What actually happens, from photograph to confirmation number
Two stages happen inside the registration window each autumn. The third only matters if your number comes up, and it is where most people are left on their own.
- 01
Eligibility and photograph
Before anything is submitted, we establish that you can enter at all.
- 01.1
Your country of birth is checked against the current eligible list, including the spouse and parent exceptions where your own country is excluded.
- 01.2
Your education or two years of qualifying work experience is confirmed against the programme requirement.
- 01.3
You send us a photograph of yourself and every family member, and we adjust each one to the State Department specification: dimensions, file size, head position, background and expression.
- 01.1
- 02
Entry preparation and submission
The entry is built from your passport, not from memory.
- 02.1
Every field is checked line by line against your passport: name order, spelling, date and place of birth, gender and marital status.
- 02.2
Your spouse and all unmarried children under 21 are listed, including those living elsewhere or not intending to move.
- 02.3
The entry is submitted during the official registration window and your confirmation number is recorded and sent to you.
- 02.1
- 03
Results and what follows
Being selected is the start of the case, not the end.
- 03.1
When the draw is published the following May, your result is checked through the official Entrant Status Check using your confirmation number.
- 03.2
If you are selected, the DS-260 immigrant visa application is prepared and your civil documents are reviewed against what the consulate expects.
- 03.3
You are prepared for the interview and the case is moved promptly, because the annual visa numbers run out before the year does.
Stage three is included in the Entry and Selection package. On the Entry package the service ends once your entry is submitted and your confirmation number is in your hands.
- 03.1
When each part happens
The programme runs on a fixed annual cycle. Missing the registration window means waiting a full year, so the preparation is done before it opens.
Now, before the window
Eligibility check, photographs prepared and passport details collected, so nothing is rushed when registration opens.
Early October, usually
The State Department opens the registration window. Exact dates are announced each year and can change.
Within the window
Your entry is submitted and your confirmation number is recorded and sent to you. This is the only proof the entry exists.
The following May
Results are published on the official Entrant Status Check. There is no email. The confirmation number is the only way in.
If selected
The DS-260 is filed, civil documents are assembled and reviewed, a medical examination is completed and the consular interview is scheduled.
Before the visas run out
Visa numbers are issued in case number order and stop when the annual allocation is exhausted, whether or not every selectee has been interviewed.
Everyone goes on the entry, or nobody does
This is decided at the entry stage and generally cannot be fixed later, which is why it is asked about first.
- Your spouse and every unmarried child under 21 must be listed, each with their own compliant photograph.
- That includes children who live elsewhere, step-children, adopted children, and children who have no intention of moving to the United States.
- Listing your family does not oblige them to emigrate. Omitting one of them can invalidate the case at the interview.
- If your country of birth is excluded, a spouse born in an eligible country can make you both eligible.
Find out whether you can enter this year’s draw
The eligibility check takes about ten minutes, costs nothing, and tells you whether you qualify and what your photograph needs.