The 2022 Diversity Immigrant Visa Program

Did you know that the United States gives out up to free 55,000 visas every year almost like a raffle? Seriously, the Department of State issues up to 55,000 visas from their Diversity Immigrant Visa Program every year. The visa issued is called a Diversity Visa.

This visa is available to “diversity immigrants” only. People immigrating to the U.S. from a country with a historically low rate of immigration to the U.S. would be classified as a “diversity immigrant.”

It is free to apply for a Diversity Visa (DV) and selectees are picked at random by a computer drawing. Applications for the 2022 DV will begin on Wednesday, October 7th, 2020 and will last until November 10th, 2020.

How Do you Qualify for a Diversity Visa?

It’s quite simple, the first requirement is that you must be a native of a country with historically low rates of immigration to the United States. That list will be shown below. The second requirement is that you must either have at least a high school education or an equivalent, or have two years of work experience in a job that requires at least two years of training, school, or experience.

If you want to immigrate to the United States, but you are a native of a country that is not on the list of eligible countries, there are still two options to qualify for the DV. The first option is, if you have a spouse who is a native of a country eligible for the DV, then you can apply under their country of birth.

The second option to be eligible for the DV even though your country is not on the list is if neither of your parents were born in your native country nor were legal residents of your native country at the time of your birth. If this is so, you may claim the country of either parent if such country is on the DV list.

If you meet both requirements, then you can apply free of charge between the dates listed above. Applications must be submitted online at dvprogram.state.gov. Starting on May 8th, of 2021, applicants can return to the same website to check on their DV status to see if they have been selected.

List of countries that are eligible for the 2022 Diversity Immigrant Visa Program:

Africa

Algeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cabo Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo Congo, Democratic Republic of the Cote D’Ivoire (Ivory Coast), Djibouti, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, The Ghana Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe

Asia

Afghanistan, Bahrain, Bhutan, Brunei, Burma, Cambodia, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Japan, Jordan, Kuwait, Laos, Lebanon, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Nepal, North Korea, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Syria, Taiwan, Thailand, Timor-Leste, United Arab Emirates, Yemen

Europe 

Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macau Special Administrative Region, Macedonia, Malta, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, Northern Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Vatican City

North America

The Bahamas

Oceania

Australia, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Federated States of Nauru, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu

South America, Central America, and the Caribbean

Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Barbados, Belize, Bolivia, Chile, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Ecuador, Grenada, Guyana, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay, Venezuela

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