Applicants who submitted an entry under the Diversity Visa 2022 green card lottery (DV-2022) can check the status of their application online starting on Saturday, May 8, 2021, at noon (EDT). The DV-2022 entry period opened on October 7, 2020, and closed on November 10, 2020. Only confirmation information for entries submitted during this period are valid for checking your status.
All DV-2022 applicants must check their status online, and will not receive a notification letter or e-mail from the U.S. government. Diversity Visa Entry Status Check will only be provided through the Department of State secure online site. Until September 30, 2022, entrants are able to check the status of their entry through the E-DV website at https://dvprogram.state.gov/. Entrants need to use their own confirmation page information from the time of their entry to check the status to find out if their Diversity Visa Lottery entry was or was not selected. Entrants will need to enter their last name, year of birth and confirmation number from the receipt.
The Department of State advises the public of a notable increase in fraudulent emails and letters sent to potential Diversity Visa (DV) program (Visa Lottery) applicants. The scammers behind these fraudulent emails and letters are posing as the U.S. government in an attempt to extract payment from DV applicants.
Please keep your confirmation number until at least September 30, 2022, even if you are not selected on May 8, 2021. The Department of State may select more DV-2022 entries on October 1, 2021 or thereafter.
Entrants who have lost their confirmation number can enter further identifying details on the official website to retrieve it by clicking the “Forgot Confirmation Number” link.
All lottery applicants who were assisted at our office would have received a copy of their application confirmation page with their confirmation number. Please contact our office if you need the information again.
Selected entrants must confirm their qualifications, submit their immigrant visa and alien registration application, prepare supporting documents, and have a consular interview. Visa number allocations are determined by the provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act which determines the number of diversity immigrant visas available each year. Selected entrants will only be scheduled for an interview when and if there is a visa number available. Before being interviewed, each applicant must pay the Diversity Visa Lottery fee of $330 per person which is not refundable. For more detailed information, including steps to take to prepare for the consulate interview, go to https://travel.state.gov/content/visas/en/immigrate/diversity-visa/if-you-are-selected.html.
It is expected that the next application period for the DV Lottery will be between October and November this year. Official dates, rules and eligible countries should be announced by late September. For more information, go to the official US State Department website at https://dvprogram.state.gov/. You may also contact our office in the early fall for more information and assistance to complete another application. Be aware that the application for the DV lottery is free and you do not need to pay anyone to enter.
Also note that the European Union (EU) has extended restrictions on nonessential travel for residents of the United States with some exceptions. EU citizens and residents are excluded from the ban. The restrictions also do not apply to travel to Ireland or the United Kingdom.
The new proclamation is effective from June 24, 2020 until at least December 31, 2020.
The proclamations only apply to individuals applying for new immigrant or nonimmigrant visas from overseas at U.S. consular posts.
Individuals with valid visas in one of the suspended classifications as of June 24th are not subject to the proclamation, regardless of previous entry.
It does not immediately impact any nonimmigrant workers already in the U.S.
The new proclamation ONLY restricts the issuance of the following nonimmigrant visas:
H-1B visa for specialty occupation workers;
H-2B seasonal or temporary non-agricultural workers (other than food workers);
H-4 dependent spouses and children of H-1B/H-2B visa holders;
J-1 exchange visitors participating as an intern, trainee, teacher, camp counselor, au pair, or summer work travel program;
L-1 intracompany transfer (including L-1A executives and L-1B specialized knowledge workers).
The following are also excluded:
Lawful permanent residents (green card holders);
Spouses and minor children of U.S. citizens;
Workers providing essential services for the U.S. food supply chain;
Canadians entering as H, L or J nonimmigrants are exempt from the Presidential Proclamation;
Anyone whose entry is determined by the State Department or the Department of Homeland Security to be in the national interest may be exempted under the proclamation, including:
o Individuals critical to the defense, law enforcement, diplomacy, or national security of the United States;
o Those involved with the provision of medical care to individuals who have contracted COVID-19 and are currently hospitalized or with the provision of medical research at United States facilities to help the United States combat COVID-19;
o Anyone necessary to facilitate the immediate and continued economic recovery of the United States.
