The Green Card Lottery is open again on October 2 for DV-2014 (Diversity Visa Lottery). This actually may be the very last Green Card Lottery every if some in Congress get their way and reallocate these Green Cards to STEM and other high skilled foreigners who have studied at US Universities or start new companies that employ US Citizens.

The Diversity Visa Lottery DV-2014 or its more common name, The Green Card Lottery is completely FREE to enter! There are many sites out there that charge a fee saying they wil enter you multiple times over many years, ensure your application is correct and enhance your chances of winning as well as pay for your ticket over here partially or in full if you win. Please IGNORE all of these sites!

US visas in general are very difficult to get as there is a limited allocation each year and generally it is the best educated and the richer foreigners who get most of them. So for many around the world this is their only chance to establish permanent residency in the USA.

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. 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

This year the online lottery will run from October 2, 2012 to November 3, 2012 and results will be announced online between May and July of 2013. Ensure you keep your confirmation number as that is what you will use to check your results. Also the current Green Card Lottery (DV-2013) that ran during October to early November 2011 may announce additional winners on October 22, 2012.

If you do win, you will be notified via a formal letter which will give you instructions about the next stage which includes an interview. Following an interview at the US Consulate you will then be able to enter the US in the 2014 Immigration year in their calendar which begins on October 1, 2013.

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.

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