The Department of State announced on their website that the online registration for the 2023 Diversity Visa Program is set to open on Wednesday October 6, 2021 at 12:00 noon, (EDT), and will close on Tuesday November 9, 2021 at 12:00. The Department has also published its website the DV-2023 Program Instructions.
The Diversity Immigrant Visa Program allows up to 55,000 Diversity Visas to be issued for each program year. The DV program is extremely popular, as it’s application is free to the foreign national, and is not wrapped in onerous requirements to be met for entry, and does not require a U.S. sponsor to immigrate. The program, for 2022, received more than 7 million qualified applications, representing more than 13 million foreign national applicants.
Those selected for a Diversity Visa, from the large pool of applicants, are selected through a randomized computer drawing. While the randomized selection from such a large pool, for so few visas, the Department places additional limitations to these selections. The Department of State distributes the visas, among six geographic regions, with no single country receiving more than seven percent of the available Diversity Visas for any one year.
Additionally, participation in the Program is also limited to certain countries. Diversity Visas are available to foreign nationals immigrating from countries with historically low rates of immigration to the U.S., specifically, less than 50,000 over the previous five years. Under the current threshold, foreign nationals from nearly 20 various countries and territories are excluded from participation in the program. The Department’s instructions for the 2023 DV Program includes a list of excluded countries, including: Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, China (including Hong Kong SAR), Colombia, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, South Korea, United Kingdom (except Northern Ireland) and its dependent territories, Venezuela, and Vietnam. The Department’s list notes that Natives of Macau SAR and Taiwan are eligible for the program.
If you have any questions about this policy, the Diversity Visa Program generally, or your specific case please feel free to contact Green & Spiegel at info@gands-us.com or call the Philadelphia Office directly at (215) 395-8959.
