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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT THE US GREEN CARD LOTTERY

Diversity Green Card Lottery Visas are intended to provide an immigration opportunity for persons from countries other than the countries which send large numbers of immigrants to the U.S. The law states that no diversity visas shall be provided for natives of "high admission" countries. The law defines this to mean countries from which a total of 50,000 persons in the Family-Sponsored and Employment-Based visa categories immigrated to the United States during the previous five years.

By law, the U.S. diversity immigration program makes available a maximum of 55,000 permanent residence visas each year to eligible persons. However, the Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act (NACARA) passed by Congress in November 1997 stipulates that beginning as early as DV-99, and for as long as necessary, 5,000 of the 55,000 annually-allocated diversity visas will be made available for use under the NACARA program.

The Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services (BCIS) determines the DV regional limits for each year according to a formula specified in Section 203(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).

The DV-2008 green card lottery entry period will begin on Saturday, November 1, 2003 and will last for 60 days through Tuesday, December 30, 2003. Each year millions apply for the program during the registration period.

Yes, an applicant may be in the U.S. or in another country, and the entry may be submitted from the U.S. or from abroad.

Yes, the law allows only one entry by or for each person during each registration period; applicants for whom more than one entry is submitted will be disqualified. The Department of State will employ sophisticated technology and other means to identify individuals that submit multiple entries during the registration period.