After the tragic terrorist attackin New York, President Trump recommended eliminating the Diversity Visa Lotteryprogram (DV Lottery).  Many of our blogreaders have likely not heard of the DV Lottery.  Here are some key points about the DVLottery:
  • TheDV Lottery was established by an Act of Congress in 1990.  Fifty Thousand green cards are allocated tothe DV Lottery and are reserved for countries witha historically low rate of immigration to the US. TheDV Lottery countries are identified each year by the US Department of State.
  • DVLottery applicants must registeron-line for the lottery.  There is no feeto register or apply for the DV Lottery.
  • Inaddition to being a native of one of the named countries, DV Lottery applicantsmust meet certain educational orskilled work requirements. 
  • In2015, which is the last year for which we have statistics,close to 14.5 million people around the world applied for the 50,000 DV Lottergreen cards.
  • Thosewho are selected will be notified through the Entrant Status Check, E-DV Website.  DV Lottery winners are never notified by hardcopy mail or email.  There is widespreadfraud around the DV Lottery program, so applicants must ensure that theirnotification of lottery winning is in fact from the US Department of State.
  • DVLottery winners must still meet all eligibility requirements before obtaining agreen card.  The requirements include thesame securityscreening undergone by family-based and employment-based green cardapplicants before obtaining a green card. 
  • Inaddition to the standard screening, all DV Lottery winners must appear for an in-personinterview with an Immigration of Embassy Officer.
  • If processing of the DV Lotterywinner’s application cannot be completed before the end of the US government’s fiscal year,due to background checks, resource limitations, or other issues, the DV Lotterywinner’s application will be denied, and the opportunity to obtain the greencard will be lost.