13. What family members must I include in my DV entry?
Spouse: If you are legally married, you must list your spouse regardless of whether he/she lives with you or intends to immigrate to the United States. You must list your spouse even if you currently are separated from him/her unless you are legally separated. Legal separation is an arrangement when a couple remains married but lives apart, following a court order. If you and your spouse are legally separated, your spouse will not be able to immigrate with you through the Diversity Visa program. You will not be penalized if you choose to enter the name of a spouse from whom you are legally separated. If you are not legally separated by a court order, you must include your spouse even if you plan to be divorced before you apply for the Diversity Visa or your spouse does not intend to immigrate. Failure to list your eligible spouse or listing someone who is not your spouse will make you ineligible for a DV. If you are not married at the time of entry but plan on getting married in the future, do not list a spouse on your entry form, as this would make you ineligible for a DV. If you are divorced or your spouse is deceased, you do not have to list your former spouse.
The only exception to this requirement is if your spouse is already a U.S. citizen or U.S. Lawful Permanent Resident. If your spouse is a U.S. citizen or Lawful Permanent Resident, do not list him/her in your entry. A spouse who is already a U.S. citizen or a Lawful Permanent Resident will not require or be issued a DV. Therefore, if you select “married and my spouse IS a U.S. citizen or U.S. LPR” on your entry, you will not be able to include further information on your spouse.
Children: You must list ALL your living children who are unmarried and under 21 years of age at the time of your initial DV entry, whether they are your natural children, your stepchildren (even if you are now divorced from that child’s parent), your spouse’s children, or children you have formally adopted in accordance with the applicable laws. List all children under 21 years of age at the time of your electronic entry, even if they no longer reside with you or you do not intend for them to immigrate under the DV program. You are not required to list children who are already U.S. citizens or Lawful Permanent Residents, though you will not be penalized if you do include them.
Parents and siblings of the entrant are ineligible to receive DV visas as dependents, and you should not include them in your entry.
If you list family members on your entry, they are not required to apply for a visa or to immigrate or travel with you. However, if you fail to include an eligible dependent on your original entry or list someone who is not your dependent, you will be ineligible for a DV, and your spouse and children will be ineligible for derivative DVs. This only applies to those who were family members at the time the entry was submitted, not those acquired at a later date. Your spouse, if eligible to enter, may still submit a separate entry even though he or she is listed on your entry, and both entries must include details about all dependents in your family (see FAQ #12 above).
14. Must I submit my own entry, or can someone else do it for me?
We encourage you to prepare and submit your own entry, but you may have someone submit the entry for you. Regardless of whether you submit your own entry, or an attorney, friend, relative, or someone else submits it on your behalf, only one entry may be submitted in your name. You, as the entrant, are responsible for ensuring that information in the entry is correct and complete; entries that are not correct or complete may be disqualified. Entrants should keep their confirmation number, so they are able to check the status of their entry independently, using Entrant Status Check at dvprogram.state.gov. Entrants should retain access to the email account used in the E-DV submission.
15. I’m already registered for an immigrant visa in another category. Can I still apply for the DV Program?
Yes.
16. Can I download and save the E-DV entry form into a word processing program and finish it later?
No, you will not be able to save the form into another program for completion and submission later. The E-DV Entry Form is a web-form only. You must fill in the information and submit it while online.
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