2009 Diversity Immigrant Visa Program

Instructions for the 2009 Diversity Immigrant Visa Program (DV-2009)

The annual DV program makes diversity immigrant visas available to persons meeting the simple, but strict, eligibility requirements. A computer-generated random lottery drawing chooses selectees for diversity visas. The visas, however, are distributed among six geographic regions with a greater number of visas going to regions with lower rates of immigration, and with no visas going to nationals of countries sending more than 50,000 immigrants to the U.S. over the period of the past five years. Within each region, no one country may receive more than seven percent of the available Diversity Visas in any one year. For DV-2009, 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:
 
BRAZIL, CANADA, CHINA (mainland-born), COLOMBIA, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, ECUADOR, EL SALVADOR, GUATEMALA, HAITI, INDIA, JAMAICA, MEXICO, PAKISTAN, PHILIPPINES, PERU, 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.

The Department of State implemented the electronic registration system beginning with DV-2005 in order to make the Diversity Visa process more efficient and secure. The Department utilizes special technology and other means to identify those who commit fraud for the purposes of illegal immigration or who submit multiple entries.

Diversity Visa Registration Period

Entries for the DV-2009 Diversity Visa lottery must be submitted electronically between noon Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) (GMT-4), Wednesday, October 3, 2007 and noon Eastern Standard Time (EST) (GMT-5) Sunday, December 2, 2007. Applicants may access the electronic Diversity Visa entry form at www.dvlottery.state.gov during the registration period. 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 website delays. No entries will be accepted after noon EST on December 2, 2007.

Requirements for Entry

To enter the DV lottery, you must be a native of one of the listed countries. See List Of Countries By Region Whose Natives Qualify.

• Native of a country whose natives qualify: In most cases this means the country in which you were born. However, there are two other ways you may be able to qualify. First, if you were born in a country whose natives are ineligible but your spouse was born in a country whose natives are eligible; you can claim your spouse’s country of birth provided both you and your spouse are on the selected entry, are issued visas and enter the U.S. simultaneously. Second, if you were born in a country whose natives are ineligible, but neither of your parents was born there or resided there at the time of your birth, you may claim nativity in one of your parents’ country of birth if it is a country whose natives qualify for the DV-2009 program.

• To enter the lottery, you must meet either the education or work experience requirement of the DV program.

Education or Work Experience: You must have EITHER a high school education or its equivalent, defined as successful completion of a 12-year course of elementary and secondary education; OR two years of work experience within the past five years in an occupation requiring at least two years of training or experience to perform. The U.S. Department of Labor’s O*Net OnLine database will be used to determine qualifying work experience.

If you cannot meet these requirements, you should NOT submit an entry to the DV program.

Procedures for Submitting an Entry To DV-2009

• The Department of State will only accept completed Electronic Diversity Visa (E-DV) Entry Forms submitted electronically at www.dvlottery.state.gov during the registration period.
• All entries by an individual will be disqualified if more than ONE entry for that individual is received, regardless of who submitted the entry. You may prepare and submit your own entry, or have someone submit the entry for you.
• A successfully registered entry will result in the display of a confirmation screen containing your name, date of birth, country of chargeability, and a date/time stamp. You may print this confirmation screen for your records using the print function of your web browser.
• Paper entries will not be accepted.
• Your entry will be disqualified if all required photographs are not submitted. Recent photographs of the following people must be submitted electronically with the Electronic Diversity Visa Entry Form:
  • you
  • your spouse
  • each unmarried child under 21 years of age, including all natural children as well as all legally-adopted children and stepchildren, even if a child no longer resides with you or you do not intend for a child to immigrate under the DV program

You do not need to submit a photo for a child who is already a U.S. citizen or a Legal Permanent Resident.

Group or family photographs will not be accepted; there must be a separate photograph for each family member. Failure to submit the required photographs for your spouse and each child will result in an incomplete entry to the E-DV system. The entry will not be accepted and must be resubmitted. Failure to enter the correct photograph of each individual in the case into the E-DV system will result in disqualification of the principal applicant and refusal of all visas in the case at the time of the visa interview.

