Every year, 50,000 people from dozens of nations all over the world win lawful permanent residence (LPR) in the U.S. through a green card lottery. LPR means you can live and work in this country indefinitely. But this path to residency is only available to those from countries with a low rate of citizens who immigrate to America.
Also called the Diversity Visa Program, the green card lottery is open to people who meet certain requirements. Even if they win, they still have to produce the necessary documentation to obtain residency.
Today, no card or form associated with LPR is actually green; the term "green card" came into use in 1951, when legal immigrants were first issued a card of that color.
Until 1997, there were 55,000 green card lottery winners, but now 5,000 of them are distributed by another government program called the Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act (NACARA).
Green Card Lottery Requirements
To achieve green card lottery eligibility, immigrants must meet the following requirements:
- Be a native of an approved country, be married to a native (who must meet all other requirements) or be the child of a parent from an eligible nation
- Have a high school education (GEDs not accepted) or two years’ employment in during the past five years in a field requiring two years’ training or experience
Applicants can already be living in the U.S. or apply from outside the country. Spouses and unmarried children younger than 21 can immigrate with lottery winners who get a green card.
How the Green Card Lottery Works
Registration for the green card lottery must be done online. No paper or walk-in options are available. The lottery is only open for a 60-day period beginning every year in October. Toward the end of the application period, increased website visitation may make the process more difficult, so it's advisable to register as early as possible.
Submissions must include photographs of the applicant, his or her spouse and any unmarried children under 21 even if they do not live with the applicant and do not plan to immigrate. The instructions are very specific about the technical aspects as well as other details of the photographs; for example, a picture of someone wearing sunglasses is not permitted.
Selection is made through a computer-generated random drawing. The winners are selected out of six regions around the globe with only 7% of green cards going to any one country. Only people originating from countries who’ve sent fewer than 50,000 immigrants to the U.S. in the past five years are eligible.
Keeping Up with Your Green Card Lottery Application
Over 9 million qualified applicants entered the 2009 green card lottery. About 99,600 people were selected to take the next step: applying for a diversity immigrant visa which can be exchanged for a green card. Using those numbers, it’s possible to calculate that those who meet the requirements have about a 1% chance of winning.
Notice that twice as many names are drawn as there are green cards. That's because many people turn out to be ineligible or they decide not to apply. Because there are not enough visas available for all winners, those who are chosen should apply as soon as they find out.
Winners are notified by U.S. mail about five to nine months after their application, between May and July of the next year. Applicants are notified only if selected. The government will begin issuing visas a year after registration and continue to do so for one year.
Applicants can keep up with their status during the process using information provided on their confirmation page once registration is complete. This is the only time the information is available, so applicants should print the page or write down the information as soon as they’re done.
Green Card Lottery Scams
An online search for green card lottery registration sites yields dozens of companies -- but not all are legitimate. Applicants should use the official U.S. State Department website or thoroughly investigate any others under consideration. The U.S. government does not endorse or oversee any site but its own.
The State Department charges no fee to download and submit an application. Non-government sites charge for their support and advice.
Some applicants decide to pay a private service to help them with the process. Others consult an attorney. Some shady websites claim -- fraudently -- to be connected with the government. A company may be fraudulent if it does any of the following:
- Charges a fee just to download and complete the form
- Asserts that all its applicants have won
- Claims it can increase your chances of winning
- Says it's OK to apply more than once. Registering twice disqualifies an applicant.
Other counterfeit sites may provide older forms no longer in use. Applying with an out-of-date form could also mean disqualification from the green card lottery.
Related Green Card Lottery Resources
About.com Immigration Chances of Winning [1] About.com Immigration Countries Excluded [2] About.com Immigration Green Card FAQ [3] About.com Job Search Green Card Lottery [4] About.com Immigration Is There a Fee? [5] About.com Immigration Need Lawyer? [6] About.com Immigration Random Drawing [7] About.com Immigration What Is It? [8] About.com Immigration What’s New? [9] About.com Immigration When to Apply [10] About.com Immigration Winners [11] Crimes of Persuasion Green Card Fraud [12] Fraud Aid Spotting Counterfeit Services [13] New York Public Library Green Card Lottery [14] O*net Qualifying job experience [15] U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services Diversity Visa Program [16] U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services Fraud [17] U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services Warning [18] U.S. Immigration Support Registration Site [19] U.S. State Department Green Card Lottery Official Registration [20] U.S. State Department Green Card Lottery Information [21] WorkPermit.com [22]