There is hardly a day and time in Kenya that is as anxiously awaited by thousands of Kenyans as was 7pm of Saturday, May 4, 2024. This was the time that the United States of America was releasing the results for the 2025 DV Lottery program.
Going by the number of people who were broadcasting live result checks and their followers, there is no doubt that the number of people who tries their luck in Kenya was in the thousands.
When checking the results, each applicant was bound to get one of these two outcomes from the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Consular Affairs:
“Based on the information provided, the Entry HAS NOT BEEN SELECTED for further processing for the Electronic Diversity Visa program at this time. Please verify that you have entered all information correctly. You may re-check the Entry status…”
This message would mean that an application had not won the ‘Green Card’, the popular phrase attached to the DV Lottery in Kenya.
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“You have been randomly selected for further processing in the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program for the fiscal year 2025 (October 1, 2024 to September 30, 2025). Selection does not guarantee that you will receive a visa because the number of applicants selected is greater than the number of visas available.”
“Therefore, it is very important that you carefully follow instructions to increase your chances of possible visa issuance. The instructions are located on the Department of State website at http://dvselectee.state.gov. All DV applicants must use the online DS-260 Immigrant Visa and Alien Registration Application.”
This message, on the other hand would have meant that an application had been accepted.
As it has turned out, the majority of applicants were not selected. After viewing their results, Kenyans went online to share their disappointment. This was done through funny patriotic memes, and sometimes outright tears.
Some of the hilarious reactions included rejection slips bundled together with the ‘Kenya Daima’ patriotic songs.
But apart from showing how popular a destination the United States is, the DV lottery has once again unveiled the high number of Kenyans who would not hesitate to leave if they won the lottery, and the economic reasons behind their motivations.
