The Green Card Lottery run in 2011 but taking effect for the US Immigration year 2013, which begins on October 1, 2012 is ending today. Of course all those dates are confusing but today on November 5, 2011 at 12pm US EST (GMT -5), the online ballot closes. For many around the world this is there only annual opportunity to establish permanent residency in the United States to live and work freely because they may not qualified or have the funds and means to obtain another US visa. Always remember the Green Card Lottery is completely FREE to enter.

The Lottery is run by the US Government and is very simple application for the most part with just basic details required along with a digital photo. More official information can be found at the official Green Card Lottery Information area of the US State Department.

This year is began October 4, 2011 and if successful you will be notified via a formal letter as well as be able to check online between around May to July in 2012. These dates of announcement will be formally confirmed later The dates of the Green Card Lottery entrance period are fixed so get your entry in early to ensure you do not miss out or leave it to the last minute and risk any issues with site outages. Official instructions and eligble countries are yet to be announced for this year but if you read our Diversity Visa Lottery Instructions you will get a pretty good year about a lot of this as it doesn’t change that much

The green card lottery winners (diversity visa lottery) winners have been announced for Dv-2012 held online from October to November in 2011 twice in May and then again in July due to a computer glitch which we documented. Given a US Federal court upheld the decision to decide the winners again and deny the applications of those that were originally nominated as winners this year in May, that we will never see anything like that where false hopes are raised for so many around the world. Anyway you should note that being selected as a winner does not guarantee you a green card as you must pass some additional criteria as well in the application process.

Unfortunately those who missed out on the green card and permanent residency will NOT receive any notification but you will be able to check the status of their entry through the E-DV website. You MUST keep the confirmation page information from when you entered the DV Lottery

Between April and July 2012 results should be sent out to the lucky applicants with an official letter from the U.S. Department of State Kentucky Consular Center in Williamsburg, Kentucky. All notifications are by mail to your nominated address and you should note that there is NOT any email notification. It seems like already people have started receiving their winning letters so hopefully this will be the case for all of you that read this post and applied!

The notification letters will have additional instructions, including information about additional forms and other documentation required as well as immigrant visa application fees.

A couple of additional points to note.

1. Be patient with receiving the 2nd letter if you have received the first as sometime the mail is slow. The only people that you can contact that will give you any insightful information if you are a winner and received the first letter is the KCC.

2. Check the US government websites to see the current dates for your number if you are a winner

3. If you were a child on a winner’s application and since turned 21 after being 20 at the time of application, you are still eligible as your age is frozen. However you must take up the green card within a year as otherwise you will be ineligible

4. High School education or its equivalent as per the requirements of the primary applicant means the successful completion of a twelve year course of elementary/primary and secondary education in the U.S. or successful completion in another county of a formal course of elementary/primary and secondary education that is comparable to the US 12 year education system.

5. If you are currently residing in the US on another non-immigrant visa, you are able to adjust your status within the US if you are a winner

Good Luck

CJ

Since 1995, the Diversity Visa Lottery otherwise known as the Green Card Lottery gives 55,000 permanent residency visas or “green cards” to foreigners (and their families) to come and live and work in the US with no restrictions. It also ultimately allows the foreigner to eventually apply for US citizenship. To many, particularly in parts of the work where economic, political or social hardship is a way of life, this chance offers the hope that they too can live their dreams.

There is no charge to enter the Green Card lottery. Therefore for many foreigners where visas like the E3 work visa, H1B work visa, J1 Work and Travel Visa, J1 Internship visa, F1 Student visa and even the B1 tourist visa or tourist waiver among others are prohibitive due to obscure criteria or sheer cost to apply, travel and otherwise be eligible, the diversity visa lottery provides a way to first enter the US and begin a new life. 15 million hopefully applied for Dv-2012 Green Card Lottery in October and November last year which shows the popularity and the hope it gives so many around the globe.

