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The Diversity Lottery: A Path to US Permanent Residency for Eligible Foreign Nationals

October 24, 2024

The Diversity Lottery: A Path to US Permanent Residency for Eligible Foreign Nationals

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By: Ana Gabriela Urizar

*Desplácese hacia abajo para leer el blog en español.

The United States continues to be an attractive option for permanent residency for millions of people around the world. USCIS (United States Citizenship and Immigration Services) reported that in FY (Fiscal Year) 2022, it received over 600 thousand applications for permanent residency.  This number does not account for immigration petitions that encompass the first step of the permanent residency like family-based petitions and employment-based petitions that are not current.

The Diversity Visa (DV) is a great option for foreign nationals born in countries that have historically low rates of immigration to the United States. The program also allows for exceptions for countries of birth if the applicant wants to include the place of birth of a spouse who cannot be directly petitioned for, also known as the spouse derivative or in some special circumstances, the place of birth of parents born in qualifying countries.

For FY 2026, the DV lottery program will account for 55,000 permanent residency visas (Green Cards) available through a random computer selection.

Application Period

The application window opened on Wednesday, October 2, 2024, at noon Eastern Time and applicants have until Thursday, November 7, 2024, at noon Eastern Time to submit their application through the State Department’s official Diversity Visa lottery website. The website offers detailed instructions on submitting the application, along with photo examples that meet DV entry requirements. Applicants will be disqualified if their photo does not comply.

The Department of State explains that the form has two parts: one for the primary applicant and one for derivatives (family members if applicable). Unfortunately, the system does not allow applicants to save their work and return to complete it later. Applicants must complete the entire application in one seating.

After submitting the application, applicants can check the status of their entry through the Diversity Lottery official website, starting on May 3, 2025 at noon EDT.

It is free for applicants to submit a DV application, however if the applicant is selected for the program, they will need to cover the visa application fee when making a visa appointment with a consular office.

Program Overview

The Diversity Immigrant Visa Program was statutorily established in 1990 through Section 203(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).[1] The purpose of this program was to encourage immigration to the United States from countries with historically low immigration rates. The program offers underrepresented immigrants the opportunity to live in the United States permanently, who otherwise have less chances of being sponsored by a family member given the low rates of immigration from their respective countries.

Getting selected by the lottery does not guarantee a permanent residency or a “green card,” but rather allows the selected applicants to apply for Permanent Residency to the United States.                    

Who is eligible to apply?

The Diversity Lottery Program is open to foreign nationals born in countries with historically low immigration rates to the United States. Each year, the Department of State publishes a list of eligible countries by continent. This detailed list is available on the official Diversity Lottery website under the DV-2026 Program Instructions.

For prospective applicants who are not born in a qualifying country listed on the website, they may still be able to apply if they meet either of the following criteria: if the derivative spouse is a native of a qualifying country with historically low rates of immigration to the United States. The second option allows natives of countries without historically low immigration rates to apply if neither parent was born in or was a resident of that country at the time of the applicant's birth, and the parents were natives of a qualifying country. Applicants requesting alternative chargeability (a different country of eligibility) through a spouse, or parents must provide an explanation in Question #6 of the DV entry form.

Aside from the country of birth, another important requirement for entrants to meet are the education or work experience requirements. Each DV applicant must have either:

      • A high school education or its equivalent
      • Two years of work experience within the past five years in an occupation that requires at least two years of training or experience

As with all foreign nationals applying for permanent residency, DV lottery applicants must be admissible to the United States under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) and have no disqualifying criminal history.

Entrants can apply while in the United States or in another country. Lastly, spouses can submit their own separate application if each meets the requirements and if either spouse is selected, the other spouse can then apply as a derivative dependent.

Notification of lottery winners

Lottery winners are chosen through a random computer selection process. The selected entrants will be published on the official DV lottery website starting on May 3, 2025, through September 30, 2026. We encourage applicants to be cautious of fraud and to disregard notifications from third parties sent via email.

Need to know more?

For questions or support regarding the DV lottery, please contact Associate Ana Gabriela Urizar at [email protected].

This blog was published on October 24, 2024, and due to the circumstances, there are frequent changes. To keep up to date with all the latest updates on global immigration, please subscribe to our alerts and follow us on LinkedIn, X, Facebook and Instagram.


La Lotería de la Green Card: una gran opción para obtener la residencia permanente en los Estados Unidos para extranjeros nacidos en ciertos países

Estados Unidos sigue siendo una opción atractiva de residencia permanente para millones de personas en todo el mundo. USCIS (Servicios de Ciudadanía e Inmigración de Estados Unidos por sus siglas en inglés) informó que en el año fiscal del 2022 recibió más de 600 mil solicitudes de residencia permanente. Este número no toma en cuenta las peticiones de inmigración que abarcan el primer paso de la residencia permanente, como las peticiones basadas en la familia y las peticiones basadas en el empleo que no tienen disponibilidad de visas.

La Visa de lotería de Green Cards (DV por sus siglas en inglés) es una excelente opción para los extranjeros nacidos en países que históricamente tienen tasas bajas de inmigración a los Estados Unidos. El programa también permite excepciones para los países de nacimiento si el solicitante desea incluir el lugar de nacimiento de un cónyuge, también conocido como derivado del cónyuge o, en algunas circunstancias especiales, el lugar de nacimiento de los padres nacidos en países que califican.

Para el año fiscal 2026, el programa de lotería DV representará 55,000 visas de residencia permanente (Green Cards) disponibles a través de una selección al azar por computadora.

