Here you will find answers to frequently asked questions (FAQs) related to Immigration Express and the services that we offer, as well as general information about US immigration through the Diversity Visa Lottery Program.
Please be aware that Immigration Express is not affiliated with the US Government in any way and is not a law firm, thus, the information provided below should not be considered as legal advice and is subject to change at any time.
Immigration Express (Immigration-Express.org) is a team of specialists with over a decade of experience assisting people around the world to correctly prepare and file their applications for the US Diversity Visa Lottery (DV-Lottery) Program.
Immigration Express is not a law firm and is not affiliated with the US Government in any way.
Our Immigration Express team provides beneficial services to make it easy for eligible individuals and their family members to participate in the DV-Lottery Program for the opportunity to immigrate to the United States as US Permanent Resident Green Card holders.
Immigration Express offers services to its customers that simplify the process of properly preparing their applications and photo(s) for the Diversity Visa Lottery, also known as the Green Card Lottery.
The Immigration Express team stays informed on the current Diversity Visa Lottery Program regulations in order to instruct our customers on how to correctly complete their application details and photos so they will satisfy the strict DV-Lottery requirements.
Immigration Express has developed an online application form where our customers can easily enter their details and upload their photos for review prior to submission to the DV-Lottery.
If our customers need assistance with their applications or have questions about the process, customer service is available in several major languages.
After a customer has uploaded the required photo(s) to his or her online application form, the Immigration Express Photo Department will carefully check each photo to make sure it meets the DV-Lottery standards.
Our customers will be informed if any of their photos do not satisfy the criteria so they can upload a new photo, which will also be reviewed by our Photo Department.
Once the applications and photos are ready, Immigration Express will submit them to the DV-Lottery on behalf of each customer during the annual registration period which usually occurs in October.
If a customer is selected as a winner of the DV-Lottery, Immigration Express will notify him or her promptly after the results are made available (usually starting in May).
Immigration Express also makes available services for customers who are selected as DV-Lottery winners, to help make the next step of the US immigration process easier to complete.
You and your family can benefit from our services in several ways such as:
- User-friendly online form to provide your details and photo(s) for review
- Information and customer service available in several languages
- Our Photo Department checks your photo(s) for the DV-Lottery criteria
- You can avoid unnecessary mistakes that could result in disqualification
- We submit your application to the DV-Lottery during the registration period
- You will be contacted promptly if you are selected as a DV-Lottery winner
- Services for customers selected in the DV-Lottery to simplify the next step of the process
The Immigration Express Customer Service Department is available to assist our customers in several major languages.
You may contact us by telephone at +1-617-207-8208 or by email at: CSR@Immigration-Express.org
The Diversity Immigrant Visa Program is a US immigration program that seeks to diversify the population of the United States by granting up to 55,000 Diversity Immigrant Visas and Permanent Resident Green Cards to eligible individuals from countries with historically low US immigration rates.
A lottery is used to randomly select approximately 100,000 winners from over 10 million DV-Lottery participants in six regions of the world who will have the opportunity to continue the process to apply for a Diversity Immigrant Visa and Green Card to live, study and work in the USA for an unlimited amount of time.
The main applicant must satisfy two major eligibility requirements to participate in the DV-Lottery, which is also known as the Green Card Lottery.
One requirement is to be born in a country whose natives are eligible to participate in the DV-Lottery during a particular DV-Year.
The US State Department usually publishes a list of the eligible and ineligible countries in September, prior to the annual DV-Lottery registration period that normally occurs in October.
The second major requirement to participate in the DV-Lottery is to have completed at least 12 years of primary and secondary education or to have completed a minimum of two years of work experience in a qualifying occupation during the previous five years.
Furthermore, the main applicant must correctly complete the DV-Lottery Application by providing the necessary details and photos for himself/herself and all family members who are listed in the application within the time allowed during the annual registration period.
The main applicant must provide his or her required details and photo in the DV-Lottery Application.
If the main applicant is married (opposite sex or same sex), then the required details and photo for the spouse must also be provided.
