The annual DV Program provides an opportunity to obtain a U.S. diversity immigrant visa for individuals who meet simple but strict criteria. Winning entries in the Diversity Visa lottery are selected by computer at random. However, the visas themselves are distributed among six geographic regions so that a larger number go to regions with lower rates of immigration to the United States. Visas are not distributed among countries from which more than 50,000 persons have immigrated to the United States for permanent residence in the last five years. No country, including those that belong to the Offshore World and whose citizens are allowed to participate in the lottery, may receive more than 7% of the total annual number of diversity visas.
As for the DV-2010 lottery, natives of countries from which more than 50,000 persons immigrated to the United States in the previous five years will not be eligible to participate. The list of these countries: Brazil, Canada, China (mainland), Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Pakistan, Philippines, Peru, Poland, South Korea, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (excluding Northern Ireland) including dependent territories, and Vietnam. Persons born in Hong Kong (special administrative region), Macau (special administrative region), and Taiwan are eligible to participate in the Program.
In the DV-2010 Program, Russia returned to the list of eligible countries. Kosovo was also added to the list of eligible countries. No other country was excluded from the DV-2010 list of eligible countries.
In order to increase the efficiency and security of the Diversity Visa program, since 2005 the Department of State has introduced an electronic registration system for lottery participants. The Department of State uses special technologies and other means to identify individuals who commit fraud for the purpose of illegal immigration, or those who submit more than one application.
For the first time in the DV-2010 Program, individuals who submitted their applications may check the status of their applications online and determine whether their applications were selected. Lottery winners will continue to be notified of their win by regular mail.
REGISTRATION PERIOD
Applications for the DV-2010 lottery must be submitted electronically between 12:00 PM Eastern Daylight Time (GMT-4) on October 2, 2008 (Thursday) and 12:00 PM Eastern Standard Time (GMT-5) on December 1, 2008 (Monday). Applicants can find the electronic entry form for the diversity lottery at www.dvlottery.state.gov during the registration period. Paper applications will not be accepted. We recommend that applicants do not wait until the last week of the registration period to submit their application. A high volume of applications may cause delays in processing. Applications will not be accepted after 12:00 PM Eastern Standard Time (GMT-5) on December 1, 2008.
APPLICANT REQUIREMENTS
You must be a native of one of the countries whose natives are eligible to participate in the DV Program.
Native of an eligible country: In most cases, this is the country in which you were born. However, there are two other ways you may be eligible.
* First: if you were born in a country whose natives are not eligible to participate in the Program, but your spouse was born in a country whose natives are eligible to participate in the lottery, then you may claim the country of birth of your spouse provided that you and your spouse receive visas and enter the United States simultaneously.
* Second: if you were born in a country whose natives are not eligible to participate in the Program, but neither of your parents was born in that country nor resided there permanently at the time of your birth, then you may claim the country of birth of one of your parents, provided that country is eligible for DV-2010.
You must have an education or professional training that meets the DV Program requirements.
Education or professional training: You must EITHER have completed secondary school or its equivalent, which is considered a successfully completed course of 12 years of primary and secondary education, OR have, within the past five years, two years of work experience that requires at least two years of vocational training. You can find a link to the list of occupations in the U.S. Department of Labor's O*Net Online database whose representatives are eligible to participate in the Program. For more information regarding sufficient work experience, see the answer in the frequently asked questions section.
If you do not meet these requirements, you should not apply to the DV Program.
PROCEDURE FOR SUBMITTING AN APPLICATION FOR DV-2010
The Department of State will only consider applications submitted in the form of an electronic registration form (ERF) completed at www.dvlottery.state.gov during the registration period. All applications of an applicant will be disqualified if more than ONE application is received on his or her behalf, regardless of who submits them. You may submit your own application, or authorized persons may submit an application on your behalf.
If the application is registered correctly and successfully, a confirmation will appear on the screen containing the name and a unique confirmation number. You may print this confirmation for your own records using the print function of your web browser. Starting July 1, 2009, you will be able to check the status of your application by visiting this website and entering your unique confirmation number and personal information.