• A digital photograph (image) of you, your spouse, and each child must be submitted on-line with the E-DV Entry Form. The image file can be produced either by taking a new digital photograph or by scanning a photographic print with a digital scanner
• Entries are subject to disqualification and visa refusal for cases in which the photographs are not recent or have been manipulated or fail to meet the specifications explained below.

Instructions for Submitting a Digital Photograph (Image)

The image file must adhere to the following compositional specifications and technical specifications and can be produced in one of the following ways:

• Taking a new digital image.
• Using a digital scanner to scan a submitted photograph.

Compositional Specifications: The submitted digital image must conform to the following compositional specifications or the entry will be disqualified. 

• Head Position
  • Person being photographed must directly face the camera.
  • Head of the person should not be tilted up, down, or to the side. 
  • Head of the person should cover about 50% of the area of the photograph.
• Background 
  • Person being photographed should be in front of a neutral, light-colored background. 
  • Dark or patterned backgrounds are not acceptable.
• Focus 
  • Photograph must be in focus.
• Decorative Items 
  • Photographs in which the person being photographed is wearing sunglasses or other items that detract from the face will not be accepted.
• Head Coverings and Hats 
  • Photographs of individuals wearing head coverings or hats are only acceptable if related to his/her religious beliefs, and even then, may not obscure any portion of the face of the applicant.
  • Photographs of individuals with tribal or other headgear not specifically religious in nature will not be accepted. 
  • Photographs of military, airline, or other personnel wearing hats will not be accepted.
• Photograph Composition
  Colored photographs in 24-bit color depth are preferred to black and white or gray scale pictures in 24-bit color depth. Photographs may be down loaded from a camera into a file in the computer or they may be scanned into a file in the computer. If you are using a scanner, the settings must be for True Color or 24-bit color mode. Colored photographs or black and white (or gray scale) must be scanned at this setting for the requirements of the DV program. For black and white or grey scale photographs scanned in 24-bit color mode, only three colors or image bands are used, and the results will still be black, white and gray. See additional scanning requirements below.
• Technical Specifications: The submitted digital photograph must conform to the following specifications or the system will automatically reject the E-DV Entry Form and notify the sender. 
  • Taking a New Digital Image.  If a new digital image is taken, it must meet the following specifications:
  • Image File Format: The image must be in the Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG) format. 
  • Image File size:  the maximum image file size will be sixty-two thousand five hundred  (62,500) bytes.
  • Image Resolution:  320 pixels high by 240 pixels wide. 
  • Image Color Depth: 24-bit color [Note: Colored photographs are preferred, but black and white or grayscale photographs, if used, must be scanned in 24-bit color mode. Monochrome images (2-bit color depth), 8-bit color or 8-bit grayscale will not be accepted]
• Scanning a Submitted Photograph. Before a photographic print is scanned, it must meet the following specifications:
  • Print Size: 2 inches by 2 inches (50mm x 50mm) square. 
  • Print Color: A color image is preferable for the DV program. However a black and white or grayscale image may be used only with the 24-bit setting mode.
    The photographic print must also meet the Compositional Specifications. If the photographic print meets the Print Size, Print Color, and Compositional Specifications, scan the print using the following scanner specifications.
  • Scanner resolution: Scanned at a resolution of 150 dots per inch (dpi).
  • Image File Format: The image must be in the Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG) format.
  • Image File Size: The maximum image file size will be sixty-two thousand five hundred (62,500) bytes.
  • Image Resolution:  300 by 300 pixels.
  • Image Color Depth:  24-bit color) [Note: Black and white or grayscale images must be used with 24-bit color depth. Monochrome images (2-bit color depth), 8-bit color or 8-bit grayscale will not be accepted]

The Entry

There is only one way to enter the DV-2009 lottery. You must submit an Electronic Diversity Visa Entry Form (E-DV Entry Form), which is accessible only at www.dvlottery.state.gov  Failure to complete the form in its entirety will disqualify the entry. Those who submit the E-DV entry will be asked to include the following information on the E-DV Entry Form.

