How Many Chances Do I Have To Win The Hreen Card At The State Dept.

How do I win the U.S. green card lottery (DV)? What do I need to know?

The only way to win the green card lottery is to register a complete and accurate entry during the annual entry window (which runs each year from early October to early November, although the exact dates vary from year to year), and then get lucky. It is a wholly random draw and there is nothing you can do to make your entry more likely to be selected.There are, of course, many things you can do that will prevent you from winning. These include registering for the lottery more than once in the same year, and making any false statements in your registration (including things such as failing to include a spouse or any children, misrepresenting your nation of birth, or misrepresenting whether you meet the basic qualifications). And, obviously, if you enter the lottery but you are not born in (or otherwise chargeable to) an eligible country, you will not be selected.You can only enter the Diversity Lottery during the annual window in the fall, typically about one month starting on or about October 1. It is literally impossible to make an entry at any other time not during the annual window. Anyone who offers to submit an entry for you at some other time is likely scamming you, as is anybody who offers to enter you into the lottery for a fee or who offers to “improve your chances” in exchange for a fee. Entering the lottery is free; anyone who charges you a fee is doing so only for their own benefit.

If I win Green Card lottery, will I be able to take my family with me in the US?

Applicants who win the Diversity Visa lottery can extend that benefit to their spouses and children (who are under 21 years old and unmarried). These spouses and children are called "derivatives." In order for a spouse or child to get a diversity visa (an immigrant visa that leads to a U.S. green card), the person must have been listed on the primary applicant’s online State Department application.If you neglect to include a spouse or child, he or she will not be eligible for a visa. In fact, if you do not list your spouse and all children who are unmarried and under 21 at the time of your online diversity visa application, then you will be disqualified and everyone listed in the application will be denied visas at the time of the visa or green card interview. Any person listed on the application has the choice to remain behind.As an LPR (Green Card Holder)An LPR can petition immediately for:-Spouse / Unmarried son or daughterA spouse or a child under 21 years old would be in the F2A category, whilst an unmarried child 21 or over would be in the F2B category. There are waiting periods for these visas and the process is lengthier than the DV process. So – the LPR should anticipate around a 2 year process to obtain a Green Card for a new spouse or child under 21, longer if the child is over 21. Check the latest visa bulletin to see category preference dates.After gaining citizenshipAfter 5 years (3 if married to a US citizen) an LPR can apply for citizenship. Doing so opens up more possibilities for sponsoring family members. A citizen can petition for:Spouse / Son or daughter / Parent / Brother or sisterA citizen can sponsor an “immediate relative” (spouse, unmarried child under 21, and parents, if the citizen is over 21) with no waiting period. For other relatives, the relative would be placed in line according to the following categories.Unmarried Sons and Daughters of U.S. Citizens (F1 around 7 years wait, more for Mexico and Philippines)Married Sons and Daughters of U.S. Citizens (F3 – currently around 11 year wait)Brothers and sisters (F4 – currently around 12 year wait)