Global USA (GlobalUSAGreenCard.org) is a private organization (not affiliated with the US government or any governmental agency) that was established several years ago to assist individuals and families with properly preparing and correctly submitting their applications and photos to the Diversity Visa Lottery (commonly referred to as the Green Card Lottery). Please note that Global USA is not a law firm and does not offer legal advice.

The Diversity Visa Lottery (also known as the DV-Lottery and the Green Card Lottery) is a US immigration program that was created by the United States Congress in 1990 and is administered by the US State Department. A primary goal of the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program is to make the United States a more multicultural (diverse) country. A lottery system is used as a fair method to randomly select winners for the opportunity to apply for one of the 55,000 Diversity Visas and US Permanent Resident Green Cards that are authorized to be issued through this US immigration program each year. In order to participate in the DV-Lottery, an applicant must be BORN in an eligible country and meet the education or work experience requirement. They must also correctly prepare and submit their application and photo(s) to the DV-Lottery according to the regulations during the annual registration period.

Global USA can check your eligibility to participate in the Diversity Visa Lottery Program.

No – Individuals who meet the two major eligibility requirements for participation in the Diversity Visa Lottery Program can register for free on the US State Department’s E-DV website during the annual registration period that normally occurs in the October-November time-frame.

Although there is no government fee to apply for the DV-Lottery, many individuals and families choose to pay for the professional services of Global USA which helps its clients to prepare their applications and photos so they will comply with the strict DV-Lottery regulations before being submitted to the DV-Lottery on their behalf during the registration period. This review and submission service can be convenient for everyone, but is especially beneficial for people with families who will need to provide accurate information and properly prepared photos for several individuals on their DV-Lottery application, as well as people who do not have good English language skills. Global USA provides services and customer service in multiple languages and promptly contacts its clients when they are selected as winners of the DV-Lottery so they can take the next step in the US immigration process as soon as possible. Finally, guidance is available to our clients who are selected as DV-Lottery winners during the Consular Interview process.

Your DV-Lottery Application MUST include the required information and photo(s) for the main applicant and (as relevant) your legally married spouse (opposite sex or same sex) and all of your living unmarried children who are under 21 years of age (including your natural children, step-children, and legally adopted children), regardless of whether they currently live with you or will actually immigrate to the United States with you. Please note that if any of the required information on your application changes prior to submission (for example, your marital status changes, you have a baby, etc.), you MUST update your application so that it is accurate when it is submitted to the DV-Lottery. Failure to submit an accurate application to the DV-Lottery can result in disqualification (for example, during the Consular Interview stage), so please keep your application and photo(s) up-to-date!

A “derivative dependent” is a family member of the main DV-Lottery applicant who is listed on the application (for example, a legally married spouse of the opposite sex or same sex and all living unmarried children under 21 years of age, including natural children, step-children, and legally-adopted children). If the main applicant is selected as a winner of the DV-Lottery, the derivative dependents also have an opportunity to apply for immigration to the United States through the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program (as part of the DV-Lottery selectee’s Diversity Visa application).

If both you and your legally married spouse (opposite sex or same sex) meet the eligibility requirements for the Diversity Visa Lottery Program in any particular DV-Year, you can each submit one separate application to the DV-Lottery. Each separate DV-Lottery application must include the required information and photo(s) for the main applicant and the legally married spouse and all living unmarried children under 21 years of age (including natural children, step-children, and legally adopted children). In such a scenario, if either eligible spouse who submitted an application to the DV-Lottery is selected as a winner, then the other spouse and the unmarried children under 21 years of age who were included on the winning application also receive the opportunity to continue the US immigration process to apply for a Diversity Visa and Green Card.

No – As the main applicant, you are only allowed to submit one application to the DV-Lottery under your name in any given DV-Year. If you submit more than one application to the DV-Lottery with you as the main applicant in the same DV-Year, you will be disqualified from participating in the DV-Lottery. (See the FAQ above regarding submitting separate DV-Lottery applications when both spouses are eligible.)

The exact dates for the annual DV-Lottery registration period are usually announced by the US State Department (along with the list of eligible and non-eligible countries) shortly before the registration period begins. During the past several years, the DV-Lottery registration period has taken place in the October-November time-frame. 

During the past several years, the Diversity Visa Lottery results have been made available to DV-Lottery participants starting in May or June on the US State Department’s E-DV website. For the DV-2026 Diversity Visa Lottery, the results will be made available starting in May 2025. Please note that the US State Department does not personally contact DV-Lottery participants to inform them whether or not they were selected as winners. Global USA does, however, contact its clients promptly when they are selected as winners of the DV-Lottery so they can start the next step of the US immigration process as soon as possible.

The number of DV-Lottery participants and winners varies from year to year. In general, approximately 10-15 million main applicants (plus their derivative dependents/family members) participate in the Diversity Visa Lottery each year and around 80,000 to 100,000 main applicants are selected as winners every year. In the DV-2024 Green Card Lottery which was held in early 2023, there were 22,185,619 qualified entries and 143,000 winners who were selected for the opportunity to apply for the 55,000 Diversity Visas and Green Cards authorized to be issued each year through this US immigration program.

If you are randomly selected as a DV-Lottery (Green Card Lottery) winner, this is an important first step in the US immigration process; however, it does NOT guarantee that you will automatically be issued a Diversity Visa or a US Permanent Resident Green Card. Being selected as a DV-Lottery winner means that you now have the opportunity to continue the US immigration procedure to apply for one of the 55,000 Diversity Visas and Permanent Resident Green Cards authorized to be issued each year. After being selected as a winner of the DV-Lottery, you will need to successfully complete each step of the Consular Interview process before you and your family can receive a Diversity Immigration Visa stamped on one of the pages of your passport and be granted a US Permanent Resident Green Card.

