Process after being accepted

[ShakeyX]

Hi all,

I'm from the UK and have been checking to see if we were valid to enter the visa lottery for over a decade now. This year which I unfortunately missed I saw we are finally on the list. I've been looking all over their FAQs and online but can't find any specific answers on requirements and timeframes after you have been selected for the lottery.

If I were to apply in 2024:

- how long until I am then selected (if selected)
- how long then to apply for immigration visa and have interview
- then most importantly, how long until you are forced to move to remain valid.


I ask this as I need to know if I need to plan this strategically and only apply in a year where I am ready to move in the next year, or I can keep applying and if successful still stall on actually moving over, as life moves and changes very fast.

Once you have completed the process in full and are living in the USA are you required to spend a certain number of days/months there per year to remain valid?

Thanks for your help in advanced!
Kind regards,
Jake

 

[EmilyW]

Can only speak from my experience. Applied October 2013. Found out we had been selected in May 2014. Interviewed April 2015. Moved to the US in early 2016. So it was 2.5 years from start to finish. Some have a faster route: others slower. It really depends on, if you're selected, your case number.

I wouldn't over-think the timeline too much at this point. You're looking at a minimum October 2024 to apply and May 2025 before you find out if you've been selected. At least 18 months as of today.

 

[coffeemonster]

Hi all,

I'm from the UK and have been checking to see if we were valid to enter the visa lottery for over a decade now. This year which I unfortunately missed I saw we are finally on the list. I've been looking all over their FAQs and online but can't find any specific answers on requirements and timeframes after you have been selected for the lottery.

If I were to apply in 2024:

- how long until I am then selected (if selected)
- how long then to apply for immigration visa and have interview
- then most importantly, how long until you are forced to move to remain valid.


I ask this as I need to know if I need to plan this strategically and only apply in a year where I am ready to move in the next year, or I can keep applying and if successful still stall on actually moving over, as life moves and changes very fast.

Once you have completed the process in full and are living in the USA are you required to spend a certain number of days/months there per year to remain valid?

Thanks for your help in advanced!
Kind regards,
Jake

There's really no reason not to apply every time. If you get selected but you don't want to move, you can let it go and enter again. You're only giving yourself options by entering - there's no downside. That said, your chances are in the order of 1:100 so personally I would say if you're holding out any hope of moving to the US, and you get selected, go for it. If the other things in your life aren't conducive to moving at that time, change those things - because most people will never be selected even once and being selected more than once is very rare.

Regarding the timeline the general rule is you enter in Oct, results are in May/June, and processing for the winners begins in Oct, that is 1 year after you entered. Just as processing is starting for you, the entry period for the next one is opening. At that point - as a winner - you don't know when (or even if) you'll get your visa, so you enter again! There's no reason not to.

Now, when you get selected you get a "case number". The winners are processed in monthly batches starting with the lowest case numbers. So if you have a low number you'll be processed earlier. Higher number, later. If you have a very high number, then at best you'll be processed near the end, 2 years after you entered. But it's entirely possible they'll run out of visas (or time) before they get to you. So there are no guarantees. In May or June, that is 8 or 9 months into the processing, you'll find out if you were selected again for the next one, assuming you were smart enough to enter the next one. If you already have your visa by then, you can ignore it. If you are selected again, and you don't have your visa in hand, you can start the ball rolling on the second application even though there's still a chance the first one is going to work out. You don't get penalized for this.

The deadline is Sep 30th; the day after that they begin processing the next batch of winners who entered the previous Oct.