FY 2023 Diversity Visa Lottery Registration is Open until November 9, 2021

Happy Columbus Day! In this blog post, we share important updates regarding the Diversity Visa Lottery Program for fiscal year 2023.

What you need to know

The State Department is now accepting online registrations for the Diversity Visa Lottery program for Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 (registration opened Wednesday, October 6, 2021, at noon EDT).

Foreign nationals who want to have a chance of being selected must register for the lottery by Tuesday, November 9, 2021, at noon EST online.

The Fiscal Year 2023 DV lottery program will have up to 55,000 green cards up for grabs that will be selected through a randomized computer-generated process. Winners for FY 2023 are expected to be announced in May 8, 2022.

Why should I apply?

Foreign nationals selected in the FY 2023 lottery are eligible to file their green card applications starting on October 1, 2022.

Am I eligible to enter?

You are eligible to participate if you meet the following requirements.

Requirement #1: You must be a native of a country with historically low rates of immigration to the United States to enter

Click here for the complete list of countries eligible (p. 16 to 20).

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.

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.
Are you a native of a country that does not have historically low rates of immigration to the United States, but in which neither of your parents was born or legally resident at the time of your birth? If yes, you may claim the country of birth of one of your parents if it is a country whose natives are eligible for the DV-2023 program.

Requirement #2: Each DV applicant must meet the education/work experience requirement of the DV program by having either:

at least a high school education or its equivalent, defined as successful completion of a 12-year course of formal elementary and secondary education;

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

Applicants should not submit an entry to the DV program unless they meet both of these requirements. Submission of more than one entry will render you ineligible for a DV.

How do I enter the DV-2023 lottery?

Applicants may submit their Electronic Diversity Visa Entry Form (E-DV Entry Form or DS-5501), online at www.dvprogram.state.gov. The State Department will not accept incomplete entries or entries sent by any other means. There is no cost to submit the online entry form.

How will I know if I am selected?

All DV2023 entrants must go to the Entrant Status Check using the unique confirmation number saved from their DV-2023 online entry registration to find out whether their entry has been selected in the DV program.

The Entrant Status Check will be available on the E-DV website at dvprogram.state.gov from May 8, 2022, through at least September 30, 2023.

If your entry is selected, you will be directed to a confirmation page providing further instructions, including information about fees connected with immigration to the United States.

Entrant Status Check is the ONLY means by which the Department of State notifies selectees of their selection for DV-2023. The Department of State will not mail notification letters or notify selectees by email.

Beware of Fraud: Remember the only authorized DV lottery website is https://dvprogram.state.gov/ and registering for the lottery is completely free! Do not seek the assistance of any outside party to complete your registration. Only the applicant or a state licensed immigration attorney can submit a registration for you. Finally, remember that you will not receive any emails or letter from the State Department. Applicants are only notified of selection through the Entrant Status Check located here.

If eligible we encourage you to apply. We wish you the best of luck!

Need a consultation? We would be happy to discuss your case with you, please text 619-483-4549 or call 619-819-9204.

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