DV – Application Procedure and Eligibility Criteria

Every year the green card lottery awards visas to applicants around the globe. The procedure is simple but strict, and no more than seven percent of DVs are awarded to a country during a single fiscal year. Visas are allocated to the countries which have historically lower rates of U.S. immigration. You will also find people of different countries who have sent more than 50k immigrants to States during the last 5 years are not eligible for enrollment for this scheme.

Eligibility Criteria:

A list of eligible countries is issued every year along with the declaration of the ineligible countries. The list undergoes alteration almost every year. Hence, this makes it necessary for all the applicants for DV-2015 to refer to the list to confirm their eligibility. The countries eliminated from the eligible countries’ list for DV-2015 include: Brazil, Bangladesh, Canada, , Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Haiti, India, China (mainland only) Jamaica, Mexico, Pakistan, Vietnam, Dominican Republic, South Korea, Philippines,  United Kingdom (except Northern Ireland) and Peru.

Applicants can apply for the DV program even if they are from countries which fall under the category of ineligible countries. This can be done on the bases of one’s spouse or parents. If either of the aforementioned people is from countries which are eligible for the DV program, enrollment can be done on the basis of these relations. In the same way, a minor can be enrolled for this lottery on the bases of his parents’ eligibility. You must be careful while listing your country, as false information can result in the cancellation of your application.

Another requirement for eligibility is the completion of the12 years of U.S. high school education or an alternate degree to the high school education. The years required to complete the degree are not relevant, only the level of education is. In case an applicant does not qualify in this regard, he/she is given an alternate option. The applicant must have worked for one of the jobs specified for at least a period of 2 years in the last 5 years. The detail of these jobs is given at http://www.green-card-dv-lottery.com/jobs.html.

Application Procedure:

The Department of State accepts only E-DV entry forms which are completed and submitted electronically on the website: www.dvlottery.state.gov in the registration period. If more than one entry is received for a certain applicant, he or she will automatically be disqualified. No registration fee has to be submitted for entering in the lottery for green cards. Paper based entries have become obsolete and are no longer acceptable. Therefore, all the applicants for DV-2015 should submit only electronically generated applications. Correct submission of data will generate confirmation screen and will allot you your own specific confirmation number. You are expected to print the confirmation screen and remember your allotted confirmation number.

The application also asks for information regarding your spouse and any children under the age of 21. This information has to be provided regardless of the fact that they will be accompanying the applicant or will stay behind.

All the relevant photographs have to be included in the application. These include photographs of your spouses and children. A failure to provide these pictures can result in disqualification. Other than the photographs, you are not required to submit proof of the information you enter initially. However, if selected, you are required to submit a proof for all the data you enter.

Conclusion:

DV lottery system provides a golden opportunity to eligible candidates by giving them a shot at securing green cards. If properly availed, the system can help improve the future of thousands every year. Hence, the applicants must complete and submit their applications carefully to avoid unnecessary disqualification and discrimination.

Author bio:

Simon Hopes is a contributor of this post. He often writes on law and dv-2015.