According to USAFIS, if you completed a secondary/high school education equivalent to 12 years of formal primary and secondary school education in the United States, but you were not born in an eligible country, you may not participate in the Diversity Visa Lottery, UNLESS you meet one of the exceptions to the rule.
For example, if you are legally married and your spouse was born in an eligible country, you might be able to borrow their “nativity” (officially known as “chargeability”) for that eligible country. Alternatively, if one of your parents was born in an eligible country and “neither of your parents was born in or a resident of your country of birth at the time of your birth,” you may be able to claim the nativity/chargeability of your parent who was born in the eligible country.
There is a place on the DV-Lottery application (i.e., the E-DV Entry Form) where you must provide information about the chargeability you are claiming.
