The diversity lottery gives 50,000 people from different countries the opportunity to get a green card. You can find out more about the Diversity Lottery by clicking here. Many people apply for the diversity lottery and common questions are: Could entering the Diversity lottery impact an E2 Visa application or renewal? Can a Diversity Lottery application impact my visa?
The mere application should not impact a new non-immigrant visa application or a renewal. This is especially the case for an E-2 visa.
This is primarily because the lottery is speculative, so the mere application should not be a problem. The DS-160 form does not have a question that relates to applying for the diversity lottery at all and it should not come up during a visa interview.
On one occasion when an applicant that consulted with us won the lottery but was disqualified as he completed his application incorrectly (he completed the application himself), an officer questioned the applicant when he applied for a B visa and asked about subsequent lottery applications. This is VERY different though from just applying, as this person won the lottery and then submitted the green card forms.
Last year, we had a client that won the lottery in May while he was going through the E-2 visa process with us. His lottery number was such that he would have received the green card but not until July of the following year, so he still wanted to process the E-2. We filed the E-2 visa in June (and warned him that the Consulate could ask about this and/or take issue with this) and his E-2 visa was approved. Again, this situation is very different from just applying for the lottery as in this case, the applicant won the lottery and was eligible for a green card. Even in this case though, the E-2 visa was approved, and the applicant now has a green card.
While an officer can use any means to assess immigrant intent, given the speculative nature of the lottery, we do not feel that applying for the visa lottery puts a non-immigrant visa at risk.
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Will there be a problem, if I already have an E2 visa and will be chosen by the diversity lottery? I went through a lot of E2 questions on your page and it looks like, when I´m going back to my home country to have the interview, the US Government will terminate my E2, because I would like to change the status to a permanent resident and I don´t have the intent to leave the country anymore. I´m really happy with my current job and my situation. I don´t wanna go back, but my employer won´t sponsor me. Is there any other way except of marriage to get a permanent residency?
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