DV Lottery 2024 requirements

Apply for, Renew, or Replace a Green Card

A Green Card (Permanent Resident Card):

• Gives you official immigration status in the United States
• Entitles you to certain rights and responsibilities
• Is required if you want to naturalize as a U.S. Citizen

If you have questions about applying for, renewing, or replacing a Green Card, contact the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

Apply for a Green Card

• Find out if you're eligible.
• If you are eligible, file Form I-485 - Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status with USCIS, including all supporting documents and fees.
• USCIS will review your application and schedule an interview with you. 
• Once issued, your Green Card will be valid for 10 years.

Renew or Replace a Green Card

Learn how to renew or replace your Green Card:

• Renew your Green Card if your current card expired or will expire in the next six months.
• Replace your Green Card for a number of reasons, including loss or theft.

Check Your Case Status

• Go online to check the status of your case using your receipt number. 

Beware of Scams

Get familiar with the immigration, visa, or Green Card process. This can help protect your personal information and money against scammers. Learn about common immigration scams and how to identity fraud, or file a complaint in your state.

Authenticate a U.S. Document for Use in Another Country

You may need to present a legal document issued in the United States for use in another country. These documents can include court orders, contracts, vital records, and educational diplomas. To verify signatures, stamps, or seals on these documents, they must be authenticated.

The process to get a document authenticated depends on the specific document, the state in which it was issued, and other factors. Check with your state’s document authentication agency. Also, visit the Authentications page from the Department of State (DOS).

If the country in which you are presenting your documents is a member of the 1961 Hague Convention, you can get an apostille. An apostille validates seals and signatures of officials on public documents. Apostilles authenticate birth certificates, court orders, and many other documents. Learn more about apostilles and how they are issued.

For more information, details on a procedure, or status, call the DOS Office of Authentications at 1-202-485-8000. Phone hours are from 8:00 AM to 3:00 PM, Monday through Friday. Typically, appointment hours are from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM and 2:00 PM to 2:30 PM ET, Monday through Friday. However, due to COVID-19, the Office of Authentications is not accepting in-person appointments at this time.

Diversity Immigrant Visa Program (Green Card Lottery)

The Diversity Immigrant Visa (DV) Program allows for up to 55,000 immigrant visas to be awarded each year. Foreign nationals of countries with low rates of immigration to the U.S. can participate in a random drawing for the potential of getting an immigrant visa (Green Card). Check the State Department’s Diversity Visa Program website to learn more about the program.

Diversity Visa Lottery Eligibility 

The DV Lottery, also known as the Green Card Lottery, makes a limited number of immigrant visas available every year to people meeting certain eligibility requirements:

• You must be a foreign citizen from a country with a low immigration rate to the United States.
  • Each year, the U.S. Department of State puts out a list of eligible and ineligible countries. The list of countries may change each year. See the 2024 Diversity Visa Program instructions for the most recent list.
• You must have graduated from high school or its equivalent or have qualifying work experience.

How to Register for the Diversity Visa Lottery 

Read the instructions for the Diversity Visa Program and begin the registration process.

Registration for the 2024 DV Lottery began on October 5, 2022 and ends on Tuesday, November 8, 2022 at 12 PM ET.

• When you register for the lottery, keep your confirmation number in a safe place; you will need that number to check the status of your entry online.
  • If you lose it, learn how you can recover your confirmation number.

Check Diversity Visa Lottery Results

• Check the results for the 2023 DV Lottery. They are available until September 30, 2023. You will be able to check the results for the 2024 lottery beginning May 6, 2023.
• You must remember to check the lottery results yourself online, using your confirmation number. The State Department will not send you a letter or an email to let you know if you have been selected. See the fraud warning below.

If You Are a Diversity Visa Lottery Winner

If you are selected through the random drawing, you can move forward in applying for an immigrant visa (Green Card).

• Sign in to the Immigrant/Diversity Visa portal to fill out and submit your visa application, DS form 260, online.
• Prepare for your interview.
• If you have a question about your interview, call the Kentucky Consular Center, 1-606-526-7500, 7:30 AM to 4:00 PM ET.

Diversity Visa Lottery Fraud Warning

The State Department wants DV Lottery participants to know about scams involving fraudulent email and letters sent to DV Program applicants. The U.S. government is the exclusive operator of the DV Program. It may send you an email reminding you to check the status of your entry, but it will not contact you by email or letter to let you know if you have been selected. You have to check online yourself. The U.S. government will also never ask you to pay for your visa in advance by wire transfer, money order, or check.

Sponsor a Foreign Spouse, Future Spouse, or Relative

Your status determines who you can bring (sponsor) to live and work in the United States.

If you are a U.S. citizen, you can sponsor:

• Your foreign spouse or future spouse
• Your foreign children
• Certain immediate relatives, such as parents or siblings

If you are a permanent resident, you can sponsor:

• Your foreign spouse
• Your unmarried children (regardless of age)

If you have been a refugee or asylee within the past two years, you can petition for certain family members to obtain refugee or asylee status.

If you or a member of your family is in the U.S. military, you may petition for citizenship for family members.

Travel Documents for Foreign Residents Returning to the U.S.

You may need additional documents to return to the U.S. after traveling abroad if:

• You are a foreign citizen living in the U.S., or
• You have a Permanent Resident Card (Green Card)

You should obtain these necessary documents before your trip. You can get them from United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

Travel Documents for Permanent and Conditional Residents

• If you’re absent from the U.S. for one year or longer:
  • Apply for a re-entry permit using Form I-131 - Application for Travel Document.
    • For permanent residents, the re-entry permit is valid for two years from the date of issue.
    • For conditional residents, it is valid for up to two years. Or it is valid up until the date you must apply for removal of the conditions on your status, whichever date comes first.
• If you’re absent from the U.S. for less than one year:
  • No additional document is required.
  • Show your Green Card upon your return.

Travel Documents for All Other Foreign Citizens Living in the U.S.

Contact USCIS and your country's embassy or consulate for all document requirements.

Note: If you need a travel document, but left the U.S. without obtaining one, contact U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) for assistance:

• United States: Call 1-800-375-5283; for TTY, dial 1-800-767-1833

Abroad: Contact the nearest USCIS international office or a U.S. Embassy or consulate.