Is Green Card Lottery 2024 Open?

The United States Department of State is currently accepting applications for its 2024 Diversity Immigrant Visa Lottery Program (DV-2024). The annual lottery offers a unique path to permanent residence for citizens of countries with historically low rates of immigration to the United States. Employers may wish to notify eligible employees of this opportunity, as winning one of the 55,000 available immigrant visas (“green cards”) offers a relatively simple and inexpensive path to permanent residence. While a worthwhile planning opportunity, keep in mind that millions of people apply each year. Employers should not rely on the lottery as an alternative to careful employment- or family-based permanent residence planning. 

Full instructions for the DV-2024 Program are available on the Department of State website: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/immigrate/diversity-visa-program-entry/diversity-visa-instructions.html. Individuals who currently reside inside or outside the United States may participate in the lottery. There is no fee to submit an application to the lottery, but if an applicant is selected in the lottery, they must pay all required immigrant visa application fees or adjustment of status fees (depending on whether the applicant is inside or outside of the U.S.). Participants must have the equivalent of a high school education (correspondence programs or equivalency certificates such as the G.E.D. are not acceptable) or have completed two years of work within the past five years in an occupation requiring at least two years of experience or training. For more information about determining whether an occupation meets this requirement, please refer to the Department of State’s guidance on qualifying occupations: http://travel.state.gov/content/visas/en/immigrate/diversity-visa/if-you-are-selected/confirm-your-qualifications.html

For the DV-2024 Program, natives of the following countries are not eligible to apply due to their high rates of immigration to the United States in recent years: Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, China (including Hong Kong SAR), Colombia, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Republic of Korea (South Korea), United Kingdom (except Northern Ireland) and its dependent territories, Venezuela, and Vietnam. Persons born in Macau SAR and Taiwan are eligible. However, note that in certain instances an individual can claim the birthplace of a spouse or parent born in a qualifying country and submit an application. Please review the Department of State’s instructions (see link above) for an analysis of these provisions.

The entry procedure for the DV-2024 Program is simple and does not require the assistance of an attorney. The Department of State instructions (see link above) will enable individuals and their family members to proceed on their own. 

Entries must be submitted electronically at dvprogram.state.gov. Paper entries are not accepted. The application window is currently open, and applications will be accepted until noon, Eastern Standard Time, on Tuesday, November 8, 2022. Entries outside this application period will be rejected. Heavy demand during the last week of the registration period may result in website delays or inaccessibility. Entries require submission of a digital photograph of the applicant and each family member (separate photos for each). The photos must conform to the instructions on the Department of State website or the entry will be disqualified. Only one entry may be submitted for each applicant during the application period. Submission of multiple entries for any individual will disqualify all applications for that individual for the DV-2024 Program (although otherwise eligible individuals may submit compliant applications in future years).

Upon application, entrants will receive a confirmation page with a unique confirmation number. It is extremely important to retain the confirmation page and unique confirmation number in order to access the online status check system. The Department of State will not mail or email notifications.

Please contact any member of our Immigration Practice Group if you have any questions regarding the DV-2024 lottery or the submission procedure at 585.232.6500.

The United States Government grants 50,000 permanent resident cards (green cards) each year to individuals from other countries with low rates of immigration to the United States. The Diversity Visa (DV) Lottery was established in the 1996 Immigration Act by the United States Congress to diversify the American population. To qualify for the DV Lottery this year, applicants must meet two specific requirements. (Note, this year’s (2022) DV Lottery is called the DV-2024 Lottery, where 2024 is the year the winners may enter the United States on their new permanent resident card that they won in this years DV Lottery.) Most individuals 18 years and older worldwide, qualify to enter the DV Lottery. If you would like to enter the DV-2024 Lottery, you must meet two simple, but strict eligibility requirements. Natives from countries who have sent more than 50,000 immigrants to the United States over the past five years are not eligible to enter the Diversity Visa Lottery. See the DV Lottery Requirements for the list of countries whose nationals are not eligible to enter the DV Lottery this year. Note, this list will change each year.

The DV-2024 Lottery Application deadline is approaching.

Electronic Diversity Visa Lottery Registration

The United States Government implemented the electronic on-line application system in 2003, beginning with the Diversity Visa DV-2005 Lottery, in order to make the DV Lottery process faster, efficient and more secure. As a result, Diversity Visa Lottery applications are only accepted on-line; the United States Government no longer accepts paper applications. The United States Government actively uses specialized information technology and other screening tools to identify any applicant who commits fraud for the sole purpose of entering the United States illegally and to identify those who submit multiple applications in a specific DV Lottery year. The United States Government will only accept one application from any qualified applicant each DV Lottery year and submitting multiple entries will result in you and your co-applicants being disqualified. The DV Lottery on-line application process is a secure, fast and reliable process to enter the American DV Lottery.

The DV Lottery Entry Process:

• Pass the DV Lottery test to ensure you qualify
• Pay the administrative DV Lottery application fee
• Receive your username and password to your on-line account
• Log into to your account and complete your information
• Provide/upload photos of yourself and any co-applicant
• Submit your DV Lottery application
• Check on-line, if you won your Green Card in the DV Lottery

Application Login

DV Lottery History

The congressionally mandated Diversity Visa Green Card Lottery Program is administered on an annual basis by the Department of State and conducted based on United States law, specifically Section 203(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). This law provides for visas to be made available to persons from countries with historically low rates of immigration to the United States. For fiscal year 2024, 50,000 Permanent Resident cards will be available. A Permanent Resident card is also known as a Green Card due to the green color of the card.

DV Lottery Requirements

Before you can enter the DV-2024 Lottery, you must pass the DV Lottery eligibility test. If you pass the DV Lottery eligibility test, you are welcome to register and enter the DV-2024 Lottery for a chance to win one of the 50,000 permanent resident cards (green cards) that will be granted to the winners in January 2024.

Will DV lottery be open for 2024?

When can I apply for Green Card Lottery 2024?

How can I apply for DV Lottery 2024?

Is the Green Card Lottery open?