Every year the U.S. Department of State conducts the Diversity Visa (DV) lottery, also known as the "Green Card lottery." Anyone can apply online at www.dvlottery.state.gov, from October 5 to November 3, 2010. Paper applications are not accepted.
The DV lottery is free at www.dvlottery.state.gov. No other websites and no private companies are authorized to accept DV lottery applications. Please beware of anyone who asks you to pay or sign a contract to enter the DV lottery, since you can do it yourself for free. The U.S. Embassy encourages everyone to apply early, since the website is slower during the last week of the application period, when many people around the world submit their applications.
The annual DV lottery allows people who meet simple, but strict, eligibility requirements to apply for an immigrant visa to the United States. Every applicant must have at least a high school education, or at least two years of work experience in a specialized occupation. If you do not meet these qualifications, please do not apply. To learn more about specialized occupations, please see the List of Occupations at: http://travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants/types/types_1319.html.
After the application period ends on November 3, 2010, all applications will be reviewed to confirm eligibility. A computer will then choose winners from around the world completely at random. The U.S. Embassy encourages all applicants to use the free online application. Some companies falsely claim that they can help you win, or that they are authorized by the U.S. Government to help you enter the DV lottery. These companies charge fees for their services, either a small fee when you enter or a large fee if you win. There is no cost for you to submit your DV lottery entry online at www.dvlottery.state.gov.
When you apply online at www.dvlottery.state.gov, you receive a confirmation number. You must keep your confirmation number. Starting May 1, 2011, you can visit www.dvlottery.state.gov and enter your confirmation number to find out whether your entry was selected. You can only check to see if you have won if you have your confirmation number!
New this year: The only way to find out whether you won the DV lottery is to visit www.dvlottery.state.gov and enter your confirmation number after May 1, 2011. The Department of State will no longer mail envelopes to the winners. Make sure you keep your confirmation number when you apply online, because you will need it to find out whether you have won. If you let someone else submit your entry, that person or company might charge large sums of money to let you know if you have won.
For detailed information about the DV lottery, please see the instructions available at www.dvlottery.state.gov. Remember that there is no cost to apply for the DV lottery, and the DV lottery website at www.dvlottery.state.gov is the official and only authorized U.S. Government website for the DV lottery.
