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The U.S. Green Card Lottery (8)
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How do you win the US Green Card Lottery?
All legitimate entries to the Green Card Lottery
will go into a draw and the winners will be selected randomly
by computer. You can generally expect to receive notification
by mail approximately 6 months after the closing of the applications.
If you are successful you will be issued with instructions on
how to proceed with your immigration application to the U.S.,
and you will be informed of any fees that are applicable at that
point. All applicants will be required to pay the appropriate
immigration fees that all immigrants to the U.S. pay. Full details
will be sent with your information pack if your name is drawn
out. Those people who do not win entry in the Green Card Lottery
will not receive any correspondence advising of such. In this
case, no news is bad news, so make sure that your postal address
and other contact details will still apply 6 months from when
you submit your application. |
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There are 50,000 visas to be allocated with each lottery but the
number of successful applicants drawn out is greater than the amount
of visas available. This is generally to take into account the percentage
of successful applicants who will not be suitable for entry to the
U.S. or simply will choose not to exercise their right to an immigration
visa. This also means of course that there is a likelihood of more
applicants actually completing the requirements for entry to the
U.S. than there are visas available. In this situation it is simply
a first-come, first-served basis, with those applicants who undergo
their immigration interview and complete all the necessary paperwork
first being awarded the visas. Once a particular region has used
up all of its allocation for that intake, or the total in full have
been allocated, no more visas will be accepted even if the applicant
was successful in the lottery. If your name comes up be prepared
to act on the instructions that will be mailed to you as quickly
as possible. This is another reason to ensure that the mailing address
that you provide on your application is one that you will have regular
access to 6 months in the future. You do not want to waste any time
once the instructions come through or you may miss out.
Successful applicants will be required to attend an interview at
a U.S. Embassy or Consulate near where they live. Irrespective of
any good fortune in the U.S. Green Card Lottery an applicant can
still be refused entry to the U.S. if the interviewing officers
deem that an applicant would be unsuitable to move to the U.S. Applicants
already residing in the U.S. will need to present themselves to
an appropriate Immigration Center to have their paperwork completed
and a change of status issued. It is worth keeping in mind that
there is also a time limit imposed on the processing of applications
for the immigrant visa for each lottery intake. The cut-off for
each year is normally just prior to the acceptance for the next
year’s intake. So, for example, the DV-2006 cut-off period
for processing applicants was the end of September 2005. Those were
the applications that were submitted at the end of 2004. Applications
that have not been adequately processed by the cut-off period will
be disqualified so, if you are successful in being selected through
the U.S. Green Card Lottery, you need to be able to attend the interviews
and provide any necessary supporting documentation in a timely fashion
to ensure that your application remains valid and that you get your
paperwork processed before the cut-off period. |
It is up to chance and luck if your number gets
selected in the Green Card Lottery, but it is up to you what happens
after that. Be prepared.
So, where do you go from here?
If the U.S. Green Card Lottery sounds like something
you’re interested in, then keep a close eye on the U.S.
Green Card Official Site for information about the next intake
of applications. Remember, the site only has information available
from September/October thru to December so make a note in your
diary to check back during those times. Remember also that it’s
not a case of getting in first, it’s more appropriate to
get your application right the first time.
And once your application has been submitted,
it’s simply a case of sitting back and keeping your fingers
crossed!
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