ABOUT THE GREEN CARD LOTTERY

What Is a Green Card?

Originally called a Form I-151, it was renamed to a “Form I-551 Permanent Resident Card” in December 1998. It became known as a “green card” because the card was initially green in color. Today, it features your photograph, fingerprints, a security hologram, CIS “A” number, and a CIS expiration date on a white background.

Of course, you can also obtain a green card through a U.S. employer, or under certain circumstances, by being a qualifying family member of a U.S. citizen or Lawful Permanent Resident. There are other visas too, such as those for alien “entrepreneurs”, those seeking asylum or amnesty, and “special immigration” categories such as being in the clergy of a recognized religious denomination.

What is the Green Card (Diversity Visa) Lottery?

The U.S. Department of State operates a random computer drawing for those of you who wish to enter the USA to take up residence, seek employment, study, conduct business, invest, retire, or join family members already in the United States. As the “diversity” name implies, the program was established to increase the numbers of immigrants entering the U.S. from underrepresented countries. This special visa is reserved for immigrants born in countries that have very few immigrants entering the United States. Specifically, if a country has had more than 50,000 immigrants to the U.S. in the last five years, then those countries are ineligible for the lottery.

Although the terms “diversity visa lottery”, “visa lottery”, and the “green card lottery” are used interchangeably here, the U.S. government program officially refers to this program as the “diversity visa lottery.”

The visa lottery is for anyone who wants to become a U.S. permanent resident. This includes temporary employees, students, business people, visitors, and others who are already in the U.S.

The visa lottery is for anyone who wants to become a U.S. permanent resident. This includes temporary employees, students, business people, visitors, and others who are already in the U.S. Winning the diversity visa lottery just gives you an opportunity to receive U.S. permanent residency, provided you follow and meet the requirements described in this book.

How It Began

The system originated in 1986 with several temporary lottery programs created to help balance the burgeoning immigrant populations from Asia and Latin America. In 1995, a permanent diversity visa lottery system was established, awarding 55,000 visas to lottery winners. Over the last decade, the U.S. Congress increased this figure to as many as 95,000 visas and then reduced it to 50,000.

In 1997, the U.S. Congress passed the Nicaraguan and Central American Relief Act (NACARA), which set aside an additional 5,000 visas solely for beneficiaries of this program.
Today’s Lottery System

Counting NACARA, the number of diversity visas is currently 55,000 per year. However, for the However, for the purposes of this book, we will always use the 50,000 figure since 5,000 visas are reserved for NACARA.

The visas are divided between six geographical world regions. No more than 7% (or 3,500) of the 50,000 visas go to immigrants born in any single country. As we will discuss next, there are actually twice as many “winners” initially selected as there are visas granted.

How Many Diversity Visa Winners Are There Each Year?

There are 50,000 visas available under the Diversity Visa Program. However, 100,000 primary applicants are selected as winners. Therefore, twice as many winners are selected as there are visas available. This is because, historically, about half of those selected change their mind or fail to qualify due to problems with their application.

Also, note that each person in your family gets one of the 50,000 available visas, even if there is only one “winner” per family. On average, each lottery winner uses three to five additional visas.

What The “DV ” Name Means

Today’s diversity visa lottery system is sometimes referred to as the “Schumer visa lottery”, named after U.S. Congressman Charles Schumer, its chief sponsor. It became identified with the “DV ” (Diversity Visa) symbol followed by the U.S. Government fiscal year in which the visas are finally awarded.

When Can I Apply?

The lottery is only open for electronic registration during a 60-day period. Be advised that the specific dates change every year. For example:

• For calendar year 2006 (DV-2008) the registration dates ran from noon Wednesday, October 4, 2006 to Sunday, December 3, 2006.
• For calendar year 2007 (DV-2009) the registration dates ran from noon Wednesday, October 3, 2007 to Sunday, December 2, 2007.
• For calendar year 2008 (DV-2010) the registration dates ran from noon Thursday, October 2, 2008 to Monday, December 1, 2008.
• The registration dates for the 2009 lottery (DV-2011) were from noon Friday, October 2, 2009 to noon Monday, November 30, 2009.

Where Can I Get Complete Information?

Marybeth Rael and J. Stephen Wilson authored the first book dedicated to the green card lottery. Now in its sixth edition,  Win the Green Card Lottery! is now available in paperback at Amazon.com and in ebook (PDF) format for download here in our Shopping Cart. The full Table of Contents is available at myGreencard.com. The official instructions from the U.S. State Department are on our FREE Immigration Reports page.

Edited by Michael C. Cruse, Esq., Immigration Attorney, Win the Green Card Lottery! outlines the entire procedure from entering the green card lottery to obtaining a permanent resident visa. This 184-page booklet has been completely updated with new screenshots of the registration process, tips for entrants, and a new section, "Protecting Yourself from Immigration Fraud". Our booklet also includes the new photograph requirements, links to current sources of outside information and an entire chapter for lottery winners.