Registration for 2019 US DV Lottery Program Begins

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

The United States Embassy in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, has announced commencing registration for the 2019 Diversity Visa (DV) Program.

A statement from the embassy disclosed that registration for the exercise, which Ethiopian citizens are among those eligible to participate, will open at 7pm local time (GMT +3) on Tuesday, October 3, 2017 and will close at 7pm local time (GMT +3) on Tuesday, November 7, 2017.

Each year, the United States administers the Diversity Visa Immigrant Program from countries with historically low rates of immigration to the United States.

For the 2019 program, 50,000 DVs will be available worldwide and no more than seven percent of the total visas available can go to nationals of any one country. Only electronic applications are accepted. For complete information and to register, applicants must go to www.Dvlottery.state.gov.

US immigration law requires that every DV winner must at least complete a formal course of elementary and secondary education comparable to completion of a 12-year course of study in the United States.

In Ethiopia, an ESLCE (12th grade) or Higher Education Entrance Qualification certificate showing at least five passing grades, or a university degree are sufficient.

Vocational training in Ethiopia – known as TVET – cannot be considered a substitute for high school education and does not meet the education criteria for DV eligibility.

In some cases, applicants may substitute have two years of recent work experience in certain limited fields.

Applicants have been advised to visit www.Onetonline.org to see if they qualify for a DV based on their work experience.

The US Embassy encourages applicants to apply on their own although applicants are allowed to have someone else submit on their behalf. No matter who completes the form, the applicant is responsible for ensuring their applications are complete, the statement said.

The US Embassy warned that entries that are not correct or complete may be disqualified, adding that it is free to register for the program, but each applicant may only submit one entry and multiple entries will result in disqualification. Entrants who submit more than one entry will be disqualified.

Interested applicants are warned to beware of fraudulent offers to “help” them obtain a Diversity Visa.

The selection process is random and there is no way for an outside actor to influence the selection. Similarly, there are no fees related to submitting an entry. The only time applicants will need to pay a fee is if they are selected for an interview.

The State Department will only notify entrants of their selection and visa interview appointment via the DV Lottery website.

The Department will not send selectee notification or appointment letters to successful entrants by regular mail or by email any such communications are fraudulent.

Starting May 1, 2018 entrants may enter their DV-2019 entry confirmation number in the Entrant Status Check, available at www.Dvlottery.state.gov, to determine whether their entry was selected. Checking your status multiple times does not increase the likelihood that you will be selected.