The harsh reality of U.S. immigration is if you want to start a new life in the United States, there is virtually no way for you to do it without immediate family or employer sponsorship. At best, you might be able to visit the United States through a B-2 visitor visa, which is a temporary (non-immigrant) visa that requires you to leave the country after a maximum stay of 6 months. These visas can be difficult to get approved, with rejection rates for certain countries as high as 60%. Citizens of nations of the Visa Waiver Program can temporarily enter the United States without a visa, but they are subject to the discretion of the border patrol officer and may have their visit cut short or denied at the entry point.
For citizens of qualifying countries that have no employer or family to sponsor them, there is still one small hope for a green card: the Diversity Visa program. The Diversity Visa program awards green cards to around 50,000 randomly chosen applicants from around the world each year who meet a small set of minimum education and work requirements. Diversity visa applicants and awardees must hail from countries that do not have high immigration levels to the U.S.
A few months ago we wrote about why the Diversity Visa program, or “green card lottery” as it is sometimes known, is an often misunderstood but important immigration program that is at risk of being eliminated in the Senate’s immigration reform proposal. With immigration reform possibly coming to a vote soon, there is a very good chance 2013 will be the last year foreign citizens can apply for a Diversity Visa.
How can I apply for the FY2015 Diversity Visa?
The Diversity Visa lottery will continue as usual for the 2015 fiscal year (which you must apply for in October 2013), and the application date is fast approaching. Starting October 1, 2013, the U.S. Department of State begins accepting applications for what might be the last green card lottery ever. The application window closes one month later on November 1, 2013.
The following countries are disqualified for this year’s Diversity Visa program for sending a large number of immigrants to the U.S. over the last five years:
- Bangladesh
- Brazil
- Canada
- China (mainland born only)
- Colombia
- Dominican Republic
- Ecuador
- El Salvador
- Haiti
- India
- Jamaica
- Mexico
- Nigeria
- Pakistan
- Peru
- Philippines
- South Korea
- United Kingdom (except Northern Ireland) and dependent territories
- Vietnam
Important things to know about applying for the FY 2015 Diversity Visa green card lottery:
- Registration for the lottery is done completely online through the U.S. State Department at dvlottery.state.gov. Paper entries are NOT accepted.
- Entering the diversity visa lottery is completely free. Do not listen to scams that tell you otherwise.
- Entrants must print and retain their confirmation page so they can check their status when winners are announced.
- No lottery entries will be accepted after 12:00pm Eastern Time on November 2, 2013. Apply early to avoid the heavy traffic and website slowdown that can occur at the end of the application period.
- Winners will be announced in May of 2014 and the applicant must check their own status to see if they’ve won at www.dvlottery.state.gov.
- Beware of scam emails notifying you that you won the Diversity Visa lottery. The U.S. government will not email you to tell you if you are a winner. Legitimate emails will always have the .gov or state.gov suffix.
