Green Card Lottery - Diversity Visa: Diversity Visa Program Information

The Green Card Lottery - Diversity Visa, also known as the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program, is an excellent opportunity for individuals from certain countries to gain lawful permanent residence in the United States. The U.S. Department of State administers the program and offers 50,000 visas each year to people from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States. If you are interested in learning more about this program, read on for all the information you need.

USA Immigration Jan 17, 2023 0 3853 Add to Reading List

Green Card Lottery - Diversity Visa: Diversity Visa Program Information

Are you considering applying for the Green Card Lottery - Diversity Visa? This popular visa is a great way to permanently move to the United States and start a new life. This blog post will cover what you need to know about the Green Card Lottery - Diversity Visa, including who can apply, the application process, and more. So, let's dive in and learn more about the Green Card Lottery - Diversity Visa!

Meanwhile, Besides the non-immigrant and immigrant visas, there is an additional way to visit the US and move there permanently. This is through the Diversity Visa Lottery. The Diversity Visa allows people from countries with low rates of immigration to the US to be randomly selected and get permanent resident Status.

Overview of the Green Card Lottery

The Green Card Lottery, also known as the Diversity Visa, is a program run by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) that provides an opportunity for individuals from countries with historically low rates of immigration to the US to become permanent residents. The lottery is available to nationals of countries that have had fewer than 50,000 immigrants to the US in the past five years. Applicants must meet specific educational, work, or other criteria to qualify.

The lottery is open yearly, and applicants can apply online by submitting the online application form on the USCIS website. Applicants are then required to answer questions related to their eligibility and provide evidence of their identity and nationality. Applicants will then be entered into the lottery, and if they are chosen, they will be invited to apply for a permanent resident card (green card). The green card grants the holder permanent residence status in the US, allowing them to live and work legally in the country.

What is the Diversity Visa Program?

The Green Card Lottery is another name for the Diversity Visa (DV) Program. The reason for this is that applying for a US Green Card is like entering a lottery since there is a potential that you will be chosen at random.

People from nations with low levels of immigration to the US are eligible to apply for the DV Program. All six geographical zones are eligible to apply. Therefore the program is not restricted to a single continent or nation. The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) determines how many DV visas will be issued annually, even though a limited number of available keys exist. No of how many tickets are granted, USCIS must distribute them evenly and cannot give more than 7% of them to any nation.

The DV visa allows those who get it to move permanently to the US. If you are given the visa, you are considered a Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR) of the US. You can then live in any state, find a job, get a driver's license, and get married or have children in the US. After a certain period, you can also apply for US citizenship.

What are the requirements for the Diversity Visa?

To be eligible to apply for the Diversity Visa and move to the US permanently, applicants must fulfill a few requirements. The criteria are as follows:

You must be from one of the countries allowed to apply for the DV Program. The list of countries can be found here.
You must be at least 18 years old to apply as the head of the household. This means you can use it together if you are over 18 years old but have younger children.
You must have completed high school and have a high school diploma, or
You must have at least two years of work experience in the last five years in an occupation that falls into Job Zone 4 or 5 as per the US Department of Labor (DOL) requirements.

If you do not meet these criteria, you cannot apply for the DV Program, and if you use it, the Department of State will disqualify you.

Who is eligible to apply?

The Green Card Lottery - Diversity Visa is open to people from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States. To be eligible, you must meet specific criteria and have a valid passport from a qualifying country.

Applicants must have either a high school education or its equivalent, defined as the successful completion of a 12-year course of elementary and secondary education or two years of work experience within the past five years in an occupation requiring at least two years of training or experience.

Applicants must also pass a background check and medical exam before being approved for a green card.

Those who are not eligible include those from countries from which more than 50,000 immigrants have come to the United States during the past five years; certain family members of US citizens; those with multiple convictions for certain criminal offenses; those who have violated US immigration laws; and those with certain infectious diseases.

To apply for the Green Card Lottery - Diversity Visa, you must complete an online application that includes basic personal information such as name, address, date of birth, and country of origin. You will also be required to provide a copy of your passport and evidence of meeting the education/work experience requirements. Once you have completed the application, you must submit it before the designated deadline.

How to apply for the Diversity Visa?

There is a certain period each year when applications are accepted for the Diversity Visa. This period, which generally occurs around October or November, is over for the following two years. You are thus applying to obtain the visa and go to the US in 2023 if you submit your application during the 2021 timeframe.

The DV Program application process is relatively easy to follow. There is just one online application that includes questions about the applicant's history and personal data. This information includes names, birthdates, marital status, level of schooling, past jobs, and family background.

