Entering The 2013 Diversity Visa Lottery

Registration for the 2013 Diversity Visa lottery began on Tuesday, October 4th, and will close on Saturday, November 5th at 1600 hours Greenwich Mean Time. Through this program, sometimes called the Green Card Lottery, the United States Government makes available 50,000 permanent resident visas to citizens of countries that have a low rate of immigration to the United States. Any person living in one of these under-represented countries, who is interested in emigrating to the United States should visit the program website: www.dvlottery.state.gov.

To be eligible for the lottery, entrants must submit one, and only one, entry online at www.dvlottery.state.gov. More than one entry will eliminate the applicant from the lottery.

Entrants must be from an eligible country, and they must have completed a 12-year course of elementary and secondary education, or must have at least two years of work experience within the last five years, in an occupation that requires a minimum of two years of training or experience to perform.

The State Department does not accept paper entries or mail-in requests. Entrants must include all the required biographical information about him or herself, and about his or her spouse and any children who are under 21 years old.

All entrants should be aware that unscrupulous businesses and attorneys may claim that, for a fee, they can make it easier to enter the Diversity Immigrant Visa program, or increase their clients' chances of being selected. Entry into the lottery is free, but it can only be done before 1600 hours GMT on Saturday, November 5, at www.dvlottery.state.gov. This is the ONLY way one may enter the lottery.

Entrants will need to answer a few questions and provide passport-style digital photographs. Once an entry has been submitted to www.dvlottery.state.gov, the U.S. State Department will assign the entrant a unique confirmation number. Do NOT lose that number!

Selection of entries is random, through a computer-generated drawing. The State Department does not notify selected applicants by mail or by email, and entrants are responsible for checking the status of their applications, using their confirmation number at www.dvlottery.state.gov. Selection does not guarantee a visa. Selectees must meet all legal and security requirements for admission under U.S. law. Those issued visas under this program receive no financial or other assistance with their travel to or settlement in the United States and all applicants must prove that they will not become a public charge.

Again, there is no charge for entering the lottery. Anyone asking for money up front is running a scam.