Can I Enter the Green Card Lottery on a Visa?

The entry rules to the Green Card Lottery are quite simple and as long as you meet them it doesn’t matter what your immigration status is (as long as it is a legal status).

The two requirements necessary to get a Green Card through the Diversity Visa Lottery have to do with having an appropriate education and being from a designated country.

Green Card Lottery

So in short, yes, you can win the Green Card Lottery even if you are in a visa in the United States.

A visa is a document issued by the United States government that allows you to appear at a U.S. port of entry and request to enter the country. As long as everything is in order you will be admitted.

If you are currently in the United States on a student visa you can apply for the Green Card lottery if you cannot meet the necessary requirements for an employment or family visa.

Though business or tourism visas are relatively short term, they won’t count against you if you wish to apply for the Green Card Lottery as well.

There are no rules that prevent you from applying for the Green Card Lottery in the United States.

You can also apply for the Green Card Lottery anywhere in the world. Your current immigration status or residence in another country does not preclude you from the lottery as long as your native land (where you were born) is on the list of accepted countries.

If you have been selected in the lottery, that’s great! But you must soon follow up with your permanent residence application, a process that is a little more detail oriented than the lottery application. Many people are not able to pass this part because they were dishonest on their lottery application and is why it is very important to be honest throughout the entire process.