The 2026 Diversity Visa Program Opens October 2, 2024

 

The Diversity Visa Program is an American immigrant visa program created by Section 203(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act to promote diversity.  It is also known as the "Green Card Lottery." It is an annual program which opens to all individuals worldwide, with approximately 55,000 visas available. The DV-2026 program opens on October 2, 2024. 

What are the costs?

The lottery is free of charge to enter. It is an official U.S. government immigration program supervised by the U.S. Department of State. The department has set up an official website where all applications have to be submitted. 

Who is eligible to apply?

For DV-2026, natives of the following countries are not eligible to apply because there were more than 50,000 people immigrated to the United States from these countries in the previous five years:

Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, The People’s Republic of China (including mainland and Hong Kong born), Colombia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Republic of Korea (South Korea), Venezuela, and Vietnam.   

Despite the fact that people born in mainland China and Hong Kong are not eligible for DV-2026, those who were born in Macau SAR and Taiwan are eligible to apply.  United Kingdom and its dependent territories are eligible countries for DV-2026.

If one was not born in an eligible country, there are two other ways that the person may quality to apply:

(1) If the person's spouse was born in an eligible country, then the person can claim the spouse's country of birth as their birth country to apply.   

(2) If an applicant was born in an ineligible country, he may claim one of his parents' eligible country of birth if two requirements are met:  a) Neither of the applicant's parents were born in applicant's country of birth, and b) Both parents were not legal residents of applicant's country of birth at the time when the applicant was born.  For example, if an applicant was born in mainland China, but her parents were born in Malaysia (an eligible country).  As long as both parents were not legal residents of China when applicant was born, the applicant may claim Malaysia as her birth country for DV-2026.

What are the education and work experience requirements?

An applicant must either have a high school education or its equivalent, defined as successful completion of a 12-year course of elementary and secondary education; or two years of work experience within the past five years in an occupation requiring at least two years of training or experience to perform.

When and how to submit an entry?

Entries for the DV-2026 program must be submitted electronically. Applicants may access the electronic DV Entry Form (E-DV) at dvprogram.state.gov during the registration period. Paper entries will not be accepted. DV-2026 registration began at 12:00 pm (EST) on October 2, 2024, and will continue until 12:00 pm (EST) on November 5, 2024.  A unique confirmation number will be issued after an application has been successfully submitted.

What information is required?

Principal entrants are required to provide their biographic information including: their name, date of birth, city and country of birth, mailing address, email address, country of residence, marital status, country of eligibility, spouse and children's information, the highest level of education, information about their passport, etc.  They must also submit a digital photo that meets the program technical requirements.

How to find out the results of the lottery?

The U.S. State Department will use a computerized random selection process to select winners from among qualified entries.  All entrants must go to the Entrant Status Check using the unique confirmation number saved from their DV-2026 online entry registration to find out whether their entry has been selected in the DV program.   Entrant Status Check will be available on the E-DV website at dvprogram.state.gov from May 3, 2025, through at least September 30, 2026.  Selectees will be directed to a confirmation page with further instructions to proceed.

 How to improve the odds for selection?

The DV program has very strict technical requirements for submission. Entries not following the official instructions and requirements will be rejected and disqualified. Furthermore, fraudulent or multiple entries will be rejected. To legally improve the odds for selection, all eligible family members should enter the lottery.  Do not wait until the last week of the registration period to enter. Heavy demand may result in website issues and delays. When in doubt, don't hesitate to seek advice from a qualified immigration attorney.

(Immigration laws and policies change regularly.  If you have any questions regarding this article, please visit www.1visa1.com to schedule a legal consultation.)  

H-1B CAP Registration Begins 3/1/2023

 

Today, USCIS announced the H-1B annual cap registration schedule for FY 2024.  The registration period will run from March 1 to March 17.  If sufficient number of registrations are received by March 17, USCIS will close the registration window and move on to the lottery phase.  Employers may start registering their user account on February 21.  The results of the H-1B visa lottery will be released on or before March 31.  The following is the approximate application timeline.  Interested employers and applicants should start the preparation now. 

