Everything you need to know about the 2024 "visa lottery" in the US 1:14
(CNN Spanish) --
The Government of the United States opens this Wednesday the inscriptions for the 'Visa Lottery' for 2024, which will benefit some 55,000 people from countries with low levels of migration to that country.
The Diversity Immigrant Visa Program grants randomly selected people who have registered a visa or a Green Card, which ensures permanent residence in the United States and, in the future, the possibility of potentially obtaining United States citizenship.
But it is not open to all public.
Although the selection is made at random, in order to obtain the document, people have to meet certain individual requirements and come from one of the countries admitted by the Department of State for the program, which prepares a list each year.
Which countries are eligible to apply to the 'Visa Lottery'?
The countries eligible to participate in the Diversity Visa Program are those that have less than 50,000 native immigrants to the US in the last five years.
For the American continent ✅
MAY APPLY
, among others, citizens of:
advertising
Argentina
bolivia
Chili
Costa Rica
Cuba
Ecuador
Guatemala
Nicaragua
Panama
Paraguay
Peru
Uruguay
See the complete list of countries that will be able to apply to the program.
On the contrary, 🚫 Citizens of the American continent
WILL NOT BE ABLE TO APPLY
from:
Brazil
Canada
Colombia
Dominican Republic
The Savior
Haiti
Honduras
Mexico
Venezuela
If you are not a native of one of the supported countries but your spouse is, you may participate as long as you and your spouse are listed on the selected entry, are deemed eligible, are issued visas, and enter the country at the same time.
You can also apply for the program if you are a native of a country that does not have historically low rates of migration but in which neither of your parents was born or considered a resident when you were born.
In that case you can apply for one of your parents' countries, if they are on the list of admitted.
An example of this case would be if your parents were working, studying temporarily or visiting a country that is not part of the list when you were born.
Find out if you qualify to apply to enter the US visa lottery. 1:54
Education and work requirements
In order to apply for the visa, you must be admissible to the United States and you must also meet
at least one of these two
requirements:
Have completed secondary education or equivalent (so in fact most applicants are 18 years of age or older although there is no specific age requirement)
Have at least two years of experience in a job that requires at least two years of training or experience in the five years prior to the date of application.
To evaluate jobs, the State Department relies on a database called O*Net OnLine.
You can read the details of how the system works here.
When you sign up for the program you should not submit documents that prove your country of origin or educational and work experience, but if you are selected they will be requested at the interview stage that is part of the process.
visa lottery