Diversity Visa Information
Important Notice Regarding the 2012 Diversity Visa Program
Diversity Lottery Visas
The Congressionally mandated Diversity Immigrant Visa Program makes available 55,000 permanent resident visas annually, drawn via random selection from among all entries, to persons who meet strict eligibility requirements from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States.
The Embassy of the United States of America in Yerevan does not handle applications for the Diversity Immigrant Visa lottery. Applications for the Diversity Lottery program must be submitted on-line from October – December of every year at the website www.dvlottery.state.gov. For information about the Diversity Visa lottery you may visit http://travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants/types/types_1318.html. Diversity Visa lottery applications are located at http://www.dvlottery.state.gov/. The Embassy also does not have access to the lists of winning entries. All entrants, including those NOT selected, who completed online DV-2013 entries will not receive notification letters from the Kentucky Consular Center, and must check the status of their entries by returning to the website at http://www.dvlottery.state.gov on or after May 1, 2011, through June 30, 2012. Entrants will need to use the information from their DV-2013 confirmation pages saved at the time if entry. To review instructions for DV-2013 entrants and selected, see http://travel.state.gov/pdf/DV_2013_instructions.pdf.
Diversity Lottery Applications are Free
Please Note: There have been instances of fraudulent websites and e-mails posing as official U.S. Government sites or correspondence. Some companies posing as the U.S. Government have sought money in order to "complete" lottery entry forms. There are also a number of commercial companies that offer to register persons for the DV lottery for a fee. While many of these commercial service providers are legitimate operations, please note that there is no charge to complete the Electronic Diversity Visa Entry Form at http://www.dvlottery.state.gov, and that this is the only method and website to register for the DV lottery. Instructions on how to fill out the application are available in English, Armenian, and Russian (please click on the desired language to view or download these instructions).
Kentucky Consular Center
The DV program is administered directly from the U.S. Department of State Kentucky Consular Center in Williamsburg, Kentucky. The Kentucky center was established in the year 2000 by the U.S. Department of State to take over administration of the Diversity Visa Lottery program from the National Visa Center in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
PLEASE NOTE: The Department of State has only one Kentucky Consular Center. Other organizations using similar names have no connection to the Department of State or KCC. There is no fee charged by the Department or KCC for sending an entry to the lottery program. All entrants will be required to go to the E-DV website Entrant Status Check using the confirmation number saved from their online entry registration to find out whether their entry has been selected in the DV program. Entrant Status Check will be available at the E-DV website www.dvlottery.state.gov. Selectees will be directed to a confirmation page that will provide further instructions, including information on fees connected with immigration to the United States. Entrant Status Check will be the ONLY means by which selectees will be notified of their selection. The Department of State will not be mailing out notification letters. Those selected in the random drawing are NOT notified of their selection by e-mail. Those individuals NOT selected will be notified of their non-selection through Entrant Status Check. U.S. embassies and consulates will not provide a list of selectees.
A Diversity processing fee is only charged when a winning lottery entrant applies for the Diversity visa. At the time of the visa application at a U.S. consular office, each applicant (the DV entrant and any accompanying family members) will be charged a DV processing fee, which is non-refundable if the visa is refused.
Selected applicants should carefully read the instruction received from the Kentucky Consular Center and then send the required documents to the Kentucky Consular Center. When the application packet is complete, the Kentucky Consular Center will schedule your interview at your local Consular Section, will inform you about this interview date, and forward your packet to the Consular Section.
Documents for Consular Section interview
Please see the Required Documents page for information on what documents you should bring to your Diversity visa interview.
**Important Information for Diversity Visa Applicants**
Attention: Under NO Circumstances Can a Visa Be Issued or an Adjustment of Status in the United States Occurs in Your Case After September 30 of Your Program Year. Because of the Limited Number of Visas That May Be Issued Under The Diversity Visa Program, Visas may cease to be Available Even Before September 30 of Your Program Year.