Talk:Diversity Immigrant Visa

Important missing part

Why has no one written about https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/federal-eye/post/computer-error-halts-immigration-lottery/2011/05/13/AFD1Hu2G_blog.html and https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-13673574 in this article?

It's such an important and major piece of news about this! — Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.71.16.173 (talk) 18:09, 9 August 2020 (UTC)

Thanks for the links. This event used to be mentioned in the article but over time it got erased. I added a paragraph about it again. Heitordp (talk) 10:24, 10 September 2020 (UTC)

Important missing part

Please mention edv website address: https://dvprogram.state.gov/

Updated in the section of external links. Heitordp (talk) 08:54, 6 September 2021 (UTC)

Add a section to outline the timeline of the DV process end-to-end?

I'm in the middle of a DV selection (DV-2022) and despite reading the entire US immigration website, it's not easy to get a quick understanding on how the process works, especially expected durations for each step. It might be valuable to add a high level summary here to help people understand the expected wait times between each step of the process? I'll add what I've learned from my experience:

High Level Overview of DV Process (using DV-2022 as example)

Timeframe	Process
Oct to Nov 2020	The application period, ie you can only apply during a four week window at this time each year.
May 2021	6 months later... Selected applicants are published on the DV Program website (https://dvprogram.state.gov/). Applicants need to check for themselves here, applicants are not notified by mail, email, SMS or any other method. Note: 100,000 applicants are selected for 50,000 places at this point in time, so not all selected applicants are guaranteed a visa.
May 2021	Once notified of being selected, the next step is to fill in the DS260 application form for each person listed on the application. This can be lengthy as you need to give details of all the places and dates you've lived, traveled, worked etc.
August 2022	15 months later... After DS260 application is processed (in my case this step took 15 months) and assuming the application passes to the next stage, you will be notified by email of your scheduled interview with the nearest US Embassy or Consulate. NOTE: I learned that my application took so long because my Case Number was quite high, and they are processed in order. I've heard that lower numbers were processed months earlier than me, so the duration to this step could vary by many months depending on the number you are drawn (which corresponds to your case Number). There are many supporting documents required to bring to the interview (eg Birth certs, Medical exam, passports, police record etc to verify your history) which are detailed on the dvprogram.state.gov website). The application fee of $330USD per applicant needs to be paid prior to the interview in some places. I'm in Australia so was allowed to pay at the Consulate during the interview.
September 2022	Interview scheduled 6 weeks after being notified. The interview will review your application and all supporting documents and confirm if you will receive a Visa or not. I've just been through this interview and it was a matter of handing over the originals of all of your supporting documentation, along with photocopies, getting your fingerprints taken, and paying the application fee ($330USD per person). They then check this paperwork, ask you to swear that you are telling the truth, then tell you if you are approved or not. This took about an hour all up, but they advised to allow up to 3 hours just in case. If successful, they keep your passport in order to attach the Visa to it, then mail it back to you within 14 days. You need to travel to the US within 6 months to validate the Visa. After that you then have 12 months to immigrate permanently and collect your actual 'Green Card'. NOTE: All Diversity Visas need to be processed BEFORE the end of the US Fiscal Year ie 30 September. Visas cannot be processed after this date so if there is anything outstanding after this date the Visa application will be cancelled.
October 2022	I received my passport back with sealed envelope containing my documents needed to hand to the Border Control on arrival in the US. Each Passport contains a full page paper stamp with all your temporary visa details valid for 6 months from your medical date (until the actual Green Card can be produced), so you need to travel before that expires. I booked flights for January 2023.
January 2023	Paid the USCIS Immigrant fee ($220USD per person) then traveled to the US. NOTE: When you pay your USCIS immigrant fee you get a reference number, keep this to check the processing status of your green card as this takes many weeks. On arrival in the US I advised the border control that I was a new permanent resident and handed over my sealed envelopes from the US consulate here and the medical reports. It took a little while to process this and was a little uncertain if we did what we had to do, but everything seemed ok and we got let in.
March 2023	7 weeks after paying the USCIS immigration fee, the USCIS status page finally says that my Green Card is being produced, and will be sent to the mailing address I gave. It has been 2.5 years since I first applied for it.

Hopefully this will clear up some of the vagueness for everyone else. 101.164.192.230 (talk) 00:39, 8 January 2022 (UTC)

Last Updated March 07 2023 121.209.51.196 (talk) 05:28, 13 September 2022 (UTC) 121.209.15.143 (talk) 02:38, 4 August 2022 (UTC) 121.209.15.197 (talk) 02:30, 23 August 2022 (UTC) 101.184.1.114 (talk) 01:34, 7 March 2023 (UTC)

Why such an emphasis on scams, especially in the lead?

Information on deceptive agencies and practices now takes up a third of the lead—why? And why such a large section on "Deceptive agencies"—which reads like a public service message, not an encyclopedia?

The sole sources cited for all the information are government documents, with not a single other quality secondary or tertiary sources. If it's such an important facet of the program, it should be easy to find scholarship, news articles, etc. on the subject.

The topic of scams may be worth mentioning in the article, but it shouldn't be a third of the lead, since it doesn't make up a third of the article—nor should it, as it's not the basis of anywhere near a third of the relevant encyclopedic information about the subject.

I propose deleting the mention of deceptive agencies from the lead of the article and either finding better sources or drastically trimming the "Deceptive agencies" section. Thoughts appreciated! ElleTheBelle 20:28, 11 January 2023 (UTC)

ElleTheBelle I removed the mention of deceptive agencies from the lead. Heitordp (talk) 04:57, 9 August 2024 (UTC)

Statistics update

I have a two questions regarding the tables in the Statistics section:

- Table 1 ("Applicants (including dependents)"): The total number of applicants used to be published in the Visa Bulletin (whereas the regional number had to be taken from the DV Statistics page). Is the total number no longer published in the Visa Bulletin?

- Table 4 ("Diversity visas issued and adjustments of status"): I think new numbers for FY 2023 have been published. Could somebody update this?

Thank you very much for the effort! Jexplorer8421 (talk) 18:24, 11 July 2024 (UTC)

@Jexplorer8421: The visa bulletins containing the results of DV-2023 and DV-2024 show the number of entries, but not the number of applicants including dependents as the previous bulletins used to show. I hope that this number is eventually published in the DV statistics page so we can complete the tables here.

I added the number of visas issued in 2023. Heitordp (talk) 05:03, 12 July 2024 (UTC)