FY 2023 Diversity Visa Lottery Registration Opens October 6th, 2021
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The State Department will start accepting online registrations for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 Diversity Visa (DV) lottery beginning Wednesday, 6th October 2021, around early afternoon EDT. Foreign nationals who wish to enter the lottery have until Tuesday, 9th November 2021, at noon EST to file online.
For FY 2023, the DV lottery program will make up to 55,000 green card numbers available through random selection. FY 2023 lottery results will be declared in May 2022. Moreover, foreign nationals selected in the FY 2023 lottery can submit their green card applications beginning on 1st October 2022.
Who is Eligible to Enter the FY 2023 Diversity Visa Lottery?
- The DV lottery is open to locals of nations that have historically low rates of immigration to the United States.
- People from nations with high rates of U.S. immigration are not eligible to enroll.
- This year, those born into the following nations are ineligible: Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, China (counting Hong Kong SAR), Colombia, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, South Korea, United Kingdom (except Northern Ireland) and its reliant regions, and Vietnam.
- Individuals born in Macau SAR and Taiwan can participate.
- The individuals who can’t register because their country of birth is excluded may be able to qualify through a spouse who was born in an eligible nation or, in certain circumstances, through a parent’s country of birth.
- Applicants should have at least a high school education (or same) or two years of qualifying work experience within the past five years.
Registering for the FY 2023 Diversity Visa Lottery
- Participants should submit an online form and a digital photograph through the official DV lottery site. DV lottery candidates might include a spouse and children in their entry.
- Just a single entry is allowed per person. If there are different registrations on behalf of one individual, every one of them is disqualified.
- Candidates should cautiously follow the State Department’s official lottery guidelines. Also, lottery entries and digital photographs that don’t exactly conform to the instructions will be disqualified.
- When the application is accepted, candidates will get a confirmation number, which can be used to check the status of their application.
How lottery winners are chosen and notified
The State Department chooses lottery winners by random computer selection. Results will be published beginning 8th May 2022, through 30th September 2023, on the official DV lottery entry status site.
Foreign nationals can learn whether they were chosen exclusively by visiting the official DV site and entering their confirmation number. Moreover, the State Department doesn’t notify contestants by letter, email, fax, or phone. The official site is the main legitimate source of lottery results.
Guarding against DV lottery fraud
DV lottery misrepresentation is very common, however, foreign nationals can and should take a few precautions to protect themselves.
- Look out for misleading lottery sites. The only authorized DV lottery site is located on the State Department site. The State Department doesn’t use or authorize any outside individual or organization to accept lottery applications or operate the lottery. Also, numerous sites are acting like official government sites or claiming to have State Department authorized. These sites should be avoided.
- The State Department doesn’t charge an expense for lottery registrations. A site, individual, or organization claiming there is a government fee to enter the lottery is fraudulent.
[October 2021 Visa Bulletin Predictions]
- If lottery help is required, look for competent advice. Candidates might use an attorney or other delegate to prepare a lottery registration, however, they should be careful about commercial sites that claim to register candidates outside of the registration period or imply to be authorized by the State Department to accept registrations for a fee.
- Beware of lottery e-mails, letters, or faxes that claim to be from the State Department. The State Department doesn’t send e-mails, letters, or faxes about the DV lottery. However, official site is the main legitimate source of data about lottery results and the only place to submit a lottery registration.
- Be incredulous of any communication claiming a foreign national has won the DV lottery when he or she did not register or registered in a previous year.
- Also, try not to send cash or personal information to questionable individuals or companies.
