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Green Card Lottery F.A.Q.

What is the DV-2013-Program? Why does this lottery exist?

Based on the current immigration law (Immigration Act of 1990) the USA started to make available a certain number of unrestricted US work and residence permits, the so-called Green Cards. They are unlimited and valid for a lifetime. By defining a minimal educational level, the US is able to limit immigration to only reasonably educated individuals. In addition, certain countries with an exceptionally high rate of immigrants in the US are excluded from the program to maintain the multicultural balance in US society.

Also excluded are countries whose immigration rates into the US over the past five years has surpassed 50,000 (see conditions for participation).

Hence also the name: DV is the abbreviation for “Diversity Visa”. The number 2013 stands for the American fiscal year 2013 beginning on October 1st, 2012 and ending on September 30th, 2013. This is the time frame for distributing the Green Cards to the winners of this program.

Please click here for the complete text of the law.

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What is the deadline for a DV-2012 application?

The deadline for the submission of all applications is 15.10.2011. However, you can take advantage of our special offer (45.– Euro instead of the regular 50.– Euro) if you print!

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What if I do not want to relocate to the USA immediately?

Generally the Green Card is valid for a life-time. However, if you win then you will have to enter the US at least once to confirm receipt of the Green Card. This has to happen within 6 months after you are issued an immigrant visa at a US consulate in your country. However, you are under no obligation to stay in the US for a longer period. US immigration laws have specifically binding provisions. It is at this stage that you’ll likely need our specialty services. All services for winners are free of charge for our customers! We’ll be happy to serve you and support your application to the very end.

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What happens if I get married or become a parent after I have won the Green Card?

You have a six-month grace period, from the moment you are notified of the Green Card award, to adjust your status. Should you get married or become a parent during that period, the new family members will each automatically be entitled to receive a Green Card. You will need to contact us for a post-registration process if you have won the Green Card and the foregoing applies to you.

If your marriage occurs after your interview at the US consulate (and after the immigrant visa has been granted to you) your spouse may be expected to wait for 3 to 4 years for a US residence permit. However, the law does entitle your spouse to the Green Card.

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What does the Green Card mean for my family?

If you win, not only you but also your spouse and your unmarried children (under 21 years of age) will each receive their own personal Green Card.

That means if you and your partner submit an individual application, chances for the whole family double. But please note: Each individual may only participate in the Green Card Program once per year!

ATTENTION: Please also take care to list ALL your unmarried children under 21 years of age. This includes children born out of wedlock or children born to your spouse only. You do not necessarily need to allow all of the listed children to get a green card in case you win, but you MUST list them on the original application!

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Is there any other way to obtain a Green Card?

Usually not. Except you invest 1 million US$ in the USA or have close relatives or an employer advocating in your favor. But even if a US enterprise does credibly assure you that they are willing to employ you, it has to be proven that you are not taking this workplace away from a US American capable of the same job. The process of presenting such evidence at the US Department of Labor is costly and can often take years.

This means: For persons without anybody in the USA advocating for them, obtaining a Green Card outside the DV-2011-Program is next to impossible. However, if you consider yourself particularly qualified or able to invest in the USA we recommend that you have a look at the category “USA Visa Services” on our homepage. It is our aim to assist you as well as possible.

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How are the winners selected?

Each participant will be assigned a computer generated random number. Then, the US State Department selects all winners via an EDV-controlled random procedure. A total of 55,000 applicants will receive a Green Card.

If you belong to the successful participants, the American authorities will notify us by mail in June/July 2010 and we will forward all documents to you immediately after having verified your current address by telephone or e-mail. The subsequent correspondence will then be handled by the responsible American consulate in your country. Of course we will continue to help you with this correspondence or in any other matters that you may need our assistance for.

A detailed overview of all winners does not exist. You can find an numerical overview of last year’s winners sorted by native country here.

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What are my chances to win a Green Card?

Naturally the chances to win a Green Card vary from year to year according to the number of participants and legal regulations. There are certain contingents for the regions of the world. The average winning chance we calculated, however, lies between 1:20 and 1:25, so that about every 20th applicant does receive a Green Card. For more details please read our overview “chances”.

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How was the distribution of Green Card-winners in 2009?

To view the distribution of the winners 2009 (announced in July 2009) please click here at the Statistical Breakdown of DV-2010 green card winners!

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What are the educational requirements for the lottery?