1. FULL NAME - Last/Family Name, First Name, Middle name
2. DATE OF BIRTH - Day, Month, Year
3. GENDER - Male or Female
4. CITY WHERE YOU WERE BORN
5. COUNTRY WHERE YOU WERE BORN - The name of the country should be that which is currently in use for the place where you were born.
6. COUNTRY OF ELIGIBILITY OR CHARGEABILITY FOR THE DV PROGRAM - Your country of eligibility will normally be the same as your country of birth. Your country of eligibility is not related to where you live. If you were born in a country that is not eligible for the DV program, please review the instructions to see if there is another option for country of chargeability available for you. For additional information on chargeability, please review Frequently Asked Question #1 of these instructions.
7. ENTRY PHOTOGRAPH(S) - See technical information on photograph specifications. Make sure you include photographs of your spouse and all your children, if applicable.
8. MAILING ADDRESS – In Care Of, Address Line 1, Address Line 2, City/Town, District/Country/Province/State, Postal Code/Zip Code, Country
9. COUNTRY WHERE YOU LIVE TODAY
10. PHONE NUMBER (optional)
 11. E-MAIL ADDRESS (optional)
12. WHAT IS THE HIGHEST LEVEL OF EDUCATION YOU HAVE ACHIEVED, AS OF TODAY?
You must indicate which one of the following represents your own highest level of educational achievement: (1) Primary school only, (2) High school, no degree, (3) High school degree, (4) Vocational school, (5) Some university courses, (6) University degree, (7) Some graduate level courses, (8) Master degree, (9) Some doctorate level courses, and (10) Doctorate degree.
13. MARITAL STATUS - Unmarried, Married, Divorced, Widowed, Legally Separated
14. NUMBER OF CHILDREN: Entries must include the name, date and place of birth of your spouse and all natural children, as well as all legally-adopted children and stepchildren, who are unmarried and under the age of 21 (do not include children who are already U.S. citizens or Legal Permanent Residents), even if you are no longer legally married to the child’s parent, and even if the spouse or child does not currently reside with you and/or will not immigrate with you. Note that married children and children 21 years or older are not eligible for the diversity visa. Failure to list all children who are eligible will result in disqualification of the principal applicant and refusal of all visas in the case at the time of the visa interview. See Frequently Asked Question #11.
15. SPOUSE INFORMATION - Name, Date of Birth, Gender, City/Town of Birth, Country of Birth, Photograph. Failure to list your spouse will result in disqualification of the principal applicant and refusal of all visas in the case at the time of the visa interview.
16. CHILDREN INFORMATION - Name, Date of Birth, Gender, City/Town of Birth, Country of Birth, Photograph: Include all children declared in question #14 above.

Selection of Applicants

The computer will select at random individuals from among all qualified entries. They will be notified by mail between May and July 2008 and will be provided further instructions, including information on fees connected with immigration to the U.S. Those selected in the random drawing are NOT notified by email. Those individuals NOT selected will NOT receive any notification. U.S. embassies and consulates will not be able to provide a list of successful entrants. Spouses and unmarried children under age 21 of successful entrants may also apply for visas to accompany or follow to join the principal applicant. DV-2009 visas will be issued between October 1, 2008 and September 30, 2009.

In order to receive a Diversity Visa to immigrate to the United States, those chosen in the random drawing must meet ALL eligibility requirements under U.S. law. Processing of entries and issuance of diversity visas to successful individuals and their eligible family members MUST occur by midnight on September 30, 2009. Under no circumstances can diversity visas be issued or adjustments approved after this date, nor can family members obtain diversity visas to follow to join the principal applicant in their case in the U.S. after this date.

Important Notice

No fee is charged for the electronic lottery entry in the annual DV program. 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 DV entries do so without the authority or consent of the U.S. Government. Use of any outside intermediary or assistance to prepare a DV entry is entirely at the entrant's discretion.

A qualified entry submitted electronically directly by an applicant has an equal chance of being selected by the computer at the Kentucky Consular Center, as does an entry submitted electronically through a paid intermediary who completes the entry for the applicant. Every entry received during the lottery registration period will have an equal random chance of being selected within its region. However, receipt of more than one entry per person will disqualify the person from registration, regardless of the source of the entry.

If you have questions please call Consular Section Information Line (993 12) 35 00 49 on Mondays and Fridays between 10:00 and 12:00 a.m.