The Green Card Lottery, also known as the Diversity Visa (DV) Lottery, is an annual program run by the US Department of State that seeks to diversify the American population through federally regulated immigration.
Eligible applicants submit their applications (with accompanying required forms) in October, and find out the Lottery results in May/June of the following year.
The winners are chosen via random selection.
Out of the millions of yearly applicants, approximately 55,000 winners are selected.
You must be a citizen of a country with currently low natural immigration to the United States.
To see if your country qualifies, take our quiz here.
Additionally, you must have fulfilled the education and/or work requirements as mandated by the official Lottery rules.
If your spouse is from a qualifying country, he/she can apply for the Lottery and include you on his/her application.
You must have successfully completed your high school education, adhering to similar standards of the US educational system -OR- have at least two (2) years of work experience within the past five (5) years in an eligible field of work, that has required at least two (2) years of training or on-the-job experience.
There isn’t an officially mandated age requirement for participation.
However, the education and work criteria that must be met would suggest that applicants should be at least 18 years old.
There are many issues that arise with the US Department of State’s official DV Lottery application.
Firstly, a lack of precision and exactitude with your personal information and/or photo upload can immediately disqualify you from participation.
Next, the official application is only open during the month of October with a completion window of 30 minutes.
After this time, you will not be able to edit your application and/or correct mistakes.
The USA Green Card Organization ensures that your application will be carefully reviewed by an Immigration Consultant, and guarantees the successful submission of your application.
Furthermore, USA GCO has a wide range of supplemental materials and services, including informative ebooks, consultations with American immigration lawyers, and a friendly 24/7 customer service department.
Win or lose, USA GCO will contact you with the Lottery results when they are unveiled in May/June following the October during which your application was submitted.
Upon a successful win, you will complete Kentucky Consular Center (KCC) application forms to ensure the accuracy of your personal details.
Finally, successful applicants will be interviewed by a consular officer at their local US Embassy/Consulate.
(For detailed information on the process, consider purchasing our ebook, The Consular Procedure.)
It is during this interview that your visa approval or denial will be decided.