Shilpa Malik 
Sabrina Saada 
What is Diversity Visa (DV) Lottery in 2024
The Diversity Immigrant Visa Program is administered by the U.S. Department of State (DOS). Out of the millions of people who apply every year, the DOS allots 55,000 immigrant visas per year through a lottery pool for foreign nationals from countries with historically low immigration rates to the U.S. These 55,000 are chosen randomly by a computer. There are many health, education and employment opportunities made available as a recipient of the diversity lottery program. Based on continent, the highest number of DVs issued go to Africa and Europe. If you entered, you can now check the results for the 2024 Diversity Visa to see if you were selected.
The entry period for the 2024 DV Program was between October 5, 2022 and November 8, 2022. The overall entry process is straightforward – applicants submit a form online and are not required to pay a fee. Over a million individuals last year registered in the Diversity Lottery and 55,000 were selected. DV-2024 Entrants may enter their confirmation information through the link starting at noon (EDT) on May 6, 2023. The DV-2024 registration period opens on October 5, 2022, and closes on November 8, 2022, 12:00 PM EST. DV-2024 Entrants should keep their confirmation number until at least September 30, 2024.
Registration for DV Lottery
Registration for the DV lottery 2024 began October 5, 2022 at 12:00 noon, Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) and concluded on Tuesday, November 8, 2022, at 12:00 noon, Eastern Standard Time (EST). Only one registration per person is permitted and submitting more than one will disqualify all entries for the individual – the Department of State has technology to detect this. Late entries or those submitted by paper will not be accepted.
How it works is the National Visa Center will randomly select eligible applicants ad the total amount of green cards provided to a region cannot exceed 7%. Individuals chosen will be given the opportunity to apply for permanent residence or an adjustment of status. The online application to enter is free so beware of any scams that ask you to pay for the 2024 Diversity Visa lottery entry. You can see the full DV-2024 Program Instructions and additional (unofficial) translations of the program instructions. Have additional questions? It’s best to schedule a consultation with one of our attorneys!
Will mail notification letters be sent to those selected?
The DOS does not mail notification letters or notify selectees by email. What’s more, U.S. embassies and consulates will not provide a list of selectees. Entrant Status Check on the E-DV website is the ONLY means by which the Department of State notifies selectees of their selection. Those who entered the Diversity Visa 2023 program can check the status of their entries on the E-DV website from May 7, 2022 through September 30, 2023.
What should I do if I was selected?
Congrats if your entry was chosen! You will be directed to a confirmation page with further instructions, including details about immigration fees for the United States. The Entrant Status Check is the only method used to notify individuals. The Department of State does not send notification letters by mail or inform selectees through email. Furthermore, U.S. Embassies and Consulates do not provide a list of selectees. If you haven’t been selected, you will only receive notification through the Entrant Status Check. It is strongly advised that you personally access the Entrant Status Check and not rely on someone else to do it for you.
Do I Automatically Get a Green Card Now?
Just because you are selected in the Diversity Visa Lottery does not mean you are automatically entitled to a green card. What it does mean is that you are eligible to apply for the immigrant visa for yourself and your eligible relatives. With years of experience, VisaNation Law Group’s diversity visa lawyers can help you gather and complete the required material in a timely manner in order to secure a Green Card Lottery case, approval.
How to Adjust Status Under the DV Program
In order to adjust your status you must prove the following:
- You were selected in the lottery
- Have an immigrant visa immediately available (check the latest Visa Bulletin) at the time of filing an adjustment application (Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status); and
- Are admissible to the U.S.
DV Lottery: Requirements
Below is a list of requirements to confirm your qualifications for the Diversity Visa Program:
- Country of Chargeability: You must be a native of a qualifying country or meet the alternate chargeability criteria.
- Education or Work Experience: You must have at least a high school education (successful completion of a formal course of elementary and secondary education comparable to a 12-year course in the U.S. or its equivalent), or two years of work experience within the last five years in an occupation requiring at least two years of training or experience (qualifying DV Occupations are shown on the Department of Labor O*Net Online Database).
- Eligibility Period: You must confirm that you meet the DV program’s eligibility requirements within the specified time frame.
