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| Picture of US immigration officer consulting a senior black man in US immigration office used for illustration. |
The U.S. Department of State officially opened applications for the 2026 Diversity Visa Lottery, which will run from 12 noon ET (19:00 Kenyan time) on October 2, 2024, to 12 noon ET on November 5, 2024. According to the 2026 DV lottery instructions released by the Department of State, up to 55,000 Diversity Visas (DVs) will be issued to immigrants from various countries across the world. Who is eligible for 2026 DV Programme? To qualify for the DV programme, one must meet the set criteria, which include being a citizen of a country with a low immigration rate to the United States, graduating from high school or its equivalent, or having qualifying work experience.
Each entrant in the Diversity Visa (DV) program must have a high school education or its equivalent, which is defined as the successful completion of a 12-year course of formal elementary and secondary education or two years of work experience within the past five years in an occupation that requires at least two years of training or experience to perform. Individuals from certain countries and regions are not eligible to apply for DV-2026, as more than 50,000 natives from these countries immigrated to the United States in the past five years. These countries include Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, China (including those born in mainland China and Hong Kong), Colombia, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines, South Korea, Venezuela, and Vietnam. However, natives of Macau SAR and Taiwan remain eligible. How to apply?
The Department of State recommends that interested individuals should carefully read the DV-2026 entry instructions carefully before starting the application process. All applications are required to be completed through the Electronic Diversity Visa Programme online portal by filling in the Electronic Diversity Visa Entry Form. Requirements to apply for the 2026 DV Programme To complete your entry for the Diversity Visa (DV) program, you must provide their personal details and education status. Additionally, one will be required to submit photos that meet the set requirements. The photos should be in colour, in focus, and sized to ensure the head is between 1 inch and 1 3/8 inches (22 mm to 35 mm), or 50% to 69% of the image’s total height from the bottom of the chin to the top of the head. The photos must have been taken within the last six months to reflect your current appearance, with a plain white or off-white background.
The image should show your full face, directly facing the camera, with a neutral facial expression and both eyes open. The clothing worn in the photo should be typical of your everyday attire. Uniforms are not permitted unless they are religious garments worn daily. No hats or head coverings should obscure the hair or hairline, except for those worn for religious purposes. In such cases, your full face must remain visible, and the head covering must not cast any shadows on your face. Headphones, wireless devices, or similar accessories are not allowed in the photo. Eyeglasses should also not be worn, but if you normally use hearing devices or similar articles, these may be included in the image. How to know if application was successful After submitting your entry, you should receive a confirmation notice immediately, which includes a confirmation number that you must record and keep.
However, the U.S. Department of State notes that due to the unpredictable nature of the internet, delays may occur. If this happens, you can press the “Submit” button multiple times until your application is fully submitted and you receive the confirmation notice. If you press the “Submit” button but do not receive a confirmation number, your entry was not recorded. In this case, you must submit another entry, and it will not count as a duplicate. Once you receive the confirmation number, do not submit your information again.
by Elijah Ntongai