FREQUANT ASKED QUESTIONS
- What is a Green Card?
- What is the Green Card Lottery?
- How many Visas are available?
- What countries can participate?
- Why does my country not qualify?
- What requirements must be met to apply for the Lottery?
- When do I register?
- Who must submit a photograph?
- What type of photograph must be submitted?
- What specifications must I conform to with the photograph?
- Which children do I include in my application?
- How many applications can I submit?
- How do I know the status of my application?
- Will participation in the lottery affect the status of my visa petition?
- How will I know if I win?
- If I do not win will I be notified?
- Why should I use TakeGreenCard.com Services?
- Who can take part in the Green Card Lottery or DV Lottery?
- Is there a minimum age requirement for Green Card Lottery participation?
- What are the advantages of using TakeGreenCard.com to sign up to the Green Card Lottery or DV Lottery?
- Can a husband and wife file A US Diversity Visa application separately?
- Does the US State Department get Applications all the year round?
- Does participation using the on-line system ensure winning or increase the chances of getting an immigration visa through the DV program?
- What can I do if I was born in a country that does not appear on the list of countries qualifying for US Diversity Visa Program?
A Green Card is a US permanent resident visa which allows you to live and work permanently and legally in the United States. Green Card holders may leave the United States freely and may later apply for United States citizenship, but cannot vote.
2. What is the Green Card Lottery?top
The Green Card Lottery is officially known as the "Diversity Immigrant Visa Lottery Program" and is administered by the US Department of State. The purpose of the program is to increase the diversity of the United States with applicants from certain countries.
3. How many Visas are available?top
After past reductions, the Diversity Lottery Program now make available 50,000 permanent resident visas each year to eligible persons from low admission countries.
4. What countries can participate?top
Persons from ALL COUNTRIES OF THE WORLD ARE ELIGIBLE to participate in the Green Card Lottery, EXCEPT persons born in the following countries: CANADA, CHINA (mainland, except Hong Kong SAR, Macau SAR, and Taiwan), COLOMBIA, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, EL SALVADOR, GREAT BRITAIN (and its dependent territories*, except Northern Ireland), HAITI, INDIA, JAMAICA, MEXICO, PAKISTAN, PHILIPPINES, RUSSIA, SOUTH KOREA and VIETNAM. *The following dependent areas of Great Britain are not eligible to participate in the Lottery: Anguila, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, Montserrat, Pitcairn, St. Helena, Turks and Caicos Islands.
5. Why does my country not qualify?top
Diversity visas are intended to provide an immigration opportunity for persons from countries other than the countries that send large numbers of immigrants to the United States. The law states that no diversity visas shall be provided for high admission countries. Those are countries from which during the previous 5 years there were more than 50,000 immigrants in the Family-Sponsored and Employment-Based visa categories.
6. What requirements must be met to apply for the Lottery?top
There is no minimum age to apply, but the education or training requirements effectively disqualifies most people under the age of 18 from participating. The applicant must have either a high school education or its equivalent, defined in the US as successful completion of a 12-year course of elementary and secondary education OR 2 years of work experience within the past 5 years in an occupation requiring at least 2 years of training or experience to perform.
Properly formatted entry forms must be received by the US Government during a 2-month application submission period.
8. Who must submit a photograph?top
All applications must include recent photographs of the applicant and his/her spouse and each child under 21 years of age, including all natural children as well as all legally-adopted and stepchildren, unless a child is already a U.S. citizen or a Legal Permanent Resident. If a spouse or child no longer resides with the applicant or is not intended to immigrate under the DV program, a photograph must be submitted.
9. What type of photograph must be submitted?top
Either a digital photograph or a scan of a photographic print with a digital scanner.
10. What specifications must I conform to with the photograph?top
The person being photographed must be directly facing the camera. The head of the person should not be tilted up, down, or to the side and the head must cover about 50% of the area of the photograph.
The photo should be taken with the person being photographed in front of a neutral, light-colored background. A photo taken with very dark or patterned, busy backgrounds will not be accepted.
The photo must have the person's face in focus.
The person in the photograph must not wear sunglasses or other objects that detract from the face.