You can participate if you have finished at least a high school or its equivalent in your country. A “high school education or equivalent” is defined as successful completion of a twelve-year course of elementary and secondary education in the United States or, in another country, successful completion of a formal course of elementary and secondary education comparable to a high school education in the United States.

Alternatively you can prove two years of work experience in an occupation requiring at least two years of training, and you must have worked in this profession at least two years over the course of the the past five years. Sometimes two years of working in a profession which usually requires a two year training is sufficient, even if you have not actually accomplished such a training. A list of these professions can be found here. Just type in your profession and click on “Summary”. You will find an analysis on how many years of experience in your job are needed in the chapter “Job Zone > Overall Experience”. There is no minimum age.

All persons who do not fulfill the above mentioned requirements are not entitled to participate in the lottery, unfortunately.

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I do not fulfill the application requirements, yet. What can I do?

The requirements regarding education or professional training only have to be proven in summer 2010. If you meet the conditions by then, you can participate. Should this not be the case, minors (i.e. persons under the age of 21, according to US law) may simply be mentioned in their parents’ application. Thus, if the parents win, they will have to fulfill the prerequisites, and you yourself can receive the Green Card without any proof just on the base of family bounds.

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When am I notified if I have won? What is the subsequent procedure?

In early January you receive an acknowledgment of the receipt of your application directly from us. Unfortunately the raffle itself takes quite some time. The US government will only inform about the outcome in June/July 2010. Thus you can expect information directly from Australia-Offshore between June and July 2010. All our participants will be informed, even if they have not won. However, the definite result will most likely only be established by end of July!

At the appropriate time we will then inform you how to proceed. This is because in case you have won more forms will have to be filled out and an appointment with the US embassy to be taken. Our service program also includes our preparing you in this case and without any additional costs.

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Can I apply anew every year?

Yes, as long as this program is in existence you can participate once a year until you have won a Green Card. You will receive a notice from Australia-Offshore once a new registration period starts, although there is no obligation to participate again.

A special discount will apply to returning customers. Your digital picture will be saved, but if you wish to update your photo, you may do so every year. However, please note that only one application may be submitted per person and year!

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Why is country of birth more important than citizenship?

In accordance with the eligibility provisions, an applicant’s country of birth is the most important criterion. Given the rate at which some national borders change and the number of applications that require verification, US authorities do not make any exceptions to this provision. Even if you are not a citizen of the country in which you were born, you must still specify the country of your birth. Your citizenship is not relevant.

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Can a winner be accepted in the US Army?

With the Green Card you can work in almost all professions including most areas of the US Army. Those areas of army and politics which are not accessible for holders of a Green Card are usually open to you after having acquired US citizenship. You can usually acquire US-citizenship after 5 years.

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How should the photo(s) be fixed on the application form?

Please use adhesive tape to fix your own photo (i.e. the photo of the main applicant) on the field reserved for that purpose on the front of the form. Please write your name and date of birth well legible on the back and do not glue the photo.

If you have family members, a photo of each of them in the format 50 x 50 mm (2 x 2 inches) also has to be added. If the front doesn’t provide enough space, those photos can also be stuck to the lower margin of the back. Please do only stick these photos with adhesive tape, too, and write name and date of birth of the respective person(s) on the back.

Alternatively you can also send in all photos separately with your application form. In this case please make sure they can not fall off the envelope. We will take care of fixing the photos and cut them into the right format if necessary.

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May the size of the photo differ?

Please send us a photography of the size of 37 x 37 mm or 50 x 50 mm (1.5 x 1.5 or 2 x 2 inches), if possible. If the format is not overly large, we can cut it according to the regulations.

You should have your photography made by a photographer or an automate where you can choose the appropriate size. Please take the pictures directly facing the camera in front of light-colored background. Additionally you may choose to comfortably upload your digital photos now. You can upload a photo in the original size of 600 x 600 pixels. However, you may upload any size of photo as well. If you upload any photo which is not square in size, our automatic photo tool will offer you six excerpts of the original photo. You may chose which frame best shows your full face and then click to submit this frame. If none of the frames seems correct, please resize the picture yourself or use another photo. Please do not upload photos taken with a regular webcam or cellular phone. In most cases the quality of these photos is not good enough for the application.

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Do I have to list all children? Where are they to be stated?

