Looking to live the American dream? The United States Department of State has opened applications for the Diversity Visa (DV) Immigrant program, popularly known as the Green Card, starting from Wednesday, October 2.
The Green Card offers non-US citizens the opportunity to enjoy the rights and privileges of US citizens.
No single country out of the eligible countries can receive more than seven percent of the available DVs in a year, meaning no more than 3,850 Kenyans will be selected in this year’s application.
“The Department of State administers the Diversity Visa (DV) immigrant visa program, which is an annual program for immigration to the United States. Up to 55,000 immigrants can enter the United States each year from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States,” said the US Department of State.
Moreover, natives from countries and areas that have had more than 50,000 natives immigrate to the United States in the previous five years, are not eligible for the DV-2026 Program.
These include Bangladesh, Brazil, China (including mainland and Hong Kong-born), India, Jamaica, the Republic of Korea (South Korea), and Vietnam among others.
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Green Card application requirements
To be eligible for the DV-2026 Program, applicants must meet certain criteria:
- Country of Origin: You must be a native of a country with historically low rates of immigration to the United States. Alternatively, if you’re not from a qualifying country, you may still be eligible if your spouse or one of your parents is a native of an eligible country.
- Education or Work Experience: Each applicant must have a high school education or at least two years of experience within the past five years in an occupation that requires at least two years of training or experience to perform.
- Age: There is no minimum age requirement for application, but the education or work experience requirement effectively disqualifies most individuals under the age of 18.
- Family Information: Married applicants must include their spouse’s name, and those with children must list all living unmarried children under the age of 21.
Application process
Applications for the program must be submitted electronically on the official Department of State DV Program website between Wednesday, October 2, 2024, and Tuesday, November 5, 2024.
Only one entry per person is accepted, as submitting more than one entry will disqualify all entries for that individual. The online submission is entirely free.
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For a complete Entry in the Department of State website, all the listed requirements must be provided.
These include Name, exactly as it appears on your passport, Gender, Birth date (Day, month, year), City and Country of Birth, Country of Eligibility for the DV Program, Entrant Photographs, and Mailing Address.
Current Country where one lives, Phone number (optional), Active E-mail Address, Highest Level of Education, Current Marital Status, and Number of Children if one has shall also be provided.
Digital images/photographs should be colored and fully in focus. In addition, they should be taken within the last six months to reflect your current appearance.
The photographs must also be taken in front of a plain/off-white background.
After submitting your entry, you will receive a confirmation screen with your name and a unique confirmation number.
Be sure to save this information for reference. Starting on or about May 4, 2025, you can check the status of your entry on the DV-2025 Program website to see if you’ve been selected.
For more details on the application requirements and specifications for the green cards, interested candidates can visit the US Department of State DV-2026 Program Instructions website.
Selection and Immigration Process
The Department of State will randomly select individuals by computer from among the qualified entries.
The Entrant Status Check will be available on the E-DV website from May 4, 2025, to September 30, 2025, and is the only way the Department of State notifies selectees.
All DV-2026 entrants must go to the Entrant Status Check on the E-DV website using the unique confirmation number saved from their DV-2026 online entry registration, to find out whether their entry will have been selected in the DV Program.
If selected, you will be directed to a confirmation page where you will receive further instructions, including details about fees related to immigration to the United States.
Once selected, the immigration process includes completing the Immigrant Visa and Alien Registration Application, submitting required documents at the US embassy, and attending interviews.
For the DV-2026 program, all selectees and their family members must be issued visas by September 30, 2026.
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