The Green Card Lottery: What is it and who is eligible?
The Diversity Immigrant Visa Program or Green Card Lottery as it is commonly known is a program offered by the US government, in which 50,000 to 55,000 green cards are issued each year to immigrants wishing to live and work in the US.
To be eligible to apply for the Green Card Lottery, an individual must meet the requirements and be from a country with a low level of immigration to the US; this is typically for countries with less than 50,000 immigrants to the US in the past five years. The eligible countries can vary from year to year, with Russia and Kosovo now eligible for the latest lottery (DV-2010).
The Green Card Lottery or DV Program is run annually, and around 110,000 applicants are chosen through a computer based draw. Once an individual has been chosen, they must start their application immediately, as only the first 50,000 applicants will be issued with a green card. Once this is done the lottery closes till the next year.
Applicants who are successfully given a US visa through the DV Program are permitted to work and live in the US permanently. Their spouse and any unmarried children under the age of 21 are also able to study and work permanently in the US.