The US Department of State invites applications from natives of eligible countries (Nigeria included) to apply for the 2014 Diversity Immigrant Visa Program (DV-2014). The annual DV program makes visas available to persons meeting simple, but strict, eligibility requirements. Based on the allocations of available visas in each region and country, the computer will randomly select individuals from among qualified entries. Fifty Thousand (50,000) people will be selected in the DV-2014 program.
THE 2014 DIVERSITY IMMIGRANT VISA PROGRAM (DV-2014)
The congressionally mandated Diversity Immigrant Visa Program is administered on an annual basis by the Department of State and conducted based on United States law, specifically Section 203(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). This law provides for a class of immigrants known as “diversity immigrants,” with visas made available to persons from countries with historically low rates of immigration to the United States. For Fiscal Year 2014, 50,000 diversity visas (DV) will be available.
A computer-generated, random drawing chooses selectees for DVs. The visas are distributed among six geographic regions, and within each region, no single country may receive more than seven percent of the available DVs in any one year. Visas are allocated to natives of countries with historically lower rates of U.S. immigration. Natives of countries who have sent more than 50,000 immigrants to the United States over the past five years are not eligible to apply for the Diversity Visa program. 2012
2012 AMERICAN GREEN CARD LOTTERY APPLICATION FOR DV-2014
DE
ADLINE
Entries for the DV-2014 DV program must be submitted electronically between noon, Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) (GMT-4),
Tuesday, October 2, 2012, and noon, Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) (GMT-4),
Saturday, November 3, 2012. Applicants may access the electronic DV Entry Form (E-DV) at
www.dvlottery.state.gov during the registration period. Paper entries will not be accepted. We strongly encourage applicants not to wait until the last week of the registration period to enter. Heavy demand may result in website delays. No entries will be accepted after noon, EDT, on November 3, 2012.
REQUIREMENTS FOR ENTRY
Eligibility
To enter the DV program, you must be a native of one of the eligible countries (Nigeria is eligible). See List Of Countries not eligible
For DV-2014, natives of the following countries are not eligible to apply because the countries sent a total of more than 50,000 immigrants to the United States in the previous five years:
BANGLADESH, BRAZIL, CANADA, CHINA (mainland-born), COLOMBIA, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, ECUADOR, EL SALVADOR, HAITI, INDIA, JAMAICA, MEXICO, PAKISTAN, PERU, PHILIPPINES, SOUTH KOREA, UNITED KINGDOM (except Northern Ireland) and its dependent territories, and VIETNAM
Native of a qualifying country: 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 that both you and your spouse are on the selected entry, are issued visas, and enter the United States 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’ countries of birth if it is a country whose natives qualify for the DV-2014 program.
Education / Work Experience: To enter the DV program, you must meet either the education or work experience requirement of the DV program: you must have either a high school education (SSCE / GCE / NECO) 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 for the principal DV applicant, see Frequently Asked Question #13 in Instruction pdf below.
Note: If you cannot meet either of these requirements, you should
NOT submit an entry to the DV program.
PROCEDURES FOR SUBMITTING AN ENTRY TO DV-2014
The Department of State will only accept completed E-DV entry forms submitted electronically at
www.dvlottery.state.gov during the registration period between noon, EDT (GMT-4), Tuesday, October 2, 2012, and noon, EDT (GMT-4), Saturday, November 3, 2012.
All entries by an individual will be disqualified if more than ONE entry for that individual is received, regardless of who submitted the entry. You may prepare and submit your own entry or have someone submit the entry for you. There are
NO COSTS or
FEES to register for the DV Program.
A registered entry that complies with submission instructions will result in a confirmation screen containing your name and a unique confirmation number.
You must print this confirmation screen for your records using the print function of your web browser and ensure that you
retain your confirmation number. Starting May 1, 2013, you will be able to check the status of your DV-2014 entry by returning to
www.dvlottery.state.gov, clicking on Entrant Status Check, and entering your unique confirmation number and personal information. Entrant Status Check will be the sole means of informing you of your selection for DV-2014, providing instructions to you on how to proceed with your application, and notifying you of your appointment for your immigrant visa interview. Therefore, it is essential you retain your confirmation number.
Paper entries are no longer accepted. The sole method for entry to the 2014 Diversity Visa Program is through this electronic process.
Click here to download full instruction for DV-2014 Entry (pdf)
INFORMATION REQUIRED FOR THE ELECTRONIC ENTRY
There is only one way to enter the DV-2014 program. You must submit the DS-5501, the Electronic Diversity Visa Entry Form (E-DV Entry Form), which is only accessible online at the EDV website
www.dvlottery.state.gov Failure to complete the form in its entirety will disqualify the entry. Those who submit the E-DV entry will be asked to include the information below on the E-DV Entry Form.
NOTICE: The Department of State strongly encourages applicants to complete the entry form without the assistance of “Visa Consultants,” “Visa Agents,” or other individuals who offer to submit an entry on behalf of applicants. If somebody else (a third-party) helps you to complete your entry form, you should be present when the entry is prepared so that you can retain the confirmation page and your unique confirmation number. Facilitators may try to withhold confirmation numbers in order to make an unlawful demand for money or services in exchange for notification information that should have been directly available to you.
