What do the terms “eligibility”, “native” and “chargeability” mean?
The country of eligibility is normally the same as an applicant’s country of birth. The country of eligibility is not related to where an applicant lives. “Native” ordinarily means someone born in a particular country, regardless of the individual’s current country of residence or nationality. For immigration purposes “native” can also mean someone who is entitled to be “charged” to a country other than the one in which he/she was born. For example, if a principal applicant was born in a country that is not eligible for this year’s DV program, he/she may claim “chargeability” to the country where his/her derivative spouse was born, but he/she will not be issued a DV-1 unless the spouse is also eligible for and issued a DV-2, and both must enter the U.S. together on the DVs. Finally, any applicant born in a country ineligible for this year’s DV program can be “charged” to the country of birth of either parent as long as neither parent was a resident of the ineligible country at the time
