Visa Services

The U.S. Embassy in Skopje, Macedonia, is pleased to announce that registration for the  the DV-2011 Diversity Immigrant Visa (“Green Card”) lottery program will begin at Noon EDT On October 2, 2009.  The deadline for registration is at Noon EST on November 30, 2009 but interested applicants are urged to complete their registration early.  Registration for the  2011 Diversity Visa program is carried out electronically; paper entries are not accepted.  The U.S. Department of State has established a special website for the submission of Diversity Visa lottery entries, www.dvlottery.state.gov . 

Please see http://www.travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants/types/types_1322.html for instructions.

Registration for the program does not guarantee that applicants will be accepted. 

Each year, the congressionally mandated Diversity Visa program makes available 50,000 permanent resident visas, randomly selected from among all entries.  They are made available to persons who meet strict eligibility requirements from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States.

People may prepare and submit their own entries, or have someone submit the entry for them.  Regardless of whether an entry is submitted by the individual directly, or assistance is provided by someone else, only one entry may be submitted in the name of each individual, and the person entering the lottery remains responsible for insuring that the information is correct and complete.  A confirmation screen containing the applicant's name and confirmation number will be displayed once an entry is successfully submitted.

All entrants, including those NOT selected, will be able to check the status of their entry electronically to find out if their entry was or was not selected.  In order to check the status of their entry via the e-DV website, entrants must retain a copy of their confirmation page.

Important Notice: Applicants selected in the Diversity Visa lottery must meet certain educational and work experience requirements to be eligible for a visa.  Please review the requirements below carefully before submitting your application and paying the fee.  The fee cannot be refunded, even if the consular officer determines that you lack the education and work experience to qualify for a diversity visa.

The “principal applicant” – the applicant in whose name the winning entry was submitted – may qualify for the visa in one of the following two ways:

(1) A high-school education or its equivalent, defined as successful completion of a 12-year course of elementary and secondary education, including 4 years of high school, or

(2) Two years of work experience in a qualifying occupation within the past five years.  Not all work experience qualifies.  To learn whether your occupation qualifies, consult the Department of Labor’s O*NET website at http://online.onetcenter.org.  Locate your occupation by selecting “Find Occupations” from the homepage and searching by keyword or job family.  Then select “Job Zone.”  Your experience qualifies only if your occupation is designated as Job Zone 4 or 5 and classified in a Specific Vocational Preparation (SVP) range of 7.0 or higher.
If you cannot demonstrate that you qualify for a visa by meeting one of these two requirements, do not submit your application.  If you are refused a visa, your fee will not be refunded.

If any of your documents are found to be falsified, you will be permanently ineligible to receive a U.S. visa.