REMINDER: Your unique confirmation number from your DV-2014 online entry registration is required for you to later access the E-DV website. You will need to access the E-DV website (www.dvlottery.state.gov) after May 1, 2013, to determine whether or not your entry has been selected through the Entrant Status Check. Entrant Status Check will be the sole means of informing you of your selection for DV-2014. It will provide instructions to you on how to proceed with your application and notify you of the date and time of your immigrant visa interview. If you do not have your confirmation information, you will not be able to check your DV entry status.
1. FULL NAME: Last/Family Name, First Name, Middle name. Enter your name exactly as listed on your passport.
2. DATE OF BIRTH: Day, Month, Year
3. GENDER: Male or Female
4. CITY WHERE YOU WERE BORN
5. COUNTRY WHERE YOU WERE BORN: The name of the country should be the one currently in use for the place where you were born.
6. COUNTRY OF ELIGIBILITY OR CHARGEABILITY FOR THE DV PROGRAM: Your country of eligibility will normally be the same as your country of birth. Your country of eligibility is not related to where you live. If you were born in a country that is not eligible for the DV program, please review the instructions to see if there is another option for country chargeability available for you. For additional information on chargeability, please review “Frequently Asked Question #1” of these instructions.
7. ENTRY PHOTOGRAPH(S): See the technical information on photograph specifications. Make sure you include photographs of your spouse and all your children, if applicable. See Frequently Asked Question #3.
8. MAILING ADDRESS: In Care Of, Address Line 1, Address Line 2, City/Town, District/Country/Province/State, Postal Code/Zip Code, and Country
9. COUNTRY WHERE YOU LIVE TODAY
10. PHONE NUMBER (optional)
11. E-MAIL ADDRESS: Provide an e-mail address to which you have direct access. You will NOT receive an official selection letter at this address. However, if your entry is selected and you respond to the notification of your selection through the Entrant Status Check, you will receive follow-up communication from the Department of State by e-mail notifying you that details of your immigrant visa interview are available on Entrant Status Check. The Department of State may contact you at this e-mail address, but will never send you an e-mail telling you that you have been selected for the DV program.
12. WHAT IS THE HIGHEST LEVEL OF EDUCATION YOU HAVE ACHIEVED, AS OF TODAY? You must indicate which one of the following represents your own highest level of educational achievement: (1) Primary school only, (2) High school, no degree, (3) High school degree, (4) Vocational school, (5) Some university courses, (6) University degree, (7) Some graduate level courses, (8) Masters degree, (9) Some doctorate level courses, and (10) Doctorate degree.
13. MARITAL STATUS: Unmarried, Married, Divorced, Widowed, or Legally Separated.
14. NUMBER OF CHILDREN: Entries MUST include the name, date, and place of birth of your spouse and all living natural children. Entries must also include all living children legally adopted by you, and living step-children who are unmarried and under the age of 21 on the date of your electronic entry, 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 DV; however, U.S. law protects children from “aging out” in certain circumstances. If your DV entry is made before your unmarried child turns 21, and the child turns 21 before visa issuance, he/she may be protected from aging out by the Child Status Protection Act and be treated as though he/she were under 21 for visa-processing purposes. You are not required to list a spouse or child who is already a U.S. citizen or a Lawful Permanent Resident, as they will not be eligible for a DV 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 #11.
15. SPOUSE INFORMATION: Name, Date of Birth, Gender, City/Town of Birth, Country of Birth, and Photograph. Failure to list your eligible spouse will result in disqualification of the principal applicant and refusal of all visas in the case at the time of the visa interview. You must list your spouse here even if you plan to be divorced before you apply for a visa.
16. CHILDREN INFORMATION: Name, Date of Birth, Gender, City/Town of Birth, Country of Birth, and Photograph. Include all children declared in question #14 above.
SELECTION OF APPLICANTS
Based on the allocations of available visas in each region and country, the computer will randomly select individuals from among qualified entries. All DV-2014 entrants will be required to go to the E-DV website Entrant Status Check using the unique confirmation number saved from their DV-2014 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 www.dvlottery.state.gov starting May 1, 2013, and continuing through at least June 30, 2014. Selectees will be directed to a confirmation page that will provide further instructions, including information on fees connected with immigration to the United States. Entrant Status Check will be the ONLY means by which selectees will be notified of their selection for DV-2014. The Department of State will not be mailing out notification letters. Those selected in the random drawing are NOT notified of their selection by e-mail. Those individuals NOT selected will be notified of their non-selection through Entrant Status Check. U.S. embassies and consulates will not provide a list of selectees. Selectees’ spouses and unmarried children under age 21 may also apply for visas to accompany or follow-to-join the principal applicant. DV-2014 visas will be issued between October 1, 2013, and September 30, 2014.
Click here to start application
