The 2014 Diversity Immigrant Visa Program

October 3, 2012

U. S. Embassy Moscow is pleased to announce that persons born in Russia will be eligible to participate in the 2014 Diversity Visa (DV) Program.

The Diversity Visa Program is administered annually by the Department of State under the Immigration and Nationality Act. For fiscal year 2014, a total of 50,000 diversity visas will be available. Applicants for Diversity Visas are chosen through a computer-generated, random drawing. The visas are distributed among six geographic regions with a greater number going to regions with lower rates of immigration to the United States.

Entering the Diversity Visa Lottery is free. All entries must be submitted online.The Department of State will only accept completed E-DV entry forms submitted electronically at www.dvlottery.state.govduring the registration period between noon, Eastern Daylight Time (EDT), Tuesday, October 2, 2012, and noon, EDT, Saturday, November 3, 2012.For entry instructions and more information, go to http://travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants/types/types_1318.html.

A successfully registered entry will result in a confirmation screen containing your name and a unique confirmation number. Starting May 1, 2013, you will be able to check the status of your DV-2014 entry by returning to www.dvlottery.state.gov and using the Entrant Status Check function, for which you will need your confirmation number. Entrant Status Check will be the sole means of informing you of your selection for DV-2014; the Department of State will not send lottery DV-2014 winners confirmation e-mails or letters by regular mail. Be advised that any e-mail or letter claiming to confirm selection is a scam designed to extract payment.

Beware of fraudulent Web sites posing as official U.S. government sites. Some companies posing as the U.S. government have sought money in order to "complete" DV entry forms. There is no charge to download and complete the Electronic Diversity Visa Entry Form. In addition, the U.S. government does not collect any program fees until the day a DV winner appears at a U.S. Embassy or Consulate for the visa interview. To learn more, see the Department of State Warning and the Federal Trade Commission Warning.