Diversity Visa Lottery 2013

Important Notice: DV 2013 Program The online registration period for the 2013 Diversity Visa Program (DV-2013) will begin on Tuesday, October 4, 2011, at noon, Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) (GMT-4), and conclude on Saturday, November 5, 2011, at noon, Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) (GMT-4). See the Diversity Visa Program Instructions webpage for more information.

DV program entrants are encouraged to apply early. In the past, system delays caused by extremely heavy demand in the final days of the registration period have prevented some applicants from registering for the program. Overwhelming demand could cause delays. No entries will be accepted after noon EDT on November 5, 2011, regardless of whether or not there are system delays during the registration period.  

Entrants will receive a CONFIRMATION NUMBER. It is very important to record the number and maintain it in a safe place for later use. The Department of State cannot tell you what your confirmation number is if you lose it.

Starting May 1, 2012, entrants may enter their DV-2013 entry confirmation number into the Entrant Status Check (ESC), available at www.dvlottery.state.gov, to find out whether their entry was selected or not.  All entrants should keep their confirmation number, regardless of results processing, until June 30, 2013. The Department of State will not send selection notifications or appointment letters to successful entrants by regular mail.

DV 2012 Program

Entrants in the Diversity Visa 2012 program may check the status of their entries through the Entrant Status Check on the E-DV website now through June 30, 2012. Review more about Entrant Status Check.

Diversity Visa Scammers Sending Fraudulent Emails and Letters

The Department of State, Office of Visa Services, advises the public of a notable increase in fraudulent emails and letters sent to Diversity Immigrant Visa (DV) program (Visa Lottery) applicants. The scammers behind these fraudulent emails and letters are posing as the U.S. government in an attempt to extract payment from DV applicants. Review the procedures for the DV program provided below, so that you know what to expect, when to expect it, and from whom.

About the Diversity Visa Program

The congressionally mandated Diversity Immigrant Visa Program is administered on an annual basis by the Department of State and conducted under the terms of Section 203(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). Section 131 of the Immigration Act of 1990 (Pub. L. 101-649) amended INA 203 and provides for a class of immigrants known as “diversity immigrants.” Section 203(c) of the INA provides a maximum of 50,000 Diversity Visas (DVs) each fiscal year to be made available to persons from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States.

The annual DV program makes visas available to persons meeting simple, but strict, eligibility requirements. A computer-generated, random lottery drawing chooses selectees for DVs. The visas are distributed among six geographic regions, with a greater number of visas going to regions with lower rates of immigration, and with no visas going to nationals of countries sending more than 50,000 immigrants to the United States over the period of the past five years. Within each region, no single country may receive more than seven percent of the available DVs in any one year.