The US State Department recently implemented a rule which will make it more complicated for millions of applicants to enter the annual Green Card Lottery. For the next round of the very popular immigration lottery, a valid passport will be required, along with other personal data.
Every year, 55.000 randomly selected winners of the lottery - officially called the Diversity Visa Program, or DV Lottery - may officially immigrate to the United States after certain background checks at a U.S. consulate. Ever since he was elected, President Trump has been trying to eliminate the program altogether – unsuccessfully so far.
The passport requirement officially closes a security gap in the application process. A recent increase in fraudulent applications included a scheme where applications were entered on behalf of third parties. Money was subsequently extorted from unwitting winners. This practice will likely cease to continue once a valid passport number becomes an integral part of the application process.
However, this small change also has a significant impact on the chances of winning. According to Holger Zimmerman, CEO of The American Dream, a government licensed emigration consultancy since 1996, the lottery is most popular in countries where passport density is low. Countries with the highest participation rates last year include: Egypt, Russia, DR Congo, Iran, Nepal, Sudan, Albania and the Ukraine, to name only a few. In most of these countries, passport density is below 20%, in some even below 5%. This means, up to 95% of would-be applicants can no longer participate in the new lottery – unless they undergo the lengthy and expensive process of securing a passport before the end of October!
According to Zimmermann, this will quite certainly reduce the overall number of applicants by more than half in the upcoming lottery. Whoever already holds a passport, or is able to get one without further ado, should definitely not miss this year´s Green Card Lottery. The lower the number of entries, the higher the chances for each correct application to become a winning ticket.
Every year, 55.000 randomly selected winners of the lottery - officially called the Diversity Visa Program, or DV Lottery - may officially immigrate to the United States after certain background checks at a U.S. consulate. Ever since he was elected, President Trump has been trying to eliminate the program altogether – unsuccessfully so far.
The passport requirement officially closes a security gap in the application process. A recent increase in fraudulent applications included a scheme where applications were entered on behalf of third parties. Money was subsequently extorted from unwitting winners. This practice will likely cease to continue once a valid passport number becomes an integral part of the application process.
However, this small change also has a significant impact on the chances of winning. According to Holger Zimmerman, CEO of The American Dream, a government licensed emigration consultancy since 1996, the lottery is most popular in countries where passport density is low. Countries with the highest participation rates last year include: Egypt, Russia, DR Congo, Iran, Nepal, Sudan, Albania and the Ukraine, to name only a few. In most of these countries, passport density is below 20%, in some even below 5%. This means, up to 95% of would-be applicants can no longer participate in the new lottery – unless they undergo the lengthy and expensive process of securing a passport before the end of October!
According to Zimmermann, this will quite certainly reduce the overall number of applicants by more than half in the upcoming lottery. Whoever already holds a passport, or is able to get one without further ado, should definitely not miss this year´s Green Card Lottery. The lower the number of entries, the higher the chances for each correct application to become a winning ticket.
