The 2014 Diversity Visa Lottery Program Begins October 2

Legal Alerts

9.24.12

The Diversity Visa (DV) program is a Congressionally-mandated program that allows up to 55,000 applicants from nations that are under-represented in migration to the United States to qualify for immigrant visas each year. The program, administered by the Department of State, is also known as the “green card lottery” or "DV lottery," because qualifying applicants are determined through a random drawing from among the 10–12 million people who enter the U.S. annually. Entries for the DV-2014 lottery must be submitted electronically between 12:00 PM Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) on Tuesday, October 2, 2012, and 12:00 PM EDT on Saturday, November 3, 2012. Applicants may access the electronic Diversity Visa entry form (E-DV) at www.dvlottery.state.gov during the registration period; paper entries will not be accepted. Applicants are strongly encouraged to enter early because heavy demand at the end of the registration period may result in website delays or crashing.

For DV-2014, natives of the following countries are not eligible to apply, as over 50,000 immigrants from each country have entered the U.S. in the previous five years: Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, China (mainland-born), Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Haiti, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, South Korea, United Kingdom (except Northern Ireland) and dependent territories, and Vietnam.

Natives of Guatemala are eligible to enter the DV-2014 lottery. 

For detailed information about entry requirements, along with frequently asked questions about the DV lottery, please see the instructions for the DV-2014 lottery available at http://travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants/types/types_1322.html


For guidance related to the DV-2014, please contact Lisa Donaldson or another member of the Cox Smith Immigration Group.