Visa Lottery
Beware of Diversity Visa Fraud: Websites are posing as official U.S. government sites. Companies have sought money in order to "complete" DV entry forms- There is NO CHARGE. Further, successful DV applicants are NOT notified by letter or email...
The congressionally mandated Diversity Immigrant Visa Program is administered on an annual basis by the Department of State and conducted under the terms of Section 203(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).
The Act makes available 50,000 permanent resident visas annually to persons from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States. The annual DV program makes permanent residence visas available to persons meeting the simple, but strict, eligibility requirements. Applicants for Diversity Visas are chosen by a computer-generated random lottery drawing. There is no fee charged for entering the lottery. Please be aware of companies or organizations claiming to improve an applicant's chances of winning. The selection is random and in no way can it be influenced or skewed to enhance an applicant's chances for selection.
Official Information is ONLY available on the State Department website. Specific details on how to enter the Diversity Lottery are available in October of each year, and the Lottery is run each November/December. Electronic entry forms can ONLY be accessed via the State Department web site. For your entry to be accepted the instructions must be followed exactly.
PLEASE NOTE: 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. There is no charge to download and complete the Electronic Diversity Visa Entry Form.
Conditions of entry are subject to change each year, therefore Consular Posts are unable to provide detailed information, or accept applications.
To be eligible to enter, the applicant must have completed a minimum of twelve years education including FOUR years of high school, which must be the equivalent of a U.S. High School diploma (e.g. completion of 6th Form/year 12 in South Africa ) or qualify under Grade 7 employment standards as set by the U.S. Department of Labor.
Fraud Warning
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Fraudulent websites are 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. To learn more, see the Department of State Warning and the Federal Trade Commission Warning.
The Department of State does NOT notify successful DV applicants by letter or email. Entrants can check the status of their entries, as explained below, by returning to the website to find out if their entry was or was not selected.