Application Deadline: November 5, 2024, at 12:00 noon
The Department of State administers the Diversity Visa (DV) immigrant visa program, which is an annual program for immigration to the United States. Up to 55,000 immigrants can enter the United States each year from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States.
Diversity Immigrant Visa Program Eligibility
- Requirement #1: Natives of countries with historically low rates of immigration to the United States may be eligible to enter. If you are not a native of a country with historically low rates of immigration to the United States, there are two other ways you might be able to qualify. o Is your spouse a native of a country with historically low rates of immigration to the United States? If yes, you can claim your spouse’s country of birth – provided that you and your spouse are named on the selected entry, are found eligible and issued diversity visas, and enter the United States at the same time. o Are you a native of a country that does not have historically low rates of immigration to the United States, and neither of your parents were born in or legally resident in your native country at the time of your birth? If both of those statements are true, you may claim the country of birth of one of your parents if it is a country whose natives are eligible for the DV-2026 program.
- Requirement #2: Each DV entrant must meet the education/work experience requirement of the DV program by having either: o at least a high school education or its equivalent, defined as successful completion of a 12-year course of formal elementary and secondary education; OR o two years of work experience within the past five years in an occupation that requires at least two years of training or experience to perform. The Department of State will use the U.S. Department of Labor’s O*Net Online Database to determine qualifying work experience.
Online Registration
DV-2026 Program: The online registration period for the DV-2026 Program begins on Wednesday, October 2, 2024, at 12:00 noon, Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) (GMT-4) and concludes on Tuesday, November 5, 2024, at 12:00 noon, Eastern Standard Time (EST) (GMT-5). Submission of more than one entry for a person during the registration period will disqualify all entries for that person.
Selection of Entries
Based on the allocations of available visas in each region and country, the Department of State will randomly select individuals by computer from among qualified entries. All DV-2026 entrants must go to the Entrant Status Check using the unique confirmation number saved from their DV-2026 online entry registration to find out whether their entry has been selected in the DV program. Entrant Status Check will be available on the E-DV website at dvprogram.state.gov from May 3, 2025, through at least September 30, 2026.
For More Information:
Visit the Official Webpage of the United States Diversity Immigrant Visa Program (DV-2026) Lottery
