United States DV Green Card Lottery

US DV Green card lottery

United States Green Card Lottery Application

Educational and Employment Qualifications for a US Green Card Lottery Applicant

If you have always dreamed of living and working in the United States, it might be time to consider the US Green card lottery. But before you make a beeline to your closest US Consulate, stop for a moment and realize that you must first be able to qualify for it. Qualifying for this program is very straightforward as you must belong to a country that falls under their list of eligible countries and must have a minimum education of a high school degree. If you do not have one, it may still not be too late to obtain one so that you can qualify for the US Green card lottery program. Consider for a minute what you will stand to gain from a US green card as it will open up the entire world to you! So a year or two dedicated to obtaining your high school diploma is well worth the price of a US green card at the end of it all. If the thought of going back to school is overwhelming, just know that anyone in your family that has a high school diploma can qualify for this, just as long as you also qualify as a result.

US immigration policies with respect to US green card lottery applications are quite strict in that only a spouse and dependent family members can accompany the winner of the lottery for admission to the United States. If you have a family member such as a child who is over the age of 21, he or she would then have to apply under the "preference" category which unfortunately involves much greater wait times. It is in fact given the least priority when it comes to green card processing; so an individual may be looking at anywhere from 5 to 20 years before he or she qualifies.

Another big advantage of the US Green card lottery program is that you do not need a sponsor. With all other green cards, it becomes necessary to go through an employer or some other organization that can be considered the sponsor. Other immigrant visas include being a family member of a US resident or marrying a US resident. In the case of the green card lottery program, one does not need a sponsor and can apply solely on his or her own merit. But keep in mind that in the last five years the applicant must have been employed in a profession that is applicable in the United States. Ideally, this should also include a training period of at least two years. Online applications are encouraged but must meet all the requirements especially if supporting documentation is required.


Apply for the US Green Card Lottery

Green Card 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