Last year, more than 6.4 million people participated in the American visa lottery DV-2008, registration for which was held in the last quarter of 2006, of which only 94,000 applicants were selected. The number of winners from Ukraine this year is traditionally high – 5,018 people. Thus, for the seventh consecutive year, Ukraine ranks first among European countries in the number of winners in the American green card lottery. Among European countries, natives of Uzbekistan (3,101 people), Bulgaria (1,567), and Germany (1,469) lag far behind us.
Let us recall that the visa lottery is held to diversify the racial and ethnic composition of the U.S. population. Only natives of countries with low immigration rates to the U.S. can participate in this program. According to the results of the DV-2008 lottery, about one hundred thousand applicants received notification of victory in the first stage of the drawing and may apply for an immigrant visa to the U.S. However, only 50,000 American immigrant visas are available to residents of different countries. For each country, the annual quota is no more than 7% of visas – that is, regardless of the number of winners, no more than 3,500 people emigrate from one country.
It should not be forgotten that the mere fact of selection in the lottery does not guarantee obtaining an immigrant visa and entry into the United States. The winner and his family members must meet both the general requirements of U.S. immigration law and the rules established by the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program. An immigrant visa may be denied due to serious diseases, the list of which is approved by the U.S. Department of Health; drug addiction; conviction for certain types of crimes; insufficient financial support of the applicant and recognition of him as a potential public burden; deportation of the applicant from the U.S.; illegal presence in the territory of the United States.
In addition, the participant must not violate the established requirements. According to the rules, only those who have at least a secondary education or two years (of the last five) of work experience in an occupation requiring at least two years of training or experience may participate in the lottery. Persons who do not meet this criterion will be disqualified even if they win.
However, any person who submitted an application but did not receive a notification of winning in the current year may participate in the new drawing. Therefore, we advise those wishing to participate in the American visa lottery DV-2009 to carefully follow the publications in our newspaper.
INSTRUCTIONS FROM THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE FOR DV-2009 PARTICIPANTS >>>
ANSWERS TO THE MOST FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
REGARDING THE GREEN CARD LOTTERY DV-2009 >>>