US Green Card Lottery (DV-2008) information

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The United States Department of State currently is responsible for operating and maintaining the program. The official name for the program is the DV-2008 Diversity Visa lottery, commonly referred to as the Green Card Lottery since that is the visa type issued to qualified winners.

Diversity Visa Registration Period - Entries for the Green Card (DV-2008) lottery must be submitted electronically between noon Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) (GMT-4), Wednesday, 04 October 2006 and noon Eastern Standard Time (EST) (GMT-5) Sunday, 03 December 2006. Applications MUST be submitted electronically; paper entries will NOT be accepted. Applicants are strongly encouraged not to wait until the last week of the registration period to enter. Heavy demand may result in website delays. No entries will be accepted after noon EST on 03 December 2006 for any reason.

The DV-2008 has a limit of 55,000 Green Cards that will be issued through this program. 5,000 are reserved for special treaties and programs, so 50,000 are available to persons born in qualified countries for the 2008 program registration. Please see our page, US Green Card Lottery - Guarantee, for more details.

The Diversity Visa Lottery is designed specifically to allow persons a chance to enter the United States from countries that are under-represented in immigration statistics for the U.S. Currently, the program places restrictions on countries that have more than 50,000 immigrants into the U.S. during the previous five-year period.

For the DV-2008 Lottery, natives of the following countries are not eligible to apply because those countries (and legal jurisdictions) sent a total of more than 50,000 immigrants to the U.S. over the period of the previous five years:

• BRAZIL
• CANADA
• CHINA (mainland-born)
• COLOMBIA
• DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
• EL SALVADOR
• HAITI
• INDIA
• JAMAICA
• MEXICO
• PAKISTAN
• PHILIPPINES
• PERU
• POLAND
• RUSSIA
• SOUTH KOREA
• The UNITED KINGDOM (except Northern Ireland) and its dependent territories
• VIETNAM

Specifically exempted are persons born in:

• Hong Kong SAR
• Macau SAR
• Taiwan

If you are born in one of these last three countries, you ARE eligible.

To enter the DV lottery, you must be a native of one of the listed countries. See our eligibility calculator. US Green Card Lottery - Do I Qualify?

IMPORTANT Notice on Country of Birth:

Native of a country whose natives qualify: In most cases this means the country in which you were born. However, there are two other ways you may be able to qualify. First, if you were born in a country whose natives are ineligible but your spouse was born in a country whose natives are eligible, you can claim your spouse's country of birth provided both you and your spouse are on the selected entry, are issued visas and enter the U.S. simultaneously. Second, if you were born in a country whose natives are ineligible, but neither of your parents was born there or resided there at the time of your birth, you may claim nativity in one of your parents' country of birth if it is a country whose natives qualify for the DV-2008 program.

You must meet either the education or work experience requirement of the Diversity Visa Program. Please visit our page on education and work experience requirements. Education and Experience

All entries by an individual will be disqualified if more than ONE entry for that individual is received, regardless of who submitted the entry. You may prepare and submit your own entry, or have someone submit the entry for you.

Your entry will be disqualified if ALL required photographs are NOT submitted. Recent photographs of the following people must be submitted electronically with the Electronic Diversity Visa Entry Form:

• you
• your spouse
• each unmarried child under 21 years of age

This includes all natural children, as well as all legally-adopted children and stepchildren, even if a child no longer resides with you or you do not intend for a child to immigrate under the DV program.

You do not need to submit a photo for a child who is already a U.S. citizen or a Legal Permanent Resident.

Group or family photographs will not be accepted; there must be a separate photograph for each family member.

Are there any changes or new requirements in the application procedures for this diversity visa (DV-2008) registration?

• All DV-2008 lottery entries must be submitted electronically.
• No paper entries will be accepted.

• Several questions and options for answers have been added to DV-2008 to gather additional information.

-> Country where you live today?

-> What is the highest level of education you have achieved, as of today? You must choose one of the ten options indicating the highest level of education you have achieved: (1) Primary school only, (2) High school, no degree, (3) High school degree, (4) Vocational school, (5) Some university courses, (6) University degree, (7) Some graduate level courses, (8) Master degree, (9) Some doctorate level courses, and (10) Doctorate degree

-> "Legally Separated" replaces the term "Separated" used in previous DV programs as an option under the question "What is your marital status?" Legal separation means that a court has formally declared that you and your spouse are legally separated. Legal separation means that your spouse would not be eligible to immigrate as your derivative.

Are signatures and photographs required for each family member, or only for the principal entrant?

Signatures are not required on the Electronic Diversity Visa Entry Form. Recent and individual photographs of you, your spouse and all children under 21 years of age are required. Family or group photographs are not accepted.

May a husband and a wife each submit a separate entry?

Yes, a husband and a wife may each submit one entry if each meets the eligibility requirements. If either were selected, the other would be entitled to derivative status.

Which family members must be included in a DV-2008 entry?

On your entry you must list your spouse, that is husband or wife, and all unmarried children under 21 years of age, with the exception of children who are already U.S. citizens or Legal Permanent Residents. You must list your spouse even if you are currently separated from him/her, unless you are legally separated (i.e. there is a written agreement recognized by a court or a court order). If you are legally separated or divorced, you do not need to list your former spouse. You must list ALL your children who are unmarried and under 21 years of age, whether they are your natural children, your spouse's children, or children you have formally adopted in accordance with the laws of your country, unless such child is already a U.S. citizen or Legal Permanent Resident. List all children under 21 years of age even if they no longer reside with you or you do not intend for them to immigrate under the DV program.

The fact that you have listed family members on your entry does not mean that they later must travel with you. They may choose to remain behind. However, if you include an eligible dependent on your visa application forms that you failed to include on your original entry, your case will be disqualified. This only applies to those who were family members at the time the original application was submitted, not those acquired at a later date. Your spouse may still submit a separate entry, even though he or she is listed on your entry, as long as both entries include details on all dependents in your family.

One final note. Please understand that there is no method to register for the DV-2008 Lottery other than electronically by internet-based web page.

Paper applications for entry are not possible and will not be accepted by the U.S. government.

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