How to Apply for a Green Card

Applying for a Green Card (visa to America)

The United States is known as “the land of opportunity” where individuals from various backgrounds can make their dreams come true, so it’s not surprising that millions of people from across the planet want to know how to apply for a Green Card (officially known as a Diversity Visa) to immigrate to America.

How NOT to Apply for a Green Card

Unfortunately, many who want to experience the “American Dream” never take the necessary steps to change their dreams into reality because they’re not exactly sure of how to apply for Green Card privileges available through the US Diversity Visa program.  They don’t participate in the DV-Lottery because they never apply to the Lottery and, therefore, miss the chance to move to the USA.

Others think they know how to apply for a Green Card on their own for free on the US State Department website without any assistance.  They then end up getting disqualified and not even participating in the DV-Lottery because they failed to correctly follow the rules required by the American Government.

Applying for a Green Card by oneself can be particularly challenging if English is not a person’s first language or if they have a large family with several children (since the US Government requires specific digital color photos for everyone listed on the Green Card application).

Finally, some people think that they can mail Green Card applications to the US State Department or perhaps to an American Embassy and therefore they don’t take part in the Lottery because Diversity Visa applications and photos are now only filed electronically (e.g., you can’t send them through the post/mail anymore).

How to Apply for a Green Card

“In a nutshell,” to apply for a Green Card (Diversity Visa) to live, work and study legally and permanently in the United States, with the option of obtaining American citizenship and a US passport, an individual must:

  • Be born in a country eligible to participate in the USA Green Card Lottery (the list of eligible countries is updated each year by the US State Department, usually in September or October just prior to the brief Green Card Lottery registration period).  If they were not born in a country currently eligible to take part in the DV-Lottery, they may be able to receive “nativity” from a qualified family member who was born in an eligible country (a complex concept that USAFIS professionals can explain more fully);
  • Have at least a high school education (or equivalent education acceptable by the US State Department) OR if they don’t meet the education requirements, have at least two years of experience during the past five years in a job requiring two years of experience or training to perform. The job must also be on the US Government’s (US Department of Labor) list of qualified occupations;
  • Fill out their Diversity Visa (Green Card) applications completely and accurately;
  • Include the required information and proper photos for them, their spouse (if married), and all of their living unmarried children (natural, adopted, and step-children) under the age of 21 years who are not US citizens;
  • Provide digital, color passport-style photos for everyone on the Green Card application;
  • Submit their Diversity Visa application and photos electronically to the US State Department during the brief registration period held once a year.

Let Us Help You!

In an attempt to help more people from diverse backgrounds successfully participate in the American Diversity Visa Lottery program, USAFIS was established over 15 years ago with the goal of simplifying the process of properly applying for a Green Card with confidence.

USAFIS professionals apply Green Card expertise they have acquired from excellent training and years of experience to guide our valued customers through each step of the important Green Card Lottery application process.  We provide information in several languages about how to apply for a Green Card, and have friendly, helpful staff to offer top-notch customer service to our clients.

This assistance includes the following:

  • Explaining the eligibility requirements for the DV-Lottery program;
  • Informing USAFIS customers about how to apply for a Green Card successfully;
  • Our immigration professionals apply their Green Card expertise to make sure applications and photos of USAFIS clients meet the US Government’s standards;
  • We explain what they need to do so that their application will be submitted to the DV-Lottery successfully;
  • We notify customers if their Green Card Lottery application is incomplete;
  • Our customer service representatives can assist USAFIS clients and answer their questions about the Green Card Lottery in several languages all year long;
  • USAFIS promptly notifies its thousands of customers who win the Green Card Lottery each year so they can take the next steps in this competitive process.

If you want to make sure that you will participate in the American Green Card Lottery and have an excellent chance to immigrate to the United States to start a new life full of hope, promise and opportunities not found anywhere else on the face of the Earth, let the dedicated and friendly professionals at USAFIS help you begin the process correctly and with confidence today!