American Diversity Visa Lottery 2014 Begins

The online registration for the DV-2014 Program will begin on Tuesday, October 2, 2012 at 12:00 noon, Eastern Daylight Time, and conclude on Saturday, November 3, 2012 at 12:00 noon, Eastern Daylight Time. Paper entries will not be accepted. We strongly encourage applicants not to wait until the last week of the registration period to enter. Heavy demand may result in website delays.

It is free for anyone to fill the form online at https://www.dvlottery.state.gov/. Be aware that emails soliciting for money from legible winners is fraud. Winners will be notified from May 1, 2013, when entrants will be able to use their confirmation number provided at registration to check online through Entry Status Check at http://www.dvlottery.state.gov to see if their name was selected.

Those selected will then receive instructions for how to apply for immigrant visas for themselves and their eligible family members.

For information on the photograph size and other requirements, click here.

The Diversity Immigrant Visa Program makes available up to 55,000 diversity visas annually, drawn from random selection among all entries to persons who meet strict eligibility requirements from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States.

For DV-2014, natives of Guatemala are now eligible to enter the program. Also for DV-2014, natives of the following countries are not eligible to apply because the countries sent more than 50,000 immigrants to the United States in the previous five years:

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.

A “native” ordinarily means someone born within a particular country, regardless of the individual’s current country of residence or nationality. Persons born in Hong Kong SAR, Macau SAR, and Taiwan are eligible.

Successful DV entrants must be eligible to receive a visa by qualifying based on education, work, and other requirements. The law and regulations require that every DV entrant must have at least:

-A high school/secondary school education or its equivalent OR
-Two years of work experience within the past five years in an occupation requiring at least two years’ training or experience.

To learn more about qualifying occupations, see the Diversity Visa Instructions Frequently Asked Questions and the List of Occupations webpage.

Those who applied last year for the 2013 program may check the status of their entries through the Entrant Status Check on the E-DV website now .

Diversity Visa Scammers Sending Fraudulent Emails and Letters
The U.S. Department of State, Office of Visa Services, advises the public of a notable increase in fraudulent emails and letters sent to Diversity Immigrant Visa (DV) program (Visa Lottery) applicants. The scammers behind these fraudulent emails and letters are posing as the U.S. government in an attempt to extract payment from DV applicants. Review the procedures for the DV program provided here, so that you know what to expect, when to expect it, and from whom.