FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT THE US GREEN CARD LOTTERY

Diversity Green Card Lottery Visas are intended to provide an immigration opportunity for persons from countries other than the countries which send large numbers of immigrants to the U.S. The law states that no diversity visas shall be provided for natives of "high admission" countries. The law defines this to mean countries from which a total of 50,000 persons in the Family-Sponsored and Employment-Based visa categories immigrated to the United States during the previous five years. Each year, the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services (BCIS) adds the family and employment immigrant admission figures for the previous five years in order to identify the countries whose natives must be excluded from the annual diversity green card lottery. Because there is a separate determination made before each annual greencard DV entry period, the list of countries whose natives do not qualify may change from one year to the next.

By law, the U.S. diversity immigration program makes available a maximum of 55,000 permanent residence visas each year to eligible persons. However, the Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act (NACARA) passed by Congress in November 1997 stipulates that beginning as early as DV-99, and for as long as necessary, 5,000 of the 55,000 annually-allocated diversity visas will be made available for use under the NACARA program. The actual reduction of the limit to 50,000 began with DV-2000 and remains in effect for the DV-2005 green card lottery program.

The Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services (BCIS) determines the DV regional limits for each year according to a formula specified in Section 203(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). Once the BCIS has completed the calculations, the regional visa limits will be announced.

The DV-2005 green card lottery entry period will begin on Saturday, November 1, 2003 and will last for 60 days through Tuesday, December 30, 2003. Each year millions apply for the program during the registration period. The massive volume of entries creates an enormous amount of work in selecting and processing successful applicants. Holding the entry period during November and December will ensure successful applicants are notified in a timely manner, and gives both them and our embassies and consulates time to prepare and complete entries for green card issuance.

Yes, an applicant may be in the U.S. or in another country, and the entry may be submitted from the U.S. or from abroad.

Yes, the law allows only one entry by or for each person during each registration period; applicants for whom more than one entry is submitted will be disqualified. The Department of State will employ sophisticated technology and other means to identify individuals that submit multiple entries during the registration period. Applicants submitting more than one entry will be disqualified and an electronic record will be permanently maintained by the Department of State. Applicants may apply for the green card lottery program each year during the regular registration period.