Please enter all children under 21 years on the application form. All entries have to fit on one DIN A4 sheet, thus it is due to technical reasons that we can not ask for more than five children on our printed application form. In the online form you can enter up to 8 children. But it is obligatory to state all children, even children whose biological mother or father your are, but who are not under your custody. Also, children of your spouse must be entered on your form, even if you have not formally adopted them. No child under 21 years must be omitted!

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What is the best way to inform Australia-Offshore of a change in my address data?

You can inform us via telephone, in writing or via email. Any time. The only important thing is that you let us know the change at all. As the US authorities will notify us first if you have won, we can let you know wherever you are, as long as we have your current address!

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Will I also be notified if I was not selected?

In any case we will inform you before end of July next year. At the same time we will send you important information regarding possible follow-up programs.

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How can I be sure that Australia-Offshore does proceed my application correctly?

Australia-Offshore was the first and only enterprise to be licensed by the French Parlement (federal administrative authority) as an advisory agency for emigration to the USA. We are realizing a very successful cooperation with our clients since 1998, and with over 13,000 won Green Cards we clearly are the market leader in Europe and now in Australia.
We confirm the receipt of your application in the USA by sending you a certificate via regular mail. Moreover, we always keep you up to date by e-mail to let you know what exactly is happening with your entry at every stage of the application procedure. Through our “>Once you have been selected as a winner, we help you at no extra cost(!) until you have completed all the necessary bureaucratic steps and receive your actual green card. You can see a lot of comments from past successful winners on our winner’s page.

When you are registered as a client we will also provide you with a special log-in page where you can check your data and your photos online whenever you wish, and even register any changes of your address.

This way you can be sure that everything is proceeded absolutely competently and that you have the very best chances for receiving a Green Card.

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What does the processing fee cover?

The processing fee ensures that your application is proceeded correctly, and timely submitted in the USA. Our staff deals with each single application in full detail. We send you an official confirmation of the entry in the USA at no extra cost. The official online receipt of the State Department will be printed for you and sent by airmail. All mailing, courier and telephone fees are included in the price as well.

Beginning in 2003, a new official rule states that all applications need to be submitted electronically. Therefore, from now on, the registration fee also covers the digitalization of your application form and correct electronic submission of your entry, including the upload of your digitalized photo(s).

You will always have access to your data online and will be able to see and/or change your address, your photos, or update your marital or family status.

At no extra cost, you may call us, write an email to us, or go to our online chat section to ask us anything regarding your application, 365 days per year.

Also, in the event that you win, our complete ongoing counseling and support service is free of additional costs. Many other services provide you with your winning notice and then tell you that you should hire a lawyer at prices between 1,000 and 2,600 US$ to take care of the further correspondence with the USCIS or US foreign consulate. It is true that professional help should be considered after getting the winning notification.

It is Australia-Offshore´s policy, however, to help all our customers for free once they are a winner. Even after you have completed the whole consular process and after you have actually moved to the US, you may still seek our help and we will not charge anything extra.

At the time of winning, you will also get access to our exclusive winners´forum. This invaluable site already has more than 1,500 members (all winners of the green card through Australia-Offshore) who have posted close to 20.000 posts. You will get answers to all your questions regarding the further procedures and your personal immigration to the US. You may find new friends and other winners from your country in this forum. Of course, all posts are monitored and help is offered by Australia-Offshore. You can stay a member for your entire life, if you wish.

Furthermore, if you do not yet reside in the US at the time of winning, your green card itself will be sent to our New York office and from there forwarded to your local address. The US government prohibits sending the green card to any address outside of the United States. Therefore, for many people, having their card sent to Australia-Offshore is the only chance to receive it.

If you are NOT yet a winner, you will also be notified by mail through Australia-Offshore. If you participate on your own for free, you will never know if you have won, because the State Department does not send notices to “losers”. Also, if you move within the 9 months between submitting your application and receiving the result, you are on the safer side with Australia-Offshore. You can tell us changes of adress at any time, while if you submit your application directly to the US authorities, no changes are allowed any time after submission. This way, you might win, but never receive your winning notice.

There is much more to applying through a trustworthy green card service like Australia-Offshore. Yes, it does cost some money, but you can be sure that you will be among the qualified applicants and that you get expert help and support throughout the way. Take your time, compare for yourself, and when you are ready, apply here.
Green Card Lottery Online Application Form

You can find our complete service program under “Our Service”. Please note that we can not process applications without payment.

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