The only information required were as follows below meaning that the barrier to entry is relatively low. The only main prohibitive factors were lack of at least a high school education for the primary adult, being at least 18 years of age, not being a security risk, not being a health risk or having a criminal history and finally not being from a select few countries. The reason certain countries’ citizens are excluded each year is due to the previous US Immigration year (October 1 – September 30), there being a significant threshold of that nation’s citizens becoming US permanent residents.

This is the information you have to give on the Green Card Lottery application.
1. FULL NAME
2. DATE OF BIRTH
3. GENDER
4. CITY WHERE YOU WERE BORN5. COUNTRY WHERE YOU WERE BORN
6. COUNTRY OF ELIGIBILITY OR CHARGEABILITY FOR THE DV PROGRAM
7. ENTRY PHOTOGRAPH(S)
8. MAILING ADDRESS
9. COUNTRY WHERE YOU LIVE TODAY
10. PHONE NUMBER
11. E-MAIL ADDRESS
12. WHAT IS THE HIGHEST LEVEL OF EDUCATION YOU HAVE ACHIEVED, AS OF TODAY?
13. MARITAL STATUS
14. NUMBER OF CHILDREN
15. SPOUSE INFORMATION
16. CHILDREN INFORMATION

In recent years these were some of the main countries EXCLUDED from participating in the annual Green Card Lottery;
BRAZIL, CANADA, CHINA (mainland-born), COLOMBIA, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, ECUADOR, EL SALVADOR, GUATEMALA, HAITI, INDIA, JAMAICA, MEXICO, PAKISTAN, PHILIPPINES, PERU, POLAND, SOUTH KOREA, UNITED KINGDOM (except Northern Ireland) and its dependent territories, and VIETNAM.

Now is the Green Lottery About to End….

Due to the Great Recession in the US, combined with rise of fringe elements within all sides of the US political spectrum, the pressure on programs like this and the H1B visa have intensified. Despite numerous studies showing that strong US immigration creates jobs and grows the economy, not to mention that it has and is still is the genesis of the American DNA which has made it the world’s largest economy and only superpower. The combined factors of  short sighted and opportunistic politicians, ignorant constituents and a complicit media has meant that negative pressure on foreigners in the last 4 years in the US has grown excedingly worse.

In addition to this, a major stuff up by the US State Department in announcing the Green Card Lottery winners in May 2011, forced a recall 12 days later and a redraw and subsequent reannouncement of winners on July 15, 2011. This gave a window for many of the anti-lottery proponents to pounce due to the increased media attention as the whole lottery is largely unknown to the American people.

Interestingly and unlikely ally has emerged in Foreign Immigrants (or more accurately what the US government calls non-immigrants) who are currently in the US on work visas or studying at US academic institutions particularly at the Graduate and phD level. Apart from the Green Card Lottery and direct Family sponsorship, the major avenue to a Green Card is sponsorship via an Employer under the EB2 and EB3 visa categories.

However due to long wait lists, non-sensical application criteria, costs and timelines and limited flexibility for an Immigrant, this option is frustrating and arduous as well. However many immigrants who have ensured years of long and difficult study and working in the same role for lesser pay and opportunities than their local counterparts with the constant danger (particularly in recent times) of job loss and having to return home immediately, watching others who just fill out an online form jumping the queue has been for some particularly hard to endure.

Some of the more rationale Green Card Lottery elimination proponents have proposed replacing the 55,000 Green Cards in the lottery to giving it to foreign graduates of US Academic Institutions in Engineering, Science, Technology and Media with Graduate or phD level degrees. Others argue this discounts the many foreigners who have show immense skills in the workplace and particularly in the start up world where so many new jobs and industries have been created benefiting the entire US economy.

Whatever the eventual result of this debate may be it is likely DV-2013 Green Card Lottery will still be held as normal in October and November 2011 with winners announced in May 2012. There currently is legislation before the US congress to end the Green Card Lottery. However it is our hope the US continues to be a vibrant economy and continues to realize the enormous value and potential of a constantly evolving society bring to all Americans.

Cj