PRESS RELEASE

Registration for the 2011 Diversity Visa Lottery Now Open
(Abuja, October 2, 2009)

The U.S. Mission in Nigeria announces the opening of the registration period for the 2011 Diversity Visa (DV) Lottery.  Interested applicants may register from October 2, 2009 to November 30, 2009 for the 2011 Diversity Visa Lottery.

How to Enter
Entries for the 2011 DV Lottery must be submitted electronically between noon, Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) (GMT-4), October 2, 2009, and noon, Eastern Standard Time (EST) (GMT-5), November 30, 2009. The electronic DV entry form (E-DV) is available at www.dvlottery.state.gov. Paper entries will not be accepted.

Please note that the 2011 DV program is the first time all applicants are required to include an email address in their entries. 

There are no changes to the list of eligible countries for the 2011 DV Lottery.  Nigeria remains an eligible country for the Diversity Visa Lottery in 2011.

All information provided on the entry form must be complete and accurate. Applicants who provide false information about themselves or on behalf of others will be disqualified from the 2011 DV program. Applicants are encouraged to prepare their own entries, but may be assisted by someone else if necessary. Whether assisted or not, the applicant remains solely responsible for ensuring that the information provided on their entry form is complete and accurate. Only ONE entry form can be submitted per person.

The U.S. Mission urges applicants to submit their electronic entries early, to avoid potential delays on the Web-site caused by heavy demand. No entries will be accepted after noon, EST, on November 30, 2009.

When an entry is successfully registered, a printable confirmation screen will be displayed containing the applicant's name and confirmation number. Entrants can use this information to electronically check the status of their own entry. All successful entrants will be notified by regular mail, but only those entrants who keep their confirmation page information will be able to check their entry status online. The results of entries for the 2011 DV Lottery will be available online at www.dvlottery.state.gov starting July 1, 2010.

Nigeria Strongly Represented Among the 2010 DV Selectees

The Kentucky Consular Center (KCC) in Williamsburg, Kentucky, has registered and notified the winners of the 2010 DV Lottery. Approximately 102,800 applicants from around the world were randomly selected from more than 13.6 million qualified entries.  The winning entries included 6,006 applicants from Nigeria, the second-highest total of any participating country. Other countries with high numbers of winning applicants include Ghana (8,752), Bangladesh (6,001), and Ukraine (5,499). Being chosen in the DV Lottery is no guarantee of subsequent visa issuance. The total number of available DVs is set by the U.S. Congress. The number of lottery winners chosen is higher than the available number of visas because some entrants will not qualify or will not choose to pursue the DV application.

The annual DV program gives qualified applicants the opportunity to immigrate to the United States. The program makes visas available to individuals meeting simple, but strict, eligibility requirements. DV winners are chosen by a random, computer-generated drawing. The visas are distributed among six geographic regions, with more visas going to regions with lower rates of immigration, and with no visas going to nationals of countries sending more than 50,000 immigrants to the U.S. over the past five years. No single country may receive more than seven percent of its region's DVs each year.

The Mission reminds the public that being selected DOES NOT guarantee immigrant visa issuance. All applicants are responsible for the information that they submit for themselves and eligible family members on the visa application and during the visa interview. Submission of false information on the application form or during the visa interview can result in denial of the visa and a life-long ban from entry into the United States for the principal applicant and any family members.

For detailed information about entry requirements, along with frequently asked questions about the DV Lottery, please see the instructions for the 2011 DV Lottery available at www.dvlottery.state.gov.