Diversity Visa (DV) Electronic Registration for Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 opens at noon ET on October 4, 2023, and closes at noon ET on November 7, 2023. There will be 55,000 Diversity Visas available for FY 2025.

There is no cost to register, but, if selected, applicants must pay the visa application or I-485 Adjustment of Status fees. Filing more than one application will lead to disqualification for the program.

Individuals born in certain countries are not eligible to apply because more than 50,000 nationals of those countries have immigrated to the United States in the past five years. The list of ineligible countries includes:

Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, China, including Hong Kong, SAR (natives of Macau SAR and Taiwan are eligible), Colombia, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Republic of Korea (South Korea), Venezuela and Vietnam.

Except for the United Kingdom, the “ineligible” list is the same as it was last year. This year, natives of the United Kingdom and its dependent territories are eligible.

Eligibility requirements and application instructions are on the Diversity Lottery website. Only the primary applicant (not dependents) must meet the eligibility requirements. Beyond nationality, the primary applicant must have:

  • At least a high school diploma or its equivalent; or
  • Two years of work experience in an occupation that requires at least two years of training or experience.

The Department of State describes how to confirm eligibility on its website.

Interested applicants should apply early and not wait until the last week, when heavy demand could lead to website delays. Applicants must apply online. No late or paper entries are accepted. Non-U.S. residents seeking to obtain a green card who are otherwise eligible may apply even if they are living abroad.

Jackson Lewis attorneys are available to answer questions about the Diversity Lottery process.

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Photo of Forrest G. Read IV Forrest G. Read IV

Forrest Read is a Principal in the Raleigh, North Carolina, office of Jackson Lewis P.C. He has extensive experience in both business immigration law and employment law and has particular focus in legal issues in graduate medical education (GME).

Mr. Read’s immigration practice…

Forrest Read is a Principal in the Raleigh, North Carolina, office of Jackson Lewis P.C. He has extensive experience in both business immigration law and employment law and has particular focus in legal issues in graduate medical education (GME).

Mr. Read’s immigration practice focuses on assisting employers in obtaining employment-based nonimmigrant visas (e.g., H-1B, L, O, TN) for foreign national employees and work-related immigrant (green card) visas, including PERM Labor Certifications, and advising employers on compliance with U.S. immigration laws and regulations. He has broad experience in advising large, mid-size and small employers on their various immigration needs and developing strategies to help them navigate through complex immigration issues. He also has particular experience in counseling employers in the health care industry and addressing immigration-related issues that arise for their broad range of health care professional employees (including advising on and obtaining employment authorization for medical residents and fellows and obtaining J-1 visa waivers for foreign national physicians completing their medical training in the United States). His immigration practice also includes defending employers in connection with Department of Labor H-1B and H-2B investigations.

Mr. Read’s employment law experience includes representing management, particularly academic medical centers in the GME context, in a wide array of workplace disputes and litigation before federal and state courts and administrative agencies, including matters related to discrimination, retaliation, harassment, disability, family and medical leave, various wage and hour issues, contracts, and intentional torts. He advises academic medical centers on the interplay between applicable academic law and employment law and the ramifications of what are divergent legal requirements and standards. Mr. Read also provides counsel with respect to the legal impact of competency standards for residents and trainees in GME, including situations involving discipline, remediation, and dismissal. He provides advice and guidance in the peer review process, including provision of verification and assessment of training in response to third party inquiries.

As a member of the Firm’s Corporate Diversity Counseling group, Mr. Read also has experience in providing assessments and making recommendations to corporate and institutional clients with respect to diversity and inclusion policies and initiatives, conducting related internal investigations, and shaping, developing and enforcing effective policies and initiatives to ensure consistency with client values and in furtherance of business goals and objectives.

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