Paper applications will not be accepted.
It is extremely important to provide all required photographs. Your application will be disqualified if it does not include all required photographs. You must submit recent photographs of:
- the principal applicant;
- his/her spouse;
- each of their children under 21 years of age (at the time of electronic application submission), including biological children, legally adopted children, and stepchildren (except those who are already U.S. citizens or U.S. lawful permanent residents), even if the children live apart from the applicant and do not intend to immigrate to the U.S. on a diversity visa.
A photo of a child who is already a U.S. citizen or U.S. lawful permanent resident is not required.
Group or family photographs will not be accepted; each family member must be photographed separately.
If photographs of your spouse and each child are not submitted, the application will be considered incomplete. Such an application will not be accepted and will need to be resubmitted.
If all required photographs are not submitted with the application, the principal applicant's application will be disqualified, and a visa will be denied to all accompanying family members.
All photographs (of the applicant, his/her spouse, and each of their children) as separate graphic files must be attached to the electronic Diversity Visa entry form (EDV) and submitted along with it via the Internet. Graphic files can be obtained using a digital camera or by scanning a photographic print with a digital scanner.
Your application will be disqualified if it is determined that the photographs attached to the application were taken long ago, or if they have been manipulated (altered), or if they do not meet the requirements explained below.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR SUBMITTING DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHS
The graphic file must meet the composition and technical specifications provided below. It can be created in one of two ways: by taking a digital photograph or by scanning an existing photograph using a digital scanner.
Before submitting their entry, applicants can check whether their photographs meet all requirements using the photo-check link located on the e-DV website. The photo check provides additional technical advice on photo composition, as well as examples of correct and incorrect photographs.
Composition specifications: The digital image submitted must meet the following composition specifications. Otherwise, it will not be accepted.
Head position: The person must look directly at the camera; the head must not be tilted, lowered, or raised; the head image must occupy about 50% of the photo area.
Background: The person must be photographed against a light neutral background; dark or patterned backgrounds are not acceptable.
Focus: The photograph must be in focus.
Accessories: Photographs in which the person is wearing sunglasses or other accessories that obscure the face will not be accepted.
Head coverings: Photographs of applicants wearing head coverings may be accepted only if such coverings are part of religious beliefs. Even in such cases, they must not obscure any part of the face. Photographs of applicants wearing tribal or other head coverings that are not purely religious in purpose will not be accepted. Photographs of military personnel, pilots, or other uniformed service members wearing military headgear will not be accepted.
Submission of color photographs (24-bit color depth) is mandatory. Photographs may be obtained using a digital camera or scanned and saved to a file on a computer. If you use a scanner, it must be set to a color depth of 24 bits (True Color). According to program requirements, color photographs must be scanned using only these settings. Additional scanning requirements are provided below.
Technical specifications
The submitted digital photograph must meet the specifications below; otherwise, the system will automatically reject the entry and send a notification to the sender.
New digital photograph: To take a new digital photograph, the following requirements must be met:
- JPEG graphic file format;
- Maximum file size 240 kilobytes (240 KB);
- Resolution: 600 pixels high by 600 pixels wide;
- Color depth: 24-bit color.
Scanning submitted photographs: Before scanning a photograph, ensure it meets the composition requirements stated above. If the photograph meets the color and composition requirements, scan it according to the following specifications:
- Scanner resolution: 150 dots per inch (150 dpi);
- JPEG graphic file format;
- Image size: maximum 240 kilobytes (240 KB);
- Image resolution: 600x600 pixels;
- Color depth: 24-bit color.
