Applying for a permanent visa through the Diversity Visa (DV) Lottery (more commonly known as the Green Card Lottery) is a 2-step process.

The first step is to submit a lottery entry form.  Generally, the U.S. Department of State accepts entries during a 1 month period each fall.  Last year (2003) the registration period ran from November 1 to December 30. The exact dates of the registration period vary every year.  Individuals from most countries are eligible to participate in the lottery, although individuals born in certain countries are not eligible.  Those excluded are from countries from which there recently have been a large number of immigrants to the U.S. 

The only requirements for entering the lottery are that you (1) are from a qualifying country and (2) have a high school education or its equivalent or comparable work experience. 

After the registration period closes, the Department of State randomly selects lottery “winners” by computer.  Winning entrants will be assigned a case number based on their region of birth.  Having your entry form selected, however, does not guarantee that you will receive a permanent visa (i.e. a green card).  It simply allows you to proceed to the second step, which is applying for a permanent visa. 

Only approximately 50,000 permanent visas are available through the lottery, and the Department of State selects more winning entries than there are available visas.  Also, all visas issued through the lottery must be issued before the end of September for that year.  Your visa application, therefore, must be processed and approved before the 50,000 visas have been allocated and before the September 30 deadline.

Each month the government processes a limited number of visa applications of people who have won the lottery.  On a monthly basis the U.S. Department of State publishes the Visa Bulletin, which indicates the applications currently being processed.  If your lottery case number is the same or lower than that listed in the Visa Bulletin, you can apply for your permanent visa.  For example, if the Visa Bulletin indicates that African case number 14,100 is being processed, you can submit your visa application if you are from a country in Africa and your case number is 14,100 or lower.  Otherwise you must wait.  The Visa Bulletin can be accessed at the Department of State’s web site at: http://travel.state.gov/visa_bulletin.html 

If all 50,000 visas are allocated or the September 30 deadline arrives before your visa application is processed and approved, you will not receive a visa and will have to enter the lottery for the next year.

If you are in the U.S., you may be eligible to apply for permanent resident status through a process known as adjustment of status. 

For more information on the lottery, please consult my office’s lottery description page.  Through that page you can learn the various ways my office can assist you in preparing and submitting a lottery entry form. You can also start your registration process.