This archive report was first published on 22 September 2019.
On September 22, 2019, the US State Department announced the entry dates for the next Diversity Visa Program (Green Card Lottery), DV-2021. The registration period will start on Tuesday, October 2nd, 2019, and end on Tuesday, November 5th, 2019.
Each year, the Diversity Visa Program provides 55,000 visas to nationals of countries with low immigration rates to the United States. This year, an estimated 14 million people from around the world are expected to participate in the program.
To be eligible to participate, applicants must meet certain requirements. They must be a native of an eligible country, which excludes countries whose natives have immigrated to the US in larger numbers (more than 50,000) over the past five years. For DV-2021, these countries include Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, China (mainland-born), Colombia, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, South Korea, United Kingdom (except Northern Ireland) and its dependent territories, and Vietnam.
Applicants must also have either a high school education or its equivalent, which is defined as successfully completing a 12-year course of formal elementary and secondary education. Alternatively, they may have two years of qualifying work experience within the past five years, which must be in an occupation that requires at least two years of training or experience to perform.
For the first time, the primary applicant must also have a valid, unexpired passport. However, individuals who are stateless, nationals of a Communist-controlled country, or beneficiaries of an individual waiver approved by the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Secretary of State are exempt from this requirement.
The State Department urges those who do not meet eligibility requirements to not register. Registration will only be done online at dvlottery.state.gov, and participants are warned not to use third parties, “agents, or “visa consultants” to complete registration on their behalf.