It should be noted that, at this time, there are other travel bans restricting entry into the U.S. by foreign nationals. The most notable is the travel suspension on inbound travel from Ireland, the United Kingdom and the Schengen area of Europe as well as several other countries around the world. Additionally, all U.S. Embassies and Consulates are currently closed for routine visa applications.
The temporary suspension is extended, and USCIS offices will re-open on June 4th unless the public closures are extended further
To protect our workforce and to help
mitigate the spread of Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) in our communities,
effective immediately, USCIS is suspending all routine face-to-face services
with applicants at all of our offices, including all interviews and
naturalization ceremonies.
All USCIS field offices, asylum offices and Application Support Centers (ASCs) will not provide in-person services until at least May 3rd. This includes interviews, naturalization ceremonies and biometric collection appointments. However, we will continue to provide emergency services during this time. If you have an emergency service request, please contact the USCIS Contact Center.
USCIS field offices will send de-scheduling
notices to applicants and petitioners with scheduled appointments impacted by
this closure. We will send de-scheduling notices to naturalization applicants scheduled
for naturalization ceremonies. All applicants will be rescheduled when USCIS
resumes normal operations.
USCIS asylum offices will send interview
cancellation notices and automatically reschedule asylum interviews. When the
interview is rescheduled, asylum applicants will receive a new interview notice
with the new time, date and location of the interview.
USCIS will also automatically reschedule ASC
appointments due to the office closure. Those impacted will receive a new
appointment letter in the mail. Individuals who had InfoPass or other
appointments at the field office must reschedule through the USCIS Contact
Center once field offices are open to the public again. Please
check to see if your field office
has been reopened before reaching out to the USCIS Contact Center.
Additionally, USCIS is
postponing all in-person public engagement and outreach events for the duration
of the office closure. Please contact public.engagement@uscis.dhs.gov if you have an immediate engagement question
during this time.
Education and precautions are the strongest
tools against infection. Get the latest facts by visiting the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention’s COVID-19 website.
Continue to practice good health habits, refrain from handshakes or hugs as
greetings, and clean hands and surfaces appropriately.
USCIS will provide further updates as the
situation develops and will continue to follow CDC guidance in response to this
situation. Please visit uscis.gov/coronavirus
for updates.
EIIC announces
dates for Public Immigration Information sessions for the community at Bronx and
Queens offices and continues to offer free assistance with green card lottery
applications and general consultations.
The annual diversity visa
lottery registration period opens once again on October 2nd until November 5th for those who are eligible to apply for a green card to
reside permanently in the United States. Only entries submitted during this
period will be accepted and considered for selection in the lottery. Applications
will only be accepted online via the U.S. Department of State official website
at www.dvlottery.state.gov.
In recent years there has
been an increase in online scams promising green cards or quicker service for a
fee. EIIC’s Immigration Attorney and
Director of Immigration Legal Services, John A. Stahl, Esq., urged those
interested in applying to note
that “[t]here is still no fee to apply and there is
only one official website to register.” He advises individuals to ignore any email
offers to help complete or expedite the application process.
Please call either of our offices if you
need assistance with your application. Alternatively, if you have questions about any
immigration matter, please note the dates and places of our upcoming public
meetings from 6pm to 8pm:
Tuesday, October 15, 2019, Queens, 59-26 Woodside
Ave, 2nd Fl, Woodside, NY 11377
Thursday, October 17, 2019, Bronx,
4275 Katonah Avenue, Woodlawn, NY 10470
The immigration legal
services staff at the Center is once again appealing to potential applicants to
apply early this year, cautioning that the official DV Lottery website can get
frozen closer to the deadline of noon on Tuesday, November 5th. Regretfully, we
will be unable to accommodate last minute walk-ins during the final week of the
DV Lottery registration period.
If you are a
member of a local group or organization and would like our staff to speak to
your group on the DV Lottery in October or on any immigration topic at a future
meeting, please contact John A. Stahl, Esq., Director of Immigration Legal
Services and Immigration Attorney at 718-478-5502, extension 201.
Check our
website for additional information and upcoming public meeting dates at www.eiic.org
EIIC Immigration legal services staff has helped many, who are
currently in the United States and are still in status, to apply on the visa
waiver program or on a temporary work visa. “The green card lottery is a yearly
opportunity for qualified applicants who are legally in the United States or
overseas to attain permanent resident status here with no strings attached,” according
to EIIC’s Immigration Legal Services Director, John A. Stahl.
