrate there, then keep reading.
For more clarity, the benefits of American Visa Lottery, as explained above, are listed below:
- It’s an easy way to immigrate to America.
- If you’re selected, you’ll be able to live, study and work in the U.S as a full citizen.
- You can enter any country that has diplomatic ties with America.
- It’s an easy way to get the American green card.
- You can bring your family with you to America.
Therefore, if you’re interested in immigrating to America, make sure to apply for the 2024/2025 America Visa Lottery program.
Who can Apply for the U.S. Visa Lottery Program?
United States’ American visa lottery or U.S. Diversity Visa Lottery is a zero-cost program that allows people from certain countries and some regions to enter the lottery in their home country through various diplomatic missions around the world. 55,000 visas are issued out through the American visa lottery yearly.
To be eligible, applicants must be born in a qualifying country with limited number of immigrants admitted each year and have either at least a high school diploma or at least two years of work experience within 5 years in one occupation listed on USCIS’s list. The list includes occupations such as doctors, engineers, nurses, teachers etc. There are over 20 million qualified candidates who entered last year’s Diversity Visa Lottery competition.
The selection process uses a computer generated random selection process where you need to correctly match all six numbers drawn out of the possible 80 numbers. Applicants will also need to answer an additional question which has been selected randomly by the computer system before being granted a Green Card if they are one of the lucky winners who gets selected in this highly competitive process.
Where do I start?
The first step is deciding whether or not you qualify as an entrant. For the Diversity Visa Lottery (DV-2024) program, natives of the following countries are NOT eligible to apply, because more than 50,000 natives of these countries immigrated to the United States in the previous five years: Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, China (including Hong Kong SAR), Colombia, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, South Korea, United Kingdom (except Northern Ireland) and its dependent territories, Venezuela, and Vietnam.
Natives of Macau SAR and Taiwan are eligible.
For the Africans, countries eligible includes Algeria, Angola, Central African Republic, Chad, Benin, Botswana, Cameroon, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cape Verde, Comoros, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Namibia, Niger, Morocco, Mozambique, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Djibouti, Egypt, Cote D’Ivoire (Ivory Coast), Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Gabon, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Togo, Tunisia, South Sudan, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
Gathering all Necessary Documents
The next step is to fill out and submit an online application. You’ll need to provide information about yourself, such as education level, marital status, length of residence in your country, current employment status and salary range. To complete your eligibility form, you’ll need copies of:
- A birth certificate or citizenship certificate;
- A digital passport-sized photo;
- A digital copy of your international passport or other government-issued photo ID card
- Proof that you have never won the US Visa lottery before (or if you have, documentation showing how many times you entered).
If eligible, you will be randomly selected from among all qualified entries. The winners will be notified by mail on October 3rd 2024 at the latest.
Application Process for DV-2024 American Visa Lottery
The Application Stage:
Entering for the U.S. visa lottery is easy and only takes a few minutes. First, you’ll need to write down some basic information about yourself, such as your name, birth date, country of birth, contact information, etc. You’ll also need a digital photo that meets the technical requirements specified by the U.S.A. Department of State. Once you have gathered all of this information, you can head to the official website for the American visa lottery and complete the online application form.
The Interview Stage:
After submitting your online application, you will be given an appointment for an interview at a U.S. embassy or consulate in your country of orign. While interviewing you, a consular officer will ask you questions about your background and why you want to immigrate to the United States. If the officer is convinced that you meet all of the requirements for the U.S. visa lottery, he will issue you a visa.
The Approval Stage:
Once you have received your U.S. visa, you can start making plans to move to the America. Note that there are some restrictions on the type of work you can do with a diversity visa. You have to ensure that your job is not on the list of ineligible occupations before you start working in the States.
USA DV-2024 Application Form Tips
If you’re interested in being a part of the United States Green Card Lottery (US visa lottery), first, know that this isn’t a giveaway – there are many steps involved. One thing you’ll want to do is read all about applying and make sure you have everything ready before you apply. It’s recommended to avoid procrastination so you don’t miss deadlines! Keep reading for a guide on how to fill out an application form.
How to Fill the American Visa Lottery Application Form Online
The online registration period for the American visa lottery DV-2024 Program begins on Wednesday, October 6, 2022 at 12:00 noon, Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) (GMT-4), and concludes on Tuesday, November 9, 2022 at 12:00 noon, Eastern Standard Time (EST) (GMT-5). Do not submit more than one entry during the registration period, else you will be disqualified. The guidelines below show how to fill the online form:
- Visit the USA diversity visa lottery program website: dvprogram.state.gov (the website will be opened from the 6th of October, 2022 – November, 2022)
- Enter your name exactly as it appear on your passport – last/family name, first name, middle name.
