DV Lottery 2022 – 2023 (All You Need to Know)
Submit an Entry
There is a limited period of time during which you can register for the Diversity Immigrant Visa (DV) Program during each fiscal year. Each year, the Department of State publishes detailed instructions for entering the DV Program. These instructions include the dates of the registration period during which you will be able to enter.
All entries must be submitted electronically on the Electronic Diversity Visa (E-DV) website during the specified registration period. No late entries or paper entries are accepted. The law allows only one entry by or for each person during each registration period. The Department of State uses sophisticated technology to detect multiple entries. If you submit more than one entry you will be disqualified. This website does not become active for submitting an entry until the date and time specified on the DV Instructions webpage.
Detailed guidance for completing the online entry form is included in the DV Instructions.
After you submit a complete entry, you will see a confirmation screen containing your name and a unique confirmation number. Print this confirmation screen for your records. It is extremely important that you retain your confirmation number. It is the only way you can check the status of your entry, and you will need it to obtain further instructions or schedule an interview for a visa if you are selected.
There is no cost to register for the DV Program. You are strongly encouraged to complete the entry form yourself, without a “Visa Consultant,” “Visa Agent,” or another facilitator who offers to help. If somebody else helps you, you should be present when your entry is prepared so that you can provide the correct answers to the questions and retain the confirmation page and your unique confirmation number.
Selection of Applicants
Each year, the Department of State conducts a random selection of Diversity Immigrant Visa (DV) applicants, based on allocations of available visas in each region and country, from all registered entries. On or about May 8, 2022, information on the Entrant Status Check on the Electronic Diversity Visa (E-DV) website is updated to inform all entrants if their online registration was selected or not. You will need to enter your confirmation number, which you obtained when you filled out your entry form, to check your entry status. If you have lost your confirmation number, you will not be able to check the status of your entry. We will not be able to resend the confirmation number to you.
If your entry is selected, you will be directed to a confirmation page that will provide further instructions, including information on fees connected with immigration to the United States. Entrant Status Check is the ONLY means by which selectees are notified of their selection. The Department of State does not mail out notification letters or notify selectees by email, and U.S. Embassies and Consulates will not provide a list of selectees. Individuals who have not been selected also will be notified ONLY through Entrant Status Check. You are strongly encouraged to access Entrant Status Check yourself and not to rely on someone else to check and inform you.
If You Are Selected
Please note: The Department of State will not mail notification letters or notify selectees by email. U.S. embassies and consulates will not provide a list of selectees. Entrant Status Check on the E-DV website is the ONLY means by which the Department of State notifies selectees of their selection. If you receive notification through the Electronic Diversity Visa (E-DV) website that you have been selected for further processing in the Diversity Immigrant Visa (DV) Program, you must successfully complete the steps on the following pages before a consular interview can be scheduled to determine if you will receive a visa. You should complete these steps as soon as possible.
If you receive notification through the E-DV website that you have been selected for further processing in the DV Program, and you are physically present in the United States, you may be eligible to adjust status to obtain permanent residence through the DV Program. For more information, see Adjustment of Status.
It is important to remember that selection does not guarantee you will receive a visa. In order to receive a DV to immigrate to the United States, selectees must still meet all eligibility requirements under U.S. law.
Confirm Your Qualifications
The Diversity Immigrant Visa (DV) Program requires the principal DV applicant to have a high school education, or its equivalent, or two years of qualifying work experience as defined under provisions of U.S. law.
If you do not have either the required education or qualifying work experience, you are not eligible for a diversity visa. (Only you, as the principal applicant, must meet this requirement. Your spouse and children do not have to meet this requirement.) You should consider not pursuing a DV application if you do not meet the qualifying education or work experience requirements explained below as you may not be eligible for a diversity visa and any fees you pay for the visa application will not be refunded.
High School Education: A high school education means successful completion of a formal course of elementary and secondary education comparable to a 12-year course in the United States. Only formal courses of study meet this requirement; equivalency certificates (such as the G.E.D.) are not acceptable.
Work Experience: If you are qualifying with work experience, you must have two years of experience in the last five years, in an occupation which, by U.S. Department of Labor definitions, requires at least two years of training or experience that is designated as Job Zone 4 or 5, classified in a Specific Vocational Preparation (SVP) rating of 7.0 or higher.
The U.S. Department of Labor provides information on job duties, knowledge and skills, education and training, and other occupational characteristics on their website http://www.onetonline.org/. The O*Net online database groups work experience into five “job zones.” While many occupations are listed, only two years of experience in certain specified occupations qualify an individual for a Diversity Visa.
How to Find the Qualifying Occupations on the Department of Labor Website: Qualifying DV Occupations are shown on the Department of Labor O*Net Online Database. Follow these steps when you are in O*Net Online to find out if your occupation may qualify you for a Diversity Visa:
- Under “Find Occupations” select “Job Family” from the pull down;
- Then Browse by “Job Family”. (For example, select Architecture and Engineering) and click “GO”;
- Then click on the link for your specific occupation. (As an example, select Aerospace Engineers. At the bottom of this Summary Report for Aerospace Engineers, under the Job Zone section, you will find the designated Job Zone 4, SVP Range, 7.0 to < 8.0. This means using this example, Aerospace Engineering is a qualifying occupation.)
