What Is a Green Card?

A green card is the common name given to the plastic identity card issued by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services and is proof of your permanent resident status in the U.S. Obtaining your green card is the final step towards U.S. permanent residency.

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 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.

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.

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 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, together with the late Senator Ted Kennedy. 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 30- day period. The DV-2014 open registration will be approximately October 1, 2012 to November 1, 2012. The specific dates change each year. The calendar year 2011 lottery (DV-2013) is CLOSED.

Where Can I Get Complete Information?

Download our complete booklet by J. Stephen Wilson and Marybeth Rael. The ninth edition of Win the Green Card Lottery! is now available in our Shopping Cart.

The Table of Contents is available at myGreencard.com.

Edited by Austin E. Franklin, Immigration Attorney, the 2012 edition outlines the entire procedure from entering the green card lottery to obtaining a permanent resident visa. This NEW PDF booklet has been updated with new screen shots of the registration process, tips for entrants, and more. This new edition also includes the latest photograph requirements, links to current sources of outside information and three chapters devoted entirely to lottery winners. 

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