The required details and photo(s) must be provided for all living children (including natural children, children legally adopted by you, and stepchildren, even if you are no longer married to their parent) who are under 21 years of age and unmarried, even if they do not live with you or do not plan to immigrate to the United States.
No, you are not permitted to include your common-law partner on your DV-Lottery Application.
You are allowed to include yourself, your spouse (opposite sex or same sex) and all unmarried children who are under 21 years of age on your Diversity Visa Lottery Application.
For the DV-2025 Diversity Visa Lottery, which had its annual registration period in October-November 2023, the following countries are not eligible: Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, People’s Republic of China (including mainland China and Hong Kong), Colombia, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, South Korea (Republic of Korea), Venezuela, and Vietnam.
The reason that people born in these countries are not currently eligible to participate in the DV-2025 Diversity Visa Lottery is because over 50,000 natives of each country were approved for US immigration during the past five years.
A major goal of the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program is to diversify the population of the United States and give people born in countries with historically low rates of US immigration an opportunity to become Permanent Resident Green Card holders.
Please note that the US State Department normally publishes the lists of eligible and ineligible countries sometime in September, prior to the annual DV-Lottery registration period which usually occurs in October.
If you completed at least 12 years of primary and secondary education, but you were not born in a country whose natives are eligible to participate in the Diversity Visa Lottery Program, it may still be possible for you to take part in the DV-Lottery.
One possible option would be if you are married and your spouse was born in an eligible country, then you could claim “chargeability” to your spouse’s birth country (your spouse would need to be listed in your DV-Lottery Application and you and your spouse would need to enter the United States together with your Diversity Immigrant Visas).
A second potential option would be to claim “chargeability” to the birth country of one of your parents as long as natives of that country are currently eligible for DV-Lottery participation and neither of your parents was born in or “legally resident” in your country of birth when you were born.
According to the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program Instructions, “People are not generally considered residents of a country in which they were not born or legally naturalized. For example, persons simply visiting, studying, or temporarily working in a country are not generally considered residents.”
In the event that you claim “chargeability” for one of these two options, you must give an explanation in the relevant section of your DV-Lottery Application.
In the event that both you and your spouse (opposite sex or same sex) satisfy the eligibility requirements to participate in the Diversity Visa Lottery Program, each of you could register separately as the main applicant and include the other spouse and all unmarried children under 21 years of age on your DV-Lottery Applications.
Filing a DV-Lottery Application under your name (and including your spouse and all unmarried children under 21 years of age) and also filing a separate DV-Lottery Application under your spouse’s name (which includes you and all unmarried children under 21 years of age) basically doubles your chances of being selected as a Diversity Visa Lottery winner!
If either you or your spouse is randomly selected as a winner in the DV-Lottery, then your entire immediate family (i.e., both spouses and all unmarried children under 21 years of age) will have the opportunity to continue the process to receive a US Diversity Immigrant Visa and Permanent Resident Green Card.
The law permits an individual to file only one DV-Lottery Application under his or her name during any given registration period.
The US State Department uses advanced technology to check for duplicate DV-Lottery entries and if you have multiple DV-Lottery Applications filed during the same registration period, you will be disqualified from receiving a Diversity Immigrant Visa.
You do not have to pay a fee to apply for the Diversity Visa Lottery Program and can register by yourself for free on the US State Department’s E-DV website during the annual registration period which usually starts in early October and ends in early November.
Most people who take part in the Diversity Visa Lottery have to participate for more than one year before they are randomly selected by computer for the opportunity to continue the process to receive a US Diversity Immigrant Visa and Permanent Resident Green Card.
Therefore, if you are not randomly selected as a Diversity Visa Lottery winner the first time you participate, then simply register for the next year’s DV-Lottery if you still meet the eligibility criteria.
The annual registration period for the Diversity Visa (DV) Lottery, also known as the Green Card Lottery, usually starts during the first week of October and normally ends during the first week of November.
For the DV-2025 Green Card Lottery (which occurs in early 2024), the registration period started on October 4, 2023, and ended on November 7, 2023.
