These are the key dates for the visa lottery for fiscal year 2023. Venezuela is out of draw | Univision Immigration News

The Visa Lottery For fiscal year 2023 it already has a date. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (DOS) announced on Friday that the window for receiving applications opens at Noon on October 6 and close the file Noon on November 9.

The draw grants 55,000 permanent legal residence (green card or green card) among millions of contestants from five continents, one of the largest competitions of this kind in the world.

The exception this year is that Venezuela complained of the countries authorized to participate, along with Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, and the Dominican Republic.

Also excluded from the list are Canada, China (including Hong Kong), South Korea, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines, and the United Kingdom and their territories (excluding Northern Ireland).

DOS’s Bureau of Consular Affairs has determined that those countries that have sent more than 50,000 immigrants to the United States in the past five years are “excluded from the visa lottery draw.”

The regulation also details that citizens of countries with historically low rates of immigration to the United States may be eligible to participate.

Accepted forms are:

1. be the spouse of a citizen of a country with historically low rates of immigration to the United States; And
2. If yes, you can claim your spouse’s country of birth, as long as you and your spouse are registered in the entry specified in the application, are eligible, and earn one of the 55,000 residencies.

DOS published on its digital page a file Competition rules, who will start receiving their applications electronically.

Between 11 and 14 million contestants from all over the world participate in the visa lottery draw every year, which is completely free and you can only participate by entering Ministry of Foreign Affairs website On the dates from the opening of the application receipt window until closing.

As in previous draws, the government indicated that the visa lottery is only open to people from countries that meet certain requirements, including studies or work experience, whether they have completed high school or its equivalent or have two years of work experience.

Participants who do not meet the requirements “must not enroll in the DV-2023 program”, refer to the competition rules

The application to participate in the 2023 Visa Lottery must be completed in English. (The document will be available as of noon on October 6 on the DOS website.)

The State Department also warns that, in accordance with competition rules, only forms submitted until the closing period, noon on November 9, will be accepted.

Those shortlisted for the 2023 visa lottery draw will be notified by mail between May and July 2022.

Since the draw was made in 2013, DOS has not sent out pre-selection notifications via e-mail (e-mail). Now he does it through the US Postal Service.

Along with the shortlisted notice, the contestant through the same route receives a package of instructions on the steps to take to complete the visa application process for the DV-2023 program.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs recorded in the last drawing:

• 2016 draw: 17,573,364 Participants
• 2017 drawing: 19,344,586 Participants
• 2018 draw: 23,088,613 Participants

It all depends on whether you are inside or outside the United States and have never been registered.

“A lot of people think, because they win one of the green cards, everything gets embodied and that’s not the case,” warns Nelson Castillo, an immigration law physician working in Los Angeles (California).

“If it’s inside the United States, there are two possibilities,” he adds.

Castillo also says that “it is also necessary to determine if a person has an immigration and/or criminal record before taking the next step, because if they leave and violate immigration law, for example due to undocumented presence, they will not be able to return, possibly for several years.” “.

“Every case is unique and sensitive and you have to be very careful,” he later said.

In the case of people who are not registered, but are outside the United States and have entered the second stage of the visa lottery, “they should also speak to a lawyer because they may have an immigration and/or criminal record.”

“As in the first case, they should not submit or send anything to the government without first consulting with legal counsel to assess the file,” Castillo explained.