Application Timeline

Timeline­*	What to Do or Expect
January – Early March	Recruit H-1B employees, consult with attorneys Evaluate the “specialty occupation” position you plan to file for, and determine job duties and requirements Gather employer/employee documents and other supporting docs
Late February	H-1B employers/attorneys can start creating USCIS accounts starting noon EST on 2/21/2023.
Early March – Mid March	Employers recognize attorney’s representation (if any) in USCIS system Complete H-1B Registration online Noon EST on March 1 - noon EST March 17, 2023
Mid-March – End of March	USCIS to conduct visa lottery and send out notifications to selected applicants by March 31, 2023
April to June	Submit complete H-1B petition with LCA to USCIS (for first batch of the selected applications)
April and onward	USCIS to adjudicate H-1B petitions Respond to any Request for Evidence (RFE)
Mid-August	USCIS may conduct a 2nd H-1B lottery to use up any leftover visa numbers
Mid-August – Mid-November	Submit complete H-1B petition with LCA for candidates selected in the 2nd lottery to USCIS
October and onwards	USCIS continues to adjudicate throughout this time Change of Status Employees may start working in H-1B status upon approval starting October 1 Consular Processing Employees can obtain H-1B visa upon approval to enter the U.S.

* Part of the timeline is estimated based on previous year's schedule.

(Immigration laws and policies change regularly.  If you have any questions regarding this article, please visit www.1visa1.com to schedule a legal consultation.)  

Diversity Immigrant Visa Program 2024 ("Green Card Lottery") - Opened for Application!

 

                                    

The Diversity Immigrant Visa Program 2024 is a visa lottery program created by U.S. Congress. It is also known as the "Green Card Lottery." It is an annual program which opens to all individuals worldwide with approximately 55,000 visas available. For the fiscal year 2024, applicants must submit applications online between 10/5/2022 and 11/8/2022. 

Where to apply and what are the costs?

The lottery is free of charge! It is an official government immigration program supervised by the U.S. Department of State. The Department has set up an official website where all applications have to be submitted. Official Application Website of the U.S. Government: www.dvlottery.state.gov.  (Beware of other websites that look similar!) 

Who can apply? 

For DV-2024, natives of the following countries are not eligible to apply because these there were more than 50,000 natives immigrated to the United States from these countries in the previous five years:
 
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.
 
Despite the fact that people born in mainland China and Hong Kong are not eligible for DV-2024, those who born in Macau SAR and Taiwan are eligible to apply.

If one was not born in an eligible country, there are two other ways the person may become qualified:

(1) If the person's spouse was born in an eligible country, then the person can claim the spouse's country of birth as his/her birth country, and enter the visa lottery based on the spouse's native country.  

(2) An applicant may also claim his/her parent's eligible country of birth, provided (1) neither of the applicant's parents were born in the applicant's country of birth (which is ineligible), and (2) they were not residents of the ineligible country at the time when the applicant was born. For example, if an applicant was born in mainland China, but her parents were born in Taiwan, and they were not residents in of China at the time of applicant's birth, then the applicant is eligible to apply.

What are the education and work experience requirements?

An applicant must either have a high school education or its equivalent, defined as successful completion of a 12-year course of elementary and secondary education; or two years of work experience within the past five years in an occupation requiring at least two years of training or experience to perform.

When and how to submit an entry?

Entries for the DV-2024 program must be submitted electronically. Applicants may access the electronic DV Entry Form (E-DV) at www.dvlottery.state.gov during the registration period. Paper entries will not be accepted. DV-2024 registration began at 12:00 PM (noon) EST on 10/5/2022, and will end at 12:00 PM (noon) EST 11/8/2022. 
 
Information required

Principal entrants are required to provide their biographic information including their name, date of birth, city and country of birth, mailing address, country of residence, marital status, country of eligibility, spouse's and children's information, the highest level of education, information about their passport, etc.  They must also submit a digital photo that meets the program technical requirements.
 
Selection process

Lucky winners will be randomly selected by a computer system.  There is no way to improve the odds of getting selected.  As stated before, all eligible members within a family may apply individually, thus increasing the chance of winning.

How to find out the results

Beginning May 6, 2023, through September 30, 2024, applicants will be able to check the status of their DV-2024 entries online.  Visit www.dvlottery.state.gov, click on Entrant Status Check, and enter the unique confirmation number and personal information. Entrant Status Check will be the only way that applicants may check the status of their applications.  It will also provide instructions to the winners of the visa lottery how to proceed with the application process, and also notify them of their appointments for their immigrant visa interview.