The DV-Lottery results are generally made available in May, when participants can check on the US State Department’s E-DV website if they were randomly selected to continue the US immigration process to receive a Diversity Immigrant Visa and Permanent Resident Green Card.
The Diversity Visa Lottery results (i.e., revealing who was selected and who was not selected) are generally made available on the US State Department’s E-DV website starting in May or June each year.
Results for the DV-2025 Green Card Lottery will be made available on the E-DV website starting May 4, 2024.
DV-Lottery participants can check on the US State Department’s E-DV website usually starting in May to learn if they were selected as winners.
Immigration Express will contact its customers by telephone and email starting in May (after the results are released) if they are selected as winners of the DV-Lottery so they can promptly take the next step in the process to receive a US Diversity Immigrant Visa and Permanent Resident Green Card.
The US State Department issues a 16-character Confirmation Number immediately after someone successfully registers for the Diversity Visa Lottery during the annual registration period which usually occurs in October.
The Confirmation Number confirms that a person is registered for the DV-Lottery and it is requested when the individual checks on the US State Department’s E-DV website whether he or she was selected once the results are made available (normally starting in May).
The 14-character Case Number appears on the DV-Lottery selectee’s winning notification letter which can be accessed online on the US State Department’s E-DV website once the results are made available (usually starting in May).
A DV-Lottery selectee (winner) should print out a copy of the winning notification letter which contains the Case Number and keep it in a safe place, because it will be requested later during the consular process.
Being randomly selected as a winner of the Diversity Visa Lottery means that an individual and his or her family members who were included in the DV-Lottery Application now have the opportunity to continue the process to receive a Diversity Immigrant Visa and Permanent Resident Green Card.
The next major step of the process after being selected in the DV-Lottery is to file the online Form DS-260 Immigrant Visa Electronic Application with the US State Department’s Kentucky Consular Center (KCC).
The KCC will then inform the DV-Lottery winner about providing scanned copies of the required supporting documents.
After the KCC has reviewed the completed Form DS-260, it will generally send an email to the DV-Lottery winner informing him or her of the time and place of the consular interview.
Prior to the consular interview, the DV-Lottery winner and all family members listed in the application will need to have a medical exam with an approved panel physician in their country of residence and also get two identical photos taken that meet the US State Department’s criteria for visa photos.
The DV-Lottery winner and his or her family members will need to pay the government fees, provide biometric data and have all of the required supporting documents at the scheduled consular interview held at the US Embassy or Consulate in their country of residence.
The US consular official will check the documents, ask some questions and if approved, a Diversity Immigrant Visa will be placed on a page of the new immigrant’s valid passport.
The new immigrant must enter the United States while the Diversity Immigrant Visa is still valid (this is usually up to six months after issuance).
After receiving a Diversity Immigrant Visa, a separate Immigrant Fee must be paid online to US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) for each family member so the plastic Permanent Resident Green Card can be sent to the immigrant’s address in the United States.
Each immigrant will carry his or her Green Card as a form of identification and proof of Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR) status in the United States.
A US Permanent Resident Green Card is generally valid for 10 years and can be renewed indefinitely for 10 years each time.
After living in the USA for at least five years as a Permanent Resident Green Card holder and meeting other eligibility requirements, there is an option available to apply to become an American citizen and then to receive a US passport.
A Diversity Immigrant Visa is issued by the US State Department at the American Embassy or Consulate following the consular interview when a DV-Lottery winner and his or her accompanying family members are approved for US immigration.
The Diversity Immigrant Visa is placed on a page of the new immigrant’s valid passport, it is generally valid for up to six months and it is basically used for initial entry into the United States (the new immigrant must enter the USA while the Diversity Immigrant Visa is still valid).
After a new immigrant has been issued a Diversity Immigrant Visa, he or she will need to pay the online Immigrant Fee (for each family member) to US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) so it can produce and send the plastic Permanent Resident Green Card(s) to the address in the United States that was provided by the new immigrant where the Green Card(s) can be retrieved.
