Press Releases

2008 Diversity Visa Lottery Registration Opening

October 10, 2006

The registration for the 2008 Diversity Visa Lottery opens from October 4 to December 3, 2006.  Designed to bring greater racial and ethnic diversity to the United States, this program offers permanent residency visas to citizens of nations that have a traditionally low level of immigration to the United States.  The U.S. Department of State plans to issue 50,000 permanent residency visas.

Persons seeking to enter the lottery program must register online through the designated website (www.dvlottery.state.gov) during the registration period.  Registration is free of charge.  Applicants should submit only one entry and must include the names of their spouse (first wife) and all unmarried children under the age of 21.

A computer will select individuals at random, and between May and July 2007 the Kentucky Consular Center will send letters only to those applicants who are selected.  Applicants will not be notified by e-mail.  Selected individuals will be asked to pay an immigrant visa application fee only at the U.S. Embassy.  Applicants should never send money for DV fees through the mail or any delivery service.  Selected individuals will be given the opportunity to apply for Diversity Visas, but they must prove their eligibility before being issued a visa.

Before registering for the Diversity Visa Lottery, applicants are strongly encouraged to read the instructions posted at www.dvlottery.state.gov carefully to ensure that they are eligible for a Diversity Visa.  Applicants must have either a high school education, its equivalent or two years of work experience within the past five years in an occupation requiring at least two years of training or experience.

A high school education is defined as successful completion of a 12-year course of elementary and secondary education, which in Senegal is having successfully passed the baccalaureate or obtained an equivalent type of diploma.

Potential applicants who did not complete the second baccalaureate and who apply on the basis of their professional experience should consult the U.S. Department of Labor’s online database at http://online.onetcenter.org to see if their profession qualifies.

Applicants who seek to qualify on the basis of their work experience must, within the past five years, have two years of experience in an occupation that is classified in a SVP (Special Vocational Preparation) range of 7.0 or higher.  In the past, many applicants who apply on the basis of their work experience do not meet the minimum requirements of the Diversity Visa program, and their visa applications are refused.

Additional information on the Diversity Visa Immigrant Program is available on the State Department Web site: www.dvlottery.state.gov.