Immigrant Visas

Diversity Immigrants (Diversity Visa Lottery Program)

Since October 1, 1994, 55,000 immigrant visas have been made available annually to natives of foreign states which the U.S. Attorney General has determined to have had a low ratio of immigrants admitted under the other sections of the immigration law. Such immigrants are identified by random selection each year by the Secretary of State from among persons who submit applications during a specified period. Applicants for diversity immigrant status must have a high school education or two (2) years of recent work experience in a skilled job.

• DV-2006: The registration period for the annual Diversity Immigrant Visa Program has ended. Information on next year's DV lottery will be available approximately September 2005.
  
  
• For more information about the Program, please visit the web site of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

Warning: Diversity Immigrant Visa Fraud

There have been many recent instances of fraudulent websites posing as official U.S. Government sites, and "scam" e-mails posing as Diversity Visa lottery notification and soliciting funds.

Actual notification of DV lottery success will originate from the Kentucky Consular Center, generally in the form of written notification mailed to the address provided in the application process. Legitimate U.S. Government notification of Diversity Visa lottery registration will never solicit payment. Diversity Visa applicants will not be required to pay any fees until the day of the personal interview at the U.S. Embassy.

In a similar fraud scheme, some companies posing as the U.S. Government have sought money in order to "complete" lottery entry applications. There is no charge to complete the Electronic Diversity Visa Entry Form. To learn more see the Department of State Warning and the Federal Trade Commission Warning.

Only the website of the U.S. Embassy in Hungary, and domestic U.S. Government sites (which always end with ".gov" as the last three letters of the address) should be trusted as authoritative sources of travel and immigration information.

Last updated: 05/09/2005