Why you might win US DV Lottery and fail to move to America

Winning the US DV Lottery is considered as the safest and legitimate way of legally immigrating to the United States. With the coveted Green Card, the winner can move to the US with their spouse and children.

The prospect of winning the US DV Lottery, moving to the US and prospering is the reason why hundreds of thousands of Kenyans apply for the Green Card competition every year. And every month of May, the results are released, and a couple of thousands of lucky Kenyans are selected for processing.

What the majority of the winners do not know, though, is that winning the Green Card is only the first step. In fact, winning the Green Card does not mean you will automatically immigrate to the United States.

The United States Department of State cautions that being selected in the Diversity Visa (DV) Lottery does not automatically guarantee you a Green Card or the ability to immigrate to the US. It only means that you are eligible to apply for a Diversity Immigrant Visa and potentially become a lawful permanent resident, but you must still meet all eligibility requirements.

At the same time, you can be in the queue for processing and get locked out because the available slots have been filled up. It is important to note that the US issues 55,000 Green Card visas, the number of applicants who get selected for further processing is usually higher, sometimes more than double the number required per year.

This imbalance ensures that any of the applicants who would otherwise be disqualified and, or unavailable for processing are replaced, and the 55,000 figure is achieved.

For example, in September 2023, a good number of Kenyans who had received selection letters received notifications that they would not be processed for immigration to US because the available slots had been filled up. Instead, these Kenyans would have to try their luck in another round of fresh DV Lottery applications.

A letter from the Immigrant Visa Unit Consular Section at the US Embassy Nairobi to an applicant on September 6, 2023, and seen by Bizna Kenya, had made it clear that starting September 7, 2023, all remaining diversity visa appointments were to be cancelled regardless of what phase of the processes they were in.

In a separate letter to applicants, the US Embassy had also cautioned DV 2023 winners who were yet to go for interviews to avoid doing their medicals at the IOM in Nairobi since their interviews were getting cancelled.

“The Diversity Visa 2023 program has nearly reached its annual limit of diversity visas and soon the US. Embassy will be required to stop processing diversity visas… If you choose to complete your medical exam with the panel physician (IOM), this does not guarantee you a visa interview at the Embassy because once the annual limit is reached, all remaining diversity visa appointments will be cancelled regardless of what phase of the process they are in,” the US Embassy in Nairobi had stated.

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To avoid getting locked out, it is advisable that applicants fill out the DS260 form on time and transfer their case to the working embassies. “We encourage selected entrants to complete the online DS-260 application immediately to schedule an interview appointment at the appropriate US Embassy or Consulate,” the State Department says.

You will need to enter your DV case number into the online DS-260 form to access and update the information about yourself and your family that you included in your DV entry.

Even after getting selected, filling the DV-260 form and getting an interview date, you can still lose your slot depending on how you answer your interview questions and whether or your paperwork (including birth certificates) is in order.