Tips:

The DV program has very strict technical requirements for submission. Entries not following the official instructions and requirements will be rejected and disqualified. Furthermore, DHS is technologically capable of identifying fraudulent entries, illegal entries or multiple entries. Also, do not wait until the last week of the registration period to enter. Heavy demand may result in website glitches and delays. When in doubt, don't hesitate to seek advice from a qualified immigration attorney.

(Immigration laws and policies change regularly.  If you have any questions regarding this article, please visit www.1visa1.com to schedule a legal consultation.)  

Not Selected in the H1B Lottery; A Few Viable Options

We received text messages from USCIS regarding some updates of our H-1B CAP cases.  Excited and hopeful, I logged in to our myUSCIS account only to find some non-selection notices for the pending H-1B registrations. This is not exactly surprising, as we've already predicted that there might not be a second drawing on account of the larger number of selections in the first drawing. Still, we feel the disappointment of not only our clients, but also thousands of other H-1B applicants and employers.  Today, USCIS made the formal announcement that the H-1B CAP for FY 2023 has been reached.  No 2nd or 3rd drawing.  

For the unselected foreign students and workers, they must now face the harsh reality of their future. The following are some alternatives that they may consider based on their background and qualifications:

STEM OPT

For some foreign students with a STEM degree, continue working with their STEM OPT employment authorization may be the best option. While waiting for the next year's H-1B lottery, they may continue working for their employers.

O-1 Visa
For individuals with a strong STEM background, the O-1 extraordinary ability visa may be an option. The O-1 visa requires substantial proof of one's qualifications and achievements. Please see our previous article for details of the O-1 visa.

Green Card through Labor Certification
Rather than relying only on H-1B, one may also consider applying for his green card directly, if there is an employer who is willing to sponsor. There is no requirement that one must be in H-1B status first before applying for their permanent resident status.  For applicants born in under-subscribed countries, their green cards could be approved relatively quickly. 

Green Card with NIW
Without sponsorship by a U.S. employer, a foreign worker may also file a self-petition for her green card with a national interest waiver (NIW).  The applicant must prove that her immigration will serve an important interest of the United States.  USCIS has encouraged qualified individuals with a strong STEM background to apply.  Please see our previous article for details of an NIW application. 

E-2 Visa
For entrepreneurs who are interested in starting up a small business in the U.S., the E-2 Treaty Investor visa may be the answer.  Their spouses and children may also live, work and study in the U.S. To apply for an E-2 visa, one's country of citizenship (not birth) must have a commerce treaty with the U.S.  Most European and Asian countries are eligible.  Please see our previous article for details. 

(Immigration laws and policies change regularly.  If you have any questions regarding this article, please visit www.1visa1.com to schedule a legal consultation.)  

No luck with H1B lottery; STEM graduates may consider O-1

Many foreign students and workers have been anxiously waiting for a second lottery drawing for H-1B visa numbers.  As of now, USCIS has not announced information about a second drawing for this year.  For FY 2023, USCIS received 483,927 total H-1B registrations in March and selected 127,600 registrations for further processing.  This contrasts to only 87,500 selections from 308,613 total H-1B registrations for FY 2022.  The larger number of initial selections this year means that there may or may not be a second or third drawing.  Hence, foreign workers should consider other visa options if they wish to stay in the United States.  One such option is the O-1 visa.

The O-1A visa is reserved for individuals with an extraordinary ability in the sciences, education, business, or athletics. The O-1B visa is reserved for individuals with an extraordinary ability in the arts or extraordinary achievement in motion picture or television industry.   

Recently, USCIS has updated its policy to further clarify how USCIS evaluates evidence to determine eligibility for O-1A petitions in regard to applicants in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) fields. Specifically, this update clarifies that being named on a competitive government grant for STEM research can be a positive factor towards demonstrating that a beneficiary is at the top of the beneficiary’s field of endeavor – a requirement for O-1 visa.  

In recent years, the U.S. government has emphasized the importance of STEM fields and taken measures to make it easier for STEM graduates and professionals to apply for immigration status. For example, the list of STEM majors has been greatly expanded to include some non-traditional science subjects such as Industrial and Organizational Psychology, and Social Sciences, Research Methodology and Quantitative Methods. The new O-1 policy is just another example. 

