US green card lottery also known as the Diversity Visa lottery is the program that issues green cards or permanent resident cards to those people who hail from the countries having low rates of immigration to the United States

The applicant must be natives of qualifying countries as specified by the US or you can apply if your spouse is from a qualifying country or you can even use your parents’ nativity for the same. A country is considered ineligible for DV if it has sent more than 50000 people to the US in the past 5 years.

The US green card lottery does not specify any maximum or minimum age limit.

The applicant must have had a successful formal education of 12 years including elementary and high school or two years of work experience in the past 5 years in a field that requires two years training to perform as stipulated by the embassy norms.

The eligible candidates must apply for the US green card lottery within the stipulated period of two months. It can be applied through the Diversity Visa electronic entry form.

The application form is prepared in 2 parts- one for primary applicant and the other for dependents (if applicable). The application form must be filled accurately and devoid of lacuna. Once the numerical mark reaches 55,000 the program closes for that year. Deserving applicants are chosen by a random draw which is computer generated.

The photograph that should be provided should be an original photograph with a plain background and no Photoshop or editing work should be done. There are specific dimensions, angle of pose, brightness, focus, etc. that has to be strictly followed while taking a photograph for US green card lottery.

There are also country quotas which facilitate certain countries to receive more US green card lotteries. Keep in mind that being selected in the lottery does not mean that you have been given a green card. It is advisable to go through the guidelines carefully and apply with all the necessary documents and enclosures.

It has been found out that there are a number of bogus websites which promise to get you a US green card lottery at a definite cost. The process of downloading and completing the electronic US green card lottery form is absolutely free of cost. Make sure that the fraudulent websites do not victimize you in the green card lottery scam.