The U.S. Diversity Visa (DV) Program is a unique opportunity that allows individuals from countries with historically low U.S. immigration rates for a chance to apply for a U.S. immigrant visa (green card). Foreign nationals are selected for eligibility to file for a U.S. immigrant visa under the DV program on the basis of a randomly selected lottery. In the FY of 2026, the Department of State (DOS) will allocate 55,000 green cards to eligible foreign nationals. Registration for the FY 2026 DV Program is open from October 2, 2024 at 12:00 PM (EDT) (GMT-4) to November 5, 2024 at 12:00 PM (EST) (GMT-5).
In order to be eligible to enter the DV lottery, an individual must: (1) be a national of an eligible country with low immigration rate to the U.S.; and (2) have graduated from high school (or its equivalent) or have qualifying work experience (i.e.; at least two years of work experience within the past five years in an occupation requiring at least two years of training or experience). Nationality is defined by the individual’s country of birth.
The U.S. Department of State publishes a list of eligible countries each year, and this list may change annually. For the FY 2026 DV lottery, nationals of the following countries are not eligible to apply: Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, China (mainland and Hong Kong born), Colombia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, South Korea, Venezuela, and Vietnam. Nationals of Macau SAR and Taiwan are eligible to enter the lottery. Individual may also qualify if his/her spouse or parent are a native(s) of an eligible country.
Selections will be made from May 3, 2025 through September 30, 2026 and applicants may check his/her selection only by accessing the Entrant Status Check available on the E-DV website atdvprogram.state.gov. The department of State will not notify the applicant has been selected or not. There is no cost to register for the DV program, but individuals selected for an interview will be required to pay a visa application fee prior to making their formal visa application where a consular officer will determine whether they qualify for the visa.
Detailed instructions may be found and applications may be made directly at: https://lnkd.in/gXTqDup. There is no fee to enter the U.S. Diversity Visa lottery. However, if an applicant is selected and chooses to apply for a Diversity Visa, they will need to pay the mandatory green card application fees. Once selected, they will receive information and details of the required fees on the Diversity Visa website at dvprogram.state.gov.
If you have any questions please contact: Anthony F. Siliato, Scott R. Malyk, Lin R. Walker, or Stacey A. Simon.
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