- Entrant Status Check: If selected, you will be notified only through the Entrant Status Check. The Department of State will not send notification letters or emails.
- Instructions and Fees: Upon selection, you will be directed to a confirmation page with further instructions and information on fees related to immigration to the United States.
- Personal Information: Be sure that the information provided in your application entry is accurate and matches the identification documents you provide.
- Derivatives: If you are married or have children who are eligible, they must be listed on your entry form.
- Ineligibility: If you are found ineligible, you will not be able to proceed with the visa application.
How to Check Status of 2024 Diversity Visa Lottery
If you entered, you can now check the results to see if you were selected for the 2024 Diversity Visa.
- In the first line, fill in the confirmation number you were given when you applied. (YYYY is the program year)
- In the second line provide the last and family name that was used on the Electronic Diversity Visa Entry Form, including punctuation.
- Put the year of your birth in this line.
- The final field is an authentication input. Type the characters as they appear in the picture.
Diversity Visa Lottery 2024: Winners by Country
Based on a per continent basis, the highest number of DVs issued go to Africa and Europe. The specific allocations beyond that are unknown since USCIS has not released the data.
Our Experience with Diversity Visa Applications
“Working with individuals who’ve been selected in the diversity visa lottery for their immigrant visa processings have been the same GC if they’re in the U.S. –If outside they’re outside the U.S. they through the embassy processing by filing a DS260. What’s interesting with those abroad cases, is that we have to look at the “DIVERSITY IMMIGRANT (DV) CATEGORY FOR THE MONTH OF (Whichever month it is)” on the visa bulletin. Depending on the individual’s country, we have to look at their case number and make sure that their DV regional lottery rank numbers are BELOW the specified allocation cut-off number for the region they are from.”
Read more about VisaNation’s success stories across a range of cases including employment and family-based.
Eligible Country List For DV Lottery
Below is the list of countries that are eligible for the 2024 Diversity Visa lottery based on USCIS guidelines.
Africa
- Algeria
- Angola
- Benin
- Botswana
- Burkina
- Faso
- Burundi
- Cameroon
- Cabo Verde
- Central African Republic
- Chad
- Comoros
- Congo
- Congo, Democratic Republic of the
- Cote D’Ivoire (Ivory Coast)
- Djibouti
- Egypt*
- Equatorial Guinea
- Eritrea
- Eswatini
- Ethiopia
- Gabon
- Gambia
- Ghana
- Guinea
- Guinea-Bissau
- Kenya
- Lesotho
- Liberia
- Libya
- Madagascar
- Malawi
- Mali
- Mauritania
- Mauritius
- Morocco
- Mozambique
- Namibia
- Niger
- Rwanda
- Sao Tome and Principe
- Senegal
- Seychelles
- Sierra Leone
- Somalia
- South Africa
- South Sudan
- Sudan
- Tanzania
- Togo
- Tunisia
- Uganda
- Zambia
- Zimbabwe
In Africa, natives of Nigeria are not eligible for this year’s Diversity Visa program.