You may get the Green Card registration form here. You must submit your application as soon as the State Department announces accepting applications. This program is straightforward and cost-free. However, this implies that if you match the requirements, you must respond to a few questions and supply the necessary data.

You will receive a confirmation page with a specific confirmation number after applying. This number must be stored someplace and kept safe at all times. This number must be used to check your Status and, if chosen, to apply for the DV visa. If you misplace this confirmation number, the State Department won't provide it to you again, making it impossible for you to learn whether or not you were chosen.

Other ways to apply for Diversity Visa

Applying for the Green Card Lottery - Diversity Visa is a straightforward process. First, you will need to create an online profile with the Department of State that includes your contact information, birth date, place of birth, and passport photo. Once you have completed your profile, you will be asked to confirm your program eligibility and enter the lottery.

To enter the lottery, you must provide information about your education level, work experience, and any family members who might accompany you to the United States. You will also be required to certify that you meet all the program's eligibility requirements. After you submit your application, you will be assigned a confirmation number which you should keep for your records.

You can enter the lottery only during a specific period each year, and entries are accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. Therefore, double-check your information before submitting your application to avoid any mistakes or delays in processing. It is also important to remember that you will only be able to enter the lottery once per year and cannot re-enter or modify your application once it has been submitted.

The Department of State will then review the applications and randomly select winners through a computer-generated process. Those chosen in the lottery will receive their "green card" and be able to legally travel to and work in the United States. Good luck!

When will I find out whether I was chosen?

If you submit your application between October and November, you will learn your Status in May of the following year. Therefore, it will take the State Department 6 to 7 months to process your application and publicize the findings.

You must enter your confirmation number to check your Status on the DV lottery website. If you misplace the number, you won't be able to find out if you were chosen and may lose your chance to move to the US.

What happens if I am selected?

You can find out whether you were chosen by checking your Status. If so, you must begin the Diversity Lottery Visa application process. Under no circumstances should you make plans to sell your home, or car, quit your job, or book travel at this time. Being chosen in the lottery does not guarantee you a visa. If granted, you must go through the application procedure before making these preparations.

The steps to apply for the Diversity Visa are as follows:

Submit the visa application form

Submit a Form DS-260, Online Immigrant Visa Application online. You can access this form through your confirmation number. You must enter your confirmation number without zeros (if your number, for example, is 2018AF0000012345, you must enter '2018AF12345'). When you submit the form, you will get a confirmation page which you must save for later.

Compile the supporting documents

It would help if you were prepared with your supporting documentation when your interview is arranged. You must send the originals of all your documents, which must be in English. You must ensure that your translations are accurate and have them done by a certified translator. It's a good idea to carry duplicates of your documents just in case, even though the US Embassy will only need the originals. These papers comprise the following:

Original passport
Two Diversity visa photos per person of you and your family if you are applying together
Proof of your education and employment records
Birth certificates of you and your family
Court, prison, and police records
Marriage certificates or evidence of a divorce
Military records if you were in the military
Any additional documents that the US Embassy might require from you

Complete a medical examination

Anyone in the process of obtaining a US immigrant visa must undergo a thorough medical exam. This includes getting the necessary vaccines and filling out the medical forms. A licensed doctor must fill out these forms after your check-ups.

Attend the interview

The US Embassy will contact you to schedule the interview. You must attend the discussion at the scheduled date and time. At the interview, you must bring these documents:

Your Appointment Letter that you will get from the Diversity Visa website when you check your Status and find that you have been selected
Your Form DS-260 confirmation letter
Your passport and photographs
Your medical examination forms
Your supporting documents

During the interview, the consular officer will ask you several questions to determine whether you can receive the DV visa. They will make this decision when you complete the interview, or you will be notified after a few weeks.

What is the Diversity Visa Fees?

Although there are no application costs when you first apply for the Diversity Visa Lottery, you will need to pay one if you are chosen. The processing fee for the Diversity Visa is $330. Your visa application won't be processed if you fail to pay this cost. You will also have to pay additional charges to obtain and translate your supporting documentation.

What happens after I get the Diversity Visa?

When you get the Diversity Visa stamped on your passport, you can start making arrangements to move to the US. But first, you must purchase your tickets and pay the USCIS fee. The USCIS fee is $220; you must pay it only after receiving your visa.

When you travel to the US for the first time, US immigration will go through your documents. Therefore, you must ensure that you have all the necessary documents. US immigration officials have the right to deny entry into the US if they suspect you are not traveling legally or your records are incomplete.

After you move to the US, you must file Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, to USCIS. This form costs $1,140, which you must pay. When you pay this form, USCIS will mail your Green Card to your new address after a few weeks.

How to Avoid DV Lottery Scams?

