The green card visa is administered by the U.S Citizenship and immigration Services (USCIS), it allows you to stay, work, marry, build and invest in the United States of America on a permanent basis.

They are four methods of getting a Visa into the United States of America namely;

• Family Visa
• Refugee Visa
• Employment Visa
• Diversity Lottery (Green card) Visa.

The diversity visa lottery most commonly known as the green card lottery was commissioned in 1995 as a program which offers an opportunity for Immigrants to automatically get into America, get full citizenship and enjoy all the benefits of an American citizen. The green card lottery is intended to diversify the population of people living in America; therefore, only Countries that are scarcely represented in the USA are eligible to apply.

As of 2018, an estimated 23 Million USA lottery visa application was received, but only a small amount of applicants are accepted because 55 thousand permanent residency cards are made available by the U.S government every year.

Applicants from the following continents are eligible to apply:

• Africa
• Europe
• Asia
• Oceania
• North America
• South America (Central America & the Caribbean)

There are two basic requirements needed to apply for the U.S diversity lottery visa:

The applicant must have gotten a secondary school education (high school).

Two years of work experience at a job which requires two years experience training program (to determine if your work experience meets the requirement, visit www.onetonline.org, and find your occupation category).

Fewer than 1% of the applicants are chosen, an automated system randomly chooses the winners, they are expected to submit the necessary documents, and go for an interview at the U.S embassy in their home country.

The key to getting approved is usually tied to perfect timing (early application) and adhering to the rules that govern applying for a U.S diversity visa. Lottery visa application starts every October and ends November 6th.

APPLYING FOR THE USA GREEN CARD LOTTERY VISA

ELIGIBILITY:

Only aspirants born in countries whose indigenes qualify for this visa are eligible to apply (A person born in Canada and lives in or outside Canada is not eligible for U.S visa lottery program).

Applicants from ineligible countries but have parents or spouse from an eligible country are allowed to apply provided that the applicant claims the birth country of either their spouse or parent (A Canadian who is married to a Ghanaian is eligible to apply by merely claiming the nationality of his spouse, Ghana).

APPLICATION:

Go to www.dvlottery.state.gov and select “begin entry”, and “authentication code” would display on your screen, input the code in the provided space and click “submit”.

Fill the “Entrant Information Form” and make sure every detail correctly corresponds to your documents (ensure to select an eligible country to avoid automatic disqualification and also indicate if you are using the country of your parent or spouse in the box provided).

Upload a recent and precise photograph of yourself (group photographs, blurry photographs, and edited photographs with filters or photoshop will be rejected).

Fill the “Derivatives Form” (this form should contain information about your spouse and living children under the age of 21) and also upload a recent passport photograph of your spouse. Go to www.egreencardphoto.com, upload your passport photograph and the system would automatically adjust your photograph to meet the requirements of the U.S government, download the readjusted photograph and upload in the space provided in the Visa application portal.

Review the information submitted and Print a copy for future references.

A “Submission Confirmation” page will pop up with confirmation that your entry to the Diversity Visa Program has been received and is being processed. Print this page and also take note of your “Confirmation Number” before closing the Window (this number will be needed to keep track of your application process and also find out if you have been selected to take part in the USA Diversity Lottery Program.

Applicants are to check their application status by May 5th (7 months after applying) to confirm if they have been accepted into the lottery program. Go to www.dvlottery.state.gov, scroll to the bottom and click “Check Status” and enter your “Confirmation Number” to verify if your entry has been selected.

Note:

Winning the green card lottery isn’t a guarantee that you have a green card; it grants you the chance to apply for one.

Applying for Diversity lottery visa is totally free.

Application is only online.

Immigrant Visa and Green Card are the same things, and they offer permanent residence to the holder.

Do not wear eyeglasses in your photographs.