United States

Diversity Visa registration to open Wednesday

2 Oct 18

UNITED STATES

Registration for the fiscal year 2020 Diversity Immigrant Visa Program begins Wednesday, Oct. 3.

The program provides 50,000 immigrant visas (green cards) to people from countries with historically low levels of immigration to the United States. Applicants must meet certain eligibility requirements and are selected through a computerized lottery.

Key points:

  • Registration to participate in the lottery begins Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2018 at noon EDT and ends Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2018 at noon EST.
  • Applicants must apply online by submitting the Electronic Diversity Visa Entry Form that will be available at the E-DV website dvlottery.state.gov. Paper applications are not accepted.
  • The State Department urges applicants not to wait until the final week to register because heavy demand may cause website delays.
  • Lottery winners will be selected at random. Registrants will be given a confirmation number they may use to check whether they have been selected beginning May 7, 2019, through at least Sept. 30, 2020 on the E-DV website.

Background: In order to qualify, registrants must have been born in an eligible country and meet educational or work requirements. Nationals of the following countries will be ineligible to apply for DV-2020: Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, China (mainland-born), Colombia, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Haiti, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, South Korea, United Kingdom (except Northern Ireland) and its dependent territories, and Vietnam. Persons born in Hong Kong SAR, Macau SAR, and Taiwan are eligible. Registrants must also have a high school education (or the equivalent) or have worked in two of the past five years in a qualifying occupation.

Each individual may only submit one entry; those who submit more than one will be disqualified.

BAL Analysis: Those interested in entering the lottery should review the State Department’s Diversity Visa Instructions page and are reminded not to wait until the last week of the application period to submit their entry forms. Registration is free and registrants should be aware of fraud warnings and scams that target those attempting to register for the program.

This alert has been provided by the BAL U.S. Practice group. For additional information, please contact berryapplemanleiden@bal.com.

Copyright © 2018 Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP. All rights reserved. Reprinting or digital redistribution to the public is permitted only with the express written permission of Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP. For inquiries please contact copyright@bal.com.

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