Embassy of the United States Moscow, Russia

U. S. Embassy Moscow is pleased to announce that persons born in Russia will be eligible to participate in the 2013 Diversity Visa (DV) Program.

The Diversity Visa Program is administered annually by the Department of State under the Immigration and Nationality Act. For fiscal year 2013, a total of 50,000 diversity visas will be available. Applicants for Diversity Visas are chosen through a computer-generated, random drawing. The visas are distributed among six geographic regions with a greater number going to regions with lower rates of immigration to the United States.

Entering the Diversity Visa Lottery is free. All entries must be submitted online. The Department of State will only accept completed E-DV entry forms submitted electronically at http://www.dvlottery.state.gov during the registration period between noon, Eastern Daylight Time (EDT), Tuesday, October 4, 2011, and noon, EDT, Saturday, November 5, 2011. For more information, including entry instructions, go to www.dvlottery.state.gov.

A successfully registered entry will result in a confirmation screen containing your name and a unique confirmation number. Starting May 1, 2012, you will be able to check the status of your DV-2013 entry by returning to www.dvlottery.state.gov and using the Entrant Status Check function, for which you will need your confirmation number. Entrant Status Check will be the sole means of informing you of your selection for DV-2013; the Department of State will not send lottery DV-2013 winners confirmation e-mails or letters by regular mail. Be advised that any e-mail or letter claiming to confirm selection is a scam designed to extract payment.

Beware of fraudulent Web sites posing as official U.S. government sites. Some companies posing as the U.S. government have sought money in order to "complete" DV entry forms. There is no charge to download and complete the Electronic Diversity Visa Entry Form. In addition, the U.S. government does not collect any program fees until the day a DV winner appears at a U.S. Embassy or Consulate for the visa interview. To learn more, see the Department of State Warning and the Federal Trade Commission Warning.

• 2013 Diversity Immigrant Visa Program Instructions
• Лотерея иммиграционных виз DV 2013 - инструкции на русском языке (PDF, 200 kb, скачать Adobe Acrobat Reader)

U.S. Embassy Moscow Cautions Against Diversity Visa Scams

The U.S. Embassy in Moscow reminds Russian citizens and residents to use caution when working with private entities to apply for visas to the United States, as reports of fraudulent e-mails, websites, and print advertisements offering visa services are on the rise.

In particular, one widespread Diversity Visa (DV) scam e-mail instructs recipients to send money via Western Union to a fictitious person at the U.S. Embassy in London. If you have received this e-mail, you have been targeted by con artists. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES should money be sent to any address for participation in the DV Lottery. The Department of State's Kentucky Consular Center (KCC) does not send e-mail notification to DV entrants informing them of their winning entries. DV-2012 applicants will never receive correspondence containing information on an applicant's status, but will only receive notification directing them to check their status on the official website. The only official way to receive status updates is through the DV program website at www.dvlottery.state.gov.

Many private websites offer legitimate services to assist individuals in applying for visas, but some illegitimate entities claim to provide "visa services" as a cover for scams or identity theft. Some of these websites may attempt to charge a fee for providing forms and information about immigration procedures that are available to the public at no charge on the Department of State (www.state.gov) and travel.state.gov websites, or through the U.S. Embassy Moscow website.

Persons who wish to apply for U.S. visas should use caution before deciding to send via e-mail personal information such as credit card and bank account numbers. The only official way to register for the DV program is directly through the official U.S. Department of State website during the specified, limited-time registration period.

The DV program offers up to 55,000 visa slots annually for people who wish to apply for immigration to the United States. Applicants selected in the random drawing are notified by the U.S. Department of State and are provided with instructions on how to proceed to the next step in the process. No other organization or private company is authorized by the U.S. Department of State to notify DV program applicants of their winning entries or the next steps in the process of applying for their immigrant visas.

Successful DV-2011 applicants already have been notified by KCC by letter, not by e-mail. DV-2011 entrants also can check the status of their entries at http://www.dvlottery.state.gov until June 30, 2011.
Entrants will not be asked to send money to the KCC or any U.S. embassy or consulate.

Entrants who completed the online DV-2012 entries will not receive notification letters from KCC. Rather, they must check the status of their entries themselves through the Entrant Status Check available at http://www.dvlottery.state.gov between May 1, 2011, and June 30, 2012.

To report incidents of visa fraud, please contact the Embassy via e-mail at ConsulMo@state.gov.

Images of U.S. emblems such as flags, eagles, monuments, or official seals do not necessarily indicate a U.S. Government website. A domain name of ".gov" ensures that a website is a legitimate U.S. Government site where the information is free and up-to-date.

Complaints about unwanted e-mails that may be scams can be sent to the U.S. Department of Justice at www.usdoj.gov/spam.htm.

2012 Diversity Visa Lottery Program Registration Period

The Department of State’s DV-2012 Diversity Visa lottery program registration period will open on Tuesday, October 5, 2010. Entries for the DV-2012 Diversity Visa (DV) lottery must be submitted electronically between noon on Tuesday, October 5, 2010 and noon on Wednesday, November 3, 2010, Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) (GMT-4).

During this registration period, applicants may access the electronic Diversity Visa entry form (E-DV) at www.dvlottery.state.gov. 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, EDT, on November 3, 2010.

The congressionally mandated Diversity Immigrant Visa Program is administered annually by the Department of State. Section 203(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act makes up to 55,000 Diversity Visas (DV) available each fiscal year to persons from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States.

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. The Department utilizes special technology and other means to identify those who commit fraud for the purposes of illegal immigration or those who submit multiple entries.