Asia
- Afghanistan
- Bahrain
- Bhutan
- Brunei
- Burma
- Cambodia
- Indonesia
- Iran
- Iraq
- Israel*
- Japan***
- Jordan*
- Kuwait
- Laos
- Lebanon
- Malaysia
- Maldives
- Mongolia
- Nepal
- North Korea
- Oman
- Qatar
- Saudi Arabia
- Singapore
- Sri Lanka
- Syria*
- Taiwan**
- Thailand
- Timor-Leste
- United Arab Emirates
- Yemen
Europe
- Albania
- Andorra
- Armenia
- Austria
- Azerbaijan
- Belarus
- Belgium
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Bulgaria
- Croatia
- Cyprus
- Czech Republic
- Denmark (including components and dependent areas overseas)
- Estonia
- Finland
- France (including components and dependent areas overseas)
- Georgia
- Germany
- Greece
- Hungary
- Iceland
- Ireland
- Italy
- Kazakhstan
- Kosovo
- Kyrgyzstan
- Latvia
- Liechtenstein
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Macau Special Administrative Region**
- North Macedonia
- Malta
- Moldova
- Monaco
- Montenegro
- Netherlands (including components and dependent areas overseas)
- Northern Ireland***
- Norway (including components and dependent areas overseas)
- Poland
- Portugal (including components and dependent areas overseas)
- Romania
- Russia****
- San Marino
- Serbia
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Spain
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Tajikistan
- Turkey
- Turkmenistan
- Ukraine
- Uzbekistan
- Vatican City
North America
- The Bahamas
In North America, natives of Canada and Mexico are not eligible for this year’s DV program
Oceania
- Australia (including components and dependent areas overseas)
- Fiji
- Kiribati
- Marshall Islands
- Micronesia, Federated States of Nauru
- New Zealand (including components and dependent areas overseas)
- Palau
- Papua New Guinea
- Samoa
- Solomon Islands
- Tonga
- Tuvalu
- Vanuatu
South America, Central America and The Caribbean
- Antigua and Barbuda
- Argentina
- Barbados
- Belize
- Bolivia
- Chile
- Costa Rica
- Cuba
- Dominica
- Ecuador
- Grenada
- Guatemala
- Guyana
- Nicaragua
- Panama
- Paraguay
- Peru
- Saint Kitts and Nevis
- Saint Lucia
- Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
- Suriname
- Trinidad and Tobago
- Uruguay
Countries in this region whose natives are not eligible for this year’s DV program: Brazil, Colombia, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, and Venezuela.
Frequently Asked Questions
Below are some frequently asked questions about the 2024 Diversity Visa
Does being selected in the lottery guarantee green card approval?
No, it is not a guarantee but it means you are eligible to apply for a diversity visa. Once you are selected, you will need to go through the green card application process. It’s important to get the process underway sooner than later because all DVs available for the fiscal year must be issued by September 30, 2024. To get this started, it’s best to schedule a consultation with one of our immigration attorneys.
What do I do if my native country is not eligible for the diversity visa?
You, the applicant, have the ability to claim your spouse’s native country if it is eligible. However, your spouse must also be able to receive and meet all visa requirements and they will need to accompany you to the United States with a DV-2 Visa. If both your parents were born outside of your native country and they did not reside in the country after you (as the applicant were born), the applicant can claim the parents’ native country.
For DV-2024, natives of the following countries and areas are not eligible to apply, because more than 50,000 natives of these countries immigrated to the United States in the previous five 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. Natives of Macau SAR and Taiwan are eligible.
How do I know if I have a qualifying occupation based on the work experience criteria?
First, go to the Department of Labor O*Net Online Database then under the “Find Occupations” select “Job Family”. Then select the link of your occupation. The DOL qualifies work experience that requires at least two years of training or experience that is designated as Job Zone 4 or 5, classified in a Specific Vocational Preparation (SVP) rating of 7.0 or higher. You will be able to see this information in the summary under your specific occupation.
When can I apply for 2024 DV Lottery?
The 2024 DV lottery was between October 5, 2022 and November 8, 2022.
Is DV Lottery 2024 still open?
The DV-2024 registration period was open on October 5, 2022, and closed on November 8, 2022 12:00 PM EST. DV-2024 Entrants should keep their confirmation number until at least September 30, 2024.
How to check eligibility for US DV Lottery 2024?
See the list above of eligible countries as well as criteria.
How can I apply for 2024 DV Lottery?
You will need to submit your Electronic Diversity Visa Entry Form (E-DV Entry Form or DS-5501), online at dvprogram.state.gov.
When can I check my DV Lottery 2023 results?
You can now check the 2024 Diversity Visa results to see if you were selected.
How many DV winners in 2024?
55,000 are selected every year from countries with historically low immigration rates to the U.S.
What are the chances of winning 2024 DV visa lottery?
This depends on the number of total submissions USCIS receives per year, we know it is in the millions but do not have exact data to provide an accurate chance of winning percentage.
What if I lost my confirmation number?
You can retrieve it on the official website by clicking ‘Forgot confirmation number’.
Operate Cautiously with Fraudsters
If you have received an email saying you were selected in the 2024 Diversity Visa Lottery, practice extreme caution. Scammers have been known to do this and ask for money. You should check only on the official State Department portal to find out if you were selected. Here are other resources related to 2024 Diversity Visa to help safeguard yourself against fraud.