GREENCARD FAQS
| 1: What is Green Card Lottery or Diversity Immigrant Visa Program? |
| 2: What is a Green Card? |
| 3: Why this year’s Green Card Lottery is called “DV-2009”? |
| 4: Where is the Diversity Lottery conducted this year? |
| 5: How many people apply for the Green Card Lottery each year? |
| 6: How many applicants win the Green Card lottery? |
| 7: Does the Department of State specify a minimum age to apply for the Green Card lottery? |
| 8: Would applying to DV-2009 affect my nonimmigrant visa petition? |
| 9: Are there any limitations on the number of entries I can send in for the lottery? |
| 10: Would I be eligible to participate if I am in the U.S. on H-1B? |
| 11: Can I reapply every year for the lottery to be considered? |
| 12: Can my spouse also submit an application? |
| 13: What are the odds of my being selected in the Green Card Lottery? |
| 14: Will there be any special fee to participate in the Green Card Lottery? |
| 15: Why do I need an Attorney to apply for the Green Card Lottery? |
| 1:What is Green Card Lottery or Diversity Immigrant Visa Program? |
| United States, in the year 1990, introduced a Visa Lottery program known as the “Diversity Visa” or “Green Card Lottery”. The purpose of the program was to promote diversity in the United States by giving citizens of other countries to obtain United States permanent resident visas or green cards. |
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| 2:What is a Green Card? |
| A green card allows lawful permanent residence in the United States. A Green Card holder has similar rights as a U.S. citizen with the exception that a Green Card holder cannot vote and hold certain positions in public and federal offices. |
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| 3:Why this year’s Green Card Lottery is called “DV-2009”? |
| This year’s Green Card Lottery Program is called DV-2009 because permanent residence visas under this program will be issued in fiscal year 2008, starting October 1, 2007. Application to this program is now open for all individuals worldwide. |
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| 4:Where is the Diversity Lottery conducted this year? |
| The Kentucky Consular center administers the lottery program for the year 2009. For DV-2009, the world is divided into six regions, and each region has a separate address. |
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| 5:How many people apply for the Green Card Lottery each year? |
| It is difficult to predict the number of people who would apply for the DV-2009. The U.S. Department of State received 8.7 million entries last year, of which the Department of State rejected over 2.5 million entries for not complying with the guidelines and regulations. Based on historical data, we anticipate that over 12 million people would send in their entries for the DV-2009. |
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| 6:How many applicants win the Green Card lottery? |
| By law, the Diversity Lottery Program makes available a maximum of 55,000 Green Cards each year to eligible persons. Nicaraguan and Central American Relief Act (NCARA) passed by Congress in November 1997 stipulates that 5,000 of the 55,000 annually-allocated diversity visas will be made available for use under the NCARA program. The actual reduction of the limit to 50,000 began with DV-2000 and remains in effect for the DV-2009 program. |
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| 7:Does the Department of State specify a minimum age to apply for the Green Card lottery? |
| The Department of State has not stated a minimum age for applications. However, the education and work experience criteria effectively disqualify applicants under 18 years of age. |
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| 8:Would applying to DV-2009 affect my nonimmigrant visa petition? |
| No. Filing a diversity visa lottery is equivalent to filing an immigrant petition. The applicant need not specify that he/she has applied for the lottery while applying for a nonimmigrant visa. |
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| 9:Are there any limitations on the number of entries I can send in for the lottery? |
| Yes. An individual can send only one application. If the Department of State finds out that the applicant has sent more than one entries in one year, the applicant is automatically disqualified. However, the applicant can apply for the Diversity Visa Lottery every year. |
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| 10:Would I be eligible to participate if I am in the U.S. on H-1B? |
| Yes. You would be eligible if you satisfy all the Green Card Lottery eligibility criteria. |
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| 11:Can I reapply every year for the lottery to be considered? |
| Yes. You can reapply every year as long as your country is eligible to participate in the diversity visa program. VisaPro offers you the service to save your data and send every year until you get selected. |
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| 12:Can my spouse also submit an application? |
| Yes, if your spouse is qualified, he/she can also submit a separate application. If either of you wins the lottery, the other is entitled to derivative status. You cannot, however, sign for each other, i.e., the husband must sign his application and the wife must sign hers. |
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| 13:What are the odds of my being selected in the Green Card Lottery? |
| Your winning chances cannot be accurately estimated at this time. However, submitting an incorrect or incomplete application has 0% chance of winning. With VisaPro, you can be assured that your application complies with the strict guidelines issued by the Department of State and therefore a definite chance of entering the lottery. |
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| 14:Will there be any special fee to participate in the Green Card Lottery? |
| There is no fee to participate in the Green Card Lottery Program. VisaPro charges a nominal fee to cover the professional expenses incurred to prepare and submit your application according to the U.S. Department of State guidelines and regulations. |
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| 15:Why do I need an Attorney to apply for the Green Card Lottery? |
| You do not require VisaPro’s services to participate in the Green Card Lottery. However, by using VisaPro Green Card Lottery’s Services, you ensure that your application will be prepared complying all Department of State regulations. Over 2.5 million applications (more than 25%) of the applications submitted last year were rejected for not being compliant with all the regulations laid down by the Department of State. |
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