1. What do the terms "native" and "being chargeable to a country" mean? Is it possible for a person who was not born in a country that is eligible for the DV lottery to apply for the program?
– As a rule, a "native" of a particular country means a person who was born in that country, regardless of their citizenship and regardless of which country they currently reside in (countries from the list Offshore also fall into this category). However, in the immigration procedure under Section 202(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, the term "native" may also apply to persons who have grounds to be considered "chargeable" to countries other than those where they were born.
For example, if the principal applicant was born in a country that is not eligible for the DV Program in the current year, he or she may be "charged" to the country where his or her spouse was born. However, in this case, the applicant can only receive a DV-1 visa if the spouse also has permission to immigrate to the United States and receives a DV-2 visa, and both must travel to the United States on their diversity visas simultaneously. Similarly, a minor child may be "charged" to the country where one of his or her parents was born.
And finally, any applicant who was born in a country not covered by the DV Program in the current year may be "charged" to the country where one of his or her parents was born, provided that neither parent was a permanent resident of the country where the applicant was born. In general, a person is not considered a resident of a country in which he or she was not born and was not lawfully naturalized if he or she is temporarily visiting that country, or is on its territory on business or professional matters on behalf of an organization for which he or she works, or on behalf of his or her country's government.
An applicant who insists on a change of "chargeability" must provide the relevant information in his or her registration application (item 6). Caution: the application may be disqualified if, during its completion, the applicant selects the wrong country, i.e., a country to which he or she cannot be "charged".
2. Will there be any changes this year in the procedure for submitting applications for registration of participants in the diversity visa lottery, and are there any new requirements for applicants?
- In DV-2010, you can check the status of your application using the information on the confirmation page. Since this information will be provided to you only once, when submitting your application you must print or write down the information from the confirmation page for future use. If you lose this information but are selected as a winner, you will still be sent a notification letter from the Kentucky Consular Center. If you do not win, you will not receive any additional notification. However, you can check this fact online using the confirmation page information.
In the DV-2010 program, the photo requirements have been increased to 600x600 pixels. Old photos that you used in previous lottery drawings cannot be used for DV-2010. In the DV-2010 lottery, only color photos may be submitted; black and white photos are not allowed.
3. Are photos and signatures required for all family members, or only for the person submitting the application?
- Signatures are not required for the electronic registration form. You must provide recent individual photos of the applicant, his/her spouse, and all their children under 21 years of age. Group and family photos will not be accepted. Check the instructions for photo requirements.
4. Why can't natives of some countries participate in the diversity program?
- Diversity visas are drawn to expand immigration opportunities for residents of countries that do not send large numbers of immigrants to the United States. The law requires that diversity visas not be granted to natives of countries with high levels of immigration to the United States. The latter are defined by law as countries from which more than 50,000 persons immigrated to the United States on family and employment visas over the previous five years. Each year, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services updates the number of immigrants who entered the United States on family and employment visas over the past five years to determine which countries' natives should not be covered by the annual diversity visa lottery. Since the analysis is conducted on a country-by-country basis before each registration period of the Program, the list of countries whose natives are not eligible for the diversity visa lottery may change from year to year.
5. What are the numerical limits for DV-2010?
- By law, under the U.S. Diversity Immigration Program, selected persons are granted up to 55,000 permanent residence visas each year. However, the Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act (NACARA), passed by the U.S. Congress in November 1997, provides that, starting with the 1999 lottery, for an indefinite period, 5,000 of the 55,000 visas allocated annually for the DV Program will be used in the NACARA Program. The actual reduction in the number of visas for the Diversity Immigration Program first occurred in the DV-2000 program, and this arrangement will remain in effect for DV-2010.
6. What regional limitations will apply to the diversity immigration visa program in 2010?
- The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services determines regional limits each year according to the formula set forth in Section 203(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). Information on regional visa limits will be published as soon as all necessary calculations are completed.
7. When will applications for the DV-2010 Program be accepted?
- Applications for the DV-2010 lottery will be accepted during the registration period. Every year, millions of people submit applications for the Program during the registration period. The huge number of applications leads to a colossal amount of work in selecting winning applicants and processing their documents. The three-month (October, November, and December) registration period will provide enough time to notify winners in a timely manner. It will also allow applicants and our embassies and consulates to prepare and process visa applications. Applicants are advised to submit their applications as early as possible during the registration period. Increased demand at the end of the registration period may significantly slow down the system. No applications will be accepted after 12:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on Monday, December 1, 2008.
8. Can persons who are in the United States participate in the program?
- Yes, an applicant may be in the United States or another country, and the application can be submitted from the United States or any other country.
