Press Release
Chances for American Immigration: 2010 U.S. Diversity Visa Program Open
American Embassy urges Eligible Tanzanian to Apply
October 29, 2008
Applications for the 2010 Diversity Visa Program (DVP) are now being accepted through December 1, 2008.
In the Diversity Visa Program, 55,000 persons from among all entrants worldwide are selected for immigrant visa processing. Those found eligible may immigrate to the United States where they may reside, work and study. After a period of residence, they may, if they wish, apply for American citizenship. A person selected may bring his or her spouse and minor, unmarried children.
Millions of foreign visitors travel to the U.S. each year, and others choose to live in the U.S. permanently. International visitors and immigrants add greatly to the cultural, education and economic life of the United States, and we welcome them.
Entries for the 2010 DVP must be submitted electronically before noon, Eastern Standard Time (EST) (GMT-5), Monday, December 1, 2008. Applicants may access the electronic Diversity Visa entry form (E-DV) at http://www.dvlottery.state.gov/during the registration period.
Historically, Tanzania has not been well represented in the program. In the 2009 program, only 298 Tanzanian-born applicants were selected. This is an increase over the 289 selected for the 2008 program. In contrast, 4,300 Kenyan-born applicants were chosen this year, as were 5,200 Ethiopians, over 433 Ugandans, and 900 South Africans. The largest group from sub-Saharan Africa was the 6,000 selected applicants from Nigeria.
It is not clear why Tanzania does not have many more successful applicants. Tanzania has a large pool of educated, skilled persons. The program costs nothing to enter and involves only completing a simple form. The Embassy encourages all Tanzanians who meet the eligibility requirements and have an interest in immigrating to the United States to apply.
To be eligible, applicants must have completed 12 years of education equivalent to an American high school diploma or have worked for two-years in a position requiring at least two years of training as defined by the United States Department of Labor.
Paper entries will not be accepted. Applicants are strongly encouraged not to wait until the last week of the registration period to enter. Heavy demand may result in website delays. No entries will be accepted after noon, EST, on December 1, 2008.
The Embassy spokesperson emphasizes that the Diversity Visa application is ALWAYS FREE to enter. Anyone charging any fee whatsoever to help someone enter the DV program is not sanctioned or authorized by the U.S. Government.
After the closing date, a computer-generated, random lottery drawing chooses individuals selected for Diversity Visas. The visas are distributed among six geographic regions, with a greater number of visas going to regions with lower rates of immigration, and with no visas going to nationals of countries sending more than 50,000 immigrants to the U.S. over the past five years.
The Department of State implemented the electronic registration system beginning with DV-2005 in order to make the Diversity Visa process more efficient and secure. Special technology and other means are used to identify those who commit fraud for the purposes of illegal immigration or those who submit multiple entries. In DV-2010, for the first time, those who submit entries may check the status of entries online and determine whether their entries are selected or not selected. Successful entrants will continue to receive notification letters by mail.
The Embassy stressed that the DVP application must match the information appearing on the entrant’s passport including the complete full name.
For detailed information about entry requirements, along with frequently asked questions about the DV lottery, please see the instructions for the DV-2010 Diversity Visa lottery on the Department’s Consular Affairs Website at http://travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants/types/types_1318.html.