Greencard Lottery Information

DV 2014 Registration:
The online registration for DV-2014 DV Lottery begins on Tuesday, October 2, 2012 at 12:00 noon, Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) (GMT-4), and concludes on Saturday, November 3, 2012 at 12:00 noon, Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) (GMT-4). All entries must be submitted electronically during the registration period, when applicants may access the Electronic DV Entry Form DS-5501 at http://www.dvlottery.state.gov. Paper entries will not be accepted. 

Note: Applicants are strongly encouraged not to wait until the last week of the registration period to enter.  Heavy demand may result in website delays. 

Homepage: http://travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants/types/types_1322.html
Instructions: http://travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants/types/types_1318.html

Fraud Warning

There have been instances of fraudulent websites posing as official U.S. Government sites. Some companies posing as the U.S. Government have sought money in order to "complete" lottery entry forms. The Department of State, Visa Services advises the public that only internet sites including the ".gov" indicator are official government websites. Finally, remember that all DV applicants will not receive a notification letter or email from the U.S. government but must check their status online. DV Entry Status Check  will only be provided through the Department of State secure online site, http://www.dvlottery.state.gov.  

• Read the Fraud Warning

Overview

The Congressionally mandated Diversity Immigrant Visa Program makes available 50,000 diversity visas (DV) annually, drawn from random selection among all entries to persons who meet strict eligibility requirements from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States.

Lottery Winner Notification

DV-2014 entrant notification will be through the Entry Status Check at http://www.dvlottery.state.gov.  See the DV 2014 instruction for more information about Entry Status Check. Lottery entrants selected are provided further instructions, including information on fees connected with immigration to the U.S. Those selected in the random drawing are NOT notified by email or letter. The Diversity Visa Lottery Instructions "Selection of Applicants" section provides information about the DV timeframe and process.

Qualifying Occupations

The law and regulations require that every diversity visa entrant must have at least a high school education or its equivalent or have, within the past five years, two years of work experience in an occupation requiring at least two years' training or experience. To learn more about qualifying occupations, see the Diversity Visa Instructions Frequently Asked Question #13 (pdf, 260kb) and the List of Occupations webpage.