Diversity immigrant visa lottery program, also known as The Green Card Lottery, represents the United States government lottery program for receiving the Permanent Resident Card. The lottery is conducted under the Immigration and Nationality Act, and the Department of State administers it. Above 50.000 immigrant visas are available annually, randomly selected among all the entries to individuals that come from countries with lower rates of immigration to the United States of America. If you want to apply for the DV program, you can contact the Immigration Law Attorney Chicago for all the necessary guidelines.
What Countries are Excluded?
Countries that are excluded are Canada, Brazil, Bangladesh, Colombia, El Salvador, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Jamaica, Peru, Philippines, the United Kingdom except for Northern Ireland and its dependent territories Nigeria, Pakistan, South Korea, India, China (mainland born) and Vietnam. Keep in mind that this list changes from time to time.
Natives from these countries aren’t eligible to apply for the DV program because these countries have sent more than 50.000 immigrants in the past five years. This list of 50.000 does not include refugees, NACARA beneficiaries, asylum seekers, and previous diversity seekers. Only people that immigrated via employment-based and family-based categories are involved.
Regions that have sent more than ⅙ of the total number of the United States immigrants in the past five years are considered as high-admission regions, which currently are Latin America and Asia. On the other side, counties that sent less than ⅙ immigrants are regarded as low-admission regions, which presently are Europe, North America, Africa, and Oceania.
Who can Participate in the DV Program?
Everyone can get a green card, except people born in counties with a very high rate of immigration to the United States, that we previously mentioned. Besides the country of your birth, what’s also important is your education. What you need to have to be eligible to enter the Diversity immigrant visa lottery is at least a high school education. That means successful completion of an elementary and secondary education that is comparable to the high school education in the United States. Also, only formal courses of study can meet the education requirements. Equivalency certificates such as G.E.D or correspondence programs are not acceptable.
Besides education, you also need to have two years of working experience (within the past five years in an occupation that requires at least two years of experience or training). Please note that these requirements aren’t necessary when you’re applying for the program, but only if a lottery participant gets a Green Card.
If you’re not sure if your job requires at least two years of training, make sure to check the United States Department of State Online Database ONET. There you can find the analysis on how many years of experience your profession requires.
Other Requirements
In order to successfully apply for the Diversity immigrant visa lottery program, what you also need to have is a valid passport as you’ll have to provide the information like your passport number, passport expiration date, and issuing country.
Furthermore, you will have to provide your personal details such as your first and last name, date of birth, city, and country of birth, your level of education, and one digital photo.
Please note that you’ll have to list your partner’s and all your children under the age of 21 on your Diversity immigrant visa lottery application. Digital photos of all family members are also required. The principal applicant will be able to decide who does he want to take with him after winning the Green Card. Anyway, to avoid disqualification, you must list all your family members on the initial DV lottery application.
