DIVERSITY LOTTERY --
Native Country, Chargeability, Eligibility, Maintaining Status,
Waivers of Inadmissibility, Selection Process, Family Members
Winners of the DV-2011 lottery will be notified by mail between May and July of 2010. Entries were accepted from October 2, 2009 to noon EST, Monday, November 30, 2009. Each month visas will be issued, according to registration lottery rank order, to those ready for visa issuance for that month. Once 50,000 visas are issued, the program ends.
| The permanent Diversity program is designed to increase the number of visas given to states that have had low admission rates. Annually, 55,000 visas are given away by random drawing to individuals from countries underrepresented in the total immigrant pool. Five thousand are reserved annually for use under the Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act (NACARA). Visas are distributed among six geographic regions: Africa; Asia; Europe; North America (excludes Mexico); Oceania; and, South America (includes Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean). Each of the six regions is divided into high and low admission nation states (countries). Nation states with high admission rates are excluded. Specifically, if more than 50,000 visas have been issued to immigrants from one particular country in the past 5 years, that country is then entirely excluded from the lottery. Low admission states compete equally with other low admission states in the same region. No single state may receive more than 7% (3,500) of the 50,000 allotted visas. |
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Natives of which countries are excluded? For DV-2011, natives of the following countries are excluded:
Why was my country excluded?
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What is 'chargeability'?
Your country of eligibility is not related to where you live. Your country of eligibility will normally be the same as your country of birth.
"Native" ordinarily means someone born in a particular country, regardless of the individual's current country of residence or nationality.
For immigration purposes, under the provisions of Section 202(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, the term 'native' can also mean someone who is entitled to be "charged" to a country other than the one in which he/she was born. Thus, someone may be: (1) charged to the country of birth of his/her spouse, but only if the spouse is also issued a visa and enters the US at the same time as the primary applicant; (2) a minor dependent child can be charged to the country of birth of a parent; and (3) an applicant born in a country of which neither parent was a native may be charged to the country of birth of either parent. For example, if you were born in a country that is not eligible for this year’s DV program, you may claim chargeability to the country where your derivative spouse was born, but you will not be issued a DV-1 unless your spouse is also eligible for and issued a DV-2, and both of you must enter the United States together with the diversity visas. In a similar manner, a minor dependent child can be "charged" to a parent’s country of birth. If you were born in a country not eligible to participate in this year’s DV program, you can be "charged" to the country of birth of either of your parents as long as neither parent was a resident of the ineligible country at the time of the your birth. In general, people are not considered residents of a country in which they were not born or legally naturalized if they are only visiting the country, studying in the country temporarily, or stationed in the country for business or professional reasons on behalf of a company or government.
If you claim alternate chargeability, you must indicate such information on the E-DV electronic online entry form. Listing an incorrect country of eligibility or chargeability (i.e. one to which you cannot establish a valid claim) may disqualify your entry. |
Do I need to be in lawful status to compete?
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Applicants are subject to all grounds of ineligibility for immigrant visas specified in the Immigration and Nationality Act. There are no special provisions for the waiver of any ground of visa ineligibility aside from those ordinarily provided in the Act, nor is there special processing for waiver requests.
Some general waiver provisions for people with close relatives who are American Citizens or Lawful Permanent Resident aliens may be available to DV applicants as well, but the time constraints in the DV program will make it difficult for applicants to benefit from such provisions.
Also, holders of J 1 visas with a two year home residency requirement will not be able to receive a waiver of this requirement by virtue of being selected in the lottery. A holder of a J visa can still enter the lottery, but he/she will have to qualify for a residency waiver in the same manner as is normally required to get such a waiver.
How does the selection process work?
The State Department's Kentucky Consular Center will receive all applications submitted electronically. Upon receipt, the KCC will assign the application to one of six geographic regions and assign the applicant an individual number. Within each region, the first applicant randomly selected will be the first person registered, the second applicant selected will be the second person registered, etc.
There are 50,000 DV visas available for DV-2011, but more than that number of individuals will be selected. Because it is likely that some of the first 50,000 persons who are selected will not qualify for visas or pursue their cases to visa issuance, more than 50,000 entries will be selected by the Kentucky Consular Center to ensure that all of the available DV visas are issued. However, this also means that there will not be a sufficient number of visas for all those who are initially selected. All applicants who are selected will be informed promptly of their place on the list.
The Kentucky Consular Center will send appointment letters to selected applicants four to six weeks before the scheduled interviews with U.S. consular officers at overseas posts. Each month, visas will be issued to those applicants who are ready for issuance during that month, visa-number availability permitting. Once all of the 50,000 DV visas have been issued, the program will end. In principle, visa numbers could be finished before September 2011. Selected applicants who wish to receive visas must be prepared to act promptly on their cases.
Random selection by the Kentucky Consular Center computer as a selectee does not automatically guarantee that you will receive a visa. You must qualify for the visa as well.
The cut off number listed on the visa bulletin is the true cut off number. There are absolutely no exceptions. If 12,800 is the cut off number for your region, and you received 12800 as the last digits in your lottery number, you are cut off from adjustment processing.
Once selected, what happens next?
According to the Department of State, all applicants who are selected will be informed promptly of their place on the list. You must be prepared to act promptly if your name is selected. You will need to choose between adjustment of status or consular processing. Each month visas will be issued, according to registration lottery rank order, to those ready for visa issuance for that month. DV-2011 visa interviews will begin in October, 2010.
If I win, can I get green cards for my family?
What happens if the selected winner dies?
Your spouse and any unmarried children under the age of 21 are automatically entitlted to the same status as you. Age is determined at the time the green card is approved.
However, under the new Child Status Protection Act, children of lottery-based green card applicants, the age of the child minus the adjudication time of the lottery-based immigrant petition at the time a visa number becomes available for the parent is the age used for determining whether the child is eligible for the green card as an under 21 year old child. But to take advantage of this, the child actually must seek to acquire the green card within a year of the visa becoming available.
Also, in the case of a child who turns 21 while a lottery-based green card application is pending who is not eligible to claim to be under 21 for purposes of seeking a green card, may still retain the original date issued upon receipt of the original petition and it is not necessary to file a new application because the case will automatically convert to the appropriate category.
The death of an individual selected in the lottery results in automatic revocation of the DV case. Any eligible spouse and/or children are no longer entitled to the DV visa for that entry.
