Diversity Based Immigrant Visas

For OCTOBER immigrant numbers in the DV category are available to qualified DV-2023 applicants chargeable to all regions/eligible countries as follows. When an allocation cut-off number is shown, visas are available only for applicants with DV regional lottery rank numbers BELOW the specified allocation cut-off number:

All DV Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed Separately

NOVEMBER 2023

Advance notification of the Diversity Visa category rank cut-offs which will apply in November:

For NOVEMBER, immigrant numbers in the DV category are available to qualified DV-2023 applicants chargeable to all regions/eligible countries as follows. When an allocation cut-off number is shown, visas are available only for applicants with DV regional lottery rank numbers BELOW the specified allocation cut-off number:

All DV Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed Separately

Every month the Department of State (DOS) issues a Visa Bulletin detailing the availability of immigrant visas. The United States has set a cap on the number of foreign nationals that can immigrate to the U.S. each year, which requires each individual to obtain their own personal immigrant visa number if they want to immigrate permanently to the United States. Foreign nationals can apply for an Immigrant Visa at a U.S. Consulate outside of the country, or submit an application through an Adjustment of Status with USCIS inside the United States.

The United States limits the number of immigrant visas granted within each category. It also restricts visas by the country of chargeability, which in most cases is the country where an immigrant is born. Individuals who “won” the diversity immigrant visa lottery are assigned a DV Rank Number.

The Visa Bulletin for the Diversity Immigrant Category is divided in “regions” (and occasionally individual countries). In order to be granted an immigrant visa or adjustment of status, your rank number must be lower than the cutoff number listed.

Entitlement to immigrant status in the DV category lasts only through the end of the fiscal (visa) year for which the applicant is selected in the lottery. The year of entitlement for all applicants registered for the DV-2020 program ends as of September 30, 2020. DV visas may not be issued to DV-2020 applicants after that date. Similarly, spouses and children accompanying or following to join DV-2020 principals are only entitled to derivative DV status until September 30, 2020. DV visa availability through the very end of FY-2020 cannot be taken for granted. Numbers could be exhausted prior to September 30.

Section 203(c) of the INA provides up to 55,000 immigrant visas each fiscal year to permit additional immigration opportunities for persons from countries with low admissions during the previous five years. The NACARA stipulates that beginning with DV-99, and for as long as necessary, up to 5,000 of the 55,000 annually-allocated diversity visas will be made available for use under the NACARA program. This resulted in reduction of the DV-2020 annual limit to 54,650. DV visas are divided among six geographic regions. No one country can receive more than seven percent of the available diversity visas in any one year