American Visa Lottery Program which is otherwise known as Green Card Lottery is free. The green card, which is issued by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), lets you live and work in the United States as a permanent resident. While there are several avenues to getting a green card, including through Green Card Lottery, family, employment, or status as a refugee or asylee, not everyone qualifies.

Even if you do qualify green card through family or employment, wait times under certain family or job status categories can be as long as 20 years. If you do not qualify or if you want to “roll the dice” while waiting, the Diversity Immigrant Visa (DV) Program popularly known as the green card lottery might be the best option for you, that is why we are spending much of our time to educate and guide you on how to gain USA permanent residence through the USA Green Card Lottery Program that is ongoing. So all applicants are advised to not wait until the last minute to register for the American Visa Lottery Program Application Form for the year.

The application process is simple, too, so it generally doesn’t require the legal services of an immigration lawyer, but there are some strict eligibility requirements to qualify.

What Are Your Chances?

The DV program issues 50,000 immigrant visas annually, based on the results of a random drawing. The visas are apportioned among countries with “historically low rates of immigration to the U.S.”

For the fiscal year 2021, the most recent figures available, more than 23.2 million people applied to the green card lottery.

The first 50,000 to register, after notification, were the “winners” for that year. The reason for drawing more than 50,000 names is that not everyone selected will start the green-card application process, and some who do will not complete it.

Key Takeaways For You

• The DV program issues 50,000 immigrant visas annually, based on the results of a random drawing.
• You must be eligible by country as well as by education or work experience.
• The online registration period for the DV Program typically runs between Oct. 1 and Nov. 3 each year.
• It is free to enter the lottery.

Who Is Green Card Eligible?

Before registering for the green card lottery, you should determine if you are eligible. You must be eligible by country as well as by education or work experience.

Country

Diversity visas go to natives of selected countries with historically low rates of immigration to the United States in six geographic regions: Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, Oceania, plus South America, Central America, and the Caribbean. The list of countries is subject to change each year and appears on the Diversity Visa entry instructions.

If you were not born in an eligible country, you may still qualify for the DV program if your spouse was born in an eligible country, both of you are named on the same entry, and both of you intend to enter the U.S. at the same time.

Also, if you were born in an ineligible country—but neither of your parents was born in or legal residents of that country at the time of your birth—you may still qualify, assuming one of your parents was born in an eligible country.

Education or Work Experience

In addition to eligibility based on country of birth, you must also meet certain education or work experience requirements in order to register for the green card lottery. Basically, this means that you must have a high school education (or equivalent) or two years’ experience within the past five years in a qualifying occupation. The U.S. Department of Labor’s O*Net Online database can be used to determine if your work experience is sufficient.

Where to Register

Registration for the green card lottery is done online using the English-language version only. Although your application must be done in English, detailed instructions in a variety of languages are available by following the link to the instructions referenced above.

It’s important that you read the instructions carefully, noting all required documentation including your passport number, photos, and so forth. The U.S. State Department video tutorial on registering for the green card lottery explains the steps as well.

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How to Apply for American Visa Lottery Program

Participating in the lottery is relatively easy. You fill out a form on the State Department’s website while it is available at https://www.dvlottery.state.gov/, from early October through early November. Most of the questions are easy to understand; however, there are a few places where these extra suggestions may be helpful:

Entering the Lottery

• For “country of birth,” list the country you were born in, regardless of where you currently live. If the country has a different name now than it did when you were born, use the country’s current name.
• For “country of eligibility,” list either your country of birth or—if you qualify to use your spouse’s or your parents’ birth countries—a list of that country. The country you currently live in is irrelevant to this question.
• Your spouse: You must list your spouse, even if he or she doesn’t live with you and does not intend to immigrate with you.
• Your children: You must list all of your biological children and all of your adopted children, no matter how old they are. You should also list all of your step-children under age 21, even if you are no longer married to their parents.

Once you submit your application, it’s essential to keep your confirmation number, because this is the only way to know if you’ve been selected.

