It is here again for another year, the Green Card Lottery! This is a big opportunity for many people around the world as perhaps their only chance 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.

IMPORTANT: (DV-2013) Green Card Lottery or it’s official title Diversity Visa Lottery is completely FREE to enter!

So do not think that you have pay as their 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.

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 the online lottery will run from October 4, 2011 to November 5, 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. Following an interview at the US Consulate you will then be able to enter the US in the 2013 Immigration year in their calendar which begins on October 1, 2012.

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. So it is our hope for everyone that the false hope that many received in May 2011 when checking their results online is never repeated.

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. The actual DV-2013 visas to enter the US will be issued between the period of October 1, 2012, and September 30, 2013. Applicants must obtain the diversity visa or adjust status by the end of the fiscal year.

Unfortunately those who missed out on the green card and permanent residency will NOT receive any notification but for the second year running, 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