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A green card is a US permanent residence visa. It allows you to live and work permanently and legally in the United States.
A green card gives you the legal right to live and work permanently in the United States and to enter and leave the country freely. Green card holders also receive health, education, and other benefits. The green card does not affect present citizenship. A green card holder may later apply for United States citizenship, if desired.
The Green Card Lottery is officially known as the "Diversity Immigrant Visa Lottery Program" and is administered by the US Department of State. It was created by an act of Congress, the Immigration Act of 1990. The program allocates a specified number of diversity visas (green cards) to applicants from certain countries. Winners of the Lottery are chosen in a random drawing.
The Green Card Lottery is intended to increase the diversity of the US population. Natives of countries with historically low immigration rates into the US are encouraged to participate.
Lottery entries are submitted to the appropriate government filing offices during a brief window period lasting approximately 2 months. All entries are individually numbered. Entries that do not meet the requirements, are not prepared correctly, or are not delivered during the 2-month window period are discarded and not included in the Lottery. The US State Department then selects approximately 100,000 names at random and notifications are mailed to the winners. The first 50,000 people who register and qualify will receive several forms to complete and will have a brief interview at the nearest US embassy or consulate before receiving their visas. Additional family members listed on winners' entry forms will also receive visas. Winners residing in the United States may be able to receive their visas without leaving the United States.
By law, the Diversity Immigrant Lottery makes available a maximum of 55,000 permanent residence visas each year to eligible persons. However, the Nicaraguan and Central American Relief Act (NCARA) passed by Congress in November 1997 stipulates that beginning as early as DV-1999, and for as long as necessary, 5,000 of the 55,000 annually-allocated diversity visas will be made available for use under the NCARA program. The actual reduction of the limit to 50,000 began with DV-2000 and remains in effect.
You qualify to participate in the Lottery if you can claim nativity in an eligible country. You must also satisfy education/training requirements. Please read the Lottery requirements for complete details.
Persons from ALL COUNTRIES OF THE WORLD ARE ELIGIBLE to participate in the Green Card Lottery, EXCEPT persons born in the following countries:
BRAZIL, CANADA, CHINA (mainland, except Hong Kong SAR, Macau SAR, and Taiwan), COLOMBIA, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, ECUADOR, EL SALVADOR, GREAT BRITAIN (and its dependent territories*, except Northern Ireland), GUATEMALA, HAITI, INDIA, JAMAICA, MEXICO, PAKISTAN, PHILIPPINES, PERU, POLAND, RUSSIA, SOUTH KOREA and VIETNAM.
*The following dependent areas of Great Britain are not eligible to participate in the Lottery: Anguila, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, Montserrat, Pitcairn, St. Helena, Turks and Caicos Islands.
You may still qualify to participate in the Lottery even if you were born in one of the ineligible countries listed above. There are 2 exceptions:
A short statement explaining how you satisfy this exception must be included on your application.
Diversity visas are intended to provide an immigration opportunity for persons from countries other than the countries that send large numbers of immigrants to the United States. The law states that no diversity visas shall be provided for high admission countries. Those are countries from which during the previous 5 years there were more than 50,000 immigrants in the Family-Sponsored and Employment-Based visa categories. Each year, US Citizenship and Immigration Services (UCIS) adds the family and employment immigrant admission figures for the previous 5 years to identify the countries that must be excluded from the annual Green Card Lottery. Because there is a separate determination made before each Lottery application period, the list of countries that do not qualify can change from one year to the next.
Only your country of birth is considered when determining if you quality to participate in the Green Card Lottery. Citizenship cannot be used to qualify you for the Lottery. Please read the requirements to determine if you can submit a Lottery application.
There is no minimum age to apply, but the education/training requirements effectively preclude most people under the age of 18 from participating. You can enter regardless of where you are living--even in the United States. You do not have to speak or write English. You do not need to have relatives living in the United States. You do not need a particular amount of money or a job waiting. You only need to qualify as an immigrant, which means that you cannot be a criminal, cannot be mentally disturbed, must be able to work or support yourself, and cannot be a threat to the US national interest.
To participate in the Lottery, you must:
You can complete the entire Lottery application process online by completing the online application, paying the processing fee with a credit card, and uploading your electronic photographs. You also have the option to mail your photographs to us by email or regular mail. The processing fee can be paid online at the time you prepare your application or mailed to USA Green Card afterward.
If you want to prepare an application by hand, you can download the application in PDF format.
The form can be mailed to USA Green Card with your photographs and payment. Upon receipt of your application materials, we will review and process your Lottery entry and contact you to inform you of your application's status.
Register immediately! Properly formatted entry forms must be received by the US Government during a 2-month application submission period. Because the window period during which entries will be accepted is very short, we strongly urge you to submit your application today so that your entry will be ready for immediate submission during the appropriate application acceptance period. USA Green Card posts monthly suggested dates by when you are encouraged to apply. This allows us to devote the proper time and care to the preparation of your Lottery application and helps you by maximizing the probability that your application will be complete and ready for submission before the official deadline.
All applications must include recent photographs of the applicant, spouse, and each child (including all natural children, legally-adopted children, and stepchildren, even if the children no longer reside with the applicant).
ALL photographs must conform to the following specifications:
You have the option to submit hardcopy photographs or electronic photographs.
