How to Apply for a Green Card Lottery
The United States of America. The land of the free. The land of opportunity. Many people from around the world are attracted to the U.S. and the desire to be able to live and work there continues to be as strong as it was in the past.
Millions of people have applied for visas just to be able to go to the U.S. Some start as tourists and when they find a great employment opportunity eventually apply for immigrant visas. Or if they have parents or siblings already there, they petition to get other relatives from other countries to live in the U.S. The normal application process can take years but there’s an alternative today.
The U.S. government’s Diversity Immigrant Visa (DV) Lottery Program actually makes available some 50,000 immigrant visas every year by means of a lottery. This was established in 1990 following the enactment by the U.S. Congress of the Immigration and Nationality Act.
A green card is vital in order for a person to be able to live and work permanently in the U.S. This is referred to as a permanent resident visa that allows anybody to not only reside and work in America but even study there legally. This green card also allows the holder to enjoy the various benefits enjoyed by U.S. citizens such as on health, taxation, social security, education and retirement.
The State Department selects some 110,000 applicants from those qualified each year. This is so because many applicants are not able to complete the visa process. However, when the 55,000 mark has been reached, the DV program is already closed.
If you get lucky to be selected under this program, then you and even your family will be allowed to live and work in the U.S. permanently. And the best part of being a Green Card winner is you fly to the U.S. absolutely free.
So how does one apply to be part of this program? There is only one way legitimate way to apply for the U.S. Green Card lottery. The American government requires online application either on the State Department website at www.state.gov or through the USA Federal Immigration Service (USAFIS) site at www.usafis.org/.
There are very simple steps to follow in the application process. First, you need to find out if you’re eligible to join and you can do this on the USAFIS site. Applications sent by post will no longer be accepted.
To be eligible, an applicant must be of legal age which is 18 and above and needs to have completed a secondary education meaning a 12-year course covering elementary and high school education. In addition, you need to have at least two years of work experience in the past five years and two years of relevant training for your specific profession.
Also, the applicant must be a citizen of a country covered in the qualified list provided by the U.S. government. If your country is not eligible, you can present a different citizenship and you can do this if your parents were born in another country covered in the qualified countries.
A husband and wife can file separate applications to increase their chances of winning a green card. If one of them is selected, both can still reside in the U.S. together with their children, if any.
To participate in this service, you need to register on the site first. You will then receive an email that contains your username and password. These log in details will be needed should you need to check the status of your application going forward.
Applications for the U.S. Green Card lottery are accepted only during a specific period each year. Thus, be sure to check the relevant sites to keep you updated on this aspect. And remember to submit just one application because if you submit more than one, you will automatically be disqualified.
An applicant also has to submit a photograph online. If he or she wants to include his family, photos of each family member including the spouse and children below 21 years old have to be included as well. Photos should be taken by a digital camera or a scanned image of a printed photo.
After submission of your application, a confirmation email will be sent to you.
