Why is Nigeria excluded from the America Visa Lottery list of countries?

When you hear an immigrant in your country talk about how he/she won the lottery, have it in mind that the person is referring to the Divergent Visa Lottery.

The Diversity Visa program is the means that the United States uses to increase the diversity of immigrants coming into the country.

They usually accept a certain number of people(50,000) who are selected randomly to obtain a permanent residence in the US.

This selection is usually done from countries that hardly send many immigrants to the US. It serves as a convenient way for families to finally get a green card without having to go through an illegitimate way or wait for years.

Nigeria’s ban details are not any different from the DV Visa Lottery which was released in 2019 as the ban dates back to 2015. The intake of Nigerians into the DV Visa program was too much in 2013 and 2014, so measures had to be taken.

Not only Nigeria, but some other countries are also banned from the US Visa Lottery because they have exceeded their quota.

Nigeria has been excluded from the America Visa Lottery list of countries because it has exceeded its quota.

Why is Nigeria not eligible for the visa lottery?

Nigeria was removed from the visa lottery list because more than 50,000 Nigerian citizens already applied in the last five years.

Between the years 2013 and 2015, Nigeria accounted for the most registered applicants for the visa lottery in the whole of Africa. They made up nearly a third of all the applicants during that period.

Nigerians are the only Africans that are not permitted to take part in this year’s divergent visa lottery.

When will Nigeria be eligible for the visa lottery?

The only time that Nigeria will become eligible for the visa lottery is when fewer than 50,000 of Nigerians have immigrated to the United States in the past five years.

Requirements

The US Divergent visa program, which is also known as the Green card allows a limited number of citizens from other countries to immigrate to the US as long as they meet the eligibility requirements.

1. You must be a foreign citizen from a country that has a low immigration rate for the US. The US Department of State(DOS) releases the list of eligible and non-eligible countries every year, and every year, the list may change.
2. You must have graduated secondary school or high school or have a reliable working experience.

Selection process

The Department of State selects Diversity Immigrant Visa (DV) applicants at random from all registered entries each year, based on visa allotment in each region and country.

Information on the Electronic Diversity Visa (E-DV) website’s Entrant Status Check is usually updated to inform all entrants whether their online registration was selected or not.

To check your entry status, enter your confirmation number, which you received when you filled out your registration form.

You won’t be able to monitor the status of your submission if you lose your confirmation number. We won’t be able to provide you with a new confirmation number.

Please note that the Department of State will not send notification letters or email notifications to selectees.

The United States’ embassies and consulates will not provide a list of those who have been chosen. The ONLY way the Department of State notifies selectees of their selection is through the Entrant Status Check on the E-DV website.

Selected applicants should submit the online DS-260 application as soon as possible to schedule an interview at the nearest US Embassy or Consulate.

If your entry is chosen, you will be taken to a confirmation page with additional instructions, including information on immigration fees in the United States.

The ONLY way that selectees are notified of their selection is through the Entrant Status Check.

The State Department does not send out notification letters or send emails to selectees, and US embassies and consulates do not provide a list of those who have been chosen. Individuals that were not chosen will be contacted ONLY through the Entrant Status Check.

How to Apply

Once you’re eligible for the Diversity visa lottery, you can now apply for the program.

Step 1: Join the lottery.

To begin, you must first enter the DV lottery. On the US Department of State’s website, you’ll need to fill out an online form. This form is normally available between early October and early November each year.

Your “country of birth” and “country of eligibility” will be requested on the form. Please keep in mind that your answers to these two questions may vary based on your situation.

If your birth country’s name has changed, you should write the current name of the country. Make careful to specify the correct nation of eligibility on your form if you qualify for the DV program based on your spouse or parents’ countries of birth.

You will also be asked to list your spouse and children on the form. If you have any children under the age of 21, you must mention all biological, adopted, and step-children under the age of 21. Even if you are no longer married to their parents, you must list your stepchildren.

After you’ve submitted your application, make a copy of your confirmation number. You’ll need this number to find out if you’ve been chosen.

Step 2: Be chosen and notified

The winners of the DV lottery are chosen at random by the State Department. They allocate a particular number of visas to each world location using computer programs. Any year, the State Department assures that no more than 7% of all eligible Diversity Visas go to each country.

Early May, a year after you submitted your Diversity Visa application, is a good time to verify your status. To check for updates, go to the DV Program’s Entrant Status Check website. To check your status, you must enter your confirmation number.

If you win the DV lottery, the State Department will provide you a number ranking that will indicate when you can apply for a visa.

Step 3: Submit an application for a green card.

The final stage is to apply for a green card and get it. The U.S. visa bulletin will be available in late July. You’ll find out when you may submit your application in the visa bulletin. Visas will be available starting October 1st. Visa applicants have up to 90 days to submit their applications.

The majority of DV lottery winners are from countries other than the United States. If this is the case, you’ll need to apply for a green card at a U.S. consulate in your home country.

You must submit Form DS-260 to the Consular Electronic Application Center once visas are available (CEAC). Your application will be sent to your U.S. consulate by CEAC. You’ll have it soon enough.

The United States is home to some DV lottery winners. You should apply for a green card through US Citizenship and Immigration Services in this circumstance (USCIS). Fill out Form I-485 to do so (the Application for Adjustment of Status).

If all goes according to plan, you will be issued a visa. With green card status, you’ll soon be eligible to dwell in the United States!

Conclusion

If you’re looking to apply for the US immigration visa lottery, just be patient until Nigeria is unbanned from the program. However, the application process is not difficult once you have reached all the requirements. Then, you are good to go.

Note that you can still attain the visa lottery when other factors are present such as when your spouse is a citizen of the United States.

References

https://www.immigrationhelp.org/learning-center/a-guide-to-the-diversity-visa-lottery

https://www.immihelp.com/green-card-lottery-usa-eligibility-requirements/