About Diversity Visa DV-2013 (2011)

What's new @ DV-2013: - For DV-2013, natives of South Sudan and Poland are now eligible for selection, while Bangladesh natives are now ineligible.
- Keep your confirmation page from the online registration entry submission until at least June 2013.
- Same-sex marriages are not recognized by immigration law for the purpose of immigrating to the United States. See answer to question 11.

NOTE: The Department of State strongly encourages applicants to complete the entry form without the assistance of "Visa Consultants", "Visa Agents", or other individuals who offer to submit an entry on behalf of applicants. If you use the services of somebody else to complete your entry form, you should be present when the entry is prepared, and you should retain the confirmation page and your unique confirmation number. Facilitators may try to withhold confirmation numbers in order to make an unlawful demand for money in exchange for notification information that should have been directly available to you.

DV 2013 Program-Online Registration The online registration period for the 2013 Diversity Visa Program (DV-2013) will begin on Tuesday, October 4, 2011, at noon, Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) (GMT-4), and conclude on Saturday, November 5, 2011, at noon, Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) (GMT-4).

The annual DV program makes visas available to persons meeting simple, but strict, eligibility requirements. A computer-generated, random drawing chooses selectees for DVs. The visas are distributed among six geographic regions, and within each region, no single country may receive more than seven percent of the available DVs in any one year. Visas are allocated to nationals of countries with historically lower rates of U.S. immigration. Nationals of countries who have sent more than 50,000 immigrants to the United States over the past five years are not eligible to apply for the Diversity Visa program.

Digital Image Head Size Template

Review examples on the Photo Requirements webpage.

Well Composed Photo Composition Examples:

Check your photo with the official Photo Verification Tool

IMPORTANT NOTICE: Starting May 1, 2012, you will be able to check the status of your DV-2013 entry by returning to www.dvlottery.state.gov Entrant Status Check and entering your unique confirmation number and personal information. Entrant Status Check will be the sole means of informing you of your selection for DV-2013, providing instructions to you on how to proceed with your application, and notifying you of your appointment for your immigrant visa interview. Therefore, it is essential you retain your confirmation number. The U.S. Department of State is unable to provide your entry confirmation number if it is lost.

Green card DV-2013 (for this year) instructions in other languages:
- DV-2013 French
- DV-2013 Russian
- DV-2013 Spanish
- DV-2013 Romanian

Randomly selected entrants will receive notification instructions for the DV visa application process on the selectee confirmation page available through Entrant Status Check on the E-DV website www.dvlottery.state.gov. The instructions say the selected applicants will pay all DV and immigrant visa fees in person only at the U.S. Embassy or Consulate at the time of the visa application. The consular cashier immediately gives the visa applicant a U.S. government receipt for payment. Selected applicants applying for an immigrant visa at a U.S. Embassy or Consulate should never send money for DV fees through the mail, Western Union, or any other delivery service. Those selectees who are already present in the United States and who file for adjustment of status will receive separate instructions on how to mail DV fees to a U.S. bank.

Official documents:

- The text of the official law of the United States that establishes the Green Card Lottery

- Eligibility criteria and application procedures for the Green Card Lottery

- INA: ACT 203 - Allocation of immigrant visas