On our first article about this subject, we discussed about the free draw carried out every year by the United States Government, namely the “Diversity Visa Lottery,” where thousands of residency cards, also known as green green cards, are granted to chosen participants.
In that first article we spoke about the number of people who can participate, who can be a participant and whether the draw is free of charge or not. Today, we shall continue with the 10 things that you must know about the Diversity Visa Lottery:
What are my chances of winning the Diversity Visa?
The total of Visas are divided into six geographical regions, corresponding in their majority to Africa, since this is the geographical region with the least number of immigrants in the United States. No country can be allocated more than 7% of the total of available Visas.
If you want to have an idea of the odds, you can look at the official date of the results from the DV Lottery of 2010. The number of winners is shown within brackets.
- Argentina (188)
- Bolivia (144)
- Chile (53)
- Costa Rica (74)
- Cuba (298)
- España (169)
- Honduras (82)
- Nicaragua (50)
- Panamá (39)
- Paraguay (29)
- Uruguay (17)
- Venezuela (624)
How can I participate and how do I know if I have won?
Once the application period has stated (usually within the first days of the month of October), you can make the request through the Website of the Department of State.
Once you have completed your registration, a number will appear which you must print and save. This is the number that will allow you to find out in the Website of the Department of State whether you have won the Diversity Visa. You may have to check the website for several days, since the entire list of winners is not published on the same day.
This is the only way to learn whether you have been chosen or not. You will never receive a notification via email. If you receive one, it will be a fake one. Do not pay any fees and report the scammer to the authorities.
If I win, will I get a residency card? 
The answer is no, and for several reasons. Some of the winners have second thoughts about their future and decide not to immigrate into the United States. It is also common for the Consulate to find that you have committed fraud in your application, annulling the result.
It is important to know that, besides from winning, it is important to be eligible for immigration into the United States. In some cases, if you do not meet all the requirements it may be possible to request an immigration waiver to get the residency.