The Department of State began, on October 4, 2023, applications to the Diversity Visa Program (DV) 2025, known as the Visa Lottery, which grants permanent residence in the United States. Not all countries, however, qualify to access one of the long-awaited Green Cards. Below, learn the reasons and which countries don’t qualify.
The program seeks to benefit nearly 55,000 people from countries with low levels of migration to the United States, granting them permanent residence, which, in the future, will potentially allow them to obtain US citizenship.
WHAT ARE THE REQUIREMENTS TO APPLY FOR THE 2025 VISA LOTTERY IN THE USA?
To apply for the 2025 Diversity Immigrant Visa Program, certain requirements must be met, including:
- Be a citizen of a country with a low immigration rate to the US.
- Have 12 years of primary and secondary education or its equivalent.
- Or have at least two years of work experience, within the last five years, in an eligible occupation (designated as Work Zone 4 or 5).
WHAT MAKES A COUNTRY INELIGIBLE FOR THE US VISA LOTTERY?
What makes a country ineligible is that it has a high immigration rate to the United States. “High admission countries” are those that have had migration of more than 50,000 people in the family-sponsored and employment-based visa categories to the United States during the previous five years.
To determine this “high admission” classification, each year the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) counts admission and adjustment of status figures for family and labor immigrants for all five years. As a consequence, natives of those countries who exceed the rate will not be eligible for the annual Diversity Visa Program.
WHICH COUNTRIES DO NOT QUALIFY FOR THE 2025 VISA DRAW?
For the DV-2025 program, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has estimated that natives of the following countries and areas are not eligible to apply:
- Bangladesh
- Brazil
- Canada
- People’s Republic of China (including mainland and those born in Hong Kong)
- Colombia
- Dominican Republic
- The Savior
- Haiti
- Honduras
- India
- Jamaica
- Mexico
- Nigeria
- Pakistan
- Philippines
- Republic of Korea (South Korea)
- Venezuela and
- Vietnam.
NOTE: Natives of Macau SAR and Taiwan are eligible.