- Indicate your gender – male or female.
- Type in your date of birth in this order – day, month, year.
- Enter the city where you were born.
- Indicate the country where you were born – Use the name of the country currently used for the place where you were born.
- Type in your country of eligibility for the DV program – this should be the same as your country of birth. Your country of eligibility is not related to where you live or your nationality, if it is different from your country of birth.
- Indicate your passport number, country of issuance, and expiration date for your valid, unexpired international travel passport – this requirement does not apply to your dependents.
- Upload your photograph(s) – this should be recent photographs (taken within the last six months) of yourself, your spouse, and all your derivative children.
- Enter your Mailing Address – In Care Of:
- Address Line 1
- Address Line 2
- City/Town
- District/Country/Province/State
- Postal Code/Zip Code
- Country
- Type in your present country of resident – Country where you live today.
- Provide your phone number – (optional).
- Enter your highest level of education you have achieved, as of today – (1) Primary school only, (2) Some high school, no diploma, (3) High school diploma, (4) Vocational school, (5) Some university courses, (6) University degree, (7) Some graduate-level courses, (8) Master’s degree, (9) Some doctoral-level courses, or (10) Doctorate.
- Indicate your current marital status: (1) unmarried, (2) married and my spouse is NOT a U.S. citizen or U.S. Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR), (3) married and my spouse IS a U.S. citizen or U.S. LPR, (4) divorced, (5) widowed, or (6) legally separated. Enter the name, date of birth, gender, city/town of birth, and country of birth of your spouse, and a photograph of your spouse.
- Be sure to include:
- all living natural children;
- all living children legally adopted by you; and,
- all living step-children who are unmarried and under the age of 21 on the date of your electronic entry, even if you are no longer legally married to the child’s parent, and even if the child does not currently reside with you and/or will not immigrate with you.
How to Increase your Chances of Winning the American Visa Lottery
If you want to win American Visa Lottery, you can follow these tips:
- Check Your Eligibility Status
- Find Out the Application Processes and Procedures
- Submit Your Entry Early
- Avoid Errors while Typing in your Name
- Get the Correct Specification of your Digital Passport Photograph
- Improve your Chances with a Spouse or Family Member
- Educate Yourself on American Visas
- Be Prepared for the Interview Process
- Know the American Visa Lottery Timeline
- Avoid Entering for the Lottery more than once in each year
American Visa Lottery and Its Challenges
Applying for the American visa lottery can be a serious task. You have to meet many requirements to even be eligible to apply, let alone be chosen. For instance, applicants must have finished high school or have at least two years of work experience within the past five years in an occupation that requires at least two years of training or education. Moreso, you must pass a medical exam and have no criminal record.
With such difficult requirements, it shows why that the chances of wining the visa lottery are quite low. In fact, according to the U.S. Department of State, only about 50,000 people are selected each year out of the millions of people that applied. However, despite all these challenges, entering for the American visa lottery is still worth it because it’s the only easy way to get a chance at immigrating to the USA. Therefore, if you’re interested in immigrating to America, be sure to apply for the American visa lottery program.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) on 2024 USA Diversity Visa Lottery
How does DV USA Visa Lottery work?
Each year, the Diversity Visa program allows more than 50,000 randomly selected people — only from countries that don’t send many immigrants to the United States — to obtain permanent residency (commonly called a “green card“) to enable them to live and work in America as a citizen of the country.
What is a Permanent Resident Card?
The Permanent Resident Card, also popularly known as a green card, is a visa to the US that allows you to live, study and work in the United States the next 10 years. Permanent Resident card holders can travel freely in and out of the US and are entitled to education, healthcare and other rights in the United States of America.
What is the US DV Lottery Program?
The Diversity Visa (DV) Lottery program is administered by the US Department of State. The DV Lottery immigration program grants 50,000 Permanent Resident cards each year to individuals world-wide that entered the DV Lottery. Winners of the DV Lottery immigration program are chosen randomly by a computer drawing conducted by the United States Department of State.
Can I participate in the US DV Lottery?
If you are born in a qualifying country and meet either the education or job training requirement, then you can participate. You can check if you qualify by going to the DV Lottery Requirements page.
Can I include my spouse and children?
