Diversity Visa Program

Requirements of the program

To be eligible to submit the initial application, there are only two criteria to meet. However, you must not apply for diversity visas unless you meet both requirements.

Requirement One

Applicants for the Diversity Visa Program must be nationals of a country with a historically low rate of immigration to the United States.

Alternatively, if your spouse is a native of a qualifying country, you may be able to apply. This works by your spouse submitting their entry to the program, where you are listed as their named spouse.

As well as this, you must both be eligible at the visa application stage and enter the US at the same time.

If this situation does not apply to your circumstances, you may be able to apply on the basis of your parents’ place of birth.

If they were born or legally resident in a country other than the country of your birth (which is an ineligible country) when you were born, you may be able to claim the country of their birth (if the country is an eligible one).

Requirement Two

The second requirement of the program states that you must have the appropriate level of education and/or work experience in order to be eligible.

This means that you should have at least one of the following:

• Minimum of high school level education or equivalent (successful completion of a 12-year course of formal education) OR
• Two years of experience working in a role that requires at least two years of training or work experience to perform (must be within the last five years)

To check whether a role is eligible, use the O*NET OnLine site to search your occupation.

How to check your Diversity Visa status

To track your Diversity Visa (green card lottery) status, you must wait until the date has been announced for individuals to check their status.

This date will be provided when you submit your application. You should follow these steps to check your Diversity Immigrant Visa status:

1. On the date when the status becomes available, visit the official Department of State DV page
2. Locate your unique confirmation number (given to you when you submitted your application)
3. If your initial application was successful, you will be given instructions on how to submit your full visa application

It is extremely important to note that there are many scam organisations that may try to trick you into believing that they are a licensed government organisation who can assist with immigrant visas.

The State Department will not contact you if your application is successful. You are responsible for checking your status.

If you receive an offer that guarantees you access to immigrant visas or suggests that your application can be fast-tracked, you should treat it as a scam because neither is possible.

Similarly, if your lottery application is successful, that is not a guarantee that you will be granted a visa. That decision rests with the immigration officials at your visa interview, and those at the port when you arrive in the U.S. with your visa.

How long is a Diversity Visa valid for?

If your Diversity Visa is approved, it will be inserted on a page in your passport. With this visa, you must travel to the United States before the stated visa expiry date.

In most cases, the immigrant visa will be valid for up to six months from the date of issue. In some circumstances, this date may be sooner, depending on when your medical examination certificate expires.

If you are the primary applicant and you have dependents travelling with you, you must enter either before or at the same time as those family members.

When your immigrant visa is issued and placed in your passport, you will also be given a sealed immigrant packet containing documents to be presented to U.S. Customs and Border Protection when you arrive in the U.S. You are not permitted to open this packet.

How much does the Green Card lottery cost?

The initial application for the green card lottery (diversity visa program) is free. Do not pay any organisations offering to obtain a faster or guaranteed decision.

The application can be done online at the State Department website.

If your application is approved, you may then proceed with your application. The cost of the immigrant visa application is $330.

There may be additional costs involved in the visa application process including:

• Cost of obtaining health insurance
• Cost of gathering required documents (e.g., marriage licenses, certificates, etc.)
• Cost of travelling to the US embassy or consulate in the applicant’s country for the visa interview
• Cost of obtaining the U.S. passport-style photographs required for the application
• Cost of flights or travel to the United States (if you are successful)

Depending on your circumstances, there may be further costs involved in the process.