The diversity lottery, also commonly called the greencard lottery, is an annual program which allows immigrants to apply to be included in a pool of applicants for fifty thousand visas will be given out in a random drawing. The application submission process for this lottery is not extremely difficult, but there are a number of questions that must be answered and certain documentation that must be verified before the lottery winners can receive a visa. The first step in winning a green card this way is submitting the application during the open entry period. Applications received in 2011 will be used for the 2013 lottery drawing, and are submitted online to the State Department, using the official online forms. A passport photo must be uploaded with the application submission for the entry to be considered valid. In addition, if the immigrant has a spouse or any dependent children then a passport photo for each of these individuals must also be included.

Can More Than One Application Be Submitted?

In most cases, only a single application may be submitted by an individual for each annual drawing. The exception to this is with a married couple, who may each apply for the greencard lottery and list their spouse on the application. This gives a married couple a double chance of being chosen, because two applications are submitted instead of only one. Since each application covers the primary individual and spouse, both would receive a green card if either of the applications is chosen as a lottery winner. The spousal exception is the only circumstance which allows an immigrant to have more than one chance of being drawn from the pool of applicants. Get more information on http://www.green-card.com/.