The United States continues to be an attractive option for permanent residency for millions of people around the world. USCIS (United States Citizenship and Immigration Services) reported that in FY (Fiscal Year) 2022, it received over 600 thousand applications for permanent residency. This number does not account for immigration petitions that encompass the first step of the permanent residency like family-based petitions and employment-based petitions that are not current.
The Diversity Visa (DV) is a great option for foreign nationals born in countries that have historically low rates of immigration to the United States. The program also allows for exceptions for countries of birth if the applicant wants to include the place of birth of a spouse who cannot be directly petitioned for, also known as the spouse derivative or in some special circumstances, the place of birth of parents born in qualifying countries.
For FY 2026, the DV lottery program will account for 55,000 permanent residency visas (Green Cards) available through a random computer selection.
Application Period
The application window opened on Wednesday, October 2, 2024, at noon Eastern Time and applicants have until Tuesday, November 5, 2024, at noon Eastern Time to submit their application through the State Department's official Diversity Visa lottery website. The website offers detailed instructions on submitting the application, along with photo examples that meet DV entry requirements. Applicants will be disqualified if their photo does not comply.
The Department of State explains that the form has two parts: one for the primary applicant and one for derivatives (family members if applicable). Unfortunately, the system does not allow applicants to save their work and return to complete it later. Applicants must complete the entire application in one seating.
After submitting the application, applicants can check the status of their entry through the Diversity Lottery official website, starting on May 3, 2025 at noon EDT.
It is free for applicants to submit a DV application, however if the applicant is selected for the program, they will need to cover the visa application fee when making a visa appointment with a consular office.
Program Overview
The Diversity Immigrant Visa Program was statutorily established in 1990 through Section 203(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).1 The purpose of this program was to encourage immigration to the United States from countries with historically low immigration rates. The program offers underrepresented immigrants the opportunity to live in the United States permanently, who otherwise have less chances of being sponsored by a family member given the low rates of immigration from their respective countries.
Getting selected by the lottery does not guarantee a permanent residency or a "green card," but rather allows the selected applicants to apply for Permanent Residency to the United States.
Who is eligible to apply?
The Diversity Lottery Program is open to foreign nationals born in countries with historically low immigration rates to the United States. Each year, the Department of State publishes a list of eligible countries by continent. This detailed list is available on the official Diversity Lottery website under the DV-2026 Program Instructions.
For prospective applicants who are not born in a qualifying country listed on the website, they may still be able to apply if they meet either of the following criteria: if the derivative spouse is a native of a qualifying country with historically low rates of immigration to the United States. The second option allows natives of countries without historically low immigration rates to apply if neither parent was born in or was a resident of that country at the time of the applicant's birth, and the parents were natives of a qualifying country. Applicants requesting alternative chargeability (a different country of eligibility) through a spouse, or parents must provide an explanation in Question #6 of the DV entry form.
Aside from the country of birth, another important requirement for entrants to meet are the education or work experience requirements. Each DV applicant must have either:
- A high school education or its equivalent
- Two years of work experience within the past five years in an occupation that requires at least two years of training or experience
As with all foreign nationals applying for permanent residency, DV lottery applicants must be admissible to the United States under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) and have no disqualifying criminal history.
Entrants can apply while in the United States or in another country. Lastly, spouses can submit their own separate application if each meets the requirements and if either spouse is selected, the other spouse can then apply as a derivative dependent.
Notification of lottery winners
Lottery winners are chosen through a random computer selection process. The selected entrants will be published on the official DV lottery website starting on May 3, 2025, through September 30, 2026. We encourage applicants to be cautious of fraud and to disregard notifications from third parties sent via email.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.