Diversity Visa Lottery

Each year, the United States allocates 55,000 immigrant visas for
aliens who win the diversity visa lottery.

This lottery is designed to allow aliens who come from countries
with low rates of immigration and who may not otherwise qualify for
immigration to the United States through family or employment to
obtain legal permanent residency.

The State Department's National Visa Center holds the lottery
every year and chooses winners randomly from all qualified
entries.

Although sponsorship by a qualifying family member or employer
is not required, the alien applicant can enter the Diversity Visa
Lottery even if the applicant has a relative or employer visa
petition pending.

If the applicant wins the Diversity Visa Lottery, the applicant's
spouse and unmarried children under 21 can obtain green cards
at the same time the green card is issued to the primary diversity
visa immigrant.

Each member of your family who meets these requirements can
apply, but only one application per person can be submitted.
Applicants who will receive the visas are selected at random by a
computerized process.

If you are selected to receive a visa, you will receive instructions
for completing the immigrant visa application process at the
American consulate in your home country, or through the
adjustment of status application process if you are in the U.S. and
eligible to adjust status.

Receiving the visa is not automatic; you must satisfy all
requirements for receiving an immigrant visa which also apply to
the family and employment sponsored processes. Information
about the Visa Lottery program can be found at http://www.travel.
state.gov/ .

Your spouse and unmarried children under age 21 can also
immigrate to the U.S. with you as your derivative family members.
The diversity visa process for you and all family members must be
completed by September 30 of the lottery year, or the opportunity
to obtain the lottery visa will be lost.

Who is Eligible to Enter the Diversity Visa Lottery?
The applicant and his or her spouse must be a native of a country
that is eligible to participate in the Diversity Visa Lottery. (Please
see the list below of countries that are eligible to participate. The
State Department will publish the names of countries that are
eligible to participate before each year's lottery.)

In general, the applicant's place of birth determines nativity.
However, if a person was born in an ineligible country but his or
her spouse was born in an eligible country, such person can claim
the spouse's country of birth rather than his or her own.

Also, if a person was born in an ineligible country, but neither of
his or her parents was born there or resided there at the time of
the birth, such person may be able to claim nativity in one of the
parents' country of birth.

The Diversity Visa Lottery applicant must have at least a high
school diploma (or equivalent) or two years of work experience in
an occupation that requires two or more years of work experience
and/or training.

Who is Not Eligible to Apply?
Citizens from countries with high immigration to the U.S. (such as
Mexico, India, Philippines, and several other countries) cannot
participate in the lottery.

Therefore, citizens who are from the following countries are
ineligible to apply for the Diversity Visa Lottery (except as noted
above):