9. Must an applicant complete and submit only one application during the annual DV program registration period?
- Yes, the law allows each person to submit only one application during each registration period. Applicants for whom more than one application is submitted will be disqualified. The Department of State will use the most advanced technologies and other means to detect persons who submit more than one application during a single registration period. Applicants who submit more than one application will be disqualified, and their information will be permanently retained by the Department of State. Applicants are allowed to submit an application each year during the designated registration period.
10. Can a husband and wife submit applications separately from each other?
- Yes, a husband and wife may each submit one application if they meet the requirements for potential immigrants. If one of them wins the lottery, the other receives the status of a close relative.
11. About which family members must I provide information in my registration form?
- In your application, you must provide information about your spouse and all unmarried children under the age of 21, except for children who are already U.S. citizens or have the right to permanent residence in the United States. You must provide information about your spouse even if you do not live together. If you are divorced or legally separated (there is a written agreement certified by a court or a court order), you do not need to mention your former spouse in the application. You must provide information about ALL your unmarried children under the age of 21 at the time of submitting your electronic DV application, including biological children, children of your spouse from a previous marriage, and children adopted in accordance with the laws of your country. This requirement does not apply only to children who are already U.S. citizens or have the right to permanent residence in the United States. The list of children must include all children under 21, even if they do not live with you and you do not intend to apply for diversity visas for them.
The fact that you listed family members in your application does not mean that they all must travel to the United States with you. They may remain in their home country. However, if during visa processing you include in the list of dependents the names of those whom you did not mention in the registration application, your case will be canceled. (This provision applies only to those who were dependents at the time of submitting the registration application and does not apply to those who became dependents at a later time.) Your spouse may submit a separate application even if information about him/her was included in your registration application, provided that both of you provide complete information about your family members who are your dependents.
12. Is it mandatory for the applicant to fill out his/her application personally, and can another person act on his/her behalf and by his/her authorization?
- Applicants may fill out and submit their applications personally, but others may do it for them. Regardless of whether the application was completed by the applicant himself or with the help of a lawyer, friend, relative, etc., only one application per person must be submitted. If the application is selected as a winner, the applicant will receive a notification by mail only at the address specified in the application.
13. What are the requirements for the applicant's education and professional training?
- The law and regulations require that each applicant have at least a completed secondary education or its equivalent, or within the last five years two years of work experience that requires at least two years of vocational training. By "secondary education or its equivalent" is meant the successful completion of a twelve-year course of elementary and secondary education in the United States or the successful completion of a course of elementary and secondary education in another country that is officially recognized as equivalent to a U.S. high school education. Documentary proof of education or professional experience does not need to be attached to the registration application, but it must be provided to a consular officer during the visa interview. To determine whether the level of education or professional training meets the established requirements, the U.S. Department of Labor's O*Net Online database can be used.
14. How will winning entries be selected? <\/strong><\/p>
- At the Kentucky Consular Center, all entries submitted from each region will be assigned individual numbers. After the registration period ends, a computer will randomly select winning entries from among the entries submitted from different geographic regions. Within each region, the first randomly selected entry will correspond to the first registered visa case, the second entry to the second case, and so on. All entries will have an equal chance of selection within each region. When an entry is selected, the applicant will be sent a notification from the Kentucky Consular Center containing instructions on how to proceed with the visa application. The Kentucky Consular Center will continue processing cases until all persons whose entries are selected have received a notice to appear at U.S. consulates for visa issuance, or until all who can do so have applied to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to adjust their status.<\/p>
Note: Winning notifications will NOT be sent via email. Sent electronic winning notifications are not legitimate. <\/strong> <\/em><\/p>
15. Can lottery participants change their status in the United States? <\/strong><\/p>
- Yes, provided they are eligible to change status under other criteria set forth in Section 245 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). Applicants who are physically present in the United States may apply to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to change their status to that of a permanent resident. Applicants should note that USCIS must complete processing of their cases together with those of their close relatives who are outside the United States by September 30, 2010, as that is the end of the DV-2010 program. Visas for the DV-2010 program will not be issued after 24:00 on September 30, 2010 under any circumstances.<\/p>
16. Will notifications be sent to applicants whose entries are not selected? <\/strong><\/p>
