Can I Participate In The Green Card Lottery If I Was Born In An Ineligible Country?

badge-686325_640At USAFIS, we are commonly asked about requirements for the Green Card Lottery. One of the questions we are asked is in regard to the country where someone was born or where an individual currently lives. If you want to participate in the Green Card Lottery, there are three main requirements:

  1.  You must be born in an eligible country
  2.  You must meet the education or work experience requirements
  3.  You must prepare and submit a completed application and photo(s) to the Green Card Lottery during the registration period.

Even if you meet the educational requirements (at least 12 years of primary and secondary education with a diploma or degree) and are living in an eligible country, you will not qualify for the Green Card Lottery if your birth country is ineligible. The only exceptions to this rule are: 1) if one of your parents was born in an eligible country or 2) if your spouse was born in an eligible country. In these cases, it’s possible that you can “borrow” the nativity of your family members. On the Green Card application form, there is a place where you can enter this information. USAFIS has many years of experience in helping foreign nationals to correctly prepare and submit their Green Card applications and photos to the Green Card Lottery. Contact them today for professional help through the Green Card Lottery process.