There are a couple of days left before registration for the green card lottery is closed: instructions for participation

Online registration for participation in the Diversity Visa Program 2023 (DV-2023) lottery ends Nov 9, 2021 at 12:00 PM ET... ForumDaily reminds how to apply correctly and what to do next.

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We have previously prepared step-by-step instructions for filling out an application with screenshots of each question of the questionnaire. And now we propose to go through the whole lottery process together.

Step 1. Check your right to participate in the lottery

Requirement No. 1: Applicants born in countries eligible to participate in the DV 2023 lottery are eligible to participate in the program.

For a list of participating countries see here in the “List of countries” section.

If your country of birth does not participate in the drawing, you have 2 options on how to win a green card:

• If one of the spouses was born in a country whose residents can participate in the lottery, then the other spouse can indicate in the application the country of birth of the spouse instead of his country, provided that both spouses receive visas and enter the United States at the same time.
• If you were born in a country whose residents are not eligible for the program, but none of your parents was born in this country, or were not a permanent resident of that country at the time of your birth, then you can indicate that your country of origin is the country of birth of one of the parents, if the natives of the latter can participate in the DV-2022 lottery.

Requirement No. 2: Each applicant must meet the requirements of the DV program for education or qualifications.

Applicants must have a high school diploma or equivalent (in the United States, this means successful completion of the 12-year course in primary and secondary schools). Or to have two years of work experience over the past five years, and this is a labor activity, which requires at least two years of training or experience.

Documentary evidence of education or work experience does not need to be attached to the registration application, but they will need to be shown to the consular officer during the interview for an immigrant visa. If you cannot prove your education or work experience, your profile will be disqualified even after winning.

• Important: working in the field of marijuana production, consuming “grass”, or even admitting that an immigrant has tried it at least once in his life, may shut the doors to him in the USA forever.
• В our material You can find out about 10 the most common mistakes when applying for participation in the green card lottery.
• Someone else's experience helps: find out 4 tips for participating in the green card draw from the winning immigrant.
• ForumDaily also wrote answers to the most common questionsthat arise when participating in the Green Card lottery.

Step 2. Fill out an application for participation

This is the main stage of participation in the lottery, so you need to approach it as carefully and accurately as possible. Fill in the form should until 12: 00 on EST 9 on November 2021 of the year. This can be done exclusively on the website www.dvprogram.state.gov (earlier it was called www.dvlottery.state.gov, now there is a redirect from this URL, but it is also safe). Please note: the site must have the .gov extension, since sometimes scammers create fake sites with the .net, .com and others extensions.

Remember that participation in the lottery is free. You do not have to pay for registration, or for filling out a questionnaire, or for anything else, until you win. It is also strongly discouraged to use the services of intermediaries: the questionnaire is simple, accessible even for people with a minimum level of English, filling out takes about 20 minutes.

As soon as you start filling out the form, you will have exactly 1 hour to enter all the information. If you are late, you will have to start over.

You must include your current spouses, even if you do not live together, with children up to 21. In addition, each spouse can fill out a questionnaire separately. Thus, the chances of winning the family will increase. For more information on how to indicate relatives in the questionnaire, read in material ForumDaily.

IMPORTANT. In 2019, the USA introduced a new rule for submitting documents for participation in the green card lottery. Each applicant must indicate the number, series and validity period of your passport. Such an innovation has perplexed many residents of the countries of the former USSR, since the cost of a document is often not affordable for the middle class. Read more at this link.

To many DV lottery winners Immigrant visas are denied every year due to errors in the application form. If you do not want to be among them, see list of the most common mistakesthat the applicants commit and carefully fill out the form.

Step 3. Take a photo exactly following the requirements

A new (i.e., captured within the last 6 months) digital photo or a new (i.e., captured within the last 6 months) photograph scanned with a digital scanner must comply with the composition and specifications set out below.

Do not submit an old photo. Submitting the same photo as in the previous year, as well as a photo that has undergone any processing, will result in your application being disqualified.

Examples of high-quality and relevant photos can be found here to register:.

The photograph or digital image must be:

• colored
• focused
• the size of the head (from the chin to the top of the head) in the photo should be between 22 mm and 35 mm, or 50% -69% of the total size of the photo. Details of photo sizes are posted on Photo Composition Template
• made in the last 6 months
• made on a white or light neutral background
• the person should look straight into the lens
• facial expression should be neutral, both eyes open
• The person in the photo must be dressed in casual clothing.
• the person in the photo should not be dressed in uniform, with the exception of religious clothes, which he wears daily
• a person must be depicted without a headdress, with the exception of clothing of a religious nature, which he wears daily. The face must be fully exposed and the headgear must not obscure or shade the face
• headphones, wireless hands-free headsets and other similar devices are not allowed in the photo
• can not be photographed with glasses
• if you use a hearing device or other similar items daily, they may be in your photo.

Photos that have been scanned from a driver's license or other official documents are not allowed. In addition, photos from magazines, selfie photos, as well as those taken in photo booths or a cell phone camera, as well as full-length photos, are not accepted.

During the application you will need to upload your photo. Your electronic image should be:

• JPEG (.jpg)
• Have a file size of no more than 240 kB (kilobytes)
• Have an aspect ratio like a square (height is equal to width)
• Resolution 600 × 600 pixels

If you wish to scan a photo that you already have, in addition to the existing requirements, your photo must be:

• 51 x 51 mm
• scanned in 300 resolution in dots per inch (12 pixels per millimeter)

It is important not to miss your chance because of an annoying little thing - an error in the profile or an incorrect photo. Photos when checking profiles are given huge Attention. How exactly the photos are checked and why you need to clearly follow the instructions, read in ForumDaily.

As soon as you complete the form and click the Submit button, you should receive a notification with a confirmation number. It is imperative to save it - without it you will not know whether you won the green card or not. Disagree if someone offers to keep this information for you. You also need to keep access to the email address you provided when you applied.

On the subject: Why should the winner of the green card lottery read the visa bulletin, and how to do it correctly

Step 4. Wait and see the results.

Official notification of the winnings will be available on the website. www.dvprogram.state.gov under Entrant Status Check from May 8, 2022 to September 30, 2023. You will definitely need a confirmation page number to access the Entrant Status Check section.

Checking the Entrant Status Check section will be the only means of obtaining information on the results of the lottery draw, on the procedure for further actions in case of a win, and on the appointment of the date and time of the interview for obtaining an immigrant visa. To use the full number of allocated visas, the Department of State may use the Entrant Status Check to notify additionally winning applications after May 2022.

Important! Keep your confirmation number until the end of September 2023 in case you receive additional notices.

Web site www.dvprogram.state.gov (formerly www.dvlottery.state.gov) is the Department of State's only official site for electronic filing and drawing verification. State Department not will send out winning notifications.

Pay attention! After winning the green card, the US government not provides no financial rewards, work or housing. Read about this and other common misconceptions about the lottery in our material.

If you are interested in the history of such a document as a green card, and what came before it, as well as how the country's authorities defended themselves against forgeries with all their might, then be sure to check out our material - there is a lot of interesting things in it.

Read also on ForumDaily:

Why should a green card lottery winner read the visa bulletin and how to do it correctly

Fewer visas, green cards and asylum permits: Trump's immigration plan for a second term

Six popular misconceptions about the green card lottery

How the green card appeared in the USA, and what the authorities did to protect the document from counterfeiting

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