My DV 2023 Lottery Experience

I usually endeavor – at the end of the DV Lottery – to document my experience of the process and give my impression based on that experience. Somehow – I believe – this provides my readers with an insight of what to expect when the results are released in several months’ time.

Sadly, in most instances, my impression does not tend to favor DV hopefuls.

Two years ago, during a similar exercise, I shared that participation in the DV Lottery was expected to fall on the global scale due to the then-introduced passport regulation – which in fact turned out to be the case. Though the drop in ‘turnout’ was not as high as anticipated, the new rule saw global participation rate slashed by around half.

For this year, my attention was drawn to another reality which does not constitute ‘good news’ for many DV 2023 entrants.

The DV Lottery has always been the part of the DV Program that brings about excitement; the time of the year when natives of most countries are ‘provided with’ an opportunity to emigrate to the United States.

But as a result of lack of knowledge especially in the area of what’s required by the Program, so many DV hopefuls miss out on such a once-in-a-year time opportunity to achieve the American dream.

This year, like most years before now, entry into the DV Lottery was overwhelming. The DV Program is gradually returning to normalcy. As a result, interest in the prospects the Program offers that was otherwise being lost over the recent few years is seemingly being restored.

‘2023 will probably be a record year as far as entry into the Program is concerned.

HOWEVER, as mentioned above, this was not without a negative aspect. This year’s Lottery’s ‘bad news’ surrounds the DV photo. For the many years I have been following the Lottery, this was the first time I experienced an influx of ‘unacceptable’ DV photos.

People are generally not acquainted with Diversity Visa regulations. That’s a fact! That has and will always be the case considering that only a few people have the time – and strength – to conduct research concerning what the Program demands, and what it doesn’t.

But more importantly, a ‘vital piece of the DV Lottery puzzle’ which I believe has contributed to the Program experiencing a high rate of qualified entry over the years henceforth does not exist as part of the Entry process, creating an impact felt mainly by those experienced in DV Entry submission like myself.

With such realities, I fear that the upcoming result will be unlike every other before it in terms of the number of disqualified entries – and consequently, the number of gaps existing among the qualified ones.

There’s usually a positive and a negative side to occurrences. As regards the negative, I foresee a lot of entries being rejected due to the ‘state’ of their photograph(s), potentially causing shock and frustration to many. While on a positive note – on the other hand – the chances of being selected for those who were conscious of the negative mentioned above and who made the extra effort to properly handle the photo aspect of their entry will be increased.

Let’s see if I’m right this time around come May 8, 2022.