Patrick T Mcneil

The Diversity Visa or “DV” Program (also known as the “green card lottery”) is an important part of the immigration policy of the United States. The DV Program is very popular in Nepal, but there continues to be much confusion about what the program is and how it works.

Most of the people who immigrate to the US do so through family reunification. For example, if an American citizen marries a foreign citizen, he can petition for his spouse to join him to live permanently in the US. Similarly, a naturalized American citizen may want to sponsor her parents to move permanently to the US. The US Congress determined that the great majority of these immigrant visas were being used by only a handful of countries, such as Mexico, India, China and the Philippines. In order to diversify our immigrant visa pool, Congress established the “Diversity Visa” program in which the chance to get a green card is determined by lottery. Citizens of countries that already provide a large number of immigrants, such as India, are not eligible to participate in the DV program. Only citizens of countries that provide relatively smaller number of immigrants to our country, such as Nepal, are allowed to participate.

Is it being cancelled?

No, the DV Program has not been cancelled. US immigration law reform is a popular topic in the US and news outlets have reported on several proposals being debated in the US Congress. However, since none of the proposals has been passed by the US Congress nor signed by the US President, there has been no change to US immigration law. In fact, many of the proposals under consideration do not affect the DV Program.

Who can enter?

There is no minimum age requirement; however, US law requires that the applicant have certain educational or work requirements to qualify. The educational requirement is the equivalent of an American high school education, which would be “10 + 2” in Nepal. An applicant who has only an SLC (i.e., 10 years of education), or who took private exams and did not attend regular classes for twelve years, does not fulfill the educational requirements of the Diversity Visa. An applicant who is selected as a winner, but is unable to show that he/she meets the requirements at the time of interview, will not receive a visa and will not receive a refund of any fees paid.

A Nepali citizen need not be physically present in Nepal to apply. Many Nepali citizens working in countries around the world apply every year, and many of them are selected.

How do I enter?

Entering the DV Program is easy and free of charge, but must be done correctly or an applicant can jeopardize his/her chance of getting a visa. Each year, for a period of approximately 30 days around October, the DV Program application is open. Applications are made online, and require basic biographic information such as the applicant’s name, date of birth, nationality and a photograph.

One key requirement that causes problems for many applicants is that the applicant must list his/her spouse and every unmarried child under age 21 on the application. One persistent myth is that an applicant has a better chance of winning if he/she enters as a “single” applicant—this is completely untrue. Some mistakenly believe that he/she can omit any family members who do not plan to travel with the applicant. Again, this is incorrect. Others are just sloppy and omit their family members from the application, perhaps because they did not have a passport sized photograph of a child available at the time of application. In fact, an applicant who fails to list all family members simply will not qualify for a Diversity Visa.

When an application is completed, a confirmation number appears on the computer screen. The applicant must write down this number and keep it in a safe place!

Full information on the Program’s requirements, as well as how to enter, is on the US State Department’s official website for the DV Program: www.dvlottery.state.gov.

Have I won?

In May each year, the winners are selected from among those who applied online the previous year. Many people receive emails indicating that they have won the lottery and ask for money to be sent. These emails are fake! The US Department of State never sends notification emails to winners. Rather, applicants must check for themselves to see if they have won by visiting the same website where the DV application was completed: www.dvlottery.state.gov. On that webpage, the applicant must enter basic biographical information, as well as the confirmation number received at the time of entry. It is very important to keep one’s confirmation number, because it is impossible to determine whether an applicant has won without it.

Even if an applicant has won, he/she may not get the visa if the educational or work requirements are not met, if the applicant has a criminal record, if he/she has a contagious disease such as tuberculosis, or in certain other circumstances. More information for selectees is available at www.dvselectee.state.gov.

A bit of advice

I would like to provide one piece of advice to those who wish to participate in the DV Program, as well as to those who will find out that they have been selected in the 2014 DV Program. That advice is this: please think twice before using a visa consultant to help you with any step of the process. We see thousands of DV applicants at the US Embassy, and we see many applicants’ hopes dashed because they follow careless or fraudulent advice provided to them by consultants. Consultants overcharge customers, enter information incorrectly, upload photos incorrectly, provide advice that encourages applicants to commit fraud (such as suggesting that a married applicant claim he/she is single, suggesting that an applicant omit family members from an application, encouraging single winners to enter into fake marriages, suggesting that an applicant provide fake educational documents to prove fulfillments of the educational requirement). Instead of using a consultant who is more interested in your money than providing honest service to you, consider using a trusted friend or family member to assist you.

Good luck!

Thousands of Nepalis have won the DV lottery over the years and moved to the US, enriching our country. Many of these individuals have since become American citizens. The US Embassy wishes the best of luck to all qualified applicants who wish to participate in the DV Program, and congratulations to those who are selected as winners!

Published on: 15 May 2013 | Republica