DV Lottery Registration US 2024 (Diversity Visa Program) FREE

Estimated reading time: 21 minutes

The US DV Lottery (Electronic Diversity Visa Program) is a program that aims to maintain racial diversity in the United States. In this program, the number of immigrants from different countries is tried to reach a balance; For this reason, if a country has had many immigrants to the United States in recent years, it will not be included in the lottery receiving list, and this is completely variable, for example, Russia was not among the eligible countries for the lottery in one year. However, after a few years, it returned to the list again. The history of the lottery for applicants to immigrate to the United States goes back to 1990 when it was officially registered in the Nationality and Immigration Act.

About 55,000 visas were awarded to applicants randomly or by DV Lottery yearly. Among these 55,000 visas, about 7% is the maximum share that any country can have. For example, Iran’s share is more than 6%, that is, approximately more than 3,000 DV Lottery visas are reserved for Iranian applicants. This number may vary depending on the situation; for instance, the American political climate is a significant variable that may affect these figures.

Entering the Diversity Visa lottery (aka green card lottery) involves filling out a simple form online, and it does not cost anything. You can enter the lottery every year from early October through early November. A computer randomly selects the winners, and their immediate families receive green cards. We will outline who is qualified and how to apply in this guide:

Visa Cost of DV Lottery 2024

The DV Lottery has no entry fee. The mandatory green card application fees must be paid if you are chosen and decide to apply for a Diversity Visa. When you are selected, you will be given information and specifics about the fees on the Diversity Visa website at dvprogram.state.gov.

Visa Timeline of DV Lottery 2024

The green card DV lottery winners are typically notified 7 months after submitting their entry. Once selected, it can take up to 14 months to be scheduled for your interview and receive your visa, depending on how soon you apply for it.

For example, if you applied for the 2023 green card lottery during the registration period (Oct-Nov 2021), the winners would be announced sometime in May 2022. You would only be allowed to apply for your visa during the fiscal year 2023, from Oct 1, 2022, through Sept 30, 2023. The sooner you apply during that year, the sooner you will be scheduled for your visa interview and be issued your visa. Once you have your visa, you must enter the United States on or before the expiration date printed on your visa. A Diversity Visa is typically valid for up to 6 months from its date.

Application Requirement for US Green Card DV Lottery 2024

1-Personal photo: For all family members (spouse and children), you need a suitable lottery photo in digital form. It should be noted that you only need to provide photos and information for children who are not married and whose age is under 21 years.

2- Lottery registration form: To register, you must complete an online form, the same as the lottery registration form. Please check its free tool to check your photo www.grantunity.com/dv-lottery-photo

3-Availability of your birth country: You must have been born in a nation that has sent fewer than 50,000 immigrants to the United States over the previous five years to qualify for the Diversity Visa. The list of nations that qualify varies somewhat annually, but they all send many immigrants to the United States, Canada, China, India, Mexico, and the United Kingdom are never included. The following nationalities were ineligible to apply for the 2023 application period:

• Bangladesh

• Brazil

• Canada

• China (including Hong Kong SAR)

• Colombia

• Dominican Republic

• El Salvador

• Haiti

• Honduras

• India

• Jamaica

• Mexico

• Nigeria

• Pakistan

• Philippines

• South Korea

• United Kingdom (except Northern Ireland) and its dependent territories

• Venezuela

• Vietnam

The State Department provides a list of eligible countries for more information.

There are still two ways to be eligible for the Diversity Visa, even if your country of origin is not one of them:

-You can apply together with your spouse and select their country of birth on your application if they were born in an eligible nation.

-You can select your mother’s or father’s country of birth if neither of your parents was a citizen of the country where you were born.

4-Education & work experience

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

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

OR

2-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.

How to Enter the Green Card DV Lottery

Participating in the lottery is relatively easy. You fill out a form on the State Department’s website while it is available, from early October through early November.

Most of the questions are easy to understand; however, there are a few places where these extra suggestions may be helpful:

1-For “country of birth,” list the country you were born in, regardless of where you currently live. If the country has a different name now than it did when you were born, use the country’s current name.

2-For “country of eligibility,” list either your country of birth or—if you qualify to use your spouse’s or your parent’s birth countries—a list of that country. The country you currently live in is irrelevant to this question.

3-Your spouse: You must list your spouse, even if he or she doesn’t live with you and does not intend to immigrate.

4-Your children: You must list all your biological and adopted children, no matter how old they are. You should also list all of your step-children under the age 21, even if you are no longer married to their parents.

You must also include a recent photo of you, your spouse, and your kids taken within the last six months. Observe the same guidelines for taking photos when applying for a green card.

Keep your confirmation number handy after submitting your application because that is the only way to determine if you have been selected.

Selection process and notification of DV Lottery 2024

A computer program randomly selects the winners of the DV Lottery, with a certain number of visas allotted to each region of the globe and no one nation receiving more than 7% of the Diversity Visas available in any given year.

People who have applied for a DV Lottery may check the status of their application starting in early May of the year after their application by clicking the Entrant Status Check link on the Diversity Visa webpage, though exact dates vary. This justifies how critical it is to keep that confirmation number: You won’t be able to find out if you’ve been chosen without it.

If selected in the green card lottery, you and your family must fulfill the same requirements as every other US green card applicant. You might not be eligible for a green card if you have certain criminal records. A green card may also be difficult or impossible to obtain for medical reasons.

What Happens Once I get Selected as a Winner of the US Green Card DV Lottery 2024

It’s crucial to move quickly if you win the green card lottery, even if it can be a year or longer before you can enter the country. There are two causes to take immediate action: The processing of your application and the issuance of your visa must be completed by the end of the fiscal year for which you were chosen. In addition, there are more applicants for the Diversity Visa than visas available, so if you wait until the final minute, there may not be any visas remaining.

