Diversity Visa Program

Press Release

Due to the large number of Ecuadorians successfully obtaining permanent residency status in the United States of America, Ecuador will no longer be included in the Diversity Visa Program

September 27, 2007

Due to the great number of Ecuadorian applicants who successfully became permanent residents of the United States of America in recent years, Ecuador will not be included in the Diversity Visa Program for the year 2009.

Every year, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) compiles the numbers of immigrant admissions during the five previous years to identify the countries that qualify to participate in the Diversity Visa Program. This compilation of immigration statistics is used to determine which countries will be included on the list of those eligible for the Diversity Visa Program, a list which varies from one year to the next.

The Diversity Visa Program is open only to those countries that have had less than 50,000 citizens immigrate to the U.S. during the last five years. The most recent evaluation made by USCIS indicates that more than 50,000 Ecuadorians qualified as legal immigrants to the United States during the last five years.

Therefore, due to the great number of Ecuadorians who have chosen to become permanent residents of the United States, USCIS has included Ecuador in the list of countries that do not qualify to participate in the Diversity Visa Program for the year 2009.

Immigration statistics indicate that the Diversity Visa Program is not a major source of U.S. immigration visas for Ecuadorians, as the U.S. Consulate in Guayaquil processes a large volume of immigrant visas annually in family reunification programs and other types of immigrant visa programs.

The Embassy of the United States in Quito and the U.S. Consulate General in Guayaquil make every effort to offer services of high quality to all visa applicants.  The exchange of people continues to be a very important aspect of the friendship between our countries, and the Government of the United States is pleased to note the large number of Ecuadorians who have successfully obtained U.S. permanent resident status in the last five years.