To submit photos electronically:After you complete an online application or after you mail a hardcopy version of your application, you can login to your online account. Follow the instructions provided there to upload your photos. In addition to the requirements described above, all electronic photos must conform to the following specifications:
Electronic photographs should appear as follows:
After you complete an online application or after you mail a hardcopy version of the application, you can mail one photograph for each family member included on your application. In addition to the requirements described above, please follow these guidelines:
Hardcopy photographs should appear as follows:
The processing fee pays for the review and preparation of your registration.
The US Government does not charge an application fee. To review the accuracy of your application and correct any errors, USA Green Card charges a nominal fee to cover administrative and processing costs incurred in conjunction with the careful processing of every application. The fee for an individual application ranges from $50 USD to $200 USD, depending on the number of years for which you wish to register. The cost ranges from $75 USD to $300 USD for a married application.
The following forms of payment are accepted:
We do not accept MoneyGram, Euros, Eurocheques or bank transfers.
All payments need to be in US dollars and payable to USA Green Card.
No, you do not need a credit card to submit an application. You can pay the processing fee with a personal check (US only), money order, travelers cheques, international draft, or cash (US dollars).
To send payment by Western Union ('Quick Pay' service), please visit your nearest Western Union office and complete the BLUE PAYMENT FORM with the following information:
(A) COMPANY NAME: USA Green Card
(B) COMPANY/CITY CODE: UGC MA
(C) ACCOUNT/REFERENCE NUMBER: [Your User Name]
Your First Name, Last Name, Address, and Telephone Number are also important and should be included on your payment form.
After you have made the payment, Western Union will issue a unique transaction identification number known as the Money Transfer Control Number (MTCN). This is your confirmation.
If you submit an application and we determine that you are not eligible to participate in the Green Card Lottery, we will refund your processing fee.
Because this is a Lottery program, USA Green Card cannot guarantee that you will be selected a winner. If you are not selected, your processing fee is not refundable. However, we use our experience and knowledge to give you the best possible opportunity to win. We carefully satisfy the numerous technical requirements associated with the format and content of every application. The slightest mistake will disqualify your entry. Using our services ensures that your application is prepared correctly!
The only information that is necessary to participate in the Green Card Lottery is the information that is requested on the Lottery application form and your photographs.
Do not send copies of your birth certificate, passport, resume, curriculum vitae, education or training certificates, etc.
If your entry is selected in the Lottery drawing, you will be contacted by the US Government and will be required to complete additional paperwork. At that time, you will be asked to provide evidence of your country of birth, education, training, etc.
On your Green Card Lottery application you must include all unmarried children who are under the age of 21. List all natural children, spouse’s children from a previous marriage, and adopted children.
Do not include married children or children over the age of 21.
An individual is allowed only one entry per year. You will be disqualified if you submit more than one entry. However, a husband and wife may each submit separate applications. This doubles your odds of winning the Lottery.
You can check your application status online at any time.
After completing your application online, you will be provided with a user name and password that you can use to access your account. You will be able to view your application details and check the status of your application online.
In addition, USA Green Card contacts you when we receive your application to let you know if it is compete or if any problems exist. We also notify you when your Lottery entry is formally submitted to the US Government for participation in the Green Card Lottery.
You can enter the Green Card Lottery even if you have petitions pending, such as a relative's or employer's petition for work permits, visas, etc. Entering the Lottery does not adversely affect current or past petitions and does not jeopardize your current US visa status. The information you provide on the Lottery application remains confidential and will not be shared with other government offices or agencies. Your participation in the Lottery will not negatively affect any future visa petitions. Participating in the Lottery involves zero risk.
Applicants whose applications are randomly selected from among all qualified entries will be notified by email by USA Green Card. This notification normally occurs within 6 months of the close of the Lottery program. Together with this notification, further instructions will be provided on how to proceed, including information on fees connected with the immigration process.
Yes. All applicants will be notified.
The US Government does not publish a list of individual Lottery winners. No government office, agency, or web site will have such a list available. The only way to learn if you have won the Lottery is by receiving a notice letter by email.
Yes, provided they are otherwise eligible to adjust status under the terms of Section 245 of the INA, selected applicants who are physically present in the United States may apply to the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) for adjustment of status to permanent resident.
You do not need to be married or have children to submit an application to the Green Card Lottery.
Yes. If you and your spouse are both qualified to participate in the program, you can each complete a separate registration. This doubles your odds of winning.
There is no minimum age to apply. However, you must satisfy the general and education/training requirements.
Yes. An applicant may be in the United States or in another country, and the entry may be mailed from the US or from abroad.
Yes! You can email (Lottery@USA-Green-Card.com) or fax (+617.249.0610) your application to us. Photos can be emailed or sent by regular mail. We cannot accept faxed photos.
Yes. If you wish to send your application by courier or express/overnight delivery please use the following street address:
USA Green Card
398 Columbus Avenue
Boston, MA 02116
USA
The application process is complex.
Every year, millions of applications are disqualified because applicants do not satisfy eligibility requirements, applications contain errors or omissions, or applications arrive too early or too late.
USA Green Card will professionally prepare your application so that it meets all current requirements, is properly formatted, contains all required information, and is submitted during the appropriate entry period. With USA Green Card, your application will qualify for the Lottery. Allowing us to help you with your application is one of the wisest investments you can make in your future!
Do not risk your valuable opportunity to win the Lottery. Apply today!
USA Green Card makes registration easy!
USA Green Card offers peace of mind through professional Lottery application assistance. We will:
No other Lottery service offers this level of service or as many benefits as USA Green Card. Only we can provide you with the professionalism and trust you expect. Register for the Green Card Lottery today!