Global USA will contact its clients who are selected as winners of the DV-Lottery as part of the service that it provides (this usually starts in May or June, after the DV-Lottery results are released). For the DV-2026 Green Card Lottery, the results will be made available starting in May 2025.

When someone is selected as a winner of the DV-Lottery, the US State Department will post a winning notification letter which contains a bar code and a long Case Number on its E-DV website. A DV-Lottery participant will need to enter certain information on the E-DV website in order to check the status of their application (i.e., whether or not they were selected as a winner). It is very important to print out a copy of that winning notification letter and keep it in a safe place, because it will be required later during the Consular Interview procedure.

A DV-Lottery winner will need to complete the online DS-260 form so that the US State Department’s Kentucky Consular Center (KCC) can schedule the Consular Interview.

Before the Consular Interview takes place, the DV-Lottery winner and family members who were included on the application will need to have medical exams from an authorized physician, the Diversity Visa Application Fee must be paid, and other steps must be followed.

The DV-Lottery winner and his/her family members must bring all of the required documents and photos to the US Embassy or Consulate on the scheduled date and time for the Consular Interview.

If approved for US immigration, a Diversity Immigration Visa will be placed on a page of each family member’s valid passport for entry into the United States within a certain time period.

An Immigration Fee will also need to be paid online to the US Citizenship & Immigration Service (USCIS) agency so that the US Permanent Resident Green Card can be issued. The Green Card is carried by a Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR) as a form of identification and proof of permanent residency status while living in the USA.

Global USA offers its clients who are selected as winners of the DV-Lottery guidance through each step of the Consular Interview procedure to make sure all of the forms and documents are submitted correctly and to simplify the US immigration process for them.

When someone successfully registers to participate in the Diversity Visa Lottery (registration takes place in the October-November time period), the US State Department will issue a long Confirmation Number which contains 16 characters, starting with the four-digit number for the DV-Year. For example, a DV-2026 Confirmation Number (issued in 2024) will start off with 2026, followed by a mix of 12 unique numbers and letters of the English alphabet. It is important to save the Confirmation Number, because it will be required to login to the E-DV website for the Status Check when the DV-Lottery results are made available (usually starting in early May) in order to check if the applicant was selected as a winner. Please note that Global USA will contact its clients who were selected as winners of the DV-Lottery (this usually occurs starting in May or June). For the DV-2026 Green Card Lottery that will be held in early 2025, the results will be made available starting in May 2025.

A Diversity Visa Lottery participant who is selected as a winner will be issued a winning notification letter on the US State Department’s E-DV website and that letter will have a bar code and a long Case Number that is 14 characters in length. It is important to print out a copy of the winning notification letter and keep it in a safe place, because it will be required later during the Consular Interview procedure. Sometimes, people gets the 16-character Confirmation Number and the 14-character Case Number confused. Remember: the 16-character Confirmation Number is issued first and confirms successful registration for the DV-Lottery, while the 14-character Case Number is issued only to DV-Lottery selectees (“winners”) on their winning notification letter.

A Diversity Immigration Visa is a multi-colored US immigration visa issued by the US State Department that is placed on a page inside of the valid passport of a new immigrant who has been approved for Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR) status through the Diversity Visa program following successful completion of the Consular Interview process. The Diversity Visa will be used for initial entry into the United States within the time period that it is valid. The new immigrant will also need to pay an online Immigrant Fee to the US Citizenship & Immigration Service (USCIS) agency so that the United States Permanent Resident Card (“Green Card”) can be mailed to him/her at an address in the United States. The immigrant will carry the Green Card long-term as an official form of identification (ID) and proof of Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR) status while living in the United States.

The United States Permanent Resident Card (often referred to as a “Green Card” because of its color) is a hard plastic identification card that is issued by the US Citizenship & Immigration Service (USCIS) agency to a Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR) of the United States. A Green Card functions as an official form of identification (ID) that an immigrant carries as proof that he/she is a Lawful Permanent Resident and has a legal right to live, study and work in the United States for an unlimited length of time. A Green Card (along with a Social Security Card) will be required for US employment and may be used as a form of ID when opening a bank account or applying for a driver’s license in the United States.

As a Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR) of the United States, a Green Card holder can legally live in the USA for an unlimited length of time in any of the 50 States.

They can also travel from state to state (e.g., vacations, business, moving to another state to live and work, etc.).

Having a Green Card authorizes a Lawful Permanent Resident to work in the USA for an unlimited amount of time in any of the 50 States.

Immigrant entrepreneurs also have an option to start a business in the United States (many new businesses and US jobs are created by immigrant entrepreneurs every year).

Green Card holders have the opportunity to buy a home and own other property in the USA.

They also have access to excellent educational opportunities in the United States, including being able to attend community colleges, vocational/trade schools, colleges and universities (children receive free public primary and secondary school education in the United States).

A US Permanent Resident can sponsor eligible family members for a visa to the United States.

They can travel back and forth between the USA and other countries according to certain regulations.

With a Green Card, you can open a bank account in the US and apply for a driver’s license in the state where you live in the USA.

One of the greatest benefits of a Green Card is the option to apply for US citizenship after living in the USA as a Permanent Resident five years and satisfying other criteria.

As a “naturalized” American citizen, you could then apply for a US passport and have the opportunity to receive additional benefits.