All DV-2005 lottery entries must be submitted electronically at www.dvlottery.state.gov between Saturday, November 1, 2003 and Tuesday, December 30, 2003. No paper entries will be accepted.

The Department of State implemented an electronic registration system in order to make the Diversity Visa process more efficient and secure. The Department will utilize special technology and other means to identify applicants who commit fraud for the purposes of illegal immigration or who submit multiple entries.

The signature requirement on the DV entry has been eliminated and the DV-2005 Diversity Immigrant Visa Program registration period will run from November 1 through December 30. The other major change from last year is that natives of Russia will not be eligible to apply for a diversity visa. (Please see question 4 below for a description of why natives of certain countries do not qualify for the DV Program.)

Signatures are not required on the Electronic Diversity Visa Entry Form. Recent and individual photos of the applicant, his/her spouse and all children under 21 years of age required. Family or group photos are not accepted. Check the information on the photo requirements on page 2 of this bulletin.

 

Diversity visas are intended to provide an immigration opportunity for persons from countries other than the countries which send large numbers of immigrants to the U.S. The law states that no diversity visas shall be provided for natives of "high admission" countries. The law defines this to mean countries from which a total of 50,000 persons in the Family-Sponsored and Employment-Based visa categories immigrated to the United States during the previous five years. Each year, the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services (BCIS) adds the family and employment immigrant admission figures for the previous five years in order to identify the countries whose natives must be excluded from the annual diversity lottery. Because there is a separate determination made before each annual DV entry period, the list of countries whose natives do not qualify may change from one year to the next.

By law, the U.S. diversity immigration program makes available a maximum of 55,000 permanent residence visas each year to eligible persons. However, the Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act (NACARA) passed by Congress in November 1997 stipulates that beginning as early as DV-99, and for as long as necessary, 5,000 of the 55,000 annually-allocated diversity visas will be made available for use under the NACARA program. The actual reduction of the limit to 50,000 began with DV-2000 and remains in effect for the DV-2005 program.

The Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services (BCIS) determines the DV regional limits for each year according to a formula specified in Section 203(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). Once the BCIS has completed the calculations, the regional visa limits will be announced.

The DV-2005 entry period will begin on Saturday, November 1, 2003 and will last for 60 days through Tuesday, December 30, 2003. Each year millions apply for the program during the registration period. The massive volume of entries creates an enormous amount of work in selecting and processing successful applicants. Holding the entry period during November and December will ensure successful applicants are notified in a timely manner, and gives both them and our embassies and consulates time to prepare and complete entries for visa issuance.

Yes, an applicant may be in the U.S. or in another country, and the entry may be submitted from the U.S. or from abroad.

Yes, the law allows only one entry by or for each person during each registration period; applicants for whom more than one entry is submitted will be disqualified. The Department of State will employ sophisticated technology and other means to identify individuals that submit multiple entries during the registration period. Applicants submitting more than one entry will be disqualified and an electronic record will be permanently maintained by the Department of State. Applicants may apply for the program each year during the regular registration period.

Yes, a husband and a wife may each submit one entry if each meets the eligibility requirements. If either were selected, the other would be entitled to derivative status.

 

On your entry you must list your spouse, that is husband or wife, and all unmarried children under 21 years of age, with the exception of a child who is already a U.S. citizen or a Legal Permanent Resident. You must list your spouse even if you are currently separated from him/her. However, if you are legally divorced, you do not need to list your former spouse. For customary marriages, the important date is the date of the original marriage ceremony, not the date on which the marriage is registered. You must list ALL your children who are unmarried and under 21 years of age, whether they are your natural children, your spouse’s children by a previous marriage, or children you have formally adopted in accordance with the laws of your country, unless a child is already a U.S. citizen or Legal Permanent Resident. List all children under 21 years of age even if they no longer reside with you or you do not intend for them to immigrate under the DV program.