- Starting with DV-2010, all entrants, including those NOT selected as winners, will be able to check the status of their entries using the DV website and verify whether their entry was selected. Lottery participants must keep their confirmation page from the time of entry (02\/10\/2008 – 01\/12\/2008) until they can check their entry status online. DV-2010 entry status information will be available from July 1, 2009 to June 30, 2010. All notifications are sent to the address provided in the entry within five to seven months after the submission process ends.<\/p>
17. How many applicants will be selected? <\/strong><\/p>
- For the DV-2010 program, 50,000 visas are allocated, but the number of entries selected will actually be larger. Since it is likely that not all of the first 50,000 selected applicants will receive visas or apply for them, the Kentucky Consular Center will select more than 50,000 entries to issue all allocated diversity visas. At the same time, this means that there will not be enough visas for all applicants whose entries are selected immediately after the lottery. All selected applicants will be informed of their place on the list. Interviews with DV-2010 selected applicants will begin in early October 2009. The Kentucky Consular Center will send letters informing applicants of the date and time of their interview 4-6 weeks before the scheduled interviews at consular offices. Visas, if sufficient in number, will be issued each month to those applicants who are ready to receive them during that month. Once 50,000 diversity visas are issued, the annual program will end. In principle, the number of visas may be exhausted before September 2010, so selected applicants should not delay in preparing the necessary documents for visa issuance. The random selection of your entry by computer at the Kentucky Consular Center does not guarantee that you will receive a visa. To obtain a visa, you must meet the appropriate qualifications. <\/strong><\/em> <\/p>
18. Is there a minimum age for DV program participants? <\/strong><\/p>
- There is no minimum age for applicants, but the requirements for high school graduation or work experience at the time of application, which are imposed on each principal applicant, effectively prevent individuals under 18 from participating in the lottery.<\/p>
19. Is there a fee to participate in the DV program? <\/strong><\/p>
- There is no fee to submit an entry. <\/strong><\/em> Fees will be charged for processing and issuing diversity visas to those applicants whose entries are selected and whose cases are processed at consular sections. Diversity visa applicants, like other immigrants, must also pay the consular fee as prescribed at the time of visa application. Detailed information about these fees will be included in the instructions sent by the Kentucky Consular Center to all selected applicants.<\/p>
20. Can DV applicants expect waivers of ineligibility? <\/strong><\/p>
- No. All ineligibilities for immigrant visas as provided in the Immigration and Nationality Act apply to applicants. There are no special provisions for waiving ineligibilities other than those provided in the Act.<\/p>
21. Can individuals who have already applied for immigrant visas in other categories participate in the DV program? <\/strong><\/p>
- Yes, these individuals are allowed to participate in the DV program.<\/p>
22. During what period do selected applicants have the right to apply for visas allocated for the DV program?
- Individuals selected in the DV-2010 lottery are only eligible to apply for visas during fiscal year 2010, i.e., from October 1, 2009 to September 30, 2010. Applicants must receive diversity visas or adjust their status by the end of the fiscal year, i.e., by September 30, 2010. For those individuals who were selected but did not receive their visas during fiscal year 2010, the right to receive a DV does not carry over to the next year. Similarly, spouses and children who are accorded the status of close relatives during registration for the DV-2010 lottery may only receive their diversity visas from October 2009 through September 2010. Applicants applying for the DV program from outside the United States will receive an interview appointment from the Kentucky Consular Center 4-6 weeks before the scheduled interview date.
23. What happens to the DV case in the event of the death of the lottery winner?
- In the event of the death of the lottery winner, the case is automatically canceled. Spouse/children cannot claim a DV visa based on this application.
24. When will the electronic registration form become available online?
- The electronic application form will be available from 12:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (GMT-4) on October 2, 2008 to 12:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (GMT-5) on December 1, 2008.
25. Can I download and save the electronic application form on my computer and then fill it out?
- No, you cannot save the form in another program to fill out and submit later. The electronic entry form is only a web form. Such a form is more "universal" than forms for word processors. Moreover, there is a requirement that information must be completed and submitted online.
26. If I do not have a scanner, can I send my photos to my relative in the United States to scan them, save them on a diskette, and mail the diskette to me?
- Yes, you may do so if the photo meets the requirements provided in the instructions and submit that photo electronically together with the electronic application form. The applicant must have a scanned photo file at the time of completing the electronic application form. The photo cannot be sent separately from the electronic application. Only one electronic application may be submitted per person or by one person. Multiple submissions will result in disqualification of the application for that person in DV-2010. The complete application (photo and application form) may be submitted from within the United States.
27. Can the application form be saved so that I can fill out part of it and then return to fill out the rest?
- No, this cannot be done. The electronic application form for the DV is designed so that it can be filled out and submitted at once. However, given that the form consists of two parts, and due to possible line interference and delays, the Electronic DV system is designed so that 60 minutes are allowed between downloading the form and the receipt of the application on the DV website after online submission. If the application is not electronically received after 60 minutes, the information submitted up to that time is deleted. This is done so that a fully completed form is not perceived as a duplicate of a previous incomplete form.
