Immigrant Visas

Diversity Visas

Commonly known as the DV Lottery or Green Card lottery, the Diversity Visa is a special type of Immigrant Visa where the right to an interview is determined by lottery instead of petition.

The Diversity Visa (DV) Program was mandated by the U.S. Congress in order to address the historically low number of immigrants from certain countries.  Normally, a prospective immigrant must have a family member already in the U.S. in order to benefit from an Immigrant Visa petition, but the DV Program grants eligibility to apply for a visa to persons who do not have a family member in the U.S.  Thus, a Diversity Visa should be considered in the same light as an Immigrant Visa, although with a different source and a streamlined qualification process.  Because many more people apply for the program each year than there are available visas, selection is made at random by a computer -- hence the popular name "visa lottery."

It must be clearly understood that being selected to participate in the DV program does not guarantee that the applicant will be issued a visa.  The standards for qualification are simple, but strictly enforced.  In place of the family relationship, each applicant must demonstrate either a sufficient level of education (usually 5 or more credits on the WASSCE or GCE O-levels) or two years of qualifying work experience, and must meet all other eligibility criteria for an immigrant to the U.S.

Because the essential criteria for qualification for a Diversity Visa are so straight-forward, applicants must understand that a refusal under this program is final, and will not be reconsidered.

Registration for the DV 2010 cycle ended in December, 2008.  The DV 2011 Cycle will start in October 2009.
              
Click here for more information about Diversity Visas.