Every year the US Department of State runs a lottery that allows winners an opportunity to get a green card. The lottery particularly aims to give people from countries with a lower rate of immigration to the U.S. a chance to move to the US.
The lottery application period usually runs from the beginning of October to the beginning of November. You need to gather whatever is required before you start filling out the application because you only have 60 minutes to complete it. You need a digital photo for yourself and for every person who will be included in the application, such as your spouse or children.
You fill out the application online at the lottery website. The lottery website includes an online link which has more information about completing the application. You receive a confirmation number after you’ve completed the application. You need to keep this number to check on your application status.
To enter the lottery, you must be from an eligible country. Every year the State Department determines which countries are eligible. There are other requirements too. You must have a high school diploma or the equivalent and you must have worked for two years within the past five years at an occupation requiring at least two years of training.
The state department will not send you letters or phone you if you’ve been selected. Beware of scams! The lottery results will be posted on the lottery website.
What happens if you win? Adrien Lucas Ecoffet describes his experience as a winner in Forbes. He entered the lottery in October. In May, he received an email saying he’d won. Sort of. His email read:
“You have been randomly selected for further processing in the diversity immigrant Visa program for the fiscal year 2014 (October 1, 2013 to September 30th, 2014). Selection does not guarantee that you will receive a visa because the number of applicants selected is greater the number of visas available.”
The email says, “Selection does not guarantee that you will receive a visa” because the Department of State sends out notifications to 125,000 people when it only has 50,000 green cards available. This is based on the department’s best guess for the number of people they need to choose as winners in order to distribute the 50,000 available green cards. Many people turn out to be ineligible or can’t afford to live in the US. More than half of the 125,000 people will never complete their paperwork.
It all makes for a very slow process, though. Ecoffet was confident he would receive his green card eventually, but he estimated it would take a year and a half from the date he entered the lottery to actually receive the card.
The odds of getting a green card in the lottery are about one in 50, though this varies a lot depending on what country you’re from. However, if you’re interested in immigrating to the US, the green card lottery is well worth your time. If we can be of any assistance, give us a call.
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