Many people do not know the exact procedure for the diversity visa; scammers try to find ways to take advantage of that. For example, they pose as US government agencies, asking for money or personal information.

There is Only One Way to Apply for the DV Lottery

The US government has a system in place to apply for the DV lottery. There is only one website to apply to, the official Electronic Diversity Visa Lottery. This website will have a place people can use in October of each year.

After the deadline, the website does not accept any applications anymore. Instead, applicants can use the website to check their application status. Through that website, people will also know whether they were selected.

The DV Lottery Selection is Random

The DV lottery selection is random, according to repeated statements from the US government. It is a lottery because of this. The system chooses 55,000 people each year from among the numerous applications it receives. They then apply for a diversity visa. There isn't any other way to be selected.

Several websites promise to boost your chances of winning if you pay them. They'll get in touch with people and tell them they have a better solution. They assert that their techniques ensure selection. They will aid you if you only give them a charge.

You should not pay them any money or believe their statements since they are false. Even US government authorities cannot predict who will be chosen for a diversity visa. Since the selection is entirely arbitrary, you must wait until you see the announcement before checking your Status. If someone demands payment in exchange for increased odds of winning, report them for fraud to the police or ignore them.

Now, if someone from a random website contacts you to convince you there are other ways to apply, do not believe them. Many websites claim to be the official DV application website. But unless that website is https://dvlottery.state.gov/, they are trying to scam you.

Official US Government Websites and Emails End in .gov

There are specific websites and email addresses for the US government. Each one ends in.gov. No email addresses or websites belonging to the US government have an a.com or.org suffix.

Look at the address at the end of the webpage if it claims to be the official DV lottery website for applications. Do not heed their advice if it does not finish in.gov. They attempt to con you if they say their approach would help you get chosen, and their website ends in.com or.org.

Emails operate in the same way. Numerous people receive emails with false information regarding the DV lottery from unknown sources. Others get emails with information on the DV lottery's procedures. But most of the time, these con artists send letters to victims claiming they were chosen for the DV lottery. They demand money. However, the last part of their email addresses is not.gov.

If you see emails from addresses ending in these letters below, they are trying to scam you.

@kccdv.org
@greencard-org.com
@usafis-org.com
@usa-dv-gov.org
@diplomats.com
@usa.com
@usa-lottery-gov.org
@visa-gov-us.org
@post.com
@dv-state.com, etc.

As you can see, all these email addresses end in .org or .com, not in .gov. This means that the people behind them are scammers, and you should not believe anything they say. It is even better not to open or reply to these emails since they can contain viruses that infect your computer.

The US Government Does NOT Send Emails for the DV Lottery

After applications are submitted during October and November, the US State Department announces the selected winners around May. In past years, they have mailed letters to the winners, letting them know that they were set. In addition, anyone who has applied can check their Status online on the https://dvlottery.state.gov/ website.

When you apply, you get your application number which you must save. Then, when results are posted, you can enter that number and see whether you were selected.

The US State Department will not send you an email to tell you whether they selected you or not. You will be responsible for checking that. So if anyone sends you an email claiming that you got set, do not believe them.

If You Hire a Lawyer, Ask for Credentials

Many people do not have time to research the rules for the DV lottery or want to consult a professional. That is why they get a lawyer to discuss their eligibility and how to go about applying. But many lawyers say they are specialists in US visas. So before you hire someone and pay them, it is better to ask for their credentials.

It would be best if you asked to see their license since lawyers cannot practice without one. You can also ask for their business certificates or diplomas if you suspect something. Do not pay anyone who does not have a practice license since they are most likely scammers trying to profit from people applying for visas.

What to Do If You Are a Victim of Fraud?

You might not have known that there are so many ways that scammers can trick you into paying them. For example, they might pose as governmental agencies or visa experts promising you a Green Card to the US, which you might have been hoping to get. This leads you to fall into their trap and become a fraud victim. Unfortunately, there is not much you can do to track your money back since these scammers are skilled and know how to hide. But you can report them to the authorities.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) hosts a website system for internet fraud. Consumer protection agencies from 17 countries created the econsumer.gov website. It deals with fraud across many countries, and they have better capabilities to track scammers. You can also contact them through their phone number 1-877-382-4357 or go to ftc.gov/complaint.

You can also visit the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) website hosted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) or the US Department of Justice.

Conclusion

Applying for the Green Card Lottery - Diversity Visa is an essential step for those looking to become lawful permanent residents of the United States. Unfortunately, it can be a long and complicated process. Still, with the proper guidance, anyone can successfully apply for the Green Card Lottery - Diversity Visa and get one step closer to living the American dream. Good luck to all who decide to use it, and best wishes for a successful application.