Getting a Green Card and The Diversity Immigrant Visa Program

Each year, the U.S. State Department (U.S. DOS)makes 50,000 visas available to visa applicants from countries with low rates of immigration to foster diversity in the U.S. The Diversity Immigrant Visa recipients are chosen using a lottery system, which you can enter each year through the U.S. Department of State. There is a yearly window of time in which you can apply   Please note that the diversity visa does not go through the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services office. If you receive a visa from the U.S. DOS, you are also eligible to apply for a change of status to permanent resident with the USCIS. While the USCIS does not process applicants to the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program, you must file the correct USCIS forms to get a green card.

To be eligible to be a Diversity Visa recipient, you must have at least a high school diploma or equivalent . If you do not have a high school education, you should have at least 2 years of work experience in a field that requires at least 2 years of training. You can find a list of qualifying work experience and answers to more questions with the U.S. Department of Labor’s website.

If you are eligible to apply for the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program, you can enter yourself in the lottery online during the allotted entry time. If the window for applying has closed, you must wait until the following year to apply for a DV visa. You will also be notified of the lottery results online.

Once you enter the Diversity Immigrant visa Program and your entrance has been confirmed, you should follow usual procedure for getting a visa. This will mean filing the necessary forms ( see the USCIS website for visa related forms), paying correct filing fees, undergoing a medical examination and submitting the documents with the results, and undergoing an interview at the U.S. Consulate or USCIS office near you.  You must also submit passport-style photographs of you, your spouse, and unmarried children 21 years old or younger.

Remember that you will be checking your application status on a secure State Department website. Take extra caution to keep your confirmation records. If lost, the U.S. DOS will not replace your information and you will be unable to check the status of the lottery.

There are currently fake acceptance letters and websites circulating to try to get applicants to pay money to a fraudulent source.  Do not reply or send money to any letters claiming to be about the Diversity Visa program if you have not checked your status on the U.S. DOS secure website for DV applicants. Check your status only on the site given to you be the U.S. State Department when you apply for your visa.

If you are chosen to receive a visa through the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program, you can apply for a permanent residence card as soon as a visa is available to you. In order to get a green card for permanent residence in the U.S., you need to have a visa available to you in order to travel legally. Do not apply for permanent residence before your visa becomes available. This may require a waiting period.

 If you have a DV visa, you can file for a change of status to permanent resident with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services . As long as there are not holds on your eligibility to be a permanent resident and you are admissible to the U.S., you can file your change of status as normal with the USCIS. You will need to provide proof of your acceptance to the DV program when changing your status.