Passport Requirement: Beginning with entries for DV-2021, the Department of State’s regulations require all entrants to provide a valid passport number at the time of DV entry, unless they are unable to obtain a passport and fall under one of three limited exemptions. The passport must be valid for international travel. Internal passports, issued by some countries, are not valid for DV entry purposes. You should consider not pursuing a DV application if you listed a false or invalid passport number on your DV entry, or if you selected an exemption from the passport requirement and you did not meet the requirements for that exemption, as you may not be eligible for a diversity visa and any fees you pay for the visa application will not be refunded. (Only you, as the principal applicant, must meet this requirement. Your spouse and children do not have to meet this requirement.)
Exemptions from the Passport Requirement: The Department of State’s regulations provide for three limited exemptions from the passport requirement. These three exemptions include: individuals who are stateless, nationals of a Communist-controlled country who are unable to obtain a passport from the government of the Communist-controlled country, and beneficiaries of individual waivers approved by the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Secretary of State. If you selected one of these exemptions on your DV entry, you will be required to explain how you meet one of the three exemptions. The exemptions apply only to individuals who are unable to obtain a passport. If you selected an exemption because of a delay in obtaining a passport, whether or not that delay was within your control, you do not qualify for an exemption and you may not be eligible for a diversity visa. You should consider not pursuing a DV application if you selected one of the exemptions on your DV entry and you do not in fact fall into one of the exempted categories, as you may not be eligible for a diversity visa and any fees you pay for the visa application will not be refunded.
- Stateless Individuals: In general, statelessness is a rare situation. If on your DV entry you checked the box corresponding to this exemption, you must provide evidence to establish that you did not acquire the nationality of your country of birth under the laws of that country and that you do not have any other nationality.
- Nationals of a Communist-controlled country: If, on your DV entry, you checked the box corresponding to this exemption, you must provide evidence to establish that you are unable to obtain a passport from the government of your country of nationality.
- Beneficiaries of individual waivers: If, on your DV entry, you checked the box corresponding to this exemption, you must provide evidence that you are unable to obtain a passport, and the reason you should receive an individual passport waiver, such as:
1) A previous U.S. visa issued to you on form DS-232 because you were unable to obtain a passport, and that the same reasons that you previously sought a passport waiver still apply;
2) Form I-193 approved by USCIS because you were unable to obtain a passport, and that the same reasons that you previously sought a passport waiver still apply; or
3) Documentation showing that you have been granted refugee status in a country other than your country of nationality because you have been persecuted by the government of your country of nationality, making it impossible for you to obtain a passport from that government without experiencing further harm.
Submit Your Immigrant Visa and Alien Registration Application
The principal applicant and all family members applying for a diversity visa program must complete Form DS-260. You will need to enter your DV case number into the online DS-260 form to access and update the information about yourself and your family that you included in your DV entry.
If your family circumstances have changed after you entered the Diversity Visa program, for example, if you have gotten married or had a child, you will need to add your new family members to your case. (“Family member” refers to a spouse and/or unmarried children who had not reached age 21 before you entered the DV program.) When adding family members to your case, you will need to upload a document to prove your relationship to the family member being added.
Important note: If you had a spouse or children prior to submitting your original entry, but you did not include them on your original entry form, such errors may render you, as well as any of your family members, ineligible for a diversity visa. If you listed a spouse or child on your original entry who was not your spouse or child at the time of entry, such errors may render you, as well as any of your family members, ineligible for a diversity visa. As indicated in the prior paragraph, if your family circumstances have legitimately changed after submitting your original entry, you should add those family members and all family members’ applications will be reviewed. For more information, see the DV Instructions.
On the Sign and Submit page of the DS-260, you will need to re-enter your DV case number without the zeros (e.g. if the case number is 2023AF0000012345, enter ‘2023AF12345’). Entering the full case number with zeros will generate a validation error.
After submitting the Form DS-260 online, print the confirmation page. You must bring the confirmation page to your visa interview.
Please be aware that KCC can only tell you if your form has been processed. KCC cannot tell you whether or not you or your family members are eligible for diversity visas. Only the consular officer who interviews you can make that decision.
Contacting KCC: If you need to contact the KCC, always include your name, birthdate and case number exactly as they appear in the Entrant Status Check (ESC). Your case number should be clearly written in the upper right hand corner of your e-mail or in the subject line. KCC only receives inquiries by email. Do not mail paper documents or correspondence to the Kentucky Consular Center. All paper documents or correspondence received will be destroyed. The KCC e-mail address for Diversity Visa inquiries is [email protected].
Submit Supporting Documents
After KCC receives and processes the DS-260 application form for you and your accompanying family members, you will receive instructions for how to submit required supporting documents. Your interview will not be scheduled until you submit scanned copies of all required supporting documents, following the guidelines below. If you cannot obtain a particular document, send an explanation of why you cannot obtain the document, as an attachment in .jpeg or .pdf format, to [email protected], with your case number in the subject line. You will bring the original documents to your interview with the consular officer. It is strongly recommended that you begin this process early.
The applicant and each family member who will accompany the applicant to the United States will need to submit scanned copies and any required translations of original documents or certified copies of the documents listed below from an appropriate office, authority, or issuing entity in your country. You will be required to bring the original documents to your visa interview at the U.S. embassy or consulate, along with any translations required.
Documents
Review the information below to determine which documents you will need to obtain. KCC will send instructions explaining how to scan and email the documents and any required translations after you submit a valid DS-260 application for you and all accompanying family members. Your visa interview appointment will not be scheduled until KCC has received and reviewed all required supporting documents. You will take original documents with you to your interview at a U.S. embassy or consulate. Do not mail any of these documents to the Kentucky Consular Center. All paper documents or correspondence mailed to KCC will be destroyed.
- Birth Certificates
- Court and Prison Records
- Military Records
- Police Certificates
- Photocopy of Valid Passport Biographic Data Page