Program Overview The Department of State annually administers the statutorily-mandated Diversity Immigrant Visa Program. Section 203(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) provides for a class of immigrants known as “diversity immigrants” from countries with historically low rates of immigration to the United States. For Fiscal Year 2020, 50,000 Diversity Visas (DVs) will be available. There is no cost to register for the DV program.
Applicants who are selected in the program (“selectees”) must meet simple but strict eligibility requirements to qualify for a diversity visa. The Department of State determines selectees through a randomized computer drawing. The Department of State distributes diversity visas among six geographic regions, and no single country may receive more than 7 percent of the available DVs in any one year.
For DV-2020, 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 (mainland-born), Colombia, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Haiti, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, 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. There were no changes in eligibility this year from the previous fiscal year.
If you need help or have any questions, you can contact Raj at 402-502-7040 or email at [email protected]
- Diversity Visa Instructions:
Please read the DV-2020 Entry Instructions carefully. Entrants may be disqualified for not completing the entry form correctly or by submitting more than one entry. Use the link below to view the instructions.
https://www.dvlottery.state.gov/(S(ds1lxruqj4z5dtdv4lnpmdv3))/default.aspx
- Electronic Diversity Visa Entry Form:
https://www.dvlottery.state.gov/(S(tg4ipdk4501qfnjqqgrbvxqr))/application.aspx
- Photo Instructions:
Before beginning the entry process, verify that your picture and pictures for any dependents fully comply with DV entry photo requirements included in the DV-2020 instructions. Your case will be disqualified if you submit a non-compliant photo. For examples of acceptable photos, click the button below.
- Entry Form:
The entry form is prepared in two parts, one for the primary Entrant and one for derivatives (if any). Each part must be completed correctly and completely before going to the next part. After all parts are completed, the entry will be submitted to the DV-2020 Processing Center. Click the link below to begin the entry process.
https://www.dvlottery.state.gov/(S(rul3jnvalj3pqjnb2kfgfnl2))/application.aspx
2020 Entrant Status Check:
DV-2020 Entrants may enter their confirmation information through the link below starting at noon (EDT) on May 7, 2019. The DV-2020 registration period opens on October 3, 2018, and closes on November 6, 2018. DV-2020 Entrants should keep their confirmation number until at least September 30, 2020.
2019 Entrant Status Check
DV-2019 Entrants have until September 30, 2019 to check the status of their entry through this website. The DV-2019 registration period was from October 18, 2017, until November 22, 2017.
Click the link below to check DV-2020 and DV-2019 Entrant Status.
https://www.dvlottery.state.gov/ESC/(S(jluiv5diw3hrcye2t0c5izo0))/CheckStatus.aspx
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