American lottery to obtain a Green Card
Every year, more than 50,000 people around the world obtain a Green Card thanks to the American lottery. To earn the right to a Green Card, applicants take part in a random computerized draw held once a year.
Participate in this annual lottery by registering online in just a few minutes by clicking on the online form.
What is the Green Card lottery?
The United States has set up a program to manage the diversity of foreign immigration. This process is called the Diversity Visa Program. It includes an annual drawing of lots among candidates for immigration to the USA. Winners are eligible to apply for a Green Card under the Diversity Visa Program.
When does the Green Card lottery take place?
Entries to the Green Card lottery draw are made during a period set by the U.S. administration. This registration phase takes place as follows:
- Registration opens in the first week of October;
- Registration closes in the first week of November.
The final draw takes place in November each year.
How do I enter the lottery?
Registration is online only. There are two main steps to registration:
- Applicants must verify their eligibility to participate in the Diversity Visa Program lottery.
- Candidates must complete an online form to register for the lottery.
Check your eligibility to enter the lottery
The first condition of eligibility: the first condition of eligibility for the Green Card lottery is that you must not be a national of a country not authorized to participate.
The United States is keen to maintain a mixed immigrant population. Every year, the U.S. government determines which countries are ineligible to participate in the Green Card lottery. This selection of non-participating countries is based on the following rule: Nationals of countries with more than 50,000 citizens who immigrated to the U.S. in the previous five years are not eligible to participate in this year’s drawing.
The second eligibility condition : The candidate must have a bachelor’s degree or have held a position for 2 years or more within the last 5 years, requiring a level of training or experience of at least 2 years.
Online lottery registration
Registration for the green card lottery takes just a few minutes by completing the online form.
How can I find out the results of the Green Card lottery?
The results of the Green Card draw are published every year at least 6 months after the November draw. Lottery results are published online from May of the following year.
The U.S. State Department, which manages the Diversity Visa Program, publishes statistics online on the number of applicants who take part in the lottery each year.
Are there country quotas for the lottery?
There are no quotas per country at registration to participate in the Green Card lottery. The Diversity Visa Program, on the other hand, sets quotas by country for the final allocation of diversity visas: citizens from any one country may not represent more than 7% of the total number of winners.
Example for 2023: For a total of 55,000 Green Cards issued in 2023, no country could have more than 7% of them, i.e. a maximum of 3,850 Green Cards.
Summary of candidates who participated in the lottery from 2019 to 2021
The latest figures published by the U.S. Department of State concerning the number of online registrations for the Green Card lottery are for the year 2021. Here is a summary of participation from 2019 to 2021, broken down by geographical area:
| Geographic zones | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
| African countries | 7 832 894 | 8 145 390 | 3 100 982 |
| Asian countries | 1 871 824 | 1 952 489 | 1 281 046 |
| Countries in Europe | 4 349 555 | 4 072 324 | 2 014 089 |
| North American countries (Bahamas) | 1 506 | 1 445 | 937 |
| Oceania countries | 23 201 | 22 722 | 16 672 |
| Central and South American countries | 273 033 | 528 428 | 327 402 |
| Total number of applications | 14 352 013 | 14 722 798 | 6 741 128 |
These statistics have been compiled from public data published by the State Department on travel.state.gov.
What happens after the Green Card lottery?
Lottery winners must follow several steps after winning the lottery. The next steps in the procedure are :
- Complete visa application form DS-260.
- Payment of the Green Card fee for this mandatory visa application;
- Interview for the Green Card with a USCIS Diversity Visa Program officer;
- Carry out a medical examination.