Embassy of the United States Islamabad, Pakistan

Pakistani citizens are not eligible to participate in the Diversity Immigrant Visa (DV) program.  The Diversity Visa lottery is a Congressionally mandated program to increase the number of immigrants from countries with historically low levels of legal migration to the United States.  Because Pakistan sends many thousands of immigrants each year to the United States, Pakistani citizens have not been eligible for the program since 2002.  This puts Pakistan in a small group of other countries with especially high levels of immigration to the United States including Canada, China, India, Mexico, Bangladesh, and the United Kingdom.

Afghan citizens are eligible for the Diversity Visa Program and those interested should seek further details about the program at our Diversity Visa Website.  The 2013 Diversity Visa Program (DV-2013) will open at noon, Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) (GMT-4), Tuesday, October 4, 2011, and will close at noon, EDT, Saturday, November 5, 2011.  Applicants must submit entries electronically during this registration period using the electronic DV entry form (E-DV) at www.dvlottery.state.gov. 

Fraud Warning

Be wary of potential fraud related to the Diversity Visa program. Individuals may approach you in person or send you emails claiming you have won a Diversity Visa.  The scammers behind fraudulent emails, letters, and websites pose as the U.S. government in an attempt to extract money and information.  The U.S. government will not contact anyone telling them they have won a visa and will not solicit payment for an application.  The Electronic Diversity Visa Entry Form is free to download and submit.  For more information on DV scams please see the Federal Trade Commission’s DV Fraud website.  And for the most reliable information on the Diversity Visa program, please visit our Diversity Visa Website.