This year’s Green Card Lottery program is called DV-2017. Applications for the year’s lottery program will be accepted between October 1, 2015 12:00 noon, EST and November 3, 2015 12:00 noon, EST. Those interested in taking part in this program will need to file their entries before November 3, 2015. Those who file their entries now and win the lottery will get their immigrant visas in 2017. If not, they will have to wait till next year to participate in the lottery again.
Green Card Lottery is the best and easiest way for those who do not have sponsors to help them immigrate and get permanent resident status in the U.S. However, winning the lottery alone is not enough to get a green card. Winners must also be eligible to immigrate to the U.S. and for immigrant visas.
The requirements for the DV lottery program are simple.
Requirement #1
One needs to belong to a country that is eligible to take part in Green Card Lottery. Though the lottery program is open to all individuals across all countries, there are some countries that are not eligible for the lottery program. That is because those countries have already sent more than 50,000 individuals from their countries to the U.S. The aim of DV lottery is to diversify America’s population. So the U.S. allows countries from where fewer people have immigrated to the U.S. to take part in the Green Card Lottery.
However, some who were born in an ineligible country may get a chance to apply for the lottery based on the country of birth of their parents or husband or wife.
A foreign national born in an ineligible country can apply for Green Card Lottery if his or her wife or husband was born in an eligible country. He or she can claim the country of birth of their wife or husband while filing their lottery application.
In case the applicant is single, or if his or her wife or husband also belongs to an ineligible country, they may claim the country of birth of their parents. This applies to those who were born in ineligible countries when their parents were there temporarily. If neither their father nor their mother was born in that DV lottery ineligible country, they can claim the countries of birth of their parents. Those countries must be on the list of eligible countries.
Requirement #2
DV lottery applicants must have completed high school education. This means, one must have completed a 12 year course of elementary and secondary education. Those who do not meet this requirement must have worked in one of the Green Card Lottery qualifying occupations for two years.
Individuals who met the above requirements can file their applications for DV-2017 now!