Registration for the Diversity (DV) lottery for fiscal year 2022 will be open from noon (EST) on October 7, 2020 through noon (EST) on November 10, 2020. Click here for a MeBIC one-pager about DV-2022 that employers can share with immigrant employees who don’t yet have permanent status in the U.S.
The DV lottery allows foreign-born individuals, whether they are outside of or in the U.S., to apply for a chance to become a U.S. permanent resident. A person selected next spring after registering this fall for the DV-2022 lottery will able to apply for permanent residency (the “green card”) at the start of FY 2022 on October 1, 2021. S/he may be able to apply with USCIS, if s/he is already in the U.S. and is otherwise eligible, or else may apply with the State Department for an immigrant visa at the appropriate U.S. consulate abroad. The person will undergo the usual medical exam and criminal and security background checks before being interviewed or approved to immigrate.
The lottery is pure luck. But ordinarily, up to 50,000 people gain residency each year because they happened to be lucky. (In 2020, a Presidential Proclamation announced during the COVID-29 pandemic blocking entry of most immigrants, prevented over 30,000 DV-2021 lottery winners from immigrating.)
A person who is in the U.S. on a work permit, such as an asylum seeker, who entered the U.S. legally and has never violated her/his status, can register for the lottery and if selected, may be able to get her/his green card through the lottery without having to leave the U.S.. Registering for the lottery doesn’t adversely affect a person’s current status or any other applications already pending with USCIS.
Individuals in the U.S. who have been out of status should talk with an immigration lawyer before bothering to apply, since time out of status may make it impossible to get a green card, even if selected in the lottery.
Eligibility requirements for the DV-2022 lottery include:
- Not being from one of the ineligible countries (see list in the announcement), or having a spouse or parents from one of the eligible countries;
- Having completed high/secondary school in the U.S. or abroad (a G.E.D. is not sufficient); or
- Having worked for at least two years of the previous five years in a skilled trade, which is one that takes at least two years to become qualified in it.
There is no minimum age requirement, although people under 18 may not qualify if they haven’t yet met the education or skills requirement.
Applicants must have a valid, unexpired passport at the time of registering for the DV lottery. As a practical matter, this may make it impossible for many people to apply, whether they are already here in the U.S. or are abroad, because they may be unable to get a passport in time, or at all.
An individual may only submit ONE lottery application. If more than one is submitted, the person will be disqualified. However, spouses can include each other, giving them two chances to be selected (but each spouse must meet the eligibility requirements). All children who are unmarried and under 21 must be included on the registration application in order to be allowed to immigrate if their parent is selected in the lottery.
Employers in Maine with employees currently working with work permits, such as asylum seekers, should encourage their employees to get additional information about eligibility to register for the lottery. While it’s a long shot, many asylum seekers have won the lottery in the past and gained residency through it while their asylum cases remained stuck in processing backlogs.
Note that lottery registration is FREE. Instructions and the application form are posted on the State Department’s website. Those signing up for the lottery from inside the U.S. should avoid any website that asks for a fee to register, and also avoid people who are not lawyers or authorized by the Board of Immigration Appeals to provide immigration law assistance, who ask for money to “help” with a lottery application. Unauthorized practice of law is illegal in most states, including in Maine.
MeBIC has a one-pager about the rules for the DV-2022 lottery that can be shared with interested immigrants who don’t yet have permanent status in the U.S.. MeBIC is available to come and talk with employees at Maine businesses and nonprofits to help them understand whether it may or may not be worth it for them to register. Contact MeBIC for more information.