Immigration Law

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Diversity Visa Lottery & Requirements

The Diversity Visa (DV) Lottery Program is a process whereby aliens of select nationalities are offered an opportunity to obtain permanent resident status in the United States. Administered annually by the Department of State, the diversity visa program is conducted under the terms of INA §203(c). Applicants for these visas need to meet a set of straightforward yet strict eligibility requirements and are chosen by computer-generated random selection.

Listed below are a few questions on diversity visas answered by immigration lawyers.

I am currently in the U.S. on a valid B1/B2 visa and was recently selected for the diversity visa. Do I need to go back to my country and file for this or can I process this through the consulate here?

Most people selected for the Diversity Lottery would be eligible to adjust their status in the U.S. if they have entered the country legally. So you shouldn’t have any problem adjusting your status while in the country. However, you must keep in mind that it is not recommended for an individual to leave the U.S. with a Green Card application that is pending. In case you have to leave before your Green Card is approved, you would need to get advance parole using USCIS I-131. An immigration lawyer can help you with the adjustment of status application.

I am an illegal resident in the U.S. and have applied for a diversity visa. If I win the diversity lottery, can I get a waiver so I won’t be banned from re-entering the country?

Unfortunately, this wouldn’t be possible. You would need to reside in the U.S. legally to make use of the visa or you would have to leave the country and if you do that, you may not be allowed in for ten years. The waiver that exists can only be used if you have a U.S. Citizen or Lawful Permanent Resident spouse or parent who can petition for you.

I got a diversity visa when I was single and then got married and came to the U.S. Now that I have a Green Card, is my wife eligible to get a visa as well?

You would need to file an I-130 for your wife and this could take about 5-6 years. If you had gotten married before you got your diversity immigrant visa, your wife would have been able to accompany you. You can get the I-130 here

I have overstayed my tourist visa in the U.S. by about ten years. Recently, I was selected by the diversity visa lottery and am wondering if I can get a Green Card now. I can’t find a law company that is willing to take on my case.

The reason a law firm is not interested in your case is that you have been out of status in the U.S. for 10 years. Winning the diversity lottery was lucky but you cannot adjust your status in the U.S. because you are living in the country out of status. There are two exceptions to this ineligibility: If you were sponsored by a U.S. citizen spouse or if you were sponsored by a U.S. citizen child over the age of 21. However, winning the diversity lottery does not give you an exception. If you leave the country to process your visa, you could trigger a 10-year bar from re-entering. Since you accrued more than one year of unlawful presence, you will trigger the bar the moment you leave. That’s the reason why a law firm can’t help you.

Applicants who win a visa through the Diversity Visa Lottery Program will be eligible to live and work permanently in the U.S. along with their children and spouse. To apply for the diversity visa program, every applicant would need to file Form I-485 when a visa becomes available. They must also file an online application for the DV Lottery Program at the official U.S. Department of State website. Program applications are only accepted at specific times of the year–usually between October and December.

Recent Diversity Visa Lottery Questions

I have withholding of removal and my military spouse wants

I have withholding of removal and my military spouse wants to petition for me what is the process
Hi , I won 2013 DV green card lottery and after waiting for

Hi , I won 2013 DV green card lottery and after waiting for an interview for almost 1 year, they have just emailed me the email below:

"Dear Ms.

The Kentucky Consular Center (KCC) scheduled and mailed to you notice of your final visa interview with this office.

Before you travel to our office for your interview, you may wish to review the rules of eligibility for the Diversity Visa Lottery.

In preparing your file for your final visa interview, it was noted that you were born in Kasachstan but had entered the DV2013 program using Germany as your Foreign State of Chargeability (FSC), which may be your country of citizenship or residence. FSC is based on country of birth. It therefore appears that you may have made an error in your initial DV lottery entry.

Natives of Kasachstan were eligible to enter the DV2013 lottery program; therefore, you should have entered the program using your FSC as Kasachstan and not Germany, your country of residence and/or nationality. The rules to the DV lottery state that an applicant will be disqualified at the time of interview if they are found to have used the wrong FSC at the time of application entry.

Unless you fall under the exception to the general rule of chargeability, you may be found at your interview to be ineligible for an immigrant visa through the Diversity Visa lottery. The Department of State guidelines on chargeability are outlined in 9 FAM 42.33 N4.2, listed below:

As stated in the regulatory definition, the normal rules of chargeability apply to INA 203(c) immigrants. Many applicants may seek beneficial treatment from the rules of cross chargeability, as in the following examples:

(1) A spouse or child born in a country, which is not among those for which DV visas are available, may use the principal registrant’s chargeability when they are accompanying or following-to-join;

(2) A child born in a non-qualifying country in which neither parent was born nor resident at the time of the child’s birth, may claim the birthplace of either parent;

(3) A DV applicant born in a country, which is not among those for which DV visas are available, and the non-applicant spouse who was born in a qualifying country, may be issued DV visas, provided the relationship was established prior to submitting the entry. In such instances, however, both applicants are considered principal applicants for the purpose of cross-chargeability and must be issued visas and apply for admission to the United States simultaneously.

In simpler terms, as you were born in Kasachstan and natives of Kasachstan were eligible to enter the DV2013 lottery program, and you used the FSC of your country of your residence and/or nationality, you may be found to be ineligible to apply for the DV2012 visa you had been selected for. If you attend your visa interview, you might be found to be ineligible for a visa if it is found that no exception to the rules of chargeability applies to you. Any fees you and your family members pay at your visa interview are application fees, and will not be refunded if you are found ineligible. Please thoroughly review the rules and the instructions on the Department of State website before you attend your interview. That site is: http://travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants/types/types_1322.html.

Regards,

U.S. Consulate General, Sydney

Immigrant Visa Unit

(BC)"

I would have no problems to enter Kasachstan as my FSC but unfortunately the application didn't state that FSC is based on country of birth. The question was about my citizenship/nationality and whether I have gained it through naturalization or other reasons! Is there anything that can be done?
paper missing DV lottery interview

I am preparing for an interview in us embassy as I got selected for diversity visa lottery. I have lived in four countries since age 16 and have police records from three of them. The fourth one, Venezuela, is refusing to issue one because i lost my old residency card (i lived there 1994-1999), they require a copy. I have the ID number but they are refusing to do it with the number only. Going on an interview for a family of four is expensive (just visa fees and medical are $2,500) plus we have to travel to another country (another $2,500). Will they decline if this one paper is missing (don't want to waste money if yes)? Would it help to go to Venezuela and get some statement from them that they won't issue it and the reason why? Would it help to get a sworn statements from people I knew or worked with during that time in Venezuela?