(CNN) — The US government will issue approximately 55,000 legal residency documents through this “Visa Lottery” mechanism.
If you registered within the set deadlines, you can see the results of the winners by entering this link: dvprogram.state.gov from May 6th.
What is the “Visa Lottery”?
The Diversity Immigrant Visa Program, or “Visa Lottery,” offers approximately 55,000 people annually the opportunity to obtain a permanent resident card, known as a green card, in the United States. The green card allows the holder to have permanent residency in the country and eventually be eligible to apply for US citizenship.
The immigrant visa lottery is primarily aimed at people residing outside the United States, although some winners may be legally in the country on other types of visas. Only countries that have had fewer than 50,000 immigrants in the last five years are eligible to participate.
Visas are distributed by region: Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, Oceania, South America, Central America and the Caribbean. You can see the full list of eligible countries here.
The State Department is responsible for administering the program at random. However, the individuals selected must meet certain safety and eligibility standards.
How can you check if you were a winner?
To find out if you were the winner of the visa lottery, officially called the Diversity Immigrant Visa (DV) Program, you need to enter the following information into the form on the website:
- The 16-digit letter and number confirmation number (example: 20231O0DZWY3DOV9) that you provided at the end of your registration
- name and surname
- Year of birth
All data must match the data you entered when registering for the competition.
If you are the winner, you must log in at this link https://ceac.state.gov/IV/Login.aspx and complete Form DS-260 to apply for an immigrant visa. You will then receive an e-mail with an appointment at the embassy in which the visa will be approved or rejected.
It is important to check the results of the immigrant visa lottery to find out if you have been selected. The State Department will not send you a letter or email to let you know if you have been selected. If you receive any type of notification, ignore it as it might be a scam.
With information from Leila Medina