Diversity Visa Lottery Program

What is the DV Lottery Program?

From the Bureau of Consular Affairs website:

The congressionally mandated Diversity Immigrant Visa Program makes visas available to persons meeting simple, but strict, eligibility requirements. A computer-generated, random lottery drawing chooses selectees for DVs. The visas are distributed among six geographic regions, with a greater number of visas going to regions with lower rates of immigration, and with no visas going to nationals of countries sending more than 50,000 immigrants to the United States over the period of the past five years. Within each region, no single country may receive more than seven percent of the available DVs in any one year.

What are my chances of winning a visa?

While it's impossible to determine the exact odds due to the number of factors involved, we can get a fair estimate. Let's take a look at the numbers. The annual DV program makes available up to 50,000 diversity visas (DVs) annually. From the DV-2011 program, Nigeria received 6,000 visa offers. Twelve percent is pretty good, right? But keep in mind that those applicants were selected from a pool of over 12.1 million! In any case, you can improve your chances by letting us submit a correctly filled application on your behalf, because applications that do not meet the requirements have a zero percent chance of winning.

Is it free to enter?

Yes! There is no fee to enter the DV lottery, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise! A warning from the Office of Visa Services:

The Department of State, Office of Visa Services, advises the public of a notable increase in fraudulent emails and letters sent to Diversity Immigrant Visa (DV) program (Visa Lottery) applicants. The scammers behind these fraudulent emails and letters are posing as the U.S. government in an attempt to extract payment from DV applicants. All applicants should be familiar with information about DV scams provided by the Federal Trade Commission. Applicants are encouraged to review the rules and procedures for the DV program so that you know what to expect, when to expect it, and from whom.

Finally, remember that all DV-2012 applicants will not receive a notification letter from the U.S. government but must check their status online. DV Entry Status Check  will only be provided through the Department of State secure online site, www.dvlottery.state.gov.

How do I enter?

The Mbube Association USA is offering to submit visa lottery applications on behalf of qualifying Mbube individuals. We do not claim any affiliation with the U.S. government, and make no guarantees for selection. We are only providing an opportunity for Mbube people to have their lottery applications submitted correctly and on time. Unfortunately, MAUSA does not have the resources to submit applications for everyone that would like to enter the DV lottery. So if you are not Mbube and would like to enter the lottery, you may do so on your own at www.dvlottery.state.gov.

If you are Mbube, and would like to submit a visa lottery application through MAUSA, you have the following options:

1. You may obtain and submit your application form at any of the following church parishes:
   • Odajie
   • Egbe
   • Ekumtak
   • Idum
2. You can download and print the form from here. Then fill it out and email the scanned form to visalottery@mbube.org. (Adobe Acrobat Reader is required to view this file. You can download it for free here.)

   

3. Or, you can fill out the online version of the form. But you must remember to email your passport picture to visalottery@mbube.org.

Things to Remember

• To enter the lottery through MAUSA, you must have at least an NCE University education.
• You will be disqualified if:
  • the information you submit is untrue or incomplete
  • you submit multiple applications for the same person
  • any required photos are missing, not recent, or incorrectly taken (see sample photos below)

Correct Dimensions:	Example Photos:

• There is no fee to enter the lottery.

What’s next?

If we receive your application before October 1st, we will process and submit your application. If your submission is successful, we will send you an email with your confirmation number. You must not lose this number! We will try to notify you in May if you have been selected, but if you do not receive notification from us, you should still check your confirmation number at www.dvlottery.state.gov.