Frequently Asked Questions
Table of Contents
- What is an American Green Card?
- What is the Green Card Lottery?
- Why this lottery is called DV-2002?
- How does the Visa Lottery work?
- Who is eligible to apply for the lottery?
- What are the education or work experience
requirements?
- Nationals of which countries are excluded?
- If you are not eligible by birth is there any
other way to enter the Diversity Program?
- How many applications I can submit?
- How long do you remain entitled to apply for
Visas in the DV-2002 category?
- Do you have to re-apply every year for the
lottery to be considered?
- Are both husbands and wives each able to
submit a separate application?
- How old should you be to apply for the lottery?
- If you reside in the USA are you still eligible to apply?
- Are there any different requirements in the
application procedure for this diversity visa registration compared to
previous lottery registrations?
- What is the fee for entering the lottery?
- When do I register?
- What number of applicants will be registered?
- How do the Visas get apportioned?
- Can registered applicants adjust their status
with the INS?
- Can green card lottery applicants apply for a
waiver on any of the grounds of visa ineligibility?
- Is it better to hand deliver or send the
application by Registered or certified mail?
- Can you still apply if you are already
registered for an immigrant visa in another Category?
- Where does the Lottery take place?
- If you win, how are you informed and what do you do?
What is an American Green Card?
An American ' Green Card' is a Permanent
Residence Visa of the U.S.A. Holders of a Green Card are given the legal right
to work and reside permanently in the United States. All Green Card
holders are entitled to receive health, education, and various other
benefit entitlements. As a Green Card winner, you can always apply for
U.S. Citizenship at a later date. Ownership of a Green Card does not affect your
present citizenship. Both you and your family could become winners if you don't
delay and apply today.
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What is the Green Card Lottery?
The United States has a program, called DIVERSITY
IMMIGRANT VISA LOTTERY (also known as GREEN CARD LOTTERY), making available each
year by random selection 50,000 permanent residence visas (GREEN CARDS) to
people from around the world. The programs objective is to issue Green
Cards to individuals born in countries which historically have low levels of
immigration to the United States.
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Why this lottery is called DV-2002?
This lottery is called "DV-2002"
because visas will be issued during the Fiscal Year 2002.
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How does the Visa Lottery work?
The Visa Lottery is run by the U.S. State
Department. To enter the lottery, you must complete and file an application with
the department. The registration period for the DV2002 lottery is
scheduled from October 2, 2000 to November 1, 2000. After the registration
period is over, the State Department will randomly select the
"winners" by computer. Entries that do not include all the
required information will be rejected.
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Who is eligible to apply for the lottery?
To apply, an applicant must be a native of an
eligible country, they must also fulfil one of two criteria
1) To have a high
school education or its equivalent; or
2) Two years of work experience
within the past five years in an occupation requiring at least two years of
training or experience. If an applicant does not fulfil these requirements, they
should not submit an entry to the Visa Lottery program.
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What are the education or work experience requirements?
The law and regulations require that every
applicant must fulfil one of two criteria :
1) To have a high school education or its
equivalent. A "high school education or equivalent" is defined as
successful completion of a twelve-year course of elementary and secondary
education in the United States or successful completion in another country of a
formal course of elementary and secondary education comparable to a high school
education in the United States. Documentary proof of education or work
experience should not be submitted with the lottery application, but must be
presented to the consular officer at the time of immigrant visa application
interview.
2) Or an applicant must have at least two years of work experience within the
past five years in an occupation requiring at least two years of training or
experience. Qualifying work experience shall be based upon the most
recent edition of the Dictionary of Occupational Titles published by the
Employment and Training Administration of the United States Department of Labor.
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Nationals of which countries are excluded?
Persons born in the following countries are not
eligible: China (mainland born and Macau), India, Pakistan, Philippines,
Vietnam, South Korea, the United Kingdom and its dependent territories (Northern
Ireland is eligible), Canada, Mexico, Haiti, Jamaica, El Salvador, Colombia, and
the Dominican Republic. Persons born in Hong Kong SAR, Taiwan, and Northern
Ireland are eligible to apply. Natives of all other countries not
mentioned above are eligible.
It is important to note that eligibility is based
on place of birth not residence or citizenship.
You may apply if you were born in a
non-qualifying country,
and one of the following applies to you:
- If you were born in an ineligible country but
your spouse was not, you can claim your spouse's country of birth
instead of your own.
- If you were born in a country where neither of
your parents were born or resided at the time, you may be able to claim one
of their countries.
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If you are not eligible by birth is there any
other way to enter the Diversity Program?
According to Section 202(b) of the Immigration
and Nationality Act, if a person was born in an ineligible country but his/her
spouse was born in an eligible country, such person can claim the spouse's
country of birth rather than his/her own. For example, a person born in an
excluded country such as Canada may still apply if his or her spouse was born in
a qualifying country.
Another option is that, if a person was born in
an ineligible country, but neither of his/her parents was born there or resided
there at the time of the birth, such person may be able to claim nativity in one
of the parents' country of birth. For example, if one of your parents was born
in Belgium and the other was born in Switzerland, and you were born in United
Kingdom while they were visiting the United Kingdom, but had not established
residency; you could claim Belgium or Switzerland as your qualifying country.
