Eligibility and Requirements » Who Can Apply?
:: Deadline Requirement
Entries for the DV-2009 Diversity Visa lottery must be
submitted electronically between noon Eastern Daylight Time (EDT)
(GMT-4), Wednesday, October 3, 2007 and noon Eastern Standard Time (EST)
(GMT-5) Sunday, December 2, 2007 ::
General Eligibility Requirements
- Native of a country whose natives qualify:
In
most cases this means the country in which you were born. However,
there are two other ways you may be able to qualify. First, if you
were born in a country whose natives are ineligible but your spouse
was born in a country whose natives are eligible, you can claim your
spouse’s country of birth provided both you and your spouse are on
the selected entry, are issued visas and enter the U.S.
simultaneously. Second, if you were born in a country whose natives
are ineligible, but neither of your parents was born there or
resided there at the time of your birth, you may claim nativity in
one of your parents’ country of birth if it is a country whose
natives qualify for the DV-2009 program.
-
To enter the lottery, you must meet either the
education or
work experience requirement of the DV program.
Education or Work Experience:
You must have EITHER a high school
education or its equivalent, defined as successful completion of a
12-year course of elementary and secondary education; OR two years
of work experience within the past five years in an occupation
requiring at least two years of training or experience to perform.
The U.S. Department of Labor’s O*Net OnLine database will be used to
determine qualifying work experience. For more information about
qualifying work experience, see
Frequently Asked Question #13.
Must submit a complete, accurate electronic application within the specified timeline.
If you cannot meet these requirements,
you should NOT submit an entry to the DV program.
:: Including your Spouse & Children
-
Entries must include the name, date and place of birth
of your spouse and all natural children, as well as all legally-adopted
children and stepchildren, who are unmarried and under the age of 21 (do
not include children who are already U.S. citizens or Legal Permanent
Residents), even if you are no longer legally married to the child’s
parent, and even if the spouse or child does not currently reside with
you and/or will not immigrate with you. Note that married children and
children 21 years or older are not eligible for the diversity visa.
Failure to list all children who are eligible will result in
disqualification of the principal applicant and refusal of all visas in
the case at the time of the visa interview.
See Frequently Asked Question
-
The fact that you have listed family members on your entry does not mean that they later must travel with you. They may choose to remain behind. However, if you include an eligible dependent on your visa application forms that you failed to include on your original entry, your case will be disqualified. (This only applies to persons who were dependents at the time the original application was submitted, not those acquired at a later date.) Your spouse may still submit a separate entry, even though he or she is listed on your entry, as long as both entries include details on all dependents in your family.
:: Circumstantial Eligibility - Husband and wife CAN submit separate applications (provided they are eligible).
All entries by an applicant will be disqualified if more than ONE entry for the applicant is received, regardless of who submitted the entry. You may prepare and submit your own entry, or have someone prepare and submit the entry for you it is a choice. You can submit a green card lottery application even if you are pending a "green card" via another application. You can submit an application if you are already in the U.S. or in another country, and the entry may be submitted from the U.S. or from abroad.
:: Selection of an Application -
The
computer will select at random individuals from among all
qualified entries.
They will be notified by
mail between May and July 2008 and will be 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. Those
individuals NOT selected will NOT receive any notification. U.S.
embassies and consulates will not be able to provide a list of successful
entrants. Spouses and unmarried children under age 21 of successful entrants
may also apply for visas to accompany or follow to join the principal
applicant. DV-2009 visas will be issued between October 1, 2008 and
September 30, 2009.
-
In
order to receive a Diversity Visa to immigrate to the United
States, those chosen in the random drawing must meet ALL eligibility
requirements under U.S. law.
Processing of entries and issuance of diversity visas to
successful individuals and their eligible family members MUST occur by
midnight on September 30, 2009. Under no circumstances can diversity
visas be issued or adjustments approved after this date, nor can family
members obtain diversity visas to follow to join the principal applicant
in their case in the U.S. after this date.
:: Important Notice
No fee is charged to enter the annual DV program. The U.S. Government employs no outside consultants or private services to operate the DV program. Any intermediaries or others who offer assistance to prepare DV casework for applicants do so without the authority or consent of the U.S. Government. Use of any outside intermediary or assistance to prepare a DV entry is entirely at the applicant's discretion. A qualified entry submitted electronically directly by an applicant
at dvlottery.state.gov, has an equal chance of being selected by the computer at the Kentucky Consular Center as does an entry submitted electronically through a paid intermediary who completes the entry for the applicant. Every entry received during the lottery registration period will have an equal random chance of being selected within its region. However, receipt of more than one entry per person will disqualify the person from registration, regardless of the source of the entry.
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