Periodo de Aplicación

La ventana de solicitud se abrió el miércoles 2 de octubre del 2024, al mediodía, hora del este, y los solicitantes tienen hasta el jueves 7 de noviembre del 2024, al mediodía, hora del este, para presentar su solicitud a través del sitio web oficial de la lotería de Visas de Diversidad del Departamento de Estado. El sitio web ofrece instrucciones detalladas sobre cómo enviar la solicitud, junto con ejemplos de las fotografías que cumplen con los requisitos de ingreso a DV. Los solicitantes serán descalificados si su fotografía no cumple con los requisitos.

El Departamento de Estado explica que el formulario tiene dos partes: una para el solicitante principal y otra para los derivados (familiares si corresponde). Desafortunadamente, el sistema no permite a los solicitantes guardar su trabajo y regresar para completarlo más tarde. Los solicitantes deben completar toda la solicitud de una sola vez.

Después de enviar la solicitud, los solicitantes pueden verificar el estado de su inscripción a través del sitio web oficial de la Lotería de la Diversidad, a partir del 3 de mayo de 2025 al mediodía EDT.

Es gratis para los solicitantes presentar una solicitud de DV; sin embargo, si el solicitante es seleccionado para el programa, deberá cubrir la tarifa de solicitud de visa al programar una cita para la visa en una oficina consular.

Descripción general del programa

El Programa de DV se estableció legalmente en 1990 mediante la Sección 203(c) de la Ley de Inmigración y Nacionalidad (INA por sus siglas en inglés).[1] El propósito de este programa era fomentar la inmigración a los Estados Unidos desde países con tasas de inmigración históricamente bajas. El programa ofrece a inmigrantes subrepresentados la oportunidad de vivir permanentemente en Estados Unidos, quienes de otro modo tendrían menos posibilidades de ser patrocinados por un miembro de la familia dadas las bajas tasas de inmigración de sus respectivos países.

Ser seleccionado por la lotería no garantiza una residencia permanente o una “tarjeta verde”, sino que permite a los solicitantes seleccionados solicitar la residencia permanente en los Estados Unidos.

¿Quién es elegible para aplicar?

El Programa de Lotería de Diversidad está abierto a ciudadanos extranjeros nacidos en países con tasas de inmigración históricamente bajas a los Estados Unidos. Cada año, el Departamento de Estado publica una lista de países elegibles por continente. Esta lista detallada está disponible en el sitio web oficial de la Lotería de la Diversidad en las Instrucciones del programa DV-2026.

Para los posibles solicitantes que no hayan nacido en uno de los países que califican, aún pueden presentar su solicitud si cumplen con cualquiera de los siguientes criterios: si el cónyuge es nativo de un país calificado con tasas históricamente bajas de inmigración a Estados Unidos. La segunda opción permite que los nativos de países sin tasas de inmigración históricamente bajas presenten su solicitud si ninguno de sus padres nació o era residente de ese país en el momento del nacimiento del solicitante, y los padres eran nativos de un país calificado. Los solicitantes que soliciten que se les cuente por medio de otro país, no siendo su país natal (un país de elegibilidad diferente) a través de su cónyuge o padres deben proporcionar una explicación en la pregunta n.° 6 del formulario de inscripción DV.

Además del país de nacimiento, otro requisito importante que deben cumplir los participantes son los requisitos de educación o experiencia laboral. Cada solicitante de DV debe tener uno de los dos siguientes requisitos:

      • Educación secundaria o su equivalente.
      • Dos años de experiencia laboral dentro de los últimos cinco años en una ocupación que requiere al menos dos años de capacitación o experiencia.

Como ocurre con todos los ciudadanos extranjeros que solicitan la residencia permanente, los solicitantes de la lotería DV deben ser admisibles en los Estados Unidos según la Ley de Inmigración y Nacionalidad (INA) y no tener antecedentes penales que los descalifiquen.

Los participantes pueden presentar su solicitud mientras se encuentren dentro de los Estados Unidos o en otro país. Por último, los cónyuges pueden presentar su propia solicitud por separado si cada uno cumple con los requisitos y si cualquiera de los cónyuges es seleccionado, el otro cónyuge puede presentar la solicitud como dependiente derivado.

Notificación de los ganadores de la lotería

Los ganadores de la lotería se eligen mediante un proceso de selección al azar por computadora. Los participantes seleccionados se publicarán en el sitio web oficial de la lotería DV a partir del 3 de mayo del 2025 hasta el 30 de septiembre del 2026. Alentamos a los solicitantes a tener cuidado con el fraude y a ignorar las notificaciones de terceros enviadas por correo electrónico.

Comience con Fragomen

Si tiene preguntas o necesita ayuda con respecto a la lotería DV, comuníquese con la abogada Ana Gabriela Urizar en [email protected].

Este blog fue publicado el 24 de Octubre de 2024 y debido a las circunstancias, hay cambios frecuentes. Para mantenerse al día con las últimas actualizaciones sobre inmigración global, suscríbase a nuestras alertas y síganos en LinkedIn, X, Facebook e Instagram.

Country / Territory

  • United StatesUnited States

Related contacts

Porthole headshot image of Fragomen New York Associate Ana Gabriela Urizar

Ana Gabriela Urizar

Associate

New York, NY, United States

Email

[email protected]

T:+1 212 909 4172

Related offices

  • New York, NY

Share

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Share

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Related contacts

Porthole headshot image of Fragomen New York Associate Ana Gabriela Urizar

Ana Gabriela Urizar

Associate

New York, NY, United States

Email

[email protected]

T:+1 212 909 4172

Related offices

  • New York, NY

Share

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  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn

Share

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Related contacts

Porthole headshot image of Fragomen New York Associate Ana Gabriela Urizar

Ana Gabriela Urizar

Associate

New York, NY, United States

Email

[email protected]

T:+1 212 909 4172

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  • New York, NY

Share

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