What are the steps to access the visa lottery in the United States

Since Wednesday, October 6, 2021, the government of United States will begin with registration at Diversity immigrant visa program for fiscal year 2023. The process that is carried out each year is commonly referred to as the “visa lottery”.

The 2023 Diversity Visa Program provides permanent resident visas to foreign nationals in countries with low immigration rates to the United States for the past five years. The State Department, which annually manages the Diversity of Immigrant Lives created by law, reported that 55,000 immigrant visas or green cards will be issued by 2023. Registrations will close on Tuesday, November 9 at noon.

Applicants must be from one of the 92 countries around the world eligible this year. Of these, All countries in South America, Central America and the Caribbean will be able to participate with the exception of: Brazil, Colombia, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico and Venezuela.

Enrolling in the program is straightforward but involves some strict requirements to be met by the candidates. According to information released by the US State Department, the winners of the “lottery” are determined by a random computer draw.

Conditions and steps to access the visa lottery

Applicants must meet certain conditions to access the immigrant visa through this program. First they will need to ensure that their country of origin is eligible. Otherwise, if the spouse is from one of the eligible countries, it can be applied. The countries whose citizens will not be able to participate this year are: Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, China (including Hong Kong), Colombia, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines , South Korea, United Kingdom (except Northern Ireland) and its dependent territories, Venezuela and Vietnam.

The second requirement is related to formal education. U.S. Immigration Laws and Regulations require each program participant to have at least a high school diploma or its full equivalent or to have two out of the last five years of work experience in an occupation that requires at least two years of training or experience . For Americans, a “secondary or equivalent education” is defined as the successful completion of a 12-year course of primary and secondary education. If the candidate does not meet the education or work experience requirements, they will not be eligible for the program.

Ultimately, Applicants who meet the two previous conditions must complete a form on the visa program website: https://dvprogram.state.gov/

In the online questionnaire, applicants must submit personal information such as their names, country of origin, passport number, email address, highest academic level attained, postal address, among others. Applicants must download recent individual photographs, on a white background showing the faces of the applicant, his spouse and his children.

Among the recommendations of the American state entity, Applicants are invited to complete the registration form themselves, “Without a ‘visa consultant’, ‘visa officer’ or other facilitator offering to assist.” In addition, it is requested to complete the form before the deadline to avoid any inconvenience.

Winners

The only way for applicants to find out the status of their application is through the website. Checking the participant’s status. There, they will be able to find out if their application has been selected using the confirmation number received when submitting their forms.

Results will be available from May 8, 2022 until September 30, 2023 at least. Until the latter date, visas must be issued to privileged applicants and their families.

According to Miami Herald, in the previous appeal, the citizens of Egypt, Sudan, Russia and Algeria obtained the most immigrant visas to legally enter the United States as lawful permanent residents.

KEEP READING: