Winning a Green Card Through the Diversity Visa Lottery

A green card lottery was created by the Immigration Act of 1990 to benefit people from countries that in recent years have sent the fewest numbers of immigrants to the United States. You can enter the lottery if you are a native of one of those countries and meet certain other requirements. Because the winners are selected through a random drawing, the program is popularly known as the green card lottery. Its official name is the Diversity Immigrant Visa Lottery.

This article will discuss who is eligible to enter the diversity visa lottery, how to register for this annual drawing, and what happens if your name is chosen.

Who Qualifies for the Visa Lottery?

There are 50,000 lottery slots made available each year. They are chosen by dividing the world into regions and allocating no more than 7% of the total green cards to each region.

If someone is both chosen in the lottery and manages to get through the application process described below, their spouse and children (under age 21 and unmarried) can apply for U.S. lawful permanent residence along with them.

Lottery Eligibility Based on Country of Birth

People from most countries are eligible for the lottery. The only countries not qualified for the lottery with the application period called DV-2023, which began at noon on October 5, 2022 and ended noon on November 8, 2022, were:

• Bangladesh
• Brazil
• Canada
• China (including Hong Kong SAR)
• Colombia
• Dominican Republic
• El Salvador
• Haiti
• Honduras
• India
• Jamaica
• Mexico
• Nigeria
• Pakistan
• Philippines
• South Korea
• United Kingdom (except Northern Ireland) and its dependent
  territories
• Venezuela, and
• Vietnam.

People from countries other than those on the list above could submit a registration.

Different qualifying countries are selected each year, based on which nations—and which areas of the world—sent the fewest numbers of immigrants to the U.S. during the previous five years, in proportion to the size of their populations.

Lottery applicants should make sure that they can actually claim what the law describes as "nativity" in an eligible country. Living in a country is not enough. Nativity is usually based on having been born in the country.

Born in an Ineligible Country? You Might Be Able to Apply Based on Spouse or Parent's Native Country

If you are a native of one of the ineligible countries, there are a couple of ways to get around this and become eligible to apply:

• If your spouse was born in an eligible country, you can claim your spouse's country of birth for lottery purposes. However, your spouse must be eligible for and receive a visa to accompany you to the U.S. (a "DV-2" visa) and must actually enter the U.S. with you.
• If neither of your parents was born in your native country or made a home there at the time of your birth, you may be able to claim nativity in one of your parents' countries of birth.

Proving Employability in the U.S.

In addition, to qualify for the lottery, applicants from qualifying countries must have either:

• a high school diploma or its equivalent (meaning a 12-year course of elementary and secondary education), or
• a minimum of two years' experience (within the last five years) in a job that normally requires at least two years of training or experience.

U.S. job offers are not necessary. But lottery winners will need to be able to prove that they'll be able to support themselves financially in the United States.

How Do You Apply (Register) for the Visa Lottery?

If you're from a qualifying country and you meet the other eligibility criteria, you can submit an entry during the open registration period—but only one per year. People who try to apply more than once will be have all their lottery visa applications tossed out of the running.

However, your spouse of other qualifying members of a family may apply, and potentially bring you along if they win. See Beating the Odds: Increase the Chances for You and Your Family to Win the Diversity Visa Lottery.

All applicants must submit their applications via the State Department's website and attach digital photos, one of themself and one of each of their dependents (husband or wife and children).

There is no fee for this initial registration; so watch out for websites and consultants who claim that there is, or who charge you a lot of money for supposed "special" inside help. The entry form itself is fairly simple, and the help you're most likely to need is simply dealing with the Internet and digital photo requirement, which any computer-smart friend might be able to offer.

Registrations submitted one year are NOT held over to the next. So, if you are not selected one year, you need to reregister the next year in order to be considered.

There is a new registration period every year, usually in autumn. Applicants get a confirmation number at the end of the online entry process.

Print the confirmation screen or otherwise save your confirmation number. Applicants can check the State Department website, using the confirmation number, to find out whether they have won. For what's known as DV-2024, you can check beginning on May 6, 2023 and ending September 30, 2024.

Applicants will not receive any notification, but will have to check the State Department website at www.dvprogram.state.gov. Do so as early as you can.

What Happens If You 'Win' the Visa Lottery?

Unfortunately, winning the lottery doesn't guarantee you or your family a green card. For one thing, the U.S. government always declares more winners than there are green cards. That means if you don't follow up quickly or receive your interview on time, the supply of green cards could run out. And most of the hard work lies ahead, in terms of filling out application forms, gathering documents, and scheduling an interview.

Exactly what procedures you'll need to follow after winning depends on where you live. If you're outside the U.S., the nearest U.S. consulate will advise you when it's time to take the next steps in submitting your application. If you're living in the U.S., see Won the Diversity Visa Lottery and Living in the U.S.? Where to Process Your Green Card for information on the process known as "adjustment of status," which involves applying to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

The potential for delay in either of these processes is serious. Both the State Department and USCIS are often so backed up that months go by with no action, causing you to miss your opportunity altogether. That doesn't even take into account more unique problems, such as the travel bans caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

If chosen in the diversity visa lottery, you should hire an experienced immigration attorney to help you.

You must also show that you are not otherwise "inadmissible" to the United States. For example, if you have been arrested for committing certain crimes, are considered a security risk, or are afflicted with certain physical or mental illnesses, you may be prevented from receiving a green card. Also, you must prove that you'll be able to support yourself financially in the U.S. (will not likely become a "public charge"). This can be a huge challenge for lottery winners.

(For more, see Inadmissibility: When the U.S. Can Keep You Out.)

Where to Go for More Help

Complete instructions on how to apply for the lottery are on the State Department website. Check it regularly to find out about the latest lottery.

And for detailed information to help you understand all the requirements for getting a green card, see articles on Diversity Visa Lottery Green Cards, and the book How to Get a Green Card, by Ilona Bray (Nolo).