Continuing this effort toward a more efficient and secure DV program, the Department of State is introducing an entirely online process to notify lottery entrants of their selection and to provide information about the immigrant visa application and interview. From May 1, 2011, DV-2012 entrants will be able to use their unique confirmation number provided at registration to check online through Entry Status Check at http://www.dvlottery.state.gov to see if their entry was selected. Successful entrants will receive instructions on how to apply for immigrant visas for themselves and their eligible family members. Confirmation of visa interview appointments will also be made through Entry Status Check.

For detailed information about entry requirements, along with frequently asked questions about the DV lottery, please see the instructions for the DV-2012 Diversity Visa lottery available at http://travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants/types/types_1318.html.

Applicants for Diversity Visas are chosen by a computer-generated random lottery drawing. The visas are distributed among six geographic regions with a greater number of visas going to regions with lower rates of immigration. Within each region, no one country may receive more than seven percent of the available Diversity Visas in any one year.

Additional information on the Diversity Visa Program is available online at: www.dvlottery.state.gov

While many commercial firms offer services to help persons submit entries for the Diversity Visa Lottery, entrants should be aware that the use of these services does not in any way enhance one’s chances of winning the Diversity Visa Lottery.

Diversity visa entrants should also be aware that no processing fees are collected by the U.S. government for this program until the day that a winner of the Diversity Visa appears at a US Embassy or Consulate for a visa interview. Any letter of other announcement to a lottery entrant regarding the Diversity Visa Program which asks the entrant to pay any processing fees in advance of the visa appointment should be disregarded as the work of scam artists.

• DV-2012 Lottery Instructions (PDF - 173kb)

Interview Preparation

• Please read through these instructions before the interview and follow them carefully because they are the most complete available.
• All documents should be brought with you ON THE DAY OF THE INTERVIEW.
• Children immigrating with you must also be present at the interview.
• Please note that no one may accompany applicants into the Embassy's visa waiting room. This includes American citizens, spouses, attorneys, sponsors, friends, and family members.
• Each applicant should bring all the required documents.
• Copies and translations of each document into English are required. Translations must be notarized only when the original is in a language OTHER than Russian. (e.g., a translation from Ukrainian into English must be notarized; a translation from Russian into English does not need to be notarized).
• Payment. The applicant must pay the visa application fee$819 dollars for each applicant), which includes application processing fee ($305), Diversity Visa Lottery surcharge ($440), and IV security surcharge ($74) ON THE DAY OF THE INTERVIEW, only AFTER an Embassy employee instructs you to do so. The Embassy accepts dollars and rubles. Credit cards are not accepted. (
• Visa delivery. Please submit the original DHL airway billexpress delivery of your visa after the interview.  The fee can be paid at one of the DHL offices for
• Tickets. We strongly advise you NOT to buy tickets or make any travel arrangements before you receive a visa.
  

LIST OF DOCUMENTS:

(Should be prepared for EACH family member immigrating with you)

Applicant with missing items may be required to return for a second interview

1. Biographical Form DS-230 (PDF - 175kb)  filled out in English. You have already sent this application to Kentucky Consular Center (KCC) before. The new DS-230 should only be given if the information provided to KCC is obsolete.
2. Travel passport: original and a photocopy of the information page with the photo. The passport should be valid at least 60 days beyond the period of validity of visa. Typically, an immigrant visa is valid for 6 months.
   
3. Birth certificate: original, photocopy, translation into English.
   
4. Marriage certificate: original, photocopy and translation into English. For married couples bring a copy and a translation for each spouse.
   
5. For those previously married: divorce certificate/death certificate of spouse, if applicable: original, photocopy, translation into English.
   
6. Educational documents (must be submitted only for winner of the Lottery).
   • evidence of completion of secondary school (original, photocopy and translation)
   • evidence of completion of vocational school (original, photocopy and translation)
   • evidence of completion of university (original, photocopy and translation)
7. Employment documents (employment verification letter (original and translation) or work-record book (original, photocopy and translation or notarized photocopy and translation))
   
8. Military service book (original, photocopy and translation of information pages)
   
9. Applicants are required to submit police certificates (original and translation into English) in ALL names (including maiden names) as well as ALL dates of birth that they have used. The police certificate must contain references to EACH place (subject to the jurisdiction of the Russian Federation) in which the applicant lives or has lived for more than six months since their 16th birthday or must indicate that the applicant’s name(s) have been checked against the central database of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD). This includes localities where applicants have lived during university studies. If the applicant was on military service, he/she should bring the certificate from the local draft board. If an applicant has lived abroad for more than one year, a police certificate must also be submitted from the country in which he/she lived. Detailed information on how to obtain a police certificate can be found at: http://travel.state.gov/visa/fees/fees_3272.html.
   
10. The results of your medical exam in a sealed envelope. The medical exam must be conducted by one of the Embassy's panel physicians. It takes approximately two days to process the results of the medical exam. For more information regarding the medical exam please contact one of the medical centers directly.
    
11. TWO COLOR NON-GLOSSY FULL-FACE photos (50x50 mm) for visa. The eye level should be between 28mm and 35mm from the bottom. Do not wear hats or glasses when taking pictures. Two additional pictures will be required for the medical examination.
    
12. Visa application fee ($819).
    
13. Please submit financial documents to show that you and your family will not become a public charge in the United States. Such documents may include, but are not limited to:
    

• Your real estate appraisals (original, copy, translation)
• Copy of bank account (original and translation)
• If you have a friend or relative who is US citizen or Legal Permanent Resident of the US, the person can submit an Affidavit of Support (form I-134) with the most recent tax returns (form 1040) or IRS tax transcripts.

Please prepare the documents in the same order for each family member separately. Put an original, Xerox copy, and translation of each document together.