Yes, if you are married. (Note, the US does not recognize partnership as marriage). You can include your spouse and any children 20 years or younger, on your DV Lottery application. If your application is selected, your spouse and unmarried children 20 years and younger will also receive a Permanent Resident card.
Is there a minimum age to apply?
No, there is no minimum age to apply. The requirement of a High School Degree or work experience for each principal applicant at the time of application, will, however, effectively disqualify most people under 18 years old.
Are there requirements for education or work experience?
Yes, the educational requirement is that you must have at least a High School Diploma or its equivalent or if you do not meet the educational requirement then within the past five years, you must have had two years of work experience in an occupation that requires at least two years training or experience. The Diversity Visa Lottery Requirements website explain this in more detail.
Why are people born in certain countries disqualified from entering the US DV Lottery?
The Diversity Visa Lottery Program is intended to diversify the American population and therefore people born in countries that send large numbers of immigrants to the USA would not diversify the population. Each year, US Citizenship and Immigration Services identifies the countries whose natives will be ineligible for the annual Diversity Visa Lottery.
This is achieved by adding up the family and employment immigrant admission figures for the previous five years and if any country sent more than 50,000 immigrants to America within that time period, then people born in that country would not be eligible to enter the DV Lottery program. This determination is conducted yearly and the list of countries whose natives are not eligible will change from one year to the next. For example, if you were born in a country that is ineligible this year, your country could become eligible next year based on the statistics.
I am born in a country that is not qualified, what can I do?
People born in countries that are excluded from participating in this years Diversity Visa Lottery may claim chargeability to the country where their spouse was born. In a similar manner, you can be “charged” to the country of birth of either of your parents as long as neither parent was a resident of the ineligible country at the time of the your birth. Example: If you are born in India, a country that is not qualified and your spouse is born in Thailand, then you can claim Thailand as you country of birth (chargeability) and you then qualify to enter the DV Lottery, as long as, you also include your spouse on your application.
How many USA DV Lottery applicants will be selected?
Each year, the US Department of State will select 50,000 winners that will be granted a Permanent Resident Card.
Can I submit more than one entry?
Yes and No. The law governing the Diversity Visa Lottery immigration program only allows one entry for each person during each USA DV Lottery year. Individuals that submit more than one entry are disqualified from the DV Lottery. The US Department of State utilizes sophisticated information technology to identify persons that submit multiple US DV Lottery applications during a DV Lottery year.
However, in the America DV Lottery program, married couples have an advantage in that they may each submit a Diversity Visa Lottery application and include each other on the applications, resulting in the couple doubling their chances of being selected in the US DV Lottery. The Diversity Visa Lottery Register page will suggest this to you if you are married.
Can I increase my chance of being selected in the DV Lottery?
Yes and No. A computer will randomly select the 50,000 winners and all applicants have an equal chance of being selected. However, married couples that have submitted a Husband/Wife application will double their chances of being selected as they actually have two valid applications in the US DV Lottery draw.
Can a married couple each submit a separate US DV Lottery Application?
Yes, a married couple may each submit a Diversity Visa Lottery application and if either is selected, the other would also be entitled to a permanent resident card. Therefore, if you are married, you may double your chances of being selected in the US DV Lottery by submitting one application for each of you and listing the other person as your spouses. Or save a little money on the administrative fee by using the Husband/Wife application that achieves the same for less money.
Can I participate in the Diversity Visa Lottery Program if I live in the USA?
Yes, US DV Lottery applicants that live in the United States or in another country can enter the Diversity Visa Lottery program. As long as you are born in a qualifying country it does not matter what country you live in today or what citizenship you have.
How do I know if I was selected in the USA DV Lottery?
When your application is submitted to the online Diversity Visa Lottery website, you will receive a confirmation number and instructions on how to check on-line if you have been selected in the US DV Lottery. It is your own responsibility to check on-line to find out if you were selected. Please note that, the US Department of State does not contact you in any way and will not inform you via email or regular mail. You must check your winning status.
What family members must I include on my entry?
If you are married, you must list your spouse and if you have children, you must include all unmarried children under the age of 21. If you are separated, you must still list your spouse. You do not need to list your former spouse if you are legally divorced.
Must I upload a photo for each family member?
Yes, please reference the photo requirements on the DV Lottery Photo Requirements for specific details.
Year 2022, DV Lottery Program DV2024, what is going on?
This years (2022) DV Lottery Program is called the DV2024 (the year successful applicants may enter the United States) and is scheduled to be closed for applications on November 8, 2022.
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