DV lottery

US DV lottery

Beware of US DV Lottery Scams

For many folks, the US DV lottery is the only way they can get permanent residence in the United States. If you are not well qualified and are unable to gain a job in the United States or enter the United States for higher studies, it is unlikely that you would be able to qualify for a green card. However if you belong to a country with low immigration rates to the United States, you may automatically qualify to apply for the US DV lottery if you meet some minimum qualifications. These qualifications are usually just a high school degree and a clean police record.

Unfortunately, due to the popularity of the US DV lottery, it is not uncommon for folks to take advantage of it and scam those that are not aware of all the regulations and guidelines of the lottery system. First of all it is important to note that the lottery is completely free of charge. But there are thousands of websites on the net that promise to get you a winning shot if you pay their fees. In people's eagerness to qualify and win the lottery, many have known to have lost thousands of dollars by trusting scam artists. While there are some businesses that allow non-English speaking individuals to decipher and understand the guidelines and rules, more often than not, these companies are running scams and taking innocent applicants for a ride.

Many websites collect hefty fees from applicants who are eager to apply for the US DV lottery, even when the application form clearly states that the lottery is free. The websites also claim that they can improve your chances of winning which is completely bogus as the lottery system is set up so that it is completely random. If a company is assuring you that you have a better chance if you go with them, walk away. There is no doubt that you are about to be scammed as nobody has any control over who will win the lottery. Perhaps, this is the beauty of the system so that just about every applicant has as good a chance as any other, irrespective of age, financial status, and race.

Another scam that people fall for is that the entire family will also qualify if the applicant goes through them. The reality is that if an applicant wins the lottery, his or her family will automatically qualify for an immigrant visa and to be allowed to travel with them to the United States except if the applicant's immediate relatives are over 21 years of age. In this instance, they will have to apply under a different category which can take a few years before being admissible to the United States.


United States D.V. Lottery Application

US DV lottery - An Individual’s Criminal Past and the US DV Lottery

US DV lottery

An Individual’s Criminal Past and the US DV Lottery

It is not always easy to qualify for the US DV lottery. Not only must your country meet the eligibility requirements but so should you with respect to your education and employment background. In order for you to qualify you must have at least a high school diploma and must be skilled in at least some way. But the one qualification that is more important than anything else is a clean police record. If you have committed even simple crimes, you would be automatically disqualified from the US DV lottery process.

If you do qualify for the US green card lottery and win it, you would be eligible for all the rights that an American has except the right to vote. You will enjoy all the privileges such as healthcare, Social Security and education among others. For this reason, many foreign nationals hope to gain US green cards. But even the smallest hint of a criminal past will eliminate any chance that you would qualify for the US DV lottery. If your crimes were before you turned 21 or as a juvenile, it may be the practice of your country to expunge records. Some Western countries have adopted this practice in the last 20 years or so. In this instance, an individual with a criminal juvenile past would not have to worry as there would be no records of your past that can be shared with the US government. But if you belong to one of the countries that do not follow the system in that the juvenile record is not expunged, it is more than likely that the police records from your country will be fully available for US immigration officials to look at.

In order for a country to qualify for the US DV lottery, it is important that they share any records they have of the individual who is applying for the lottery. In the event that the country does not want to share an individual's records with the US government, that applicant along with the country eliminate it from the list of DV lottery eligible countries.

Once you have applied, you can keep track of your application through a website which constantly updates you of how far your application has made it. If you qualify, you would be notified through the mail and would be assigned a number which you must retain for the duration of the lottery. If you apply online, you will have an easier time following the guidelines and meeting the deadline as the websites does not allow you to skip any pertinent information in the application process. Also for those that do not conform to the guidelines are not accepted.

US DV Lottery Application