DV Lottery 2025 Eligible Countries
The Diversity Visa Lottery Program is the program which aims to diversify the immigrant population in the U.S. Here’s the key information about eligible countries for DV-2025:
Ineligible Countries:
Natives of the following countries are not eligible to apply for the DV-2025 lottery because more than 50,000 natives of these countries immigrated to the United States in the previous five years:
- Bangladesh
- Brazil
- Canada
- China (including mainland China and Hong Kong)
- Colombia
- Dominican Republic
- El Salvador
- Haiti
- Honduras
- India
- Jamaica
- Mexico
- Nigeria
- Pakistan
- Philippines
- South Korea
- Venezuela
- Vietnam
Important Notes:
- Natives of Macau SAR and Taiwan are eligible.
- “Native” usually means someone born in that country. There are some exceptions based on your spouse’s or parent’s birth country, so it’s worth checking the detailed instructions if you have any questions.
Applicants who are selected in the program (selectees) must meet simple but strict eligibility requirements to qualify for a DV. The Department of State determines selectees through a randomized computer drawing. The Department of State distributes diversity visas among six geographic regions, and no single country may receive more than seven percent of the available DVs in any one year.
With the exception of the United Kingdom and its dependent territories, which are now eligible for DV-2025, there were no changes in eligibility from the previous fiscal year.
Completing your Electronic Entry for the DV-2025 Program
Submit your Electronic Diversity Visa Entry Form (E-DV Entry Form or DS-5501), online at dvprogram.state.gov. We will not accept incomplete entries or entries sent by any other means. There is no cost to submit the online entry form. Please use an updated browser when submitting your application; older browsers (Internet Explorer 8, for example) will likely encounter problems with the online DV system
After you submit a complete entry, you will see a confirmation screen containing your name and a unique confirmation number. Print this confirmation screen for your records
How do I know if I am selected?
You must use your confirmation number to access the Entrant Status Check available on the E-DV website at dvprogram.state.gov from May 4, 2024, through September 30, 2025. Entrant Status Check is the sole means by which the Department of State will notify you if you are selected, provide further instructions on your visa application, and notify you of your immigrant visa interview appointment date and time
To ensure the use of all available visas, the Department of State may use Entrant Status Check to notify additional selectees after May 4, 2024. Retain your confirmation number until September 30, 2025, in case of any updates. The only authorized Department of State website for official online entry in the Diversity Visa Program and Entrant Status Check is dvprogram.state.gov.
