Green cards, which are issued by US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), allow you to live and work permanently in the United States. There are several ways of how to win a green card, such as through family, employment, or status as a refugee or asylum, but not everyone qualifies.
Under certain family or job status categories, wait times can be as long as 20 years. There is the Diversity Immigrant Visa (DV) Program, popularly referred to as the green card lottery, if you do not qualify, or if you want to “roll the dice” while you wait.
How Do You Stand a Chance?
The DV program issues 50,000 migrant visas yearly, in view of the aftereffects of an arbitrary drawing. The visas are allocated among nations with “generally low places of movement to the U.S.”
For financial year 2021, the latest figures accessible, more than 23.2 million individuals applied to the green card lottery. The initial 50,000 to enlist, after notice, were the “champs” for the year. More than 50,000 names were drawn so that not everyone selected would start the green-card application process, and some would not finish it.
Who Is Eligible for a Green Card?
You should determine if you are eligible for the green card lottery before you register. Both your country and your education and experience must meet the requirements.
Country
Diverse visas are available to citizens of countries with historically low immigration rates to the United States in six major geographic regions: Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, Oceania, and South America (including Central America and the Caribbean). The list of countries may change each year and appears in the Diversity Visa entry instructions.
Even if you weren’t born in an eligible country, you may still qualify for the DV program if your spouse was born in an eligible country, you both are named on the same entry, and you intend to enter the U.S. at the same time.
Additionally, if you were born in an ineligible country—but neither of your parents was born in that country or a legal resident at the time of your birth—you may still qualify, provided that one of your parents was born in an eligible country.
Why and when to register
The internet based enlistment period for the DV Program normally runs between early October and November each year. You should enlist as soon as conceivable once it opens. Due to heavy website traffic, you may miss out if you wait until the end of the sign-up period. Entries after the deadline will not be considered.
How and Where to Register
Only the English-language version of the website is used to register for the green card lottery. Detailed instructions in different languages are available by following the link to the instructions referenced above, even though your application must be written in English.
Please read the instructions carefully, taking note of all documents needed, such as your passport number, photos, and so on. As well as explaining the steps, the U.S. State Department has a video tutorial on how to register for the green card lottery.
Getting a Diversity Visa
Your green card will not be mailed to you automatically if you win the green card lottery. It merely means that if you are lucky enough to win, you may have won the chance to apply for a green card.
If you are a lottery winner on or after May 8, you can find out by visiting the DV Entrant Status Check link online. From there, you will be directed to a confirmation page with further instructions if you have won.