The fact that you have listed family members on your entry does not mean that they later must travel with you. They may choose to remain behind. However, if you include an eligible dependent on your visa application forms that you failed to include on your original entry, your case will be disqualified. (This only applies to persons who were dependents at the time the original application was submitted, not those acquired at a later date.) Your spouse may still submit a separate entry, even though he or she is listed on your entry, as long as both entries include details on all dependents in your family. See question 10 above.

 

Applicants may prepare and submit their own entries, or have someone submit the entry for them. Regardless of whether an entry is submitted by the applicant directly, or assistance is provided by an attorney, friend, relative, etc., only one entry may be submitted in the name of each person. If the entry is selected, the notification letter will be sent only to the mailing address provided on the entry.

The law and regulations require that every applicant must have at least a high school education or its equivalent or, within the past five years, have two years of work experience in an occupation requiring at least two years training or experience. A "high school education or equivalent" is defined as successful completion of a twelve-year course of elementary and secondary education in the United States or successful completion in another country of a formal course of elementary and secondary education comparable to a high school education in the United States. Documentary proof of education or work experience should not be submitted with the lottery entry, but must be presented to the consular officer at the time of the visa interview. To determine eligibility based on work experience, definitions from the Department of Labor’s O*Net OnLine database will be used.

At the Kentucky Consular Center, all entries received from each region will be individually numbered. After the end of the registration period, a computer will randomly select entries from among all the entries received for each geographic region. Within each region, the first entry randomly selected will be the first case registered, the second entry selected the second registration, etc. All entries received during the registration period will have an equal chance of being selected within each region. When an entry has been selected, the applicant will be sent a notification letter by the Kentucky Consular Center, which will provide visa application instructions. The Kentucky Consular Center will continue to process the case until those who are selected are instructed to appear for visa interviews at a U.S. consular office, or until those able to do so apply at a BCIS office in the United States for change of status.

Yes, provided they are otherwise eligible to adjust status under the terms of Section 245 of the INA, selected applicants who are physically present in the United States may apply to the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services (BCIS) for adjustment of status to permanent resident. Applicants must ensure that BCIS can complete action on their cases, including processing of any overseas derivatives, before September 30, 2005, since on that date registrations for the DV-2005 program expire. No visa numbers for the DV-2005 program will be available after midnight on September 30, 2005 under any circumstances.

No, applicants who are not selected will receive no response to their entry. Only those who are selected will be informed. All notification letters are sent within about nine months of the end of the application period to the address indicated on the entry. Anyone who does not receive a letter will know that his/her application has not been selected.

There are 50,000 DV visas available for DV-2005, 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. Interviews with those selected will begin in early October 2004. 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, visa number availability permitting, to those applicants who are ready for issuance during that month. Once all of the 50,000 DV visas have been issued, the program for the year will end. In principle, visa numbers could be finished before September 2005. Selected applicants who wish to receive visas must be prepared to act promptly on their cases. Random selection by the Kentucky Consular Center computer does not automatically guarantee that you will receive a visa.

There is no minimum age to apply for the program, but the requirement of a high school education or work experience for each principal applicant at the time of application will effectively disqualify most persons who are under age 18.

There is no fee for submitting an entry. A special DV case processing fee will be payable later by persons whose entries are actually selected and processed at a U.S. consular section for this year’s program. DV applicants, like other immigrant visa applicants, must also pay the regular visa fees at the time of visa issuance. Details of required fees will be included with the instructions sent by the Kentucky Consular Center to applicants who are selected.

No. 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 other than those ordinarily provided in the Act.

Yes, such persons may apply for the DV program.

Persons selected in the DV-2005 lottery are entitled to apply for visa issuance only during fiscal year 2005, i.e., from October 2004 through September 2005. Applicants must obtain the DV visa or adjust status by the end of the Fiscal Year (September 30, 2005). There is no carry-over of DV benefits into the next year for persons who are selected but who do not obtain visas during FY-2005. Also, spouses and children who derive status from a DV-2005 registration can only obtain visas in the DV category between October 2004 and September 2005. Applicants who apply overseas will receive an appointment letter from the Kentucky Consular Center four to six weeks before the scheduled appointment.
 

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