Questions and Answers on DV Lottery Application

When is it opening?

Lottery 2024 will be open on the 5th of October and will run through the 8th of November. You can throw in your entry at any time within this period.

Can I include my old mother in my application?

This is an interesting one. You might have a very old mother who is ailing or an old father who is ailing, and you are the close attendant, and you don’t feel like leaving him or her behind. Unfortunately, you cannot add them to the application. The only people that you can add in are your spouse and children—your biological children plus your legally adopted children plus your stepchildren. These are the people that you can add to your application and no one else.

What names should I use? Should I use the names that appear on my birth certificate or should I use the names that I used in the passport?

This has raised many questions for many people. If you have different names appearing on those two documents, which one will you use? You can use the names of either of the two at one point during your DV process. You will have to unify the names. During your DV lottery process, if you are successfully selected, you will have to unify your names either by reapplying for one of those documents to make sure that the names match, or sometimes you may use the Affidavit of names.

I don’t have a PO Box address what do I use for the address?

There are two possible answers. You can find your neighbor or a close friend and use their address. Just get the address of your school or the address of your friend or relative and use it in your application. There is no problem with that. Another way is, whichever address system you use in your country, use that address in that address field. Whichever format you use in your country, use that.

Will my names that differ in both birth certificate and passport affect my selection?

Not at all. It won’t affect your selection. However, upon being selected just as I have discussed earlier, you will have to go and reapply for one of the documents to unify the names or use the affidavit of names.

If the names on the academic certificates differ from the names on the birth certificate, you will have to swear an affidavit of names to prove that you are the same person appearing on those different documents.

Can I use my married name?

We know when people get married, one spouse may take the name of the other spouse legally. Yes, you can. The marriage certificate will be the proof. However, you can as well just use the names on the birth certificate and then when filling in the DS260 in the slot where you indicate other names used, include your married names.

How do I feel about derivatives?

On the first page, which is about personal information, immediately after the academic field, you have a place where you choose whether you are single or married to a United States citizen or married to a non-United States citizen. That is the place where you select whether you are married or not. If you choose you are married, the next page to fill in your spouse’s details will come up automatically. If you choose “single,” it will not appear. Down below the marital status, you will have a small box to indicate the number of children that you have. You will put the number of children you have. For instance, if you have three children, you put the number three. When you put zero (0), there will not be pages for the children’s information.

Can I pay someone to fill in for me the application form in the DV Lottery?

The answer is you can, but you are risking it. The best way to enter the DV Lottery is to do it yourself. Apply yourself. This is because you know yourself better than the person you intend to pay. You are likely to avoid risking your application because you never know what that person will fill in your application. Don’t pay someone. If you don’t understand anything, seek consultation but not pay someone to apply for you.

Where do I fill in my DV 2024 Lottery?

The page for the application will only open during the opening date. This is found on the dvprogram.state.gov website. That is the only legal website where you can do your application. No other place. Avoid scammers. Visit dvprogram.state.gov to make your application when the opening date comes.

We moved in with my girlfriend or my boyfriend and we are living together now should I include him or her during the entry?

It depends upon how you moved in. Have you moved in customarily or based on your customary laws? If you have moved in based on your customary laws, that means locally or depending on your tribe, you have been married. In that case, you can fill in as married, but if he or she’s just your boyfriend or girlfriend, you don’t have to include him because it will lead to your visa denial later on during the interview.

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