Diversity Visa Lottery
Each year, the U.S. makes available approximately 50,000 diversity visas, which are distributed to eligible applicants throughout the world by means of a lottery system. Eligible applicants must qualify as natives of "low admission states," which are generally countries from which fewer than 50,000 people were granted permanent residency in the U.S. during the previous five years.
For purposes of the diversity lottery, the world is divided into six regions, consisting of Africa, Europe, North America (other than Mexico), Oceania, and South America, Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean. These regions themselves are also categorized as either "high admission" or "low admission." Visas are allocated among the world's low admission states, with no state allowed to receive more than 7% of all available diversity visas, and with priority given to low admission states in low admission regions.
Generally, a person is designated a native of the country in which he or she was born, and not his or her current country of residence or citizenship. However, if a person qualifies as a native of a low admission state, his or her spouse and minor children may also be deemed natives of the same country. This is known as "cross chargeability."
In order for a diversity visa applicant to be eligible to participate in the selection process, the applicant must first submit a petition containing the petitioner's name, date and place of birth, country of birth or nationality if different than country of birth, the names and dates and places of birth of his or her spouse or children, a current mailing address, the location of the nearest consular office, and a photograph of the applicant. Applicants are allowed to submit one petition per drawing. The applicant is also required to have a high school diploma or equivalent, unless they have two years of work experience in a field that also requires two years training or experience.
Eligible applicants are selected at random through the lottery process once each fiscal year, with the Secretary of State selecting the date and location for the drawing. Lottery winners are then notified. However, being selected in the lottery does not guarantee a person an immigrant visa. In order to ensure all visa numbers are used, it is often the case that the number of persons selected in the lottery exceeds the number of visas available. Lottery winners receive a rank number, and must wait for that rank number to become current before a visa may be given to them. Lottery winners must either receive their visas or adjust status within the fiscal year for which they were selected. If they delay, or if their number doesn't become current during the year, lottery winners usually lose their chance at an immigrant visa.
Once a winner's number becomes current, he or she may have the option of either consular processing or adjustment of status, much like beneficiaries of family or employment based immigration petitions. Our Michigan immigration attorneys can assist you with this process.
