The Diversity Visa (DV) Lottery Registration for the next cycle
of this popular program opens Tuesday, October 1, 2013. Entries
must be submitted electronically at https://www.dvlottery.state.gov/ between
noon on October 1, 2013, and noon on November 2, 2013, Eastern
Standard Time. Qualified applicants are strongly encouraged to
register as early as possible. Heavy demand may result in system
delays in the final days of the registration period.
The DV Lottery is administered annually by the Department of State,
and provides for a maximum of 55,000 immigrant visas (green cards)
each year to persons from countries with low rates of immigration
to the U.S. For the upcoming cycle, 50,000 DVs will be available.
The visas are distributed among six geographic regions, with a
greater number of visas going to regions with lower rates of
immigration, and with no visas going to natives of countries
sending more than 50,000 immigrants to the U.S. in the past five
years.
Who Can Enter?
Natives of the following countries are not eligible to apply: Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, China (mainland-born), Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Haiti, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, South Korea, United Kingdom (except Northern Ireland) and its dependent territories, and Vietnam. Natives of Hong Kong SAR, Macau SAR and Taiwan are eligible. New this year: natives of Nigeria are no longer eligible for selection.
People who cannot register because their country of birth is
excluded may be able to qualify through a spouse who was born in an
eligible country. Also new this year: same sex spouses are
eligible as DV lottery applicants.
In addition, successful registrants must have either a high school
education or its equivalent, defined as successful completion of a
12-year course of elementary and secondary education; or two years
of work experience within the past five years in an occupation
requiring at least two years of training or experience to perform
the job.
How to Enter?
A foreign national must submit an online form and a digital
photo through the official DV lottery
website. Only one entry is permitted per person. If there are
multiple registrations on behalf of one person, all of them are
disqualified.
All DV Lottery entrants will be required to visit the E-DV Entrant
Status Check website to find out whether or not their entry has
been selected in the DV Lottery. Selectees will be notified of
their selection through the Entry Status Check available starting
May 1, 2014. Selectees will be directed to a confirmation page that
will provide further instructions, including information on fees
connected with immigration to the United States. Selectees will be
able to apply for permanent residence in fiscal year 2014, which is
October 1, 2014 through September 30, 2015. The E-DV Entry Status
Check website will be the only means by which selectees will be
notified of their selection for the DV Lottery. To guard against
fraud, please note the official website is the only legitimate
source for lottery entrants.
Future of DV Lottery Uncertain:
The DV lottery system will run again this year, but there have
been legislative efforts to eliminate the program. In June 2013,
the Senate and the House Judiciary Committee approved separate
bills to end the program. Concurrent views from the Senate and the
House on this topic indicates that discontinuation of the DV
program in the future is possible.
Complete instructions may be found here.
If you require additional information, please contact the
Immigration Group at Proskauer.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.