How To Apply For Electronic Diversity Visa (DV Lottery) 2023

Submit your Electronic Diversity Visa Entry Form (E-DV Entry Form or DS-5501), online at dvprogram.state.gov. We will not accept incomplete entries or entries sent by any other means. There is no cost to submit the online entry form. Please use an updated browser when submitting your application; older browsers (Internet Explorer 8, for example) will likely encounter problems with the online DV system.

We strongly encourage you to complete the entry form yourself, without a “visa consultant,” “visa agent,” or other facilitator who offers to help. If someone helps you, you should be present when your entry is prepared so that you can provide the correct answers to the questions and retain your unique confirmation number and a printout of your confirmation screen.

It is extremely important that you retain the printout of your confirmation page and unique confirmation number. Unscrupulous visa facilitators have been known to assist entrants with their entries, retain the confirmation page printout, and then demand more money in exchange for the confirmation number.

Without this information, you will not be able to access the online system that informs you of your entry status. Be wary if someone offers to keep this information for you. You also should retain access to the email account listed in your E-DV entry.

See the Frequently Asked Questions for more information about DV program scams. You may also wish to view our video for an introduction to the DV program and step-by-step
guide to help you submit an entry.

After you submit a complete entry, you will see a confirmation screen containing your name and a unique confirmation number. Print this confirmation screen for your records. Starting May 8, 2022, you will be able to check the status of your entry by returning to dvprogram.state.gov, clicking on Entrant Status Check, and entering your unique confirmation number and personal information.

You must use Entrant Status Check to check if you have been selected for DV-2023 and, if selected, to view instructions on how to proceed
with your application.

The U.S. government will not inform you directly. Entrant Status Check is the sole source for instructions on how to proceed with your application. If you are selected and submit a visa application and required documents, you must use Entrant Status Check to check your immigrant visa interview appointment date. Please review the Frequently Asked Questions for more information about the selection process.

You must provide all of the following information to complete your entry. Failure to accurately include all the required information will make you ineligible for a DV.

1. Name – last/family name, first name, middle name – exactly as it appears on your passport (for example, if your passport shows only your first and last/family name, please list your last/family name and then first name; do not include a middle name unless it is included on your passport.

If your passport includes a first, middle and last/family name, please list them in the following order: last/family name, first name, middle name). If you have only one name, it must be entered in the last/family name field.

2. Gender – male or female.

3. Birth date – day, month, year.

4. City where you were born.

5. Country where you were born – Use the name of the country currently used for the place where you were born.

6. Country of eligibility for the DV program – Your country of eligibility will normally be the same as your country of birth. Your country of eligibility is not related to where you live or your nationality, if it is different from your country of birth. If you were born in a country that is not eligible, please review the Frequently Asked Questions to see if there is another way you may be eligible.

7. The passport number, country of issuance, and expiration date for your valid, unexpired international travel passport. This requirement does not apply to dependents. You must enter valid international travel passport information unless you meet the requirements for an exemption.

An exemption may apply if you are stateless, a national of a Communist-controlled country and unable to obtain a passport from the government of the Communist-controlled country, or the beneficiary of an individual waiver approved by the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Secretary of State. Claiming an exemption for which you are ineligible, or failing to enter valid passport information, will make you ineligible for a DV. For more information on whether or not you meet an exemption, see question 12 in the Frequently Asked Questions document.

8. Entrant photograph(s) – Recent photographs (taken within the last six months) of yourself, your spouse, and all
your derivative children. See Submitting a Digital Photograph for compositional and technical specifications. You do not need to include a photograph for a spouse or child who is already a U.S. citizen or a Lawful Permanent
Resident, but you will not be penalized if you do.

DV entry photographs must meet the same standards as U.S. visa photos. You will be ineligible for a DV if the entry photographs for you and your family members do not fully meet these specifications or have been
manipulated in any way. Submitting the same photograph that was submitted with a prior year’s entry will make you ineligible for a DV. See Submitting a Digital Photograph (below) for more information.

9. Mailing Address – In Care Of
Address Line 1
Address Line 2
City/Town
District/Country/Province/State
Postal Code/Zip Code Country

Travel.state.gov