General Requirements

To enter the lottery, an applicant must be able to claim nativity in an eligible country and must meet either the education or training requirement of the lottery program. Nativity in most cases is determined by the applicant's place of birth. However, if a person was born in an ineligible country but his/her spouse was born in an eligible country, such person can claim the spouse's country of birth rather than his/her own. Also, if a person was born in an ineligible country, but neither of his/her parents was born there or resided there at the time of the birth, such person may be able to claim nativity in one of the parent's country of birth.
If you were born in any of the following countries, you cannot participate in this year's Green Card Lottery:

CANADA CHINA (mainland-born) Persons born in Hong Kong SAR, Macau SAR and Taiwan are eligible COLOMBIA DOMINICAN REPUBLIC EL SALVADOR HAITI INDIA JAMAICA MEXICO PAKISTAN PHILIPPINES RUSSIA SOUTH KOREA UNITED KINGDOM (except Northern Ireland) and its dependent territories VIETNAM

You may still qualify even if you were born in one of the countries listed above. There are two exceptions.  If your spouse was born in an eligible country, then you can claim your spouse's country of birth and be eligible to enter the lottery. If you were born in a country of which neither parent was a native, then you may claim the country of birth of either parent and be eligible to enter the lottery. A short statement explaining how you meet this exception must be included with your application.

"Native" ordinarily means someone born in a particular country, regardless of the individual's current country of residence or nationality. But for immigration purposes “native” can also mean someone who is entitled to be “charged” to a country other than the one in which he/she was born under the provisions of Section 202(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act.

For example, if a principal applicant was born in a country that is not eligible for this year’s DV program, he/she may claim “chargeability” to the country where his/her derivative spouse was born, but he/she will not be issued a DV-1 unless the spouse is also eligible for and issued a DV-2, and both must enter the U.S. together on the DVs. In a similar manner, a minor dependent child can be “charged” to a parent’s country of birth.

Finally, any applicant born in a country ineligible for this year’s DV program can be “charged” to the country of birth of either parent as long as neither parent was a resident of the ineligible country at the time of the applicant’s birth. In general, people are not considered residents of a country in which they were not born or legally naturalized if they are only visiting the country temporarily or stationed in the country for business or professional reasons on behalf of a company or government.

Education/Training Requirements

To enter, an applicant must have EITHER a high school education or its equivalent, defined in the US as successful completion of a 12-year course of elementary and secondary education, OR two years of work experience within the past five years in an occupation requiring at least two years of training or experience to perform.

If you meet the general and education/training requirements, complete your application today! If you do not meet the above requirements, you cannot participate in this year's Green Card Lottery Program.