Green Card Lottery DV2024 Applicants Must Be Natives of a Qualifying Country
Any applicant must have been born in a country that qualifies before they may enter the DV-2024 Green Card Lottery. Countries that meet the criteria are those with low rates of immigration to the US. An applicant would not be eligible for the DV Lottery if they were born in a county with a high percentage of US immigration. The only factor that determines eligibility is the country of birth, not citizenship or place of residency. This is the most typical mistake that will result in your disqualification. Check back each year to see whether your country might be included on the list of eligible countries since it is updated annually.
The list below has two differences from the list from the last lottery: Venezuela has been excluded while Guatemala is included this year. These countries whose citizens are now excluded from taking part in the Green Card Lottery 2024.
- Bangladesh
- Brazil
- Canada
- China (Including Hong Kong SAR)
- Colombia
- Dominican Republic
- El Salvador
- Haiti
- Honduras
- India
- Jamaica
- Mexico
- Nigeria
- Pakistan
- Philippines
- South Korea
- United Kingdom (except Northern Ireland)
- Venezuela
- Vietnam
Note that even if you were born in a country that is not eligible, you can still be eligible.
It’s possible for applicants who were born in non-eligible countries to still be eligible to participate in the DV2024 Green Card Lottery if their parents or spouse are citizens of one of those eligible nations:
You can use your spouse’s country of birth as your country of eligibility, for instance, if you were born in a non-qualifying country but your spouse was. In other words, as long as your spouse is from an eligible country, you are allowed to claim chargeability to that country where your spouse was born.
You can as well claim chargeability of your parents. This means that your parents are from an eligible country but at the time of your birth, they were temporarily in a country that is not eligible(e.g because of work) and so you were born there. In this case, you are a citizen of an ineligible country, but you can charge the country of your parents
Qualifying through education or work experience
An applicant must have successfully completed a US high school degree in order to be eligible for the DV2024 Lottery. “High School Degree or its equivalent” refers to successfully completing an elementary and secondary education program lasting at least 12 years in the US or successfully completing an elementary and secondary education program lasting 12 years abroad.
Alternatively, A minimum of two years of recent work experience is required. These positions have to have needed at least two years of training. For additional information on fulfilling these criteria, see the website of the US Department of Labor O*net.org.
Watch for detailed information on qualifications:
