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Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 Diversity Visa Lottery Now Open

October 12, 2021
The Diversity Immigrant Visa Program (DV Program) provides up to 55,000 immigrant visas (aka permanent residence or green cards) for issuance in Fiscal Year 2023 to persons from countries with low immigration rates to the U.S. Foreign nationals are selected for eligibility to apply for …
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Overview

WHAT IS THE DIVERSITY VISA LOTTERY?

The Diversity Immigrant Visa Program (DV Program) provides up to 55,000 immigrant visas (aka permanent residence or green cards) for issuance in Fiscal Year 2023 to persons from countries with low immigration rates to the U.S. Foreign nationals are selected for eligibility to apply for U.S. Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR) status under this program on the basis of a lottery. The DV Program is administered by the U.S. Department of State, and there is no cost to register.

WHEN CAN I APPLY?

The online registration period for the DV-2023 Program began on Wednesday, October 6, 2021 at 12:00 p.m. noon, Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) (GMT-4), and concludes on Tuesday, November 9, 2021 at 12:00 p.m. noon, Eastern Standard Time (EST) (GMT-5). Individuals who submit more than one entry during the registration period will be disqualified. Applicants are encouraged to apply as soon as possible.

WHO IS ELIGIBLE?

  • An individual must have been born in an eligible country and must meet minimum education/work requirements. Notably, natives of the following countries are NOT eligible to apply: Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, China (including Hong Kong), Colombia, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, South Korea, Great Britain (United Kingdom, except Northern Ireland) and its dependent territories, Venezuela, and Vietnam. Natives of Macau SAR and Taiwan are eligible.
  • Eligible nationality is generally determined by the location of a person’s birth. However, if a foreign national is ineligible to apply based on his/her country of birth, there are two alternate ways to qualify. First, a foreign national whose spouse was born in a eligible country may apply provided that both the individual and the spouse are named on the selected entry, are found eligible, and enter the U.S. simultaneously. Second, a foreign national who was born in a country whose natives are ineligible to apply may be eligible to apply if neither parent was born in or legally resided in that country at the time of the foreign national’s birth.
  • A foreign national must also have either a high school education or its equivalent or at least two years of work experience within the past five years in an occupation requiring at least two years training or experience.

HOW DO I APPLY?

DV Lottery applicants may submit the Electronic Diversity Visa Entry Form online at dvprogram.state.gov. Applicants may only submit ONE lottery entry; individuals who attempt to submit more than one application will be disqualified. A DV Lottery application must be accompanied by digital photographs of the applicant, the applicant’s spouse and the applicant’s dependent children (as applicable), taken in accordance with requirements. Note: Each individual may submit his/her own application if he/she otherwise qualifies.

The principal applicant must also enter valid international travel passport information unless they meet the requirements for an exemption. An exemption may apply if they are stateless, a national of a Communist-controlled country and unable to obtain a passport from the government of the Communist-controlled country, or the beneficiary of an individual waiver approved by the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Secretary of State.

HOW DOES THE SELECTION PROCESS WORK?

  • DV Lottery winners are selected via a random computerized process. After entering the lottery, it is critical to safeguard the confirmation page as it contains information that is needed to check the status of the application.
  • All DV-2023 entrants must go to the Entrant Status Check website using the unique confirmation number from the online registration to find out whether their entry has been selected in the DV P
  • Entrant Status Check will be available at dvprogram.state.gov from 12 p.m. noon Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) on Saturday, May 7, 2022, through at least September 30, 2023. Lottery winners will not receive correspondence in the mail.
  • Selection in the DV Lottery does not automatically confer U.S. Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR or green card) status – only the opportunity to apply for LPR

HOW DO I APPLY FOR PERMANENT RESIDENCE IF I AM ELIGIBLE?

Applications for permanent resident status can be completed by filing an adjustment of status application if lawfully present in the U.S. or by filing an application for an immigrant visa at a U.S. Consulate abroad. The actual application for permanent resident status must be filed and approved by September 30, 2023; if an application is not approved by that date, the application is invalidated.  Note: more individuals are selected in the DV Lottery than there are immigrant visas/green cards made available. As a result, some individuals who are selected in the DV Lottery may ultimately be unable to become U.S. legal permanent residents if the available immigrant visas are allocated prior to approval of the individual’s permanent resident application.

WHERE CAN I GET MORE INFORMATION?

Instructions regarding how to apply for the FY2023 Diversity Visa Lottery may be obtained from the official U.S. Department of State website at dvprogram.state.gov and at DV-2023 Program Instructions.

For more information or specific legal advice, please contact your designated Gibney representative or email info@gibney.com.