Press Releases

Diversity Immigrant Visa Lottery for Immigration to the U.S. now open

October 22, 2007

The United States of America is pleased to announce the opening of the 2009 Diversity Immigration Program.  The Diversity Immigration Program (DV Program) makes available each year by random selection 50,000 permanent residence visas to persons from countries that have low rates of immigration to the United States. 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.

Persons born in the Bahamas are eligible to enter. 

Eligibility to apply for this Program is determined by a person's place of birth not citizenship or residence.  Persons born in The Bahamas are eligible to enter the visa lottery.  For 2008 17 Bahamians were selected.  Natives of the following countries are not eligible to apply because they sent a total of more than 50,000 immigrants to the U.S. over the period of the previous five years: The excluded countries are: Brazil, Canada, China (mainland born), Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Russia, 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.
If you were born in an ineligible country, but your spouse was not, you can claim your spouse's country of birth instead of your own, provided you and your spouse will immigrate to the United States together. Both you and your spouse can submit individual entries. If you were born in a country where neither parent was born or residing at the time, you may be able to claim one of their countries of birth.
If selected, the principal entrant must also provide proof of a high school education or its equivalent, or show two years of work experience in an occupation that requires at least two years of training or experience within the past five years. 

How to apply for the Diversity Immigrant Visa. 

There is no initial fee to enter the DV Program. Entries for the DV- 2009 Program must be submitted electronically at www.dvlottery.state.gov  between noon (EST) Wednesday, October 3, 2007 and noon (EST) Sunday, December 2, 2007. There is no other manner of submitting an application.  Paper entries will not be accepted. Applicants are strongly encouraged not to wait until the last week of the registration period to enter. Heavy demand may result in delays. No entries will be accepted after noon (EST) on December 2, 2007.

PLEASE NOTE:

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 an application do so without the authority or consent of the U.S. Government. It is a simple form, easily filled out by the entrant him or herself, and submitted through the U.S. government website, www.dvlottery.state.gov.

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.