(CNN Spanish) — The United States Department of State opens this week the call for the Diversity Visa Program for Immigrants, also known as the ‘Visa Lottery’, for the period 2024.
This program benefits more than 55,000 people from countries with low levels of migration to the United States and is a path to legal citizenship in the United States.
Here’s what you need to know about how to apply for the 2024 “Visa Lottery” program.
What is the ‘Visa Lottery’?
officially called Diversity Immigrant Visa Programthis program grants up to 55,000 people per year a visa or a Green Card, which gives its holder permanent residence in the United States and, in the future, will allow these people to potentially obtain US citizenship.
How does it work?
People from certain countries that have a low enough level of immigration to the United States can apply for visas at certain times each year. Most lottery winners live outside the United States, but some are in the country legally on other types of visas.
According to the formula established by law, countries that have had more than 50,000 native immigrants to the United States in the last five years are not eligible.
The visas are further distributed by region: Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, Oceania, South America, Central America and the Caribbean. The program is run by the Department of State.
Although people are selected for the visas at random, they still must meet the security and eligibility requirements that all immigrants must meet to obtain their visas.
Registration date for 2024
For the 2024 program, registration opens at 12:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday. October 5, 2022 until Tuesday noon November 8, 2022.
Registrations must be made through the page of the Department of State dvprogram.state.gov.
The Department of State recommends that each person complete the form themselves and not through agents or consultants; and, in case someone helps you register, recommends that you be present.
The Department of State does not charge for enrollment in this program. Once you fill out the form, you must keep the unique confirmation number and save the registration confirmation page as it is necessary to check the status of the application.
As of May 6, 2023 you can check the status of your registration on the page dvprogram.state.gov with the unique confirmation number and your personal information.
Which countries are eligible to apply to the Diversity Visa Program?
The countries eligible to apply to the Diversity Visa Program are those that have less than 50,000 native immigrants to the US in the last five years.
across the American continent WILL BE ABLE TO APPLYamong others, citizens of:
- Argentina
- Bolivia
- Chile
- Costa Rica
- Cuba
- Ecuador
- Guatemala
- Nicaragua
- Panama
- Paraguay
- Peru
- Uruguay
See the full list of countries that can apply to the program.
For the period 2024 THEY ARE NOT ELIGIBLE the citizens of:
- Bangladesh
- Brazil
- Canada
- China (including Hong Kong)
- Colombia
- Dominican Republic
- The Savior
- Haiti
- Honduras
- India
- Jamaica
- Mexico
- Nigeria
- Pakistan
- Filipinas
- South Korea
- United Kingdom (Except citizens of Northern Ireland and its dependent territories
- Venezuela
- Vietnam
What requirements must I meet?
Specifically, beneficiaries of the diversity visa program must have at least } a high school education or equivalent and must have had at least two years of experience working in a job that requires at least two years of training or experience within five years of joining. the date of the request. They must also be admissible to the US The categories of inadmissibility to the US broadly include connections to terrorism.
The process also includes an in-person interview.
“In order to immigrate, those selected by DV must be admissible in the United States,” indicates a State Department information brochure for applicants.
The DS-260 form, which is the online alien registration and immigrant visa application, and the consular agent, who will interview you in person, will ask you questions about your eligibility to immigrate under US law. Those questions include topics related to crime and safety.
See more information at the official page of the Department of State and the Visa Diversity Program.
Some common mistakes when signing up
- Do not apply if you do not have the minimum educational level to do so
- Do not complete the process more than once, the system is very sophisticated and will disqualify you if it detects that you have made more than one request.
- Check again and again that you wrote your names, surnames and personal data correctly. Do not pay anyone who promises you miraculous results in the process.
- When you enter to fill out the form, do it immediately, you are not allowed to save the information to continue later. You have only 60 minutes to fill out the information.
- Enroll your entire immediate family, spouse, and children under the age of 21, even if they don’t live with you or plan to travel with you to the United States.
- If you are single and go to the interview stage, do not convince anyone to marry you to give them a visa.
- Do not send photos that are more than six months old.
To see more common mistakes, click here.