A few days before the DV-2021 green card lottery opens: what you need to know to increase your chances of winning

We remind you that on October 2 2019 at noon Eastern Daylight Time (EDT), applications for the Green Card 2021 lottery will open. It will be possible to fill out and send applications by noon Eastern Standard Time (EST) on Tuesday, November 5, November 2019. Here's what you need to know to do everything right, and thereby increase your chances of winning.

Фото: Depositphotos

In 2021, 55 will play thousands of green cards, it says official website of the State Department.

Authorities are urging participants not to wait for the last week of the above period to submit applications, since increased demand can lead to an overload of the site. Application forms submitted later than the deadline for registration, or completed on paper, will not be accepted. According to the law, the applicant or someone on his behalf can submit only one application from one applicant during the registration period. Applicants who submit more than one application will be disqualified.

Who can participate in the lottery

• Requirement #1: Applicants born in countries eligible to participate in the DV 2021 lottery are eligible to participate in the program.

If you were born in another country, there are two other cases where you can apply for a DV visa:

Were your spouse born in a country whose residents can participate in the lottery? If so, you can indicate in your application the country of birth of your spouse instead of your country of birth, provided that you and your spouse receive visas and enter the United States at the same time.

You were born in a country whose residents do not have the right to participate in the program, but not one of your parents was born in this country, nor was it a permanent resident at the time of your birth? If yes, then you can indicate that the country of origin is the country of birth of one of the parents, if the natives of the latter can take part in the DV-2021 lottery.

• Requirement #2: Each applicant must meet the requirements of the DV program in terms of 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.

How to fill out a form

You can fill out the questionnaire only between 2 October to 5 November 2019 and exclusively on the site www.dvlottery.state.gov. Please note that the site must have the extension .gov, since fraudsters sometimes create fake sites with the extension .net, .com and others.

ForumDaily posted detailed instructions for completing the questionnairealready translated into Russian. BUT here You can review the original in English on the US Department of State website. There are no official translations yet.

Participation in the lottery is free! You should not pay for registration, nor for filling out the form, or for anything else until you win. The US Department of State strongly recommends completing the application forms yourself, without resorting to the help of “visa consultants,” “visa agents,” or other persons offering to submit applications on behalf of the applicant. If you use someone’s services to fill out an application, you must personally be present at its preparation in order to give the correct answers to questions, print a confirmation page and personally receive your unique confirmation number. The questionnaire is simple, available even for people with a minimum level of English, filling takes about 20 minutes.

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

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.

On the subject: How to fill in the application form for the Green Card 2021 lottery: complete official instructions in Russian

Photo 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.

Before submitting an application, the sender can check the quality of the photo on the E-DV website by clicking on the “Photo Validator” link. The photo quality control program will help to identify discrepancies with technical requirements, as well as show examples of “right” and “wrong” photos. Do not submit an old photo. Submission of the same photo as in the previous year, as well as photos that have undergone any processing, will disqualify your application.

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 22 mm to 35 mm, or 50% -
  69% of total snapshot size. Detailed information about the size of photos 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 should be depicted without a hat, with the exception of religious clothing that he wears daily. The face should be completely open, and the headgear should not cover or obscure the face
• headphones, wireless hands-free headsets and 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.

See sample photos on page Photo Requirements.

Photos that have been scanned from a driver’s license or from other official documents are not allowed. In addition, photographs from magazines, selfie photos, as well as those taken in photo shooters or a mobile phone camera, as well as full-length photographs, 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 want to scan a photo that you already have, in addition to the existing requirements, your photo should be:

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

Pictures of children or babies

When photographing a child or baby in the photo there should be no unauthorized persons; the child should look straight into the camera and have open eyes.

• Tip # 1: Lay the child on his back on a plain white or light-colored fabric. This will support the child’s head and have a solid background for the photo. Make sure that the child’s face is not shaded, especially if you are taking a photo, standing over the child, and the child is lying at this time.
• Tip # 2: Cover the seat of the car with a plain white or light-colored cloth and take a picture
  baby in that chair. This will also support his head for the shot.

IMPORTANT: After you fill out the questionnaire and click the Submit button, you should receive a notification in which the confirmation number will be indicated. It must be preserved - without it, you won’t know whether you won the green card or not. Don’t settle if anyone offers to keep this information for you. You must also retain access to the email address provided when submitting the application.

On the subject: RELATED: DV-2020 Lottery: Citizens of Which Countries Won Most Green Cards This Year

When and how to find out the results

С 5 May 2020 years it will be possible to check the status of the application for DV-2021 on the site www.dvlottery.state.gov in the Entrant Status Check section, using this individual number and personal information for access. You must enter an individual registration number to verify your status and date of interview for an immigrant visa.

The Department of State will not personally notify you of the winnings.

The Entrant Status Check section is the only source of information about your DV-2021 program winnings, providing further instructions on how to work with the application.

You won the Green Card: next steps

ForumDaily previously published step-by-step instructions for those who won the Green Card. Here are the key points you'll need to make.

The site Consular Electronic Application Center you need to fill out an immigration visa application form - form DS-260. It is filled in English. In the questionnaire you need to specify personal data, marital status, provide information about the place of work, study, criminal record.

Necessary documents to be collected before the interview: the full list is listed here. All documents that are not in English should be accompanied by a certified translation. No notarization or apostille is required.

A medical examination can be passed only in special certified centers, the addresses of which can be found on Online. The cost of this procedure is on average $ 215 for each family member planning to immigrate (in different countries the price may differ by $ 10-15), and vaccination is paid separately. More on this. Read in our material.

Interview. You will need the originals and translations into English of all documents, the results of the medical board and the very invitation for an interview. At the site, at the embassy, ​​you need to pay a visa fee for each family member. But this is not a guarantee that the cherished US visa in your hands. Interviews - no less important stage than the preparation of documents or medical board. The main goals of the interview are to make sure that the people who came for the interview applied, take fingerprints and check them with the database, see the results of the medical board and check that all documents are available.

After coming to the USA

In addition to the thousands of questions that immediately arise before new residents of the United States, do not forget about paperwork. What already писал ForumDaily, it’s worth making a few basic documents: apply for bank cards, social security number and American ID.

You have not won: do not despair

Given that not everyone who wins can usually go through the full range of procedures, the US Department of State will eventually add new lucky and potential green card holders.

Therefore, even if you receive a notification that you were not selected, you can check your result again later - the details may have changed. To check, you must enter your confirmation number on the website, issued after registering for the lottery. If on the page that opens you see a letter with a barcode and your data - you win! However, before receiving the coveted green card, you need to go through several stages as quickly as possible. Read more about them in special material ForumDaily.

If you are in doubt about any details or you have questions, be sure to read our detailed material, which is completely based on official data: Green Card Lottery in questions and answers.

Read also on ForumDaily:

How to fill in the application form for the Green Card 2021 lottery: complete official instructions in Russian

Lottery Green Card 2021: the date of the beginning of acceptance of applications is known. Information for participants

10 reasons for refusing a US visa: what to do next

How to apply for US citizenship and a green card online

How to change your status in the US on immigration

How long does it take to wait for a family reunion green card: September data

Which of the relatives can be transported to the US by a green card holder

Another obstacle: who and why cannot get a green card according to the new rules

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