Diversity Immigrant Visa (DIV)

The Diversity Immigrant Visa  (DV) program, also known as the Green Card Lottery (GCL), is a United States government Lucky Draw program for receiving a USA Green Card. The Immigration started 1990 established the current and permanent Diversity Visa (DV) program.

The lottery is administered by the Department of United State and conducted under the Immigration and National Act (INA). It makes available 55,000 immigrant visas annually and aims to diversify the immigrant population in the United States, by selecting applicants from countries with low numbers of immigrants in the previous five years. Around 12 million people applied for the lottery in 2019.

Many deceptive agencies charge fees from applicants or falsely claim to increase their winning chances, but in fact the only way to apply for the lottery is to complete the entry form on the Department of State website, free of charge.

• Diversity Visa Cost: 

  The green card lottery has no entry fees. If you are chosen and decide to apply for a Diversity Visa, you must pay the required green card application fees. On the Diversity Visa Program website, dvprogram.state.gov, you’ll receive information and specifics on the required fees once you’ve been selected.

• Diversity Visa Timeline: 

  Green card lottery winners are usually notified 7 months after submitting their application. Depending on how fast you apply for your visa, it can take up to 14 months to be scheduled for an interview and acquire your visa. After receiving your visa, you must enter the United States on or before the visa’s expiration date. A Diversity Visa is usually valid for 6 months after it is issued.

• Diversity Visa Eligibility: 

  When applying for a Diversity Visa, there are two key requirements:

COUNTRY OF BIRTH: You must have been born in a country that has sent less than 50,000 immigrants to the United States in the previous five years to be eligible for the Diversity Visa. The nations that are eligible vary from year to year, although Canada, China, India, Mexico, and the United Kingdom are never on the list because they all send a high number of immigrants to the United States. If your home country is not eligible, you can still apply for a Diversity Visa in one of two ways:

• You can apply with your spouse and choose your spouse’s birth country on your application if your spouse was born in an eligible nation.
• You can pick your mother’s or father’s country of birth if neither of your parents were lawful residents in your own country of birth.

EDUCATION: The second important condition for Diversity Visa applicants is that you have a high school diploma or two years of work experience in a job that requires at least two years of training, as assessed by the US Department of Labor, during the previous five years.

Diversity Visa FAQs

Is there an age requirement for applying for a Diversity Visa?

Although there is no minimum age requirement, most people under the age of 18 are ineligible due to the requirement of a high school diploma or job experience.

How long does it take to get a Diversity Visa?

Green card lottery winners are usually notified seven months after applying. Depending on how fast you apply for your visa, it could take up to 14 months for the government to schedule your interview and issue your visa.

What happens if I lose my confirmation number?

To access the Entrant Status Check – the online site where you can see if you’ve been chosen — you’ll need your confirmation number. You can get your confirmation number using the email address you used to register for the lottery if you lose it.

What is the cost of entering the green card lottery?

The Diversity Visa lottery has no entry fees. If you are chosen and decide to apply for a Diversity Visa, you must pay the required green card application fees.

What is the purpose of the Diversity Visa lottery?

The Immigration Act of 1990 established the Diversity Visa as a strategy to promote the diversity of immigrants to the United States. The majority of immigrants to the United States have always come from a few nations, and Congress created the Diversity Visa program to increase the number of immigrants from smaller countries and countries that do not send many immigrants to the United States.