INFORMATION FOR THE REGISTRATION FORM
There is only one way to apply for the DV-2010 lottery. You must submit Form DS 5501 (Electronic Diversity Visa Entry Form), which can only be completed at www.dvlottery.state.gov. If the registration form is not completely filled out, the applicant's entry will be disqualified. When completing the registration form, applicants must provide the following information:
1. FULL NAME – Surname, first name, patronymic.
2. DATE OF BIRTH – Day, month, year.
3. GENDER – Male or female.
4. CITY/TOWN OF BIRTH.
5. COUNTRY OF BIRTH (the name of the country should match the current name of the country where the applicant was born).
6. COUNTRY OF ORIGIN (Country of origin will generally coincide with country of birth. Country of origin is not related to country of residence. If you were born in a country that is not eligible to participate in the DV Program, please review the instructions for other ways you may be eligible to participate).
7. APPLICANT PHOTOGRAPH (see technical information regarding image specifications. If you have a spouse and children, be sure to include their photographs).
8. MAILING ADDRESS – (address, city/village, district, region, postal code, country).
9. COUNTRY OF RESIDENCE (country where you live today).
10. TELEPHONE NUMBER (if any).
11. EMAIL ADDRESS (if any).
12. HIGHEST LEVEL OF EDUCATION you have obtained. You must select one of the options: (1) primary education only, (2) incomplete secondary education, (3) secondary education, (4) specialized secondary education, (5) incomplete higher education, (6) higher education, (7) master's program, (8) master's degree, (9) postgraduate study, (10) candidate or doctor of sciences degree.
13. MARITAL STATUS (single, married, divorced, widowed, legally separated).
14. INFORMATION ABOUT CHILDREN (Name, date and place of birth of your spouse and all biological children, as well as children adopted in accordance with the law and stepchildren (except those who are already U.S. citizens or have the right to permanent residence in the United States), even if you are no longer married to the child's parent or if the spouse or child lives separately from you and does not plan to immigrate to the United States with you. Please note that children who are 21 years of age or older, as well as children who are married, are not eligible to receive diversity visas. However, U.S. law provides some exceptions: if you submitted your electronic DV application before your unmarried child turned 21, and they turn 21 before the visa is issued, during the visa processing the child will be considered as still under 21. If an applicant does not provide information about all of their children, their application will be disqualified).
15. INFORMATION ABOUT SPOUSE (Name, date of birth, gender, city/village of birth, photograph. If an applicant does not provide information about their spouse, their application will be disqualified).
16. INFORMATION ABOUT CHILDREN (Last name, first name, date of birth, gender, city/village, country of birth, photograph; include all children mentioned in item 14).
SELECTION OF APPLICANTS
Winners will be randomly selected by computer from among properly completed applications. Applicants whose entries are selected as winners will be notified by mail between May and July 2009 and will receive additional instructions, including information on the costs associated with processing immigration documents. Lottery winners are NOT notified by email. Applicants whose entries are not selected will NOT receive any notification. U.S. embassies and consulates will not be able to provide a complete list of selected applicants.
Spouses of selected applicants and their unmarried children under 21 will also be eligible to apply for visas to accompany or join the principal applicant. Visas issued under the DV-2010 program will be available from October 1, 2009 to September 30, 2010.
To obtain a visa, applicants randomly selected in the lottery must meet ALL requirements for potential immigrants under U.S. law. These requirements may significantly increase the level of scrutiny needed and the time required to process cases of participants from certain countries listed in this document, including but not limited to countries designated as state sponsors of terrorism.
IMPORTANT NOTE: There is no fee to enter the annual DV program. The U.S. government does not work with any consultants or private firms in conducting the DV program. Any intermediaries or other persons who offer to help you prepare your case for participation in the DV program do so without the consent or authorization of the U.S. government. The use of any intermediaries or outside assistance to participate in the DV program is at the applicant's own discretion. A properly and accurately completed form submitted electronically by the applicant himself/herself has the same chance of being selected by the computer of the Kentucky Consular Center as a form completed for the applicant by an intermediary for a fee and submitted electronically. Every form received during the registration period will have an equal chance of being randomly selected among the other forms from that region. However, receiving more than one form completed for the same person will disqualify the applicant, regardless of how the form was sent.
Prepared based on materials from the U.S. Department of State.