The new policy makes it easier for applicants to apply for an O-1A visa, which requires evidence of extraordinary ability. Such evidence may include patents, original scientific discoveries, published research papers, media reports, national and/or international awards, etc.  Many graduate students and postdoc students engage in research activities that are funded by government agencies.  Hence, by showing that one was named in an approved competitive grant of the government, an applicant will have a better chance of getting his/her O-1 petition approved.

There are many advantages that come with an O-1 visa. For example, unlike the H-1B visa, O-1 does not have an annual visa cap.  There are no limits as to how many O-1 visas the government can approve.  While H-1B employment cannot normally exceed six years, O-1 workers do not have such a limit.  There are also no requirements for specific degrees or qualifications; the employer also does not have to prove that the offered position is a specify occupation. 

This is not to say that all H-1B applicants should apply for O-1 status.  While the O-1 visa is a non-immigrant employment visa, the requirements are similar to the EB1A extraordinary ability alien immigrant visa. To qualify for an O-1 visa, one must demonstrate extraordinary ability by sustained national or international acclaim in their profession. Extraordinary ability in the fields of science, education, business, or athletics means a level of expertise indicating that you are one of the small percentage who have arisen to the very top of the field.   In practice, USCIS seems to be more willing to approve O-1 petitions than EB1A petitions, perhaps because the latter are for permanent immigrant visas.  Hence, those who qualify should seriously consider submitting an O-1 petition.

(Immigration laws and policies change regularly.  If you have any questions regarding this article, please visit www.1visa1.com to schedule a legal consultation.) 

Are you Ready for the H-1B CAP Filing?

The year 2020 was swallowed by COVID.  It is hard to believe that the annual H-1B CAP filing season is about to start soon. We expect the registration period to open in early March of 2021.

Last year was the first time that the new H-1B registration system was implemented.  USCIS is expected to use the same registration system again for 2021.  If so, we expect that the agency will make some announcements regarding this year's H-1B application process very soon.  

The "Wage Selection" Rule Delayed Until 12/31/2021

Trump implemented a H-1B wage selection rule, which is based on a ranking of wages offered by employers. Although the rule is scheduled to take effect in March, the Biden Administration announced it will  publish a notice in the Federal Registrar delaying the effective date of the wage selection rule until 12/31/2021 for reasons relating to implementation, training, policy review, etc.   Hence, the wage selection rule will not apply in this CAP season. 

Still, we must follow a very tight application timeline.  

Application Timeline

Timeline­1	What to Do or Expect
January – Early March	Recruit H-1B employees, consult with attorneys Evaluate the “specialty occupation” position you plan to file for, and determine job duties and requirements Gather employer/employee documents and other supporting docs
Late February	H-1B employers/attorneys can start creating USCIS accounts
Early March – Mid March	Employers recognize attorney’s representation (if any) in USCIS system Complete H-1B Registration online
Mid-March – End of March	USCIS to conduct visa lottery and send out notifications to selected applicants
April to June	Submit complete H-1B petition with LCA to USCIS
April and onward	USCIS to adjudicate H-1B petitions Respond to any Request for Evidence (RFE)
Mid-August	USCIS conducts a 2nd H-1B lottery to use up any leftover visa numbers
Mid-August – Mid-November	Submit complete H-1B petition with LCA for candidates selected in the 2nd lottery to USCIS
October and onwards	USCIS continue to adjudicate throughout this time Respond to any Request for Evidence (RFE) Change of Status Employees may start working in H-1B status upon approval Consular Processing Employees can obtain H-1B visa upon approval to enter the U.S.

1. Timeline is based on how the 2020 CAP season unfolded.

Conclusion

Although Trump's wage rule has been delayed, there are other familiar H-1B issues to deal with including "specialty occupation", "employer-employee relationship", "maintenance of status", etc.  As usual, early planning and proper legal advice are key to ensure a smooth application process. 

Visa Lottery (DV-2021) Entrant Status Check Delayed

The opening of the 2021 Diversity Visa Lottery's (DV-2021) online Entrant Status Check system (ESC) has been delayed.

