For millions of foreign nationals throughout the world who applied for the 2023 visa lottery last year to legally immigrate to the United States with permanent resident status, the wait is almost over.
According to the US Department of State’s Bureau of Consular Affairs, entrants in the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program can find out if they were randomly selected for a green card starting at noon on Saturday, May 7. The DV Entrant Status Check option on the Bureau’s website will be available for status searches at that time.
To find out if they were picked for one of the 55,000 diversity visas available for Fiscal Year 2023, foreign individuals must enter their unique confirmation information saved from their DV-2023 entry registration using a blue button marked “Check Status.”
“The Department of State will not mail notification letters or notify selectees by email,” the instructions say, clarifying that “U.S. embassies and consulates will not provide a list of selectees.”
“Individuals who have not been selected also only will be notified through Entrant Status Check,”
the document states.
According to the official guidelines for the 2023 Diversity Immigrant Visa Program, the Entrant Status Check search tool is the only way for the Department of State to notify DV-2023 applicants whether they were selected.
How to see if you won the visa lottery for 2023
The following information is needed to see if you or a family member won the visa lottery:
- When you enrolled for the lottery, you were given a confirmation number or code.
- Your surnames, exactly as they appeared on your registration form
- All four digits of your birth year
- The system’s specified authentication code
However, not everyone who is chosen is granted a visa right away. Because some applicants will be unable to finish the process, the Department selects over 55,000 applicants.
The Next Steps for Immigrant Visa Winners
If a person chooses to proceed, they will be directed to a confirmation page with more instructions, including legal fees associated with immigration to the United States.
Officials stated in the instructions that “selected applicants who desire to apply for visas must be prepared to act immediately on their cases.” “The program will come to an end once all 55,000 diversity visas have been given.”
DV winners must be accepted to the United States in order to immigrate.
To establish admissibility, use the following steps:
- Submit Form DS-260, Online Immigrant Visa and Alien Registration Application, electronically.
- When a visa number is available at the U.S. Embassy or Consulate designated on the DS-260 Form, pass an in-person consular interview, which includes criminal and security questions to assess eligibility to immigrate to the United States.
The day of the interview, approved visas are not available.
The following items must be brought to the interview:
- Letter of appointment
- The DS-260 page has been confirmed.
- Obtain a passport
- Photographs
- Result of medical examination
- Original copies of all supporting documents
- These documents’ certified English translations
- Fee for visa ($330)
Green card holders can legally reside in the United States.
While the majority of lottery winners live in a foreign country and apply for immigration through consular processing, some foreign citizens chosen already have a nonimmigrant or other legal status in the United States.
An adjustment of status application will be processed for them by US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
The initial step in obtaining a green card under the Diversity Visa Program for this group is to submit Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, together with the required documentation.
All diversity visas available this fiscal year must be issued by September 30, 2023, including those for family members. Otherwise, the foreign nationals chosen will lose their chance to obtain a green card through the 2023 visa lottery, which allows them to become citizens of the United States through naturalization.