A photograph with the person wearing a head covering or a hat are only acceptable if it is worn specifically due to that person's religious beliefs, and even then, the hat or covering cannot obscure any portion of the face. A photograph of a person in military, airline, or other headgear not specifically religious in nature will not be accepted.
Do not send group or family photos. A separate photo is required for every family member.
11. Which children do I include in my application?top
On your Green Card Lottery application you must include all unmarried children who are under the age of 21. List all natural children, spouse’s children from a previous marriage, and adopted children.
12. How many applications can I submit?top
An individual is allowed only one application per year. You will be automatically disqualified if you submit more than one application. However, a husband and wife may each submit separate applications.
13. How do I know the status of my application?top
After completing your application online, you will be provided with a user name and password that you can use to login to your account. You will be able to view your application details and check the status of your application online.
14. Will participation in the lottery affect the status of my visa petition?top
Entering the Lottery does not adversely affect current or past petitions and does not jeopardize your current US visa status.
15. How will I know if I win?top
Applicants whose applications are randomly selected from among all qualified entries will be notified by the USA Government only. This notification normally occurs within 6 months of the close of the Lottery program.
16. If I do not win will I be notified?top
NO. The USA Government only sends notifications to the winners six months after the close of the lottery program.
17. Why should I use TakeGreenCard.com Services?top
These applications can become very confusing to fill out and very difficult to understand. Let us do the work for you to give you that opportunity to become a United States Citizen. Every year millions of applications are denied because applications contain errors or omissions. Furthermore, applications arrive too early or too late often due to foreign countries delaying the mail or just getting lost. Let us review your application and notify you if there are errors that must be corrected. We will update you with any changes made to the lottery by the United States Government. With our services, we guarantee your application will qualify for the Lottery and be submitted on time.
18. Who can take part in the Green Card Lottery or DV Lottery?top
To take part in the Green Card Lottery USA or DV Lottery USA you need to have a citizenship of a country that is eligible, and have an education or job that complies with the Green Card Lottery requirements.
19. Is there a minimum age requirement for Green Card Lottery participation?top
To submit a Green Card Lottery application or DV Lottery Application, the applicant must have at least a high school diploma, or its equivalent, or two years of work practice in an occupation where it is necessary to have two years training or more. It is important to know that children, who do not have a high school diploma, can still apply through their parent. Please note that Green Card USA or USA DV Lottery applicants are currently obligated to supply, in the Electronic Diversity Visa Entry Form (E-DV Entry Form) information such as the their highest level of education achieved?
20. What are the advantages of using TakeGreenCard.com to sign up to the Green Card Lottery or DV Lottery?top
Applying to the USA Green Card Lottery with TakeGreenCard.com service helps to make the process easier and simpler. In addition we will go over your Green Card Lottery application or DV lottery application and make sure that it doesnt include any mistake that can get you disqualified.
21. Can a husband and wife file A US Diversity Visa application separately?top
Absolutely. It’s enough for one to meet the requirements, to submit two separate applications. If one of the two will be selected in the program, the other spouse will be eligible for an immigration visa too.
22. Does the US State Department get Applications all the year round?top
No, the US State Department receives applications for the USDiversity Visa Program during a specified time period. But you do not need to worry about the submission period. Using the TakeGreenCard.com services we will ensure your application is submitted on time.
23. Does participation using the on-line system ensure winning or increase the chances of getting an immigration visa through the DV program? top
No. The service and the online system is designed to assist you in preparing the application, helping people with no scanner to scan their photos, ensures that the application is submitted online to the dedicated State Department website at the submission period and more. The use of the TakeGreenCard.com services is at your discretion. The service confirms that you meet the minimum requirements; that the information on the application is complete. The objective of the service is to reduce the number of disqualified applications (in a previous year, 3 million forms were disqualified out of 10 million forms that were sent, due to format and details errors). You must remember that only online submissions will be made possible in a dedicated State Department website - no offline forms and/or applications are required.
24. What can I do if I was born in a country that does not appear on the list of countries qualifying for US Diversity Visa Program? top
In such a case, you can participate by presenting a country of a different citizenship than the one you were born in. This is possible if your spouse or both of your parents were born in a country that appears on the list of qualifying countries.