Education and Scholarships
DV Result Check: How to Check Your EDV Result and Name List
Every year millions of people submit an entry to the United States Diversity Visa programme, known as EDV. Checking the result is simple, free and done in one place - but misinformation and scams are common, so the process is worth understanding properly.
What EDV means and who runs it
EDV stands for Electronic Diversity Visa. The programme is administered by the US Department of State and is normally called the Diversity Visa (DV) lottery. It makes a limited number of immigrant visas available each year to applicants from countries with historically low rates of immigration to the United States.
There is no agent, no middleman and no phone line that can improve your chances. Entries are selected by a computer-generated random draw, and the only authority that publishes results is the US government.
Before results are published
Keep three things safe from the moment you submit your entry: the confirmation number you received when you registered, the exact spelling of the name and surname you entered, and the email address you used. If you have lost the confirmation number, the official site includes a form that can retrieve it using the email address and other details from your entry.
Registration normally opens in October and closes in early November. Selection notices are then published the following year, commonly from early May, through the Entrant Status Check on the official DV website.
How to check the result, step by step
The steps below describe the standard process. Always start from the official site rather than a link in an email or a message.
- Open a browser and go directly to the official US Department of State Diversity Visa site, dvprogram.state.gov.
- Choose the Entrant Status Check option.
- Select the DV programme year that matches your entry.
- Enter your confirmation number exactly as it appeared on your entry record.
- Enter your surname (family name) exactly as you wrote it - and, in years when the form asks for it, your year of birth.
- Submit the form. The result page will tell you whether your entry was selected, was not selected, or was not valid.
- If you were selected, read the instructions on that page carefully and follow the deadline for your case, which is tied to the end of the programme year.
- Save or print the result page. It contains the case details you will need later.
Was I selected - and what if I was not?
A selected entry means you may now apply for a visa: you must complete the online DS-260 immigrant visa application, gather civil documents, attend an interview at the appropriate US embassy or consulate, and pass medical and security checks. Selection is not a visa and it is not a guarantee.
A result of not selected simply means that entry was not chosen in that year’s draw. Entrants may register again in a future registration period if they remain eligible, but there is no appeal and no way to have an entry reconsidered. You cannot pay anyone to change a not-selected result.
One practical point about the name: results are not published as a public name list. Each entrant checks only their own result. Any website or social account claiming to publish a full “EDV result name list” is not an official source.
Avoiding DV and EDV scams
Because demand is high, fraud is common. The pattern is consistent: somebody asks for money to check a result, claims to guarantee selection, or emails an applicant to say they have won. Treat all of these as red flags.
- Checking a result is free. Any fee demanded for a lookup is not part of the official process.
- The US government does not send emails or text messages telling you that you have won the lottery.
- A genuine result is only visible through the Entrant Status Check using your own confirmation number and surname.
- Selection is never guaranteed by an agent, consultant or job offer.
- Be careful with anyone offering to fill in the entry form for a fee and then keeping the confirmation number - the number is your only key to the result.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a public EDV result name list?
No. Results are private. Each entrant checks their own status through the official Entrant Status Check using a confirmation number and surname. Websites that claim to publish a full name list are not official sources.
What happens if my entry was selected?
You may then apply for an immigrant visa: complete the online application, submit documents, attend an interview at a US embassy or consulate, and pass medical and security checks. Selection alone does not guarantee a visa.
This article is general information about Nepal. Requirements, dates and prices change - always confirm the current position with the relevant official source.