Diversity Visas are part of a State Department program that takes place every fiscal year and opens registration for a few weeks, so that citizens of eligible countries can participate in the draw for more than 50,000 visas.
The Department of State (DOS) presented the document with the instructions to participate in the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program or Diversity Visa Program for fiscal year 2024 (DV-2024). For said fiscal year, up to 55,000 diversity visas will be available, which grants residency to the winners of the draw.
From October 5 to November 7, 2022, the DV-2024 site will open registrations: https://dvprogram.state.gov/.
The visas are distributed in six geographic regions and citizens of countries that have sent more than 50,000 immigrants to the United States in the last five years are excluded from the program. Thus, countries that are not eligible must reduce migration rates considerably in order to be considered.
Mexico is one of the countries that cannot participate in this program, since it has the largest number of immigrants in the United States. Other non-eligible countries within Latin America are Brazil, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Honduras and Venezuela, since they also have high migration rates. However, each year the list may exclude or include new countries.
The eligibility criteria to participate in the raffle are as follows:
- Be a citizen of an eligible country: This includes citizens who were born there or who acquired nationality through a spouse; Likewise, people who were born in a non-eligible country but whose parents were born in one that is eligible for the program are eligible.
- The applicant must have completed high school or equivalent: To participate in the program, it is necessary to have completed and passed 12 years of education; It is also valid to have two years of experience in the last five years, in a profession or trade that requires at least two years of experience or training.
It is worth mentioning that participating and registering in this program has no cost. Likewise, the visas are delivered years later, that is, if an applicant started the registration process in 2020 and is the winner, their visa will be delivered at least until the end of 2022 or 2023.
See more information about the DV-2024 process at the following link: https://travel.state.gov/content/dam/visas/Diversity-Visa/DV-Instructions-Translations/DV-2024-Instructions-Translations/DV-2024-Instructions.pdf
These are some of the eligible countries in Central and South America:
- Antigua and Barbuda
- Argentina
- Barbados
- Belize
- Bolivia
- Chile
- Costa Rica
- Cuba
- Dominica
- Ecuador
- Grenada
- among others...
See the full list of countries that are eligible for the visa lottery: https://travel.state.gov/content/dam/visas/Diversity-Visa/DV-Instructions-Translations/DV-2024-Instructions-Translations/DV-2024-Instructions.pdf