28. If the submitted digital graphic files do not meet the specifications, the procedure indicates that the system will automatically reject the electronic registration form and notify the applicant. Does this mean that I can submit a new application?
- Yes, you can submit a new application. Since the application was automatically rejected, it is not considered as submitted on the E-DV website. It does not count as a submitted application and no confirmation of receipt is sent. If problems arise with the submitted digital photos because they do not meet the requirements, they are automatically rejected by the website. At the same time, the time it takes for such a notification to reach the applicant is difficult to predict given the nature of the Internet. If the applicant can resolve the problems and submit both parts within an hour, then the problem is resolved. Otherwise, the submission process must be started over. The applicant may attempt to submit the form as many times as needed until a fully completed form is received and a confirmation is sent. However, if you receive a confirmation of submission, you do not need to submit again.
29. Will the electronic confirmation of receipt of a fully completed application be sent immediately after submission?
- The response from the website regarding receipt of a completed application is sent to the applicant immediately, but the time it takes for the message to be transmitted and received by the applicant depends on the Internet. If after pressing the "Submit" button you do not receive a response for a long time, press "Submit" again. The E-DV system will normally respond to "Submit" being pressed again, as the confirmation has not been received. The applicant may attempt to submit the form as many times as needed until a fully completed form is received and a confirmation is sent.
30. How can I verify that the notification of winning is genuine? How can I confirm that I actually won the lottery drawing?
- Keep your confirmation page. You will need it to check the status of your application on the official DV website after you submit it (you can usually check in March). If you lose the information from the confirmation page, you will not be able to check the status of your application on your own, and we will not resend this page to you.
If your entry is selected, you will also receive a letter by regular mail at the address indicated in your electronic entry from the Kentucky Consular Center between May and July 2009. Only winners will receive notifications. Persons whose entries were not selected can check the status of their entries on the official DV website using the information from the confirmation page. However, no other additional notification by email or regular mail will be sent to them. We will NOT send you a confirmation page again. You will only learn that you are a winner by receiving an official letter from us by regular mail.
U.S. embassies and consulates will not be able to provide a list of selected entrants.
The Kentucky Consular Center (KCC) will send notification letters to winners containing instructions on the visa application process. The instructions state that applicants pay the visa fee in person only at the U.S. embassy or consulate on the day of the interview. The cashier of the Consular Section or a consular officer will immediately issue a payment receipt to the applicant. Do not send money by mail, through Western Union, or any other delivery service.
Entries for DV-2010 must be submitted electronically on the official government DV lottery website www.dvlottery.state.gov.
KCC will send notifications only to lottery winners. KCC staff, consular officers, or other U.S. government authorized persons never send notifications to lottery winners by email and do not plan to do so in the DV-2010 program.
The Visa Office of the U.S. Department of State informs the public that the address of official government websites ends in ".gov". Many other non-governmental websites (e.g., those ending in ".com", ".org", or ".net") often provide accurate and useful information on immigration and visa matters. However, regardless of the content of non-governmental sites, the Department of State is not responsible for the information presented on them.
Some websites that impersonate official ones mislead users by sending them emails and offering their services. In particular, they may demand money for services that are free on official websites (of the Department of State or embassies abroad), such as forms and information on immigration procedures. Additionally, as an attempt to fraudulently obtain money from you, such unofficial websites may require payment for services you will not receive, including visa fees. If you send money under any of the above fraudulent schemes, you will never be able to recover it. You should also be careful not to send any personal information that could also be used for electronic fraud.
31. How can I report instances of Internet fraud and unsolicited emails?
- If you wish to file a complaint about the above actions, visit the Federal Trade Commission page http://www.econsumer.gov/english/, jointly developed by consumer protection agencies from 17 countries, or contact the FBI's Internet Fraud Complaint Center, or the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3). Complaints about unsolicited emails can be filed through the Department of Justice website.
32. If I successfully obtain a visa through the DV program, will the U.S. government help me purchase airfare, assist in finding housing and employment, provide medical care or any subsidies until I am fully established?
- No, applicants who receive DV visas do not receive any assistance such as funds for airfare, housing, or subsidies. If you are selected for a DV visa, before the visa can be issued, you must provide evidence that you will not become a public charge in the United States. Such evidence may include a combination of your personal assets, an affidavit of support (Form I-134) from a relative or friend living in the United States, and/or a job offer from a U.S. employer.
Information from "Zagranitsy" based on materials from the U.S. Department of State.