ESC is an online system that allows a Diversity Visa Lottery applicant to check the status of their submission online. This year, the system will open on June 6th instead of May 5th.

According to USCIS, the reason for this delay is because resources are being redirected to dealing with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Interviews for DV-2021 are still on track to begin on October 1st, 2020.

Basically, applicants will have to wait one month longer before they can check their DV-2021 status but the rest of the process has not been delayed.

The Diversity Visa Program is designed for applicants who do not have close family ties and job offers to apply for US permanent resident status. 

(Immigration laws and policies change regularly.  If you have any questions regarding this article, please visit www.1visa1.com to schedule legal consultation.) 

Diversity Visa Program ("Visa Lottery") 2021

Want a U.S. green card?  Maybe the visa lottery is the answer.  The Diversity Immigrant Visa Program 2021 is a visa lottery program created by U.S. Congress. It is also known as the Green Card Lottery. It is an annual program which opens to all individuals worldwide with approximately 55,000 visas available. For the fiscal year 2021, applicants must submit applications online between 10/2/2019 and 11/5/2019. 

Where to apply and what are the costs?

The lottery is free of charge! It is an official government immigration program and the U.S. Department of State supervises the program. The department has set up an official website where all applications have to be submitted. Official Application Website of the U.S. Government: www.dvlottery.state.gov.

Eligibility 

For DV-2021, natives of the following countries are not eligible to apply because these there were more than 50,000 natives immigrated to the United States from these countries in the previous five years:

Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, China (mainland-born), Colombia, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, South Korea, United Kingdom (except Northern Ireland) and its dependent territories, and Vietnam.

Despite the fact that people born in mainland China are not eligible for DV-2021, those who born in Hong Kong SAR, Macau SAR, and Taiwan are eligible to apply.

If one was not born in an eligible country, there are two other ways the person may have a chance to be a qualified applicant:

(1) If the person's spouse was born in an eligible country, then the person can claim the spouse's country of birth as his/her birth country, and apply visa lottery based on the spouse's native country.  

(2) As long as neither of the applicant's parents was born in ineligible countries, and they were not residents of the ineligible country at the time when the applicant was born, the applicant would be able to apply for DV-2021 by claiming one of his/her parents' country of birth. For example, if an applicant was born in China mainland, but her parents were born in Taiwan and they were not residents in China mainland at the time of applicant's birth, then the applicant is eligible to apply.

Education and Work Experience Requirement

An applicant must either have a high school education or its equivalent, defined as successful completion of a 12-year course of elementary and secondary education; or two years of work experience within the past five years in an occupation requiring at least two years of training or experience to perform.

When and how to submit an entry

Entries for the DV-2021 program must be submitted electronically. Applicants may access the electronic DV Entry Form (E-DV) at www.dvlottery.state.gov during the registration period. Paper entries will not be accepted. DV-2021 registration opens from 12:00pm, Wednesday, October 2, 2019 to 12:00pm, Tuesday, November 5, 2019.

New for DV-2021

Principal entrants are required to provide the passport number, country of issuance, and expiration date for their valid passport in their applications. This requirement does not apply to dependents. Also, it does not apply to principal entrants who are stateless, obtained an individual waiver from the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Secretary of State, or a national of a Communist-controlled country and unable to get a passport from the home country.

Selection process

Lucky winners will be randomly selected by a computer system.  There is no way to improve the odds of getting selected.  As stated before, all eligible members within a family may apply individually, thus increasing the chance of winning.

How to find out the results

Beginning May 5, 2020, applicants will be able to check the status of their DV-2021 entries online.  Visit www.dvlottery.state.gov, click on Entrant Status Check, and enter the unique confirmation number and personal information. Entrant Status Check will be the only way that applicants may check the status of their applications.  It will also provide instructions to the winners of the visa lottery how to proceed with the application process, and also notify them of their appointments for their immigrant visa interview.

Tips:

The DV program has very strict technical requirements for submission. Entries not following the official instructions and requirements will be rejected and disqualified. Furthermore, DHS is technologically capable of identifying fraudulent entries, illegal entries or multiple entries. Also, do not wait until the last week of the registration period to enter. Heavy demand may result in website delays. When in doubt, don't hesitate to seek advice from a qualified immigration attorney.