Interesting Facts About DV Lottery


The DV lottery is a bold initiative of the US state government and through this program, which is conducted each year, about 50,00 visa are issued to successful winners.

The DV Lottery

Every year the DV lottery program, which is commonly known as the green card lottery program, grants about 50,000 visas to people from all round the world. Successful winners are issued a green card which authorises them and their families to live and work permanently in the United States of America.

The Diversity Visa lottery( as it is commonly known) unlike other visa program has less eligibility requirement. Some of the requirement are:

Born in an eligible country: The basic requirement is that the applicant should be from a qualifying country. If by chance he/she is not from a qualifying country they can still qualify for the DV lottery if their spouse or parents are from an eligible country.

Educational requirement: All applicants must meet a basic education or work requirement. The applicant should posses a high school education or its equivalent or should at least possess about two years work experience in the past five years

Once the DV lottery program is officially concluded, the KCC (Kentucy Consular Center) will randomnly select the winners. These lucky winners will be notified by mail and the notification will also contain further instructions on how they need to proceed.

Some Interesting Facts About the DV Lottery

1. Why certain countries do not qualify for the lottery?

DV lottery is intended to provide an equal opportunity for people from various regions who have lower rates of immigration to the United States every year. Regions with high admission rates during the previous years will not be allowed to particiapte in the lottery. Each year the USCIS adds the admission numbers (family and employment immigration) for the previous five years to identify those regions whose natives will become ineligible for the DV lottery program.

2. Is there an age limit for participating in the DV lottery?

No. There is no minimum age to apply for the lottery program. Hoever the educational requirement or the work experience of the applicant will effectively disqualify many people below the age of 18.

3. What is the process involved while selecting the lucky winners?

All entries received from each region will be individually numbered at the Kentucky Consular Center. After the end of registration period, a computer will randomnly select entries received from the geographic regions. Within each geographic region, the first entry randomly selected will be the first case to win, the second entry selected will be the second winner and so on. All entries received during the registration period will have an equal chance of being selected within each region. When an entry has been selected, the entrant will be sent a notification letter by the Kentucky Consular Center, which will provide the visa application instructions.

4. How are winners notified?

When the registration period concludes, a computer would randomly select a list of winners from the available entries. Successful winners will be notified by the Kentucky Consular Center by mail, with the visa instructions. Should you receive an e-mail notification about your selection, be aware that the message is legitimate.

5. What happens if some bio-graphical information is changed after the application is filed?

If for any reasons, details of the spouse or child needs to be added, they can enter the United States with the applicant provided he/she proves that the relationship is not a fraudulent one.

The DV lottery is a bold initiative of the US state government and through this program, which is conducted each year, about 50,000 visa are issued to successful winners. Green card lottery is one of the best way to get green card to USA.

31 thoughts on “Interesting Facts About DV Lottery

  1. I would like to ask a question regarding chargeability, I have currently applied for the dvlottery as a principal applicant and I am using my wife’s country of birth to be eligible. I wanted to know if my wife also needs to fulfil the education/work experience requirement or is it just the primary applicant requirement?

    Like

      • Thanks for the quick reply, unfortunately I am 1 of the 22,000 winners who had been selected but now been voided due to the computer error. Hopefully I can try for next fiscal year.

        Like

  2. you know i was just thinking this year first time they only selected 22000…so probably they are planning to take some 10000-15000 immegrants

    Like

  3. i have been applying for almost 5 years now without winning. hope this year is going to be my winning year.Amen!

    Like

  4. Hi,
    I am sure I have asked this question before but I am still a bit confused on cross-chargeability as I am getting conflicting answers. I have read both applicants are considered principal applicants for the purpose of cross-chargeability.

    I am the principal applicant from a non-eligibe country & using my spouse’s country of birth to be eligible does my spouse need to fulfill the education requirements to be eligible for the dv-2 visa?

    Thank you
    Dinesh

    Like

    • Thanks for the reply,

      What if I apply for the DV Lottery as the principal applicant & use my spouse country for cross-chargeability, does my spouse still need to fulfill the education requirements as well as me?

      Thank you
      Dinesh

      Like

  5. Do they send emails to notify winners? I received an email from dvlottery notifying that i was selected. Unfortunately,i was unable to check whether i was selected because i misplaced my confirmation number.

    Like

    • No they send any emails……You have to check your winning status online using your confirmation. If you lose the confirmation number, then you cannot do anything other than participating again.

      Like

  6. Hi,
    Out of curiosity, are previous year’s entries kept on file? If the person won, do they then search the database for previous year’s entries to make sure applications are consistent? Thanks

    Like

      • No, what I mean is if one applied last year and made a mistake with the information. Didnt win. However, won this year. So I wonder will they be checking one’s previous entries to see what they put down in previous year’s applications.

        Like

  7. I am a winner 2011 visa lottery. I learned that unfortunately because i finished 12 years of school in my country, but the last 2 years were a vocational school, i won’t qualify because i am not entitle to go further to academic studies; but my wife who is applying with me does. Can that work, and to qualify anyway ?
    Thanks for your answer, Adrian.

    Like

  8. Yes, I know that, I am a lorry driver and my work is only 5 on SVP scale, not 7 which is minimum accepted; my education is as I explained.
    So I don’t know if is worth to try the interview anyway, or because my education is not enough as well as my work experience.
    My wife got the education requirements but she hasn’t won, but I did. I don’t know if we are going together to the interview her education may be considered, or the one who counts is only me cause I am the one selected.
    Sorry if I insist, but I don’t find anything in internet regarding my particular case!
    I understand even you, can’t know everything, I am just asking your opinion, to help me to decide if I go to the interview or not!
    Thanks Adrian.

    Like

  9. Hi I was selected for further processing of the DV 2011. But the person who applied for me did put my education as Master’s degree level, that was a mistake. I am a high graduate and have 6 years experience in the field of social work. My Question is this: Will this affect me even though it was a typing error? please advice. Thanks in Advance

    Like

Have your thoughts heard