US DV Lottery 2019 Apply

The U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa is pleased to announce that the 2019 Diversity Visa (DV) Program registration will open at 7:00pm locally (GMT +3) on Tuesday October 3, 2017 and will close at 7:00pm locally (GMT +3) on Tuesday November 7, 2017. Ethiopian citizens are among those eligible to participate.

Each year the United States administers the Diversity Visa Immigrant Program from countries with historically low rates of immigration to the United States. For the 2019 program, 50,000 DVs will be available worldwide and no more than seven percent of the total visas available can go to nationals of any one country. Only electronic applications are accepted. For complete information and to register, applicants must go to dvlottery.state.gov

U.S. immigration law requires that every DV winner must at least complete a formal course of elementary and secondary education comparable to completion of a 12-year course of study in the United States. In Ethiopia, an ESLCE (12th grade) or Higher Education Entrance Qualification certificate showing at least five passing grades, or a university degree are sufficient. Vocational training in Ethiopia – known as TVET – cannot be considered a substitute for high school education and does not meet the education criteria for DV eligibility. In some cases, applicants may substitute have two years of recent work experience in certain limited fields. Applicants should visit onetonline.org to see if they qualify for a DV based on their work experience.