Diversity Visa Program

The diversity visa program for 2009 has just closed few days back on 2nd December, 2007. The major aim of Diversity Visa program is to improve the rates of migration from low admission countries. Though the number of diversity visas given under this program is 55,000, yet only 50,000 of them are available to the eligible countries. The rest 5000 of them is reserved under the NACARA or Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act.

The basic requirement to take part in Diversity Visa program is to be a native of an eligible country. There are also regional limits which are specified in section 203 (c) of the INA or Immigration and Nationality Act. The eligibility of a country is determined by the number of migrants from that country to the US. An eligible country must have sent less than 50,000 migrants in the past 5 years. The USCIS monitors this numerical limit and prepares a list of eligible countries. Some of the ineligible countries include India, Pakistan, Haiti, Columbia, Russia, Jamaica, Mexico, Brazil, Canada, china, etc. You can also your spouse’ or parents’ place of birth for qualifying for the program.

The diversity visa program does not demand an age limit but you must have a high school diploma or an equivalent certificate OR work experience of 2 years in the past 5 years in a field that requires at least 2 years of training or experience to perform.

The applications for this program have to be filed electronically with the official website of the US department of state within the stipulated period of time. The application form would ask for mandatory details such as your full name, date of birth, gender, place of birth, country of chargeability, your recent photograph, mailing address, education status, marital status, spouse and children information, etc.

The application form must be completely furnished and the photograph must strictly adhere to the regulations laid by the US department of state. The application is absolutely free of cost. But if you choose a private service or an attorney to do it for you, then you may have to spend somewhere around $50 to $75.

The winners will be selected by a random computer generated drawing at the Kentucky Consular center. You will be notified through mail in case you win the lottery but it does not guarantee a green card.