Immigrant Visas

Diversity Visa (DV) Lottery Program

Thank you for your interest in the Diversity Visa Program. The DV-2009 entry registration period, which was October 3 through December 2, 2007, is over. Online entries cannot be accepted now. For future Diversity Visa information updates, please check this page and WWW.DVLOTTERY.STATE.GOV*.  
If you would like to receive updates about the Diversity Visa program online, please send an email to: DVLOTTERYCOLOMBO@STATE.GOV and let us know of your interest.  If you do so we will send you the 2010 DV Lottery instructions by email when they become available, as well as information about upcoming DV Lottery outreach events.

WHAT IS THE DIVERSITY LOTTERY VISA?

The Diversity Immigrant Visa Program is administered on an annual basis by the Department of State and conducted under the terms of Section 203(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). Section 131 of the Immigration Act of 1990 (Pub. L. 101-649) amended INA 203 provides for a class of immigrants known as "diversity immigrants". Section 203(c) of the INA provides a maximum of up to 55,000 Diversity Visas (DV) each fiscal year to be made available to persons from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States. Sri Lanka and the Maldives are qualifying countries.
The annual DV program makes diversity immigrant visas available to persons meeting the simple, but strict, eligibility requirements. A computer-generated random lottery drawing chooses selectees for diversity visas. The visas, however, are distributed among six geographic regions with a greater number of visas going to regions with lower rates of immigration, and with no visas going to nationals of countries sending more than 50,000 immigrants to the U.S. over the period of the past five years. Within each region, no one country may receive more than seven percent of the available Diversity Visas in any one year.

 

WHO QUALIFIES FOR A DIVERSITY LOTTERY VISA**?

At a minimum, to enter the lottery, you must meet either the education or work experience requirement of the DV program.

Education or Work Experience: You must have EITHER a high school education or its equivalent, defined as successful completion of 6 GCE O-level subjects, including math and Tamil or Sinhala; OR two years of work experience within the past five years in an occupation requiring at least two years of training or experience to perform. The U.S. Department of Labor’s O*Net OnLine database will be used to determine qualifying work experience.

What Occupations will Qualify for the Diversity Visa Program (DV)?
The Department of Labor (DOL) O*Net Online database groups job experience into five "job zones."   While many occupations are listed on the DOL Website, only certain specified occupations qualify for the Diversity Visa Program. To qualify for a Diversity Visa on the basis of your work experience, you must, within the past five years, have two years of experience in an occupation that is designated as Job Zone 4 or 5, classified in a Specific Vocational Preparation (SVP) range of 7.0 or higher.

How Do I Find the Qualifying Occupations on the Department of Labor Website?
Qualifying DV Occupations are shown on the Department of Labor O*Net Online Database .  Follow these steps to find out if your occupation qualifies: Select "Find Occupations" and then select a specific "Job Family". (For example, select Architecture and Engineering and click "GO".  Then click on the link for the specific Occupation (For example, Aerospace Engineers).  After selecting a specific Occupation link, select the tab "Job Zone" to find out the designated Job Zone number and Specific Vocational Preparation (SVP) rating range.

If you cannot meet these requirements, you should NOT submit an entry to the DV program.

*Please Note: There have been instances of fraudulent websites posing as official U.S. Government sites. Some companies posing as the U.S. Government have sought money in order to "complete" lottery entry forms. There is no charge to download and complete the Electronic Diversity Visa Entry Form. The Department of State notifies successful Diversity Visa applicants by letter, and NOT by email. Please follow these links to learn more see the Department of State Warning and the Federal Trade Commission Warning.

For the full text of last years instructions please click here

**The Department of State implemented the electronic registration system beginning with DV-2005 in order to make the Diversity Visa process more efficient and secure. The Department utilizes special technology and other means to identify those who commit fraud for the purposes of illegal immigration or who submit multiple entries.