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USA Visa Lottery

1. What is the Green Card Lottery ?

The Diversity Immigrant Visa Lottery has been founded to give immigration opportunity to natives from countries other than the main source of immigration to the U.S.A. The U.S. government makes available 55,000 permanent residence visas each year through a computer-generated lottery drawing. A permanent residence visa is commonly referred to as Green Card. This visa class entitles the holder to live and work in the United States of America permanently. 

2. Who is eligible to compete in the program ?

Application to the U.S. Diversity Immigrant Visa Lottery is possible for all individuals regardless of age, residence or visa status .

 

Meeting the eligibility requirements:

1. Applicant must be native of a country determined eligible  by the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS)
AND (must comply with ONE of the following:
2.1 Applicant must have at least twelve years of education, equivalent to a U.S. High school education or
2.2 Applicant must have worked for at least two years in an occupation requiring at least two years of training or experience.
Proof of both eligibility requirements must not be submitted with the application but be presented to a consular officer IF an applicant has been selected and formally applies for a permanent residence visa.

3. List of countries NOT ELIGIBLE:

Canada, China (mainland born & Macau), Colombia, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Haiti, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Pakistan, Philippines, South Korea, U.K. & dependent territories and Vietnam. (Persons born in any country not in this list ARE eligible to apply).

4. How does the selection process work ?

Applicants are initially chosen through a random computer-generated lottery drawing. Visas are apportioned among six geographic regions (Europe, North-America, Asia, Africa, South-America incl.. Latin-America, and Oceania including Australia and New-Zealand) with a greater number of visas going to regions with lower rates of immigration and no visas going to countries sending more than 50,000 immigrants to the U.S. in the past five years.