THE GREEN CARD LOTTERY

explained

in 7 steps !

  The Green Card Lottery: What is it ?

Why apply ?

What are the requirements ?

What is the application process ?

What difference can an attorney make ?

How much will it cost ?

How do I apply now ?

One step at a time ...

  Every year the Green Card Lottery, officially known as the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program , or Diversity Visa Lottery,  offers approximately 50,000 permanent resident immigrant visas (i.e., green cards) to individuals from certain countries.

Administered through the United States Department of State, entries for the Lottery may be submitted only during a brief period of time.

The mail-in period normally takes place during the autumn.

Every year the instructions and eligibility requirements are fairly comparable but there are generally a few differences. 

Visas through the lottery are destined for countries with lower rates of immigration to the United States (U.S.). For purposes of the lottery, the world is divided into six geographic regions :

Most regions contain at least one country which is not eligible for the lottery.   Among the eligible countries, no single country can receive more than seven percent (3,500) of the available visas.

Apart from minimal requirements concerning your country of birth and your school education or work experience, there are no other prerequisites for applying to the lottery.

"Winners" are chosen at random by computer.   All entries that are completed properly and received on time have a chance of being selected.  If your entry is selected, you then have the opportunity to apply for permanent resident status (i.e., obtain a green card).

 

 

Individuals who win the lottery will be able to apply for permanent resident visas.  Permanent resident status allows individuals to permanently live and work in the U.S.

As a permanent resident, you may apply for U.S. citizenship after five years, or after only three years if you are married to a U.S. citizen. Both permanent residents and U.S. citizens may sponsor other qualifying family members for residency.

 

 

 

 

In order to apply for the lottery, you must:

  1. be a native of a qualifying country; and

  2. have either a high school education or its equivalent, or within the past five years have two years of work experience in an occupation that requires at least two year of training or experience.

There is no minimum age requirement, although the education or work requirement will preclude most people under the age of 18.

You do not have to speak English.

You do not have to have family already living in the U.S.

You do not have to have a job offer from a company in the U.S.

You do not have to be presently living in your country of birth; you simply have to have been born in a qualifying country.

You can enter the lottery even if you have other family or employment-based visa petitions currently pending.

 

 

The lottery involves a two step process.  First, you must submit an entry form.  On your entry form, you must list your  spouse and all children who are unmarried and under the age of 21.  Listing family members on your entry does not mean that they must later travel with you to the U.S.  Nonetheless, they still must be included on your form.  Only those family members listed on your initial entry form will be eligible to apply for immigrant visas (i.e., green cards) should you win the lottery.

Entry forms must be submitted during the specified entry period announced by the State Department.  Entries received by the Department of State before or after the registration time, regardless of when they were postmarked, will be disqualified. 

At the close of this period, entries will be selected at random by computer.   All properly completed entry forms received during the registration period will be included in the computer-generated lottery drawing. You may submit only one entry form; submission of more than one entry will result in your disqualification.   Your spouse, however, may submit a separate entry, thereby increasing your chances of being selected.

If your entry is selected, for the second stage, you will be notified by the National Visa Center between April and July of the following year.   It will provide you with information on how to apply for your permanent resident visa (i.e., green card). Because more entries are selected than there are available visas, you will have to act promptly once you have been notified of your initial selection.  All visas through the lottery must be issued by a specific date.  

After your visa applications are processed, you, your spouse, and eligible children will receive green cards allowing you to travel to and live in the United States.   If you already are physically present in the U.S. when submitting your visa application, you may be eligible to receive your green card here, thus obtaining permanent resident status without leaving the country.

 

 

 

The Department of State does not charge any initial fee for entering the lottery, nor does a specific entry form need to be used.  Nonetheless, every year many lottery entries are disqualified for failure to properly follow directions.  In a May 1999 press release, the Department of State noted that during last year's lottery 2.5 million entries out of a total of 10.5 million were thus disqualified.

The guidelines are very precise, and the least error could result in disqualification.  I will ensure that your entry form contains all required information; that it is properly formatted and completed; and that it is submitted during the registration period.

Furthermore, if your lottery entry is selected, I can continue to assist you in preparing and filing your application for an immigrant visa (i.e., green card).

 

 

  Fees for Attorney Services:

  • preparation and submission of one lottery entry form : $35

 

  • preparation and submission of two lottery entry forms (husband and wife) : $60

 

  • N.B.:late submissions in the last 2 weeks before the official deadline will be charged an extra $25 per application.

If your lottery entry form is selected, the fees you pay me will be credited to any future fees should you retain my services in preparing and filing your application(s) for immigrant visas.

To register for the lottery, you can print out and complete an entry form. 

After filling out the form, send it to me with the corresponding photograph and fee.

Upon receipt, I will review it for accuracy and make any necessary corrections. Once the Department of State announces the entry period, I will submit your form at the appropriate time. 

You also can complete and on-line registration. Once I have received your payment, I will prepare a lottery entry form based on the information you provide and mail the form to you for your final signature. 

In response to client requests, I now offer the possibility of using my office's address as the return mailing address for your lottery entry form.

This  way, the Department of State will contact me directly should your entry form be selected. In that case, I will immediately send you notification to inform you of the next steps to continue with the immigration visa application process.

If you prefer, however, to use your own mailing address, let me know on the client agreement form so that I can arrange for you to do so.

 

 For mail registration :

 

To complete an on-line registration :

 

On-line Registration

Otherwise, if you have any specific questions concerning the Diversity Lottery and your eligibility, please contact me by: 

e-mail : eweiner@lawyer.com,

fax : (630) 604-5836,

phone : (617) 889-0215, or

regular mail.

Also, the Department of State provides information on the lottery on the Internet at

 http://travel.state.gov/dv2002.html

 

For the same information in French

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