This year 55,000 green cards will be available through a lottery
system to individuals coming from countries with low rates of immigration to
the United States. The State Department’s Kentucky Consular Center holds the
annual lottery and chooses winners randomly from about 8-10 million qualified
entries. About 100,000 entries are selected and given the opportunity to apply
for permanent residence. If permanent residence is granted, then the
individual, their spouse and any unmarried children under the age of 21 will be
authorized to live and work permanently
in the United States. “The DV Lottery is one of the few ways that exist to
apply for a green card. Despite the low allocation of green cards to Ireland, it
is worth the effort, if you really do want a long-term option to stay legally
in America,” stated Siobhan Dennehy, EIIC’s Executive Director. “I equate the odds
to playing the New York State Lottery as there are over 8 million applications
from all over the world annually. Although you apply for the green card in 2019,
you will not be notified about your application until 2020 and you won’t
actually receive the green card itself until 2021, that’s why they call it the 2021
DV Lottery, which can be confusing.”
Only
natives of certain countries are eligible to apply for the green card lottery.
Those born in the following countries are NOT
eligible to apply for the DV-2021 lottery because a total of more than 50,000
immigrants came from these countries to the U.S. in the previous five years: Bangladesh,
Brazil, Canada, China (mainland-born), Colombia, Dominican Republic, El
Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan,
Philippines, South Korea, United Kingdom (except Northern Ireland) and its
dependent territories, and Vietnam. Persons born in Hong Kong SAR, Macau SAR
and Taiwan are eligible. An applicant may, however, claim the country of birth
of their spouse, if eligible, or of either parent if they were born in a
country of which neither of their parents was a native or a resident at the time of their birth.
All applicants also must have a high school diploma or the
equivalent, defined in the United States as the successful completion of a 12-year
course of elementary and secondary education or they must have two years of
work experience within the last five years in an occupation that requires at
least two years of training or experience to perform. Entries for the DV-2021
diversity visa lottery must be submitted electronically from noon EDT on Wednesday,
October 2, 2019 through noon EST on Tuesday, November 5, 2019. Applicants may
access the electronic diversity visa entry form at www.dvlottery.state.gov only during
the registration period beginning October 2nd. Paper entries will not be accepted. All entries by an applicant will be
disqualified if more than one entry for the applicant is received, regardless
of who submitted the entry. Applicants may prepare and submit their own
entries, or have someone submit the entry for them. The Department of State
will issue DV lottery entrants an electronic confirmation number and notice
upon receipt of a correctly completed Electronic Diversity Visa Entry Form.
Applicants must also attach separate digital photographs of
themselves, their spouses and unmarried children less than 21 years of age (except spouses
or children who are already permanent residents or U.S. citizens). The
photographs must be in the Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG) format and
meet specific resolutions (minimum 600 pixels high by 600 pixels wide), color
depths (24-bit color) and kilobytes (maximum 240 KB) requirements. If a photograph
print is scanned, the print must be two inches square and be scanned at a
resolution of 300 dots per inch (dpi) and with specific color depths. The
photograph must be taken within the last six months and no glasses may be worn
in the photo. If the digital image does not conform to the specifications, the
application will be automatically disqualified.
NEW FOR DV-2021:
Applicants must now provide their passport details in the online application.
Specifically, the applicant must indicate the passport number, country of
issuance, and expiration date for the principal entrant’s valid, unexpired
international travel passport. This requirement applies to the principal entrant
only, not to dependents. All applicants must enter valid international travel passport
information unless they are stateless, nationals of a Communist-controlled
country and unable to obtain a passport from the government of the
Communist-controlled country, or the beneficiary of an individual waiver
approved by the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Secretary of State.
Applicants
will be selected at random by computer from among all qualified entries. All
applicants will be required to go back to the website to find out whether their
entry has been selected in the DV-2021 lottery or to find out they have not
been selected. Selectees will only be notified of their selection through the
“entry status check” available starting May 5, 2020 at the website www.dvlottery.state.gov. The online
entry status check will be the only means by which selectees will be
notified of their selection for DV-2021. The Kentucky Consular Center will not
be mailing out notification letters. Those selected in the random drawing are
not notified of their selection by e-mail. Those individuals not selected will
be notified of their non-selection through the web-based “entry status check.”
