The U.S. Department of State has announced that online registration for the 2021 Diversity Visa Program (also known as the Diversity Visa Lottery or Green Card Lottery) will be open to the public from October 2, 2019, until November 5, 2019.
Each year, the U.S. government makes 50,000 permanent residence visas available through the Diversity Visa Program to natives of countries with low rates of immigration to the United States, including Tajikistan. Visas are apportioned among six geographic regions based on immigration rates over the last five years, with a greater number of visas going to regions with lower rates of immigration. Visa applicants who meet the strict eligibility requirements are selected through a computer-generated, random lottery. The selection of a person’s name in the lottery gives that person the opportunity to take the next steps in the immigrant visa application process.
For DV-2021, there is a policy change. Each DV entry must include the passport number, country of issuance, and expiration date for the principal entrant’s valid, unexpired passport. This requirement applies to the principal entrant only, not to dependents. The Department has also clarified DV-2021 rules to explain that failure to provide all required entry information, including a valid passport number and compliant photographs for all family members, will result in mandatory disqualification.
The E-DV system will be open for entries beginning noon Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) on October 2, 2019, and will close for entries at noon Eastern Standard Time (EST) on November 5, 2019. We encourage DV program entrants to apply early. In the past, system delays caused by extremely heavy demand in the final days of the registration period prevented some individuals from submitting entries.
All entries must be submitted electronically during the registration period at https://www.dvlottery.state.gov and there is no fee to enter the lottery. All entrants must print and retain their online confirmation page after completing their DV entries so that they will be able to check their entry status. No entries will be accepted after 10 p.m. on November 5, 2019.
The Department again will use web-based tools to notify entrants of their selection and visa interview appointment as part of ongoing efforts to combat fraud perpetrated against DV entrants. The Department will not send selectee notification or appointment letters to successful entrants by regular mail or by email. Starting May 5, 2020 entrants may enter their DV-2021 entry confirmation number into the Entrant Status Check, available at dvlottery.state.gov, to determine whether their entry was selected. Selected individuals who respond to the notification instructions provided on the E-DV selectee confirmation page on Entrant Status Check also will receive notification of their scheduled IV appointment through Entrant Status Check. DV-2021 data will be available through Entrant Status Check until at least September 30, 2021. All entrants should keep their confirmation number until September 30, 2021, regardless of whether they are selected initially.
The Entrant Status Check, when available on May 5, 2020, will provide next-step instructions to selectees, and will direct each selectee to the “Instructions for Selectees” web pages, which are accessible at dvselectee.state.gov.
