The Department of State utilizes the Electronic Diversity Visa Lottery (EDV) Entry Form to elicit information necessary to ascertain the applicability of the legal provisions of the diversity immigrant visa program. The foreign nationals complete the electronic entry forms and then applications are randomly selected for further participation in the program.
The DS-5501 information collection is necessary because the Department requires certain information to verify eligibility of aliens who enter the Diversity Visa program. Immigration and Nationality Act (“INA”) Section 203(c) [8 U.S.C. § 1153(c)], provides for a class of immigrants known as “diversity immigrants” from countries with historically low rates of immigration to the United States. Pursuant to INA section 204(a)(1)(I) [8 U.S.C. § 1154(a)(1)(I)], all aliens seeking diversity immigrant status must submit a petition (the DS-5501) but may apply for a diversity visa only if randomly selected in the diversity visa lottery and only during the specific fiscal year for which they were selected. The Secretary of State is authorized to establish, through regulations, the information that must be included in the petition and any documentary evidence required to support the petition. Accordingly, 22 CFR § 42.33(b) outlines the specific information that must be included in the petition as well as documentation required to support the petition.
US Code:
8 USC 1201
Name of Law: Immigration and Nationality Act
US Code:
8 USC 1153
Name of Law: Immigration and Nationality Act
The Department estimates the amount of time respondents will take to complete the DS-5501 is 90 minutes per response. If we multiply this by 10 million (the annual estimate for submissions), we calculate a total hour time burden of 15,000,000 hours.
$3,478,946
No
Yes
No
No
No
No
No
Tonya Whigham 202 485-7635
No
On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that the collection of information encompassed by this request complies with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR 1320.8(b)(3).
The following is a summary of the topics, regarding the proposed collection of information, that the certification covers:
(i) Why the information is being collected;
(ii) Use of information;
(iii) Burden estimate;
(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a benefit, or mandatory);
(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and
(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control number;
If you are unable to certify compliance with any of these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.
03/12/2026
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