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The Curious Bag
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"Green card lottery" is the informal name for the lottery held each year under the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program. Its purpose is to make immigration visas available to qualified persons from countries that send relatively few immigrants to the United States.
Eligibility
Citizens of countries that have sent no more than 50,000 immigrants to the United States in the past five years are eligible to enter the lottery. Applicants need a high school education or two years' experience in a job that requires training or experience.
Availability
Each year the State Department issues a maximum of 55,000 visas to "diversity immigrants" under this program.
Registration
Eligible individuals must register electronically. The State Department does not accept paper entries. Registration is open for a limited time period each year.
How It Works
The State Department describes the process as a "computer-generated, random lottery drawing." The Department notifies successful applicants by mail between May and July of the year after the lottery.
Warning
The State Department warns applicants to avoid fraudulent websites that pretend to be government sites and charge a fee for filing the registration. The Department charges no fee for registering at its official site.
Source:
U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Public Affairs
U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs
Resource:
U.S. Department of State, Electronic Diversity Visa Lottery
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