DIVERSITY IMMIGRANT VISA PROGRAM (DV LOTTERY)

Another way to secure a green card is through the lottery program, also known as the Diversity Lottery. This program gives, by random selection, approximately 55,000 green cards to people from most countries in the world.

In order to be in the green card lottery drawing, an applicant must be a native of an eligible country and is required to have a high school education or two years of work history within the past five years in an occupation which requires a minimum of two years of training or experience.

For DV-2013, natives of the following countries are not eligible to apply because the countries sent a total of 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, GUATEMALA, HAITI, INDIA, JAMAICA, MEXICO, 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.

For DV-2013, natives of South Sudan and Poland are now eligible for selection, while Bangladesh natives are now ineligible.

Since this list is subject to changes yearly, we suggest you check to determine if your country of birth or country of chargeability is listed.

We can certainly help you with the lottery application but you can also visit the website at the Department of State and apply online.

Diversity Visa (DV) Lottery Instructions »

Contact our immigration attorneys at Garganigo, Goldsmith & Weiss and we will be happy to assist you.