Your numerical rank, which will let you know when to apply for your visa, will be provided when you receive notification that you have earned the Diversity Visa. You can find out when you can submit your application by looking at the State Department’s visa bulletin toward the end of July. You can submit your application up to 90 days before the first visas become available on October 1, the start of the US government’s fiscal year.

If You Live Outside Of the USA

Most of those approved for the Diversity Visa are not currently citizens of the United States, and they will submit an application for a green card at the American embassy in their place of residence. You should submit form DS-260 to the National Visa Center as soon as you discover a visa is available. Following processing, your application will be sent to the American consulate, which will arrange a visa interview. Your immigrant visa will be approved at the interview if you meet all the requirements.

If You Live Inside Of the USA

If you are in a temporary immigration status (also known as “non-immigrant status”) when you win the DV Lottery, you must submit Form I-485 to US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to apply for a green card. According to the visa bulletin, you should submit your application as soon as a visa becomes available.

Step-by-Step Instruction of US Green Card DV Lottery 2024 (FREE)

1-At the time of registration for the lottery, enter the US government’s official website to register for the US lottery at this link. Then you will see the image below.

2- When you enter the site, click on the Begin Entry option, and after entering the Authentication Code security code, press the Submit button to enter the registration stage. Like the picture below

3- Then, you will enter the next page, and you must enter your personal information in this section as follows:

3-1. The Name section contains the following:

Last/Family Name should be written exactly on the passport.

The name (First Name) should be written exactly on the passport.

Middle name, because Iranians usually do not have a middle name, it should be left blank and filled in if they have a middle name.

3-2. Gender includes the following:

For men, choose Male.

For women, select Female.

3-3. The birth date section includes the following:

Day, Month, Year

4-In the next section, you must enter the information of your place of birth as follows:

4-1. The City Where you were Born section includes the following:

Write the name of the city where you were born.

Note: If you do not know the name of your birth city, check the Birth city unknown option.

4-2. The country where you were born part includes the following:

Select the name of the country you were born in from the drop-down menu.

4-3. Country of Eligibility for the DV program

5-In the next section, you have to upload your photo.

One of the most obvious problems for applicants in lottery registration is sending a suitable digital photo because the conditions of the lottery photo follow specified principles, and failure to comply with this will result in the loss of the lottery green card visa chance.

The point here is that uploading a photo is not a sign of approval of your photo. The photo for lottery registration is checked in two parts. First, when uploading by the site itself (automatically), at this stage, only the size and type of the photo file are checked, and in the next stage, which is the main stage of photo review, the quality of the personal photo will be checked to see if it meets the special conditions of the photo. Or not.

6-In the next section, you must complete your postal information:

You will be asked for information about your country and residence, which is explained in the photo.

6-1. The mailing address includes the following fields:

If you are using someone else’s mailing address, write their name in this field.

Address line 1 and Address line 2: write your postal address.

City / Town: Write the name of your city.

District/County/Province/State: Write the name of your province in it.

Postal code/Zip Code: Write your postal code.

Country: Select your country of residence from the drop-down menu.

6-2. The part of the country where you live (Country where you live Today)

From the open menu, enter the name of the country in which you currently live.

7-In the next section, you must fill in your mobile phone number and email:

7-1. Phone number field

7-2. Enter your mobile number: for example, 09121111111 must be entered as +98 912 1111111.

7-3. There will be no obligation to enter the mobile number; you can leave this field empty, but if you want to enter your number, remember to write code 98 before your number. For example, 989121234567. But on the other hand, entering the email is very important because the result of your lottery registration, whether you are selected or not, will be sent to you through this email, so use a secure email to complete this section.

7-4. E-mail Address field

E-mail Address: This is very important. If you win, all your correspondence will be sent through this email.

Confirm E-mail Address: Re-enter your e-mail address.

8-In the next section, you must complete your education level:

Another main condition for lottery registration is to have at least a 12-year diploma or an alternative condition of employment. If the applicant does not have these two conditions, he will not be able to register in the lottery program, and if he has filled this option with incorrect information, he will not have a chance to get an American visa if he wins.

If you are studying at the undergraduate level, you should choose the option of some university courses, and if you are studying at the master’s level, you should choose the option of some graduate level courses, and if you are studying at the doctorate level, you must choose some Doctorate level courses option.

9-In the next section, you must complete the information about your marriage and children:

Another point that must be specified for lottery registration is the applicant’s marital status. You must specify your marital and relationship status without mentioning the reason. This section is very important because if you are legally separated from your spouse (not divorced) and live apart by court order if you are selected in the lottery, your spouse will not have a chance to accompany you in America. Also, if your spouse has a permanent and legal residence in United States, you should refrain from registering his information.

You must enter the number of children under 21 years old and unmarried at the time of lottery registration.

Preventing Fraud and Scams of DV Lottery

Unfortunately, scammers occasionally use the Diversity Visa program to con eager immigrants. Here are a few pointers for avoiding typical Diversity Visa scams:

-It costs nothing to enter the Diversity Visa lottery. Aspiring immigrants are being duped by anyone purporting to collect fees on their behalf on the Department of State.

-The only method to find out if you’ve been chosen is to check your application using Entrant Status Check. The Department of State does not inform winners by mail or email.

Entering the DV Lottery is like entering any other lottery—the odds of winning aren’t high—but if you’re lucky, it can be a way to come to the United States even if you don’t have any family or employment contacts. If you’re married to a US citizen, applying for a marriage green card is almost certainly the better option.

Frequently Asked Question: US Green Card DV Lottery 2024