The Department of State annually administers the statutorily created Diversity Immigrant
Visa Program. Section 203(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) provides for a
class of immigrants known as “diversity immigrants” from countries with historically low
rates of immigration to the United States. For Fiscal Year 2023, up to 55,000 Diversity
Visas (DVs) will be available. There is no cost to register for the DV program.

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.

For DV-2023, natives of the following countries are not eligible to apply, because more
than 50,000 natives of these countries immigrated to the United States in the previous
five years:

Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, China (including Hong Kong SAR), Colombia,
Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Nigeria,
Pakistan, Philippines, South Korea, United Kingdom (except Northern Ireland) and
its dependent territories, Venezuela, and Vietnam.
Natives of Macau SAR and Taiwan are eligible.

Requirement #1: Natives of countries with historically low rates of immigration to the
The United States may be eligible to enter.

If you are not a native of a country with historically low rates of immigration to the United
States, there are two other ways you might be able to qualify.

• Is your spouse a native of a country with historically low rates of immigration to the
The United States? If yes, you can claim your spouse’s country of birth – provided that
you and your spouse are named on the selected entry, are found eligible, and issued
diversity visas, and enter the United States at the same time.

• Are you a native of a country that does not have historically low rates of
immigration to the United States, but in which neither of your parents was born or
legally resident at the time of your birth? If yes, you may claim the country of birth
of one of your parents if it is a country whose natives are eligible for the DV-2023
program. For more details on what this means, see the Frequently Asked
Questions.