What is the Green Card (Diversity Visa) Lottery?
The U.S. Department of State operates a random computer drawing for those of you who wish to enter the USA to take up residence, seek employment, study, conduct business, invest, retire, or join family members already in the United States. As the “diversity” name implies, the program was established to increase the numbers of immigrants entering the U.S. from underrepresented countries. This special visa is reserved for immigrants born in countries that have very few immigrants entering the United States. Specifically, if a country has had more than 50,000 immigrants to the U.S. in the last five years, then those countries are ineligible for the lottery. The visa lottery is for anyone who wants to become a U.S. permanent resident. This includes temporary employees, students, business people, visitors, and others who are already in the U.S. Winning the diversity visa lottery just gives you an opportunity to receive U.S. permanent residency, provided you follow and meet the requirements.