A US Permanent Resident Green Card is generally valid for 10 years, can be renewed indefinitely for 10 years each time, and is carried by an immigrant living in the USA as official identification and proof of Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR) status.
No, being randomly selected as a winner of the Diversity Visa Lottery does not mean that a person will automatically receive a US Diversity Immigrant Visa and/or Permanent Resident Green Card.
When someone is randomly selected as a winner of the Diversity Visa Lottery, this means that he or she and the family members listed in the DV-Lottery Application now have the opportunity to continue the process to receive one of the 55,000 Diversity Immigrant Visas and Green Cards authorized to be issued through this US immigration program in a specific Fiscal Year.
The DV-Lottery selectee/winner will need to file the Form DS-260 Immigrant Visa Electronic Application with the US State Department’s Kentucky Consular Center (KCC) and attend a scheduled consular interview at the American Embassy or Consulate in their country of residence.
At the end of the interview, the consular official will generally decide whether or not to approve the DV-Lottery selectee and his or her family for a Diversity Immigrant Visa for immigration to the United States as a Lawful Permanent Resident.
Only after being approved for a Diversity Immigrant Visa can the new immigrant pay the online Immigrant Fee (for each family member) to US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) so the Permanent Resident Green Card(s) can be produced and sent to the address in the United States provided by the immigrant where he or she can retrieve the Green Card(s).
US Permanent Resident Green Card holders can enjoy many benefits such as:
- Living in any of the 50 US states for an unlimited time period
- Legally working in the USA for an unlimited period of time
- Being able to attend educational institutions in the USA
- Having the opportunity to buy a home in the United States
- Receiving the option to start a US business
- Applying for a driver’s license in the US state of residence
- Traveling to and from the USA according to the regulations
- Sponsoring eligible family members for a US Green Card
- Opening a bank account in the United States
- Gaining access to a vast selection of consumer goods and services
- Enjoying equality and freedoms in the US protected by law
- Getting Social Security and Medicare benefits once the requirements are satisfied
- Visiting beautiful beaches, mountains, forests and other scenic places
- Applying to become an American citizen after living in the US 5 years and meeting other criteria
Yes, there is a strong demand for immigrant workers with in-demand skills in various sectors of the American economy.
Possessing a US Permanent Resident Green Card allows an immigrant to legally live and work in the USA for an unlimited period of time and gives him or her access to the booming American labor market.
The US Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported on April 2, 2024, that there are 8.8 million jobs in the USA currently being advertised by employers.
The BLS also reported on April 5, 2024, that employers filled an impressive 303,000 US job openings in March 2024, which was the 39th consecutive month of non-stop US job growth, and stated that the national unemployment rate dropped to a very low 3.8% (the lowest in decades).
So, right now is a good time for immigrants or anyone else to be looking for jobs in the USA, because there are millions of US job vacancies available and American employers are hiring!
Yes, jobs in the USA generally pay good salaries.
Of course, how much US jobs pay will depend on a person’s occupation, education, years of experience, company size, company location and other factors.
