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The United States has created a Diversity Immigrant Visa program, which grants residency to citizens from different parts of the world, with the main condition that they come from countries with low rates of migration to the U.S.
This program is also known as the **Visa Lottery**, as the selection of candidates is completely random. Continue reading the article to learn more about this type of visa.
What is the visa lottery and what is it for?
The visa lottery, called the Diversity Immigrant Visa program, is an immigration program offered by the United States to countries with low rates of migration to the U.S.
Through this program, 55,000 applicants can obtain a Green Card or permanent residency, which will allow them to work and live legally on U.S. soil.
The visa lottery is known by that name because the selection of candidates is completely random, although to apply, one must meet a series of requirements, including:
- Belonging to a country with a low rate of migration to the U.S.,
- Having 12 years of primary and secondary education, or its equivalent in the country of origin,
- Having two years of work experience within the last five years in an occupation eligible for this visa.
How does the visa lottery work in Mexico?
In Mexico, this type of visa is not applicable, because it is a country that has historically maintained a broad migratory relationship with its neighbor. The Mexican community is the largest foreign community in the United States.
However, as a consequence of the large migratory flow established from Mexico to the north, both countries established a series of programs to favor Mexican citizens in their search for work and financial stability abroad.
To this end, various work visas have been promoted that allow people to reside in the United States legally for a certain period of time, and to serve as a workforce for different U.S. employers.
With this, a number of companies and businesses endorsed by the USCIS (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services) were established **to offer H2A and H2B visas for agricultural and non-agricultural workers.**
Disadvantages of participating in the visa lottery
The visa lottery or Diversity Immigrant Visa program has a series of **disadvantages** compared to other resources and visas that allow you to live in the United States legally.
These disadvantages are:
- You can only participate once: candidates who apply for this type of visa can only do so once in their lifetime.
- The odds of being chosen are very low: because it is precisely a completely random selection of candidates to begin the residency application process.
- Waiting time: you have to wait for a new registration period to open, which entails a wait of years. Registration for the 2025 lottery took place between October and November 2023.
Countries that apply for the visa lottery
The list of countries that apply for the Diversity Visa can change every year. For the 2025 visa, there are many eligible countries by region or continent. The list is very extensive, but in Latin America, we can name:
- Argentina,
- Bolivia,
- Chile,
- Costa Rica,
- Cuba,
- Ecuador,
- Guatemala,
- Panama,
- Paraguay,
- Peru,
- Uruguay, among others.
The ineligible countries for the latest program are: Mexico, Brazil, Honduras, Colombia, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Haiti, Jamaica, and Venezuela.
To see the full list of countries eligible to apply for this type of visa, you must visit the U.S. government website or the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) website.
How do you know if you won the visa lottery?
To check the application status, the candidate must visit the website dvprogram.state.gov and enter their confirmation number in the Entrant Status Check section.
The Entrant Status Check is the only place where the government will notify the candidate if they have been selected. If selected, they will receive instructions on how to proceed with the process, as well as the date and time for the interview.
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