Each year, the congressionally mandated
Diversity Immigrant Program makes available 50,000 permanent
resident visas to persons from countries with low rates
of immigration to the United States who meet the simple,
but strict, eligibility requirements. Applicants for Diversity
Visas are chosen by a computer-generated random lottery
drawing. The visas, however, are distributed among six geographic
regions with a greater number of visas going to regions
with lower rates of immigration, and with no visas going
to citizens of countries sending more than 50,000 immigrants
to the U.S. in the past five years. These are Vietnam, Russia,
Dominican Republic, United Kingdom, Canada, Pakistan, Mexico,
Jamaica, India, Haiti, Philippines, El Salvador, South Korea,
Colombia, and China.
Entries for the DV-2006 Diversity Visa Lottery
must be submitted electronically between Friday, November
5, 2004 and Friday, January 7, 2005.
Read the attached
document (PDF) containing instructions and conditions for
the DV-2006 Program.
No fee is charged to enter the annual DV
program
The U.S. Government employs no outside consultants
or private services to operate the DV program. Any intermediaries
or others who offer assistance to prepare DV casework for
applicants do so without the authority or consent of the
U.S. Government. Use of any outside intermediary or assistance
to prepare a DV entry is entirely at the applicant's discretion.
Entries will be received only during the lottery registration
period.
2005 Diversity
Visa Lottery results
Applicants registered for the DV-2005 program
were selected at random from more than 9.5 million qualified
entries received during the 60-day application period that
ran from 12:00 AM on November 1, 2003, until midnight, December
30, 2003. The visas have been apportioned among six geographic
regions, with a maximum of seven percent available to persons
born in any single country. During the visa interview, principal
applicants must provide proof of a high school education
or its equivalent, or show two years of work experience
in an occupation that requires at least two years of training
or experience within the past five years.
Only participants in the DV-2005 program
who were selected for further processing have been notified.
Those who have not received notification were not selected.
They may try for the upcoming DV-2006 lottery if they wish.