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How many applications I can submit?
Each individual is limited to one application
during each lottery. Submission of more than one application will disqualify the
person from registration. Submission of an application during one or more
previous lottery has no effect on entitlement to participate in the DV-2002
lottery, however.
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How long do you remain entitled to apply for
Visas in the DV-2002 category?
Under the law, persons registered following this
DV-2002 application period are entitled to apply for visa issuance ONLY DURING
FISCAL YEAR 2002. There is no carry-over of benefit into another year for
persons who are registered but who do not obtain visas during Fiscal Year-2002.
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Do you have to re-apply every year for the
lottery to be considered?
Yes. Your application will only be considered for
the year/application period which you filed for and it will not be carried over
for the following year.
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Are both husbands and wives each able to submit a
separate application?
A husband and wife may each submit a separate
lottery application. If you receive a Green Card through the lottery, your
spouse and unmarried children under 21 will also be entitled to get green cards
at the same time as you. Unmarried children under 21 (born after September 30,
1980) may also be included on each of their parents' application forms. All
children over 21 years of age (born after September 30, 1980) must file separate
applications. By submitting separate applications for you and your spouse you
are likely to double your chances of winning.
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How old should you be to apply for the lottery?
Providing you fulfil the current criteria, there
are no specific age requirements. Please take into account however, that
the requirement of a high school education or work experience for each
principal applicant, at the time of visa issuance effectively disqualifies most
prospective applicants who are under age 18.
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If you reside in the USA are you still eligible
to apply?
Yes, you are still eligible to apply. An
application can be sent in from within the US or any other country.
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Are there any different requirements in the
application procedure for this diversity visa registration compared to previous
lottery registrations?
There have been different requirements for DV
registration. Each application must be signed by the principal applicant, and a
recent photograph of the principal applicant must be attached to the
application. The applicant's name must be printed on the back of the
photograph. The signature and photograph of only the principal applicant/s
are required. No signature or photograph is needed for the spouse (unless
the spouse is making a separate application of their own) or child(ren) of a
principal applicant.
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What is the fee for entering the lottery?
The U.S. State Department does not have a fee to
enter the Visa Lottery. You can send your application on your own during the
one-month registration period.
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When do I register?
The registration period for the next Green Card
Lottery (DV2002) will be from October 2, 2000 to November 1, 2000.
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What number of applicants will be registered?
There are 50,000 DV visas available for Fiscal
Year 2002, but more than that number of individuals will be registered. A total
of about 110,000 persons, both principal applicants and their spouses and
children, will be registered. Since it is likely that some of the first 50,000
persons who are registered will not pursue their cases to visa issuance. All
applicants who are registered will be informed promptly of their place on the
list. Each month visas will be issued, according to registration lottery
rank order, to those applicants who are ready for visa issuance during that
month. Once all of the Fiscal Year 2002 visas have been issued, the program for
the year will end. Registered applicants who wish to receive visas must be
prepared to act promptly on their cases.
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How do the Visas get apportioned?
The way in which the visas get apportioned is
determined by the INS. They determine the DV regional limits for
each year according to a formula, as specified in Section 203(c) of the
Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). Once the Immigration and
Naturalization Service (INS) has completed the calculations, the DV-2002 the
regional visa limits will be announced.
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Can registered applicants adjust their status
with the INS?
Yes they can, provided they are otherwise
eligible to adjust their status under the terms of Section 245 of the
Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). Registered applicants who are
physically present in the United States may apply to the Immigration and
Naturalization Service (INS) for adjustment of status to permanent resident.
Applicants must ensure that the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) can
COMPLETE ACTION on their cases before September 30, 2002, since on that date
registrations for the Fiscal Year 2002 DV- 2002 program terminate.
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Can green card lottery applicants apply for a
waiver on any of the grounds of visa ineligibility?
No. All applicants are subject to all grounds of
ineligibility specified in the Immigration and Nationality act (INA) and there
are no special provisions for the waiver of any ground of visa ineligibility
other than those generally provided in the act.
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Is it better to hand deliver or send the
application by Registered or certified mail?
NO. Applications must be sent by regular mail or
air mail. Any applications submitted in a manner that requires special handling
WILL NOT be considered.
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Can you still apply if you are already registered
for an immigrant visa in another Category?
Yes, you can still apply under these conditions.
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Where does the Lottery take place?
The Lottery takes place at The US Consular
Center, Lexington.
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If you win, how are you informed and what do you
do?
From April 2001 the US Consular Center will notify thousands of people that
they have won the opportunity to apply for a permanent resident visa allowing
them to live and work in the U.S.A. Winners will be notified by mail during
April 2001 and will be provided further instructions. Applicants who have
not been selected will NOT be notified. U.S. embassies and consulates do
not provide a list of successful applicants. Anyone who does NOT receive a
letter will know that his/her application has not been selected.
DV-2002 visas will be issued between October 1, 2001 and September 30, 2002.
All applicants must meet the eligibility requirements under U.S. law in order to
be issued visas.
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