No
fee is charged to enter the annual DV program. The U.S. Government employs no
outside consultants or private services to operate the DV program. Any
intermediaries or others who offer assistance to prepare submissions for
applicants do so without the authority or consent of the U.S. Government. Use
of any outside intermediary or assistance to prepare a DV entry is entirely at
the applicant’s discretion. A qualified entry submitted electronically directly
by an applicant has an equal chance of being selected by the computer at the
Kentucky Consular Center as does an entry submitted electronically through a
paid intermediary who completes the entry for the applicant.
The
current immigration laws carry heavy penalties for visa overstays. Those who
have overstayed their visa by 6 months, face a 3 year bar upon their departure
from the United States, if they have overstayed for one year or more, they are
subject to a 10 year bar. Successful lottery applicants who are undocumented in
the US must be processed for a visa at a US Consulate abroad under existing
immigration laws. Departing the US will trigger the 3 or 10 year bars making them
ineligible for a visa. Undocumented lottery winners with a relative petition or
an employer labor certification pending before April 30, 2001, may be eligible
to be interviewed in the United States under Section 245(i), provided they have
not already triggered the 3/10 year bars by leaving
the US.
Inquiries may be made to the EIIC at their Woodside, Queens’s
office at (718) 478-5502 or at their Woodlawn, Bronx office at (718) 324-3039
or on the EIIC website www.eiic.org.
The EIIC is a member of the Coalition of Irish Immigration
Centers, for further information about Irish centers in the US providing free
assistance with DV lottery applications please refer to their website at www.ciic.usa-org
Applicants who submitted an entry under the Diversity Visa 2020 green card lottery (DV-2020) can check the status of their application online starting on Tuesday, May 7, 2019, at noon (EDT). The DV-2020 entry period opened on October 3, 2018, and closed on November 6, 2018. Only confirmation information for entries submitted during this period are valid for checking your status.
All DV-2020 applicants must check their status online, and will not receive a notification letter or e-mail from the U.S. government. Diversity Visa Entry Status Check will only be provided through the Department of State secure online site. Until September 30, 2020, entrants are able to check the status of their entry through the E-DV website at http://dvlottery.state.gov/ESC. Entrants need to use their own confirmation page information from the time of their entry to check the status to find out if their Diversity Visa Lottery entry was or was not selected. Entrants will need to enter their last name, year of birth and confirmation number from the receipt.
The Department of State advises the public of a notable increase in fraudulent emails and letters sent to potential Diversity Visa (DV) program (Visa Lottery) applicants. The scammers behind these fraudulent emails and letters are posing as the U.S. government in an attempt to extract payment from DV applicants.
Please keep your confirmation number until at least September 30, 2020, even if you are not selected on May 7, 2019. The Department of State may select more DV-2020 entries on October 1, 2019 or after.
Entrants who have lost their confirmation number can enter further identifying details on the official website to retrieve it by clicking the “Forgot Confirmation Number” link.
All lottery applicants who were assisted at our office would have received a copy of their application confirmation page with their confirmation number. Please contact our office if you need the information again.
Selected entrants must confirm their qualifications, submit their immigrant visa and alien registration application, prepare supporting documents, and have a consular interview. Visa number allocations are determined by the provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act which determines the number of diversity immigrant visas available each year. Selected entrants will only be scheduled for an interview when and if there is a visa number available. Before being interviewed, each applicant must pay the Diversity Visa Lottery fee of $330 per person which is not refundable. For more detailed information, including steps to take to prepare for the consulate interview, go to https://travel.state.gov/content/visas/en/immigrate/diversity-visa/if-you-are-selected.html.
It is expected that the next application period for the DV Lottery will be between October and November this year. Official dates, rules and eligible countries should be announced by late September. For more information, go to the official US State Department website at www.dvlottery.state.gov. You may also contact our office in the early fall for more information and assistance to complete another application. Be aware that the application for the DV lottery is free and you do not need to pay anyone to enter.
