Visa Lottery Laws

The visa lottery system, formally known as the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program (DV Program), makes immigrant visas attainable for citizens of countries with low immigration rates. The program is also often called the DV Lottery and the Green Card Lottery. There is a limited number of visas available every year to people meeting certain eligibility requirements. Every year,

The U.S. Department of State sends out a list of eligible and ineligible countries. The list of countries varies each year. There are certain requirements that an applicant must meet to qualify for the application in the visa lottery system. First, the applicant must be born in the eligible country. But there are the following two exceptions to this rule:

• The applicant can claim the spouse’s country of birth if desired or;
• A parent’s country of birth if neither parent was born in the applicant’s country of birth and did not legally live there when the applicant was born.

Remember that the applicant’s country of residence or nationality is irrelevant to the lottery. Second, the applicant must have completed at least a high school education or at least two years of work experience in a profession that mandates at least two other years of training or experience, according to Wiki. Besides this, they must meet the general qualifications applicable to all immigrants, mainly related to health, criminal background, and means of support.

Every year, the U.S. Department modifies the regulations and procedures for completing the application. The visas are distributed among six regions: Africa, Asia, Europe (Turkey, Cyprus, and all countries in the former Soviet Union are allocated to Europe), and Latin America.

The respective territories and countries are treated as recognized by the United States. According to Wiki, each region that sent more than one-sixth of the total number of immigrants to the United States in the previous five years is considered a “high-admission region,” and each region that sends less than one-sixth is a “low-admission region.”

The proportion of diversity visas provided to the low-admission group is set as the proportion of recent immigrants from the high-admission group and vice versa.

Among regions of the same group, the diversity visas are distributed proportionally to their population, excluding ineligible countries. Those that have sent more than 50,000 immigrants in the past five years.

All applicants from the same region are selected randomly from the total number of visas for that region. Although only 55,000 diversity visas are attained yearly, the lottery chooses about 100,000 applicants. The reason for the larger selection is to ensure that all 55,000 diversity visas are eventually given each year. There are some situations in which the applicant fails the general immigration requirements or later decides to withdraw and not continue the process. As an outcome, some lottery winners who received notifications might not obtain visas.

Moreover, some visas may remain available after all initially selected applicants are reviewed. In this case, additional applicants are chosen later. Therefore, applicants must keep checking their status online periodically until the end of the fiscal year.

How Does Visa Availability Work?

For visa availability, check the latest month’s U.S. Department of State Visa Bulletin. The sections there consist of the current month’s visa availability in the Diversity Immigrant category. The chart provides additional details on the cut-offs and when the visas will be available in that month for the applicants with Diversity Immigrant lottery rank numbers below the specified cut-off numbers for their respective geographic areas.

Other sections provide an advance notification of Diversity Immigrant visa availability for the following month. This can allow the applicants to have the maximum time to prepare and process their applications accordingly. As soon as a monthly Visa Bulletin is published, anyone with a lower rank than the rank cut-off number shown in the section.

Then, they can file for adjustment of status. This provides lottery winners the time to file for adjustment of status up to six or seven weeks before a visa number can be allocated.

According to the USCIS, additional time is allocated to determine the eligibility for adjustment of status before the end of the fiscal year. To obtain a Green Card, you need to file Form I-485. You can look through LegalMatch.com to find more resources on how to submit and apply for a Green Card. The USCIS requires the following information with your Form I-485:

• Copy of birth certificate;
• Two passport-style photos;
• Form I-693, Report of Medical Examination and Vaccination Record;
• Form I-94, Arrival/Departure Record;
• Certified copies of any court records (if the individual has been arrested);
• Copy of the principal applicant’s selection letter for the diversity visa lottery from DOS;
• Copy of the receipt from DOS for the diversity visa lottery processing fee; and
• Paying the applicable fees.

Besides ensuring all your documents are accurate and signed, you need to be aware of the fraud policies. Any fraud detection in your application process can result in hefty fees and other penalties. Furthermore, be wary of any scammers who may send you emails claiming you won the Diversity Visa (Green Card) lottery. Refrain from sending money to anyone who sends you a letter or email claiming you have won.

Who Handles the Visa Lottery System?

The visa lottery system is administered by the Department of State and managed by the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). There are a certain number of immigrant visas available annually, and this system aims to diversify the immigrant population in the United States.

The reason is to choose applicants from countries with low numbers of immigrants in the past five years. Each year, more than 11 million people apply for the lottery, and fewer than 1 in 200 applicants are accepted.

As fraud was mentioned earlier, many deceptive agencies charge fees from applicants or falsely claim to increase their winning chances. However, this is inaccurate, and the only way to apply for this visa lottery system is to complete the application process on the Department of State website, free of charge. Once applications are completed, the system randomly selects from the lottery, and once selected, a fee must be paid to continue the process.

How Can Visa Lawyers Help?

The visa lottery lawyers can assist you in gathering the relevant information for your case and collecting the necessary documents needed to file your application. The advocates can further assist you in determining if you qualify or not for the application. The lawyers can help you complete the application on time to secure your position as an eligible applicant.

If you are selected under the diversity visa program, the lawyers can guide you with the mandatory documentation and submit files to the proper departments. They possess extensive knowledge and experience in this field. Therefore, seeking their assistance through this can be helpful.

When Do I Need to Contact a Lawyer?

Before considering applying for the visa lottery system, determine if you are eligible. You can consider the qualifications mentioned above. If you are having issues with any part of the application, you may contact a local immigration lawyer to assist you with the process. Some scammers can deceive you regarding your chances for the application process. The U.S. Department of State randomly selects these applicants, and each applicant has a fair chance.