When to Register

The online registration period for the DV Program typically runs between early October and November each year. You should register as early as possible once it opens by following the instructions above. If you wait until the end of the sign-up period, you could miss out due to heavy website traffic. Late entries will not be accepted.

American Visa Lottery Program Selection and Notification

The winners of the American Visa Lottery are chosen at random by a computer program, with a certain number of visas allocated to each region of the world and no one country receiving more than 7 percent of the Diversity Visas available in any given year.

Though the exact dates vary, people who have entered the American Visa Lottery can check the status of their application beginning in early May the year following their application, by using the Entrant Status Check link on the Diversity Visa webpage. This is why it’s so important to save that confirmation number: Without it, you won’t be able to see if you’ve been selected or not.

What Happens After I Enter the American Visa Lottery?

When you enter the American Visa Lottery application form at dvlottery.state.gov. Then the State Department gives you a confirmation number. Keep that number safe. You will need it to check your status.

American Visa Lottery winners are picked at random by a computer. There is no way to increase your chance of being picked.

You can find out your status only at dvlottery.state.gov. The State Department will never send you a letter or email to say you won. If you see that kind of message, it is a scam.

If your entry is picked, you will have to pay a fee. You pay it only when you go to the U.S. embassy or consulate for your appointment. The U.S. government will never ask you to send money in advance by check, money order, or wire transfer.

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What do I need to Know About American Visa Lottery Application Scams?

Scammers try to trick people who enter the Diversity Visa Lottery. Scammers might:

• Charge you money to help you apply
• Promise to increase your chance of being picked
• Send you a message saying you won and ask for money.
• If you remember how the American Visa Lottery works, it will be hard for scammers to get your money.
• It is free to enter the American Visa Lottery at dvlottery.state.gov.
• The drawing is random. There is no way to increase your chance of winning.
• You can find out your status only at dvlottery.state.gov.
• You do not pay until you find out your entry was picked, and you go to the U.S. embassy or consulate in person for your appointment.

What Should I Do if I Spot a Scam?

• If you suspect a scam, please report it to the Federal Trade Commission:
• Go to ftc.gov/complaint.
• You can give as much information as you want. Investigators are happy with any information you give.

THE NEW PASSPORT REQUIREMENT

For the first time since the program was established 30 years ago to boost immigration to the United States from countries with historically low rates of immigration, this year foreigners are required to have a valid, unexpired passport, to be able to participate.

Officials said in a document published in the Federal Register that the rule change was needed to curb the high number of fraudulent enrolments in the program, because sometimes fraudulent organizations submit entries for individuals without their consent, among other scams.

However, there are exceptions, as is the case of Venezuelan citizens, who can apply with expired passports or extensions.

“The Department will accept all Venezuelan passports, valid or expired, so long as it is still considered valid after adding five years to the printed expiration date,” it said in an unclassified guide with frequently asked questions regarding passport requirements for DV-2022.

How to Check Who Won The American Visa Lottery Program

To check on whether you won the visa lottery, the following is required:

• The confirmation number or code issued to you when you registered for the lottery
• Your surnames, just as you wrote them when you registered
• Your birth year, with all four digits
• The authentication code indicated by the system

Participants in the DV-2021 lottery can go to the Entrant Status Check page on the internet starting May 5, 2021, through Sept. 30, 2021.

If you or a relative win the lottery, the next step is to submit an application for permanent residence using Form DS-260 and start to prepare for an interview in English.

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American Visa Lottery Program Application Form Demand

Note: Not everyone will gain this Award that is while you should make your Application very neat and exceptional but in any case you find difficulty with any of the instructions, make use of you join our free email subscribers to get your update in the final step(s) to take.

For those who already reside in the U.S. with legal status, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services will be in charge of processing their adjustment of status applications.

The lottery aims to diversify the immigrant population in the United States, by selecting applicants mostly from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States in the previous five years. To apply for a diversity visa, follow the steps on the Diversity Visa Process on us visas state gov from the below Guide.