Find Out What You Need To Know To Register
It is THAT time of the year (October 5th - November 7th) when you can apply for the Green Card Lottery in the United States. Every year, 55,000 foreign nationals are randomly selected to live in the United States legally. It does not cost anything to apply to this lottery. It only takes a little bit of your time. This article will aid you in applying for the Green Card Lottery and, hopefully, answer any questions that you have about the process.
It is important to note that you do need to apply before the deadline of November 8, 2023 which is rapidly approaching. In March of 2024, a random computerized lottery is conducted to select the 55,000 new American citizens and in May of 2024, you can check online to see if you were selected. Applicants who are applying from October 5th to November 8th of 2023 and are selected may enter the United States of America at any time in the year 2025.
You do need to meet 2 requirements to sign up for the United States of America Green Card Lottery. They are as follows:
Requirement 1 - You must be a native of a country with historically low immigration rates to the United States. The counties that can apply include the following:
ASIA
Afghanistan
Bahrain
Bhutan
Brunei
Burma
Cambodia
Indonesia
Iran
Iraq
Israel*
Japan***
Jordan*
Kuwait
Laos
Lebanon
Malaysia
Maldives
Mongolia
Nepal
North Korea
Oman
Qatar
Saudi Arabia
Singapore
Sri Lanka
Syria*
Taiwan**
Thailand
Timor-Leste
United Arab Emirates
Yemen
*Persons born in the areas administered prior to June 1967 by Israel, Jordan, Syria, and Egypt are chargeable, respectively, to Israel, Jordan, Syria, and Egypt. Persons born in the Gaza Strip are chargeable to Egypt; persons born in the West Bank are chargeable to Jordan; persons born in the Golan Heights are chargeable to Syria.
** Macau S.A.R. (Europe region, chargeable to Portugal) and Taiwan (Asia region) do qualify and are listed. For the diversity program only, persons born in Macau S.A.R. derive eligibility from Portugal.
***Persons born in the Habomai Islands, Shikotan, Kunashiri, and Etorofu are chargeable to Japan. Persons born in Southern Sakhalin are chargeable to Russia.
Natives of the following Asia Region countries are not eligible for this year’s Diversity Visa program:
Bangladesh, China (including Hong Kong), India, Pakistan, South Korea, Philippines, and Vietnam.
EUROPE
Albania
Andorra
Armenia
Austria
Azerbaijan
Belarus
Belgium
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bulgaria
Croatia
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Denmark (including components and dependent areas overseas)
Estonia
Finland
France (including components and
dependent areas overseas)
Georgia
Germany
Greece
Hungary
Iceland
Ireland
Italy
Kazakhstan
Kosovo
Kyrgyzstan
Latvia
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Macau Special Administrative Region**
North Macedonia
Malta
Moldova
Monaco
Montenegro
Netherlands (including components and dependent areas overseas)
Northern Ireland***
Norway (including components and
dependent areas overseas)
Poland
Portugal (including components and dependent areas overseas)
Romania
Russia****
San Marino
Serbia
Slovakia
Slovenia
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Tajikistan
Turkey
Turkmenistan
Ukraine
Uzbekistan
Vatican City
** Macau S.A.R. does qualify and is listed above and for the diversity program only; persons born in Macau S.A.R. derive eligibility from Portugal.
***For purposes of the diversity program only, Northern Ireland is treated separately. Northern Ireland does qualify and is listed among the qualifying areas.
**** Persons born in the Habomai Islands, Shikotan, Kunashiri, and Etorofu are chargeable to Japan. Persons born in Southern Sakhalin are chargeable to Russia.
Natives of the following European countries are not eligible for this year’s DV program: Great Britain (United Kingdom). Great Britain (United Kingdom) includes the following dependent areas: Anguilla, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, British Indian Ocean Territory, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, Montserrat, Pitcairn, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, St. Helena, and Turks and Caicos Islands.
NORTH AMERICA
Bahamas, The
In North America, natives of Canada and Mexico are not eligible for this year’s DV program.
OCEANIA
Australia (including components and
dependent areas overseas)
Fiji
Kiribati
Marshall Islands
Micronesia, Federated States of
Nauru
New Zealand (including components and
dependent areas overseas)
Palau
Papua New Guinea
Samoa
Solomon Islands
Tonga
Tuvalu
Vanuatu
SOUTH AMERICA, CENTRAL AMERICA, AND THE CARIBBEAN
Antigua and Barbuda
Argentina
Barbados
Belize
Bolivia
Chile
Costa Rica
Cuba
Dominica
Ecuador
Grenada
Guatemala
Guyana
Nicaragua
Panama
Paraguay
Peru
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Saint Lucia
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Suriname
Trinidad and Tobago
Uruguay
Countries in this region whose natives are not eligible for this year’s DV program:
Brazil, Colombia, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, and Venezuela.
Exceptions To Requirement 1
If your country was not listed above, please don’t sweat it. There are two other ways you may be able to apply to the Green Card Lottery. Number One - If your spouse is a native of a country with a historically low rate of immigration, you can go ahead and use your spouse’s country of birth. However, this is provided your spouse would be on your application and moving to the United States with you as well. Number Two - You may also claim the country of birth of one of your parents. So if the country you are native to does not meet the requirements above, you may select a country that your parents were residents of or born in at the time of your birth.
Requirement 2 - Each applicant must meet certain education or work experience requirements.
You must have at least a high school education or equivalent. This is considered the successful completion of a 12-year formal elementary and secondary education.
OR
You must have at least 2 years of work experience within the past 5 years in an occupation that requires at least 2 years of training or experience to perform. You can click HERE to determine if your work experience will qualify you for the application.
To start your application and begin your entry form for the Diversity Immigrant Visa click HERE!
For detailed instructions on how to fill out your entry form in English click HERE. Answers to frequently asked questions about the application process are also found on this page as well.
For detailed instructions on how to fill out your entry form in Spanish click HERE. Answers to frequently asked questions about the application process are also found on this page as well.
I wish good luck to everyone who is applying to the program. Just a reminder that if you do get entrance into the program, the United States will not notify you. You need to check your entrance status online in May of 2024 to see if you have been accepted. The same website that you used to submit your application above is the same site that you can check to see if you have officially won the Green Card Lottery. Hopefully, this will make your application process slightly less difficult and your hope of having the “American Dream” more of a reality.
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