A Green Card Lottery is a legally authorized Program by the US Government and officially run by the competent authority that awards a Permanent Residence Visa for working and living in the USA, otherwise known as a 'Green Card'. It is awarded for about 55,000 applicants a year from the citizens of the countries eligible to participate in such a lottery. The lists of countries that are eligible are specified and the fundamental condition for such eligibility is such countries should legally permit dual citizenship.
The Procedure
The procedures resemble something similar to the following steps:
- Entries are invited during a specific part of each year and each eligible participant is assigned a number.
- Out of this, through a randomly generated program, the computer generates 100000 (One Hundred Thousand only) numbers and those holding these numbers are invited to apply for the Green Card.
- The applications are processed on a first-come-first served basis and subject to the availability of visas such of those who comply with the paperwork in all respects would be called for an interview.
- Out of these, such of those who qualify would be issued an immigration visa, but, what needs to be noted is that it is only a temporary Green Card that is stamped in their Passports allowing them entry into the USA.
- In about six weeks' time of their arrival or so, they get the permanent Green Card by mail.
Seeking Legal Help
It may be necessary for the aspiring entrants to seek legal help from reliable sources for this area is subject to vast scams where fly by night operators could be found in plenty. Secondly, the authorities carry out a variety of checks on your applications which include legal issues relating to your crime history. In case the entrants have some history of offenses which would fall only under misdemeanors they need not be worried about the possibility of being denied a genuine chance to get an interview call but the US Administration takes it very seriously if and when they come to know of any offense any of otherwise eligible entrants had committed however minor they are in nature but had suppressed it from furnishing in the application for this would permanently destroy their chances of ever getting a legal immigration status in the USA. Seeking legal help would also save them from being charged dubious costs as applying for a Green Card as under a 'Green Card Lottery Program' no charges what so ever in nature, other than the administrative fee to the Department, is payable for applying to it.
