Enrollment is open to all individuals world-wide, however, there are two entry requirements:
1. You must be a native of a qualifying country
You must be native of a country with a low immigration rate to the U.S.A. to qualify for the Green Card Lottery. People born in countries with high U.S. immigration are excluded from this lottery. Please see the list below of countries whose natives are currently excluded from the Green Card Lottery. Please note that eligibility is determined only by the country of birth, not based on country of citizenship or current residence. This is the most common misperception.
The following countries are excluded from the lottery program (subject to change):
China (mainland only)
Russia
Vietnam
South Korea
Philippines
Brazi
Peru
Pakistan
India
Mexico
Jamaica
United Kingdom (except N.Ireland)
Canada
Dominican Republic
Colombia
Haiti
El Salvador
Poland
Natives from all other countries may register. If you were born in one of the non-qualifying countries you can still participate based on the country of birth of your parents.
You must comply to one of the following two requirements (Option 1 or Option 2 below) to qualify for the Green Card Lottery:
OPTION 1: You must have completed a foreign equivalent of U.S. high school education
"High School education or its equivalent" means the successful completion of a twelve year course of elementary and secondary education in the U.S. or successful completion in another country of a formal course of elementary and secondary education comparable to complete a 12 year education in the U.S.Passage of a high school equivalency examination is not sufficient. It is permissible to have completed one's education in less than twelve years or greater than twelve years if the course of study completed is equivalent to a U.S. high school education.
OPTION 2: You must have worked in one of the occupations listed HERE for at least two years.
Proof that you satisfy these requirements should NOT be submitted when entering the Green Card Lottery but will be requested by a consular officer after your name has been selected and you formally apply for your permanent residence visa. Individuals who do not match these basic requirements should not apply in this program. You need to provide proof of education, work experience and native country only if you are selected. For this reason we do not request this information in the application form.
