Last Updated on March 21, 2022 by Visa Journal
The USA Diversity Visa Program interests immigrants who want to travel to the U.S. for work from underrepresented countries. About 55,000 persons from such nations can avail of these to get the Green Card. It is also called the Green-card lottery. Moreover, the authorities determine the success of the applicants through a lottery. Another name for this visa program is the DV lottery.
The authorities make a random draw from amongst 10-12 million applications. You will find that the USA is a multi-cultural hotspot, but few nationalities are more in number. Mexicans, Chinese, and the Philippines nationals outnumber other nationalities. The USA government aims to make it uniform for all. That is why the USA has randomly distributed Green Cards in the DV Lottery since 1994.
Who Is Eligible for The U.S. Green Card Lottery?
Anyone can apply for the U.S. Green Card Lottery. There are only two eligibility criteria that one has to qualify.
- The country of birth according to world political maps. You should be from American visa lottery eligible countries that have previously in the last five years sent less than 50,000 immigrants to the U.S.
- Education and work experience:
- You should have primary and secondary school experience which is equivalent to 12-years in the U.S.
- If you are using work experience as a criterion, you should have two years of work experience in the last five years in Job zone 4 or 5. It should have a Specific Vocational Preparation of 7.0 or higher.
- You should abstain from pursuing a DV application if you had inserted an invalid passport number while applying for the visa. Additionally, you must not pursue it if you selected an exemption for which you do not qualify.
You can check the US green card lottery, to find out more about it.
How To Apply Diversity Visa?
- You can participate in the DV Lottery free of cost but need to pay a fee once selected. All eligible people are required to apply through the U.S. Department of the State. However, you need to be very careful when you apply. As many as 40 % of applicants are disqualified due to errors while filling up the application form.
- You have to apply as soon as the lottery is published early October to early November.
- After you fill in all the information, you will see a confirmation screen. You can either take a screenshot or printout the same.
- Your participation will be guaranteed by the Green Card Service Agency. Your application will be checked individually by the state-approved immigration consultants and the same is submitted to the U.S. authorities in a pre-defined time frame.
- You will be chosen on a random basis electronically. The admission or rejection is not informed to the applicants. The Entrant Status Check on the E-DV website is the only place, where you can check the results yourself.
How Long Does the Process Take?
Once you are selected in the random lottery, you have to start making preparations.
- But it may take one year or more up to two years for you to land in the U.S. All your applications have to be processed, and your visa has to be issues before the end of the fiscal year, for which you applied. Additionally, a lot of people are in waiting for the lottery visa USA, and by the time you complete all formalities no visa could be left for issuance.
- Once you receive the information about winning the lottery, you get a numerical rank as well. By the end of July, you can check the State Department’s Visa Bulletin.
- The first visas are available from October 1 onwards, which is the starting of the fiscal year in the U.S.
- As soon as you see that the visa is available, you can submit form DS260, with the National Visa Centre.
- Then you have to wait for the interview call, and once you qualify, you will get the diversity visa us or an Immigrant visa. If you are already in the U.S.A on a temporary immigrant visa, you have to apply through form I-485. You have to submit the form or application as soon as it is available.
Diversity Visa Fee
Before attending the interview, the selected applicant must make a payment of $330 per person for the DV-2022.
How Long is the Diversity Visa Valid?
The diversity visa us is valid for six months from the date of issue. However, if your medical tests expire before that, your visa may be valid for less than six months.
The Modern Green Card expires after ten years. You can renew your Green Card. Now, you have a clear idea about how to go about applying for the U.S. Diversity Visa Program.