Diversity Visa Lottery

Every year the United States sets aside 50,000 permanent resident visas to be given away by lottery in order to preserve diversity among immigrants to the United States.

The theory is that since most of our immigrants come from a limited number of countries, e.g., Mexico, Canada, China, the Philippines and India, and immigrants are in turn permitted to petition for their close relatives, the result would be that the U.S. immigrant population would become less and less diverse without the diversity lottery. The diversity lottery is specifically geared to make visas available to applicants from continents and countries of the world that generally supply fewer immigrants to the United States. The lottery is weighted, and when you enter the lottery, your chances of winning increase if you are from an underrepresented country in the U.S. in an underrepresented part of the world.  People who are native of certain overrepresented countries are not currently permitted to participate including: Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, China (mainland-born), Colombia, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Haiti, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, South Korea, United Kingdom (except Northern Ireland) and its dependent territories, and Vietnam (with this list changing slightly from year to year).

If you are selected in the lottery it is important to get qualified legal representation.

Each fall a 30 day period is designated and publicized during which individuals are invited to put in their applications for the lottery- and this can be done on line from anywhere in the world. To be eligible in addition to being a native of a qualifying country, you must be either a high school graduate or you must have two years of training or experience in an occupation that generally requires at least two years of training or experience. You may file only one application, but every qualifying member of your family may file, and if you or your spouse is selected, you are entitled to bring your immediate family with you, including your spouse and any unmarried children under the age of 21.

If you are selected in the lottery it is important to get qualified legal representation, and to realize that your selection is in no way a guarantee that you will be admitted to the U.S. as a lawful permanent resident. Significantly more people are selected each year than there are visa numbers available. During the year of eligibility those selected will be invited to submit their applications based upon their diversity visa selection number and it is clearly critical to submit your paperwork at the earliest possible time. Eligibility for the program ends when the fiscal year ends, and those who have been late to get all their paperwork in will simply be out of luck.