Here are several examples of average yearly salaries for various jobs in the USA, based on 2023 data from the US Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS):
- Accountant/Auditor = $90,780 USD per year
- Aerospace Engineer = $134,330 USD per year
- Air Traffic Controller = $136,790 USD per year
- Aircraft Mechanic and Service Technician = $76,260 USD per year
- Airline Pilot/Copilot/Flight Engineer = $250,050 USD per year
- Audio and Video Technician = $59,260 USD per year
- Audiologist = $92,620 USD per year
- Bank Teller = $38,850 USD per year
- Barber = $41,570 USD per year
- Biological Scientist = $100,440 USD per year
- Brickmason/Blockmason/Stonemason = $63,470 USD per year
- Bus Driver (Transit/Intercity) = $59,860 USD per year
- Camera Operator (Film, Television, Film) = $71,890 USD per year
- Carpenter = $60,970 USD per year
- Carpet Installer = $52,290 USD per year
- Chef/Head Cook = $62,640 USD per year
- Chemist = $95,560 USD per year
- Civil Engineer = $101,160 USD per year
- Computer Hardware Engineer = $147,770 USD per year
- Computer Programmer = $107,750 USD per year
- Computer Systems Analyst = $110,800 USD per year
- Concrete Finisher/Cement Mason = $57,390 USD per year
- Construction Laborer = $49,280 USD per year
- Construction Manager = $116,960 USD per year
- Cook (Restaurant) = $36,060 USD per year
- Customer Service Representative = $43,520 USD per year
- Data Scientist = $119,040 USD per year
- Dental Assistant = $47,350 USD per year
- Dental Hygienist = $89,890 USD per year
- Dentist = $200,870 USD per year
- Dietitian/Nutritionist = $71,280 USD per year
- Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installer = $61,480 USD per year
- Economist = $132,650 USD per year
- Editor = $85,110 USD per year
- Electrical Engineer = $117,680 USD per year
- Electrician = $67,810 USD per year
- Elementary School Teacher = $70,950 USD per year
- Fashion Designer = $97,030 USD per year
- Film and Video Editor = $83,470 USD per year
- Financial Analyst/Advisor = $123,330 USD per year
- Financial Manager = $174,820 USD per year
- Firefighter = $60,390 USD per year
- Flight Attendant = $70,980 USD per year
- Food Scientist and Technologist = $88,350 USD per year
- Food Service Manager = $69,580 USD per year
- Forester = $70,680 USD per year
- Graphic Designer = $64,700 USD per year
- Hairdresser/Hairstylist = $41,780 USD per year
- Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanic/Installer = $59,620 USD per year
- Home Appliance Repairer = $50,640 USD per year
- Hotel/Lodging Manager = $76,790 USD per year
- Housekeeper/Maid = $34,650 USD per year
- Human Resources Manager = $154,740 USD per year
- Human Resources Specialist = $76,060 USD per year
- Information Security Analyst = $124,740 USD per year
- Interior Designer = $68,530 USD per year
- Iron and Steel Worker = $68,220 USD per year
- Janitor = $36,250 USD per year
- Landscaping/Groundskeeping Worker = $39,790 USD per year
- Lawyer = $176,470 USD per year
- Machinist = $54,600 USD per year
- Marketing Manager = $166,410 USD per year
- Materials Scientist = $112,440 USD per year
- Mathematician = $119,770 USD per year
- Mechanical Engineer = $105,220 USD per year
- Medical Assistant = $43,350 USD per year
- Microbiologist = $93,380 USD per year
- Painter (Construction/Maintenance) = $52,110 USD per year
- Pharmacist = $134,790 USD per year
- Physical Therapist = $100,440 USD per year
- Physician = $263,840 USD per year
- Physicist = $158,270 USD per year
- Plasterer = $59,050 USD per year
- Plumber/Pipefitter = $67,840 USD per year
- Police Officer = $76,550 USD per year
- Power Plant Operator = $91,880 USD per year
- Post-Secondary Teacher/Lecturer/Professor = $101,750 USD per year
- Psychologist = $101,170 USD per year
- Purchasing Manager = $146,710 USD per year
- Registered Nurse (RN) = $94,480 USD per year
- Roofer = $55,840 USD per year
- Sales Manager = $157,610 USD per year
- Sales Person (Retail) = $36,690 USD per year
- Secondary School Teacher = $73,570 USD per year
- Software Developer = $138,110 USD per year
- Special Education Teacher = $73,520 USD per year
- Surgeon = $348,890 USD per year
- Surveyor = $74,000 USD per year
- Tile and Stone Setter = $53,920 USD per year
- Urban and Regional Planner = $85,940 USD per year
- Veterinarian = $136,300 USD per year
- Waiter/Waitress = $36,530 USD per year
- Web Developer = $95,570 USD per year
- Welder = $52,640 USD per year
- Writer/Author = $87,590 USD per year
DISCLAIMER – Immigration Express (Immigration-Express.org) is not affiliated with the US Government in any way and is not a law firm. The information provided on this website is not and should not be considered as professional or legal advice.