Green Card Lottery (DV-2010)

Texas Green Card Lottery Lawyers

Bertolino LLP is now accepting green card lottery applications for the DV-2010 green card lottery. The deadline to apply through our law firm for the DV-2010 green card lottery is October 15, 2010. The Congressionally mandated Diversity Immigrant Visa Program makes available 50,000 diversity visas (DV) annually, drawn from random selection among all entries to persons who meet strict eligibility requirements from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States.

1. FRAUD WARNING:

Please Note: There have been instances of fraudulent websites posing as official U.S. Government sites. Some companies posing as the U.S. Government have sought money in order to "complete" lottery entry forms. There is no charge to download and complete the Electronic Diversity Visa Entry Form. The Department of State notifies successful Diversity Visa applicants by letter, and NOT by e-mail. To learn more see the Department of State Warning and the Federal Trade Commission Warning.

2. REQUIREMENTS FOR ENTRY:

To enter the USA 2010 Diversity Visa Green Card Lottery you must be native of a country with a low immigration rate to the USA to qualify for the USA Diversity Visa Green Card Lottery. People born in countries with high U.S. immigration are excluded from this Diversity Visa Green Card Lottery. Please see the list below of countries whose natives are currently excluded from the USA Diversity Green Card Lottery. Please note that eligibility is determined only by the country of your birth, not based on country of citizenship or current residence. This is the most common misperception.

Natives of the following countries are not eligible to participate in DV-2012: Brazil, Canada, China (mainland-born, excluding Hong Kong S.A.R. and Taiwan), Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Pakistan, Peru, the Philippines, Poland, South Korea, United Kingdom (except Northern Ireland) and its dependent territories, and Vietnam.

You must have either a high school education or its equivalent, defined as successful completion of a 12-year course of elementary and secondary education; OR two years of work experience within the past five years in an occupation requiring at least two years of training or experience to perform.

3. SELECTION OF APPLICANTS:

Applicants for the green card lottery are initially chosen through a random computer-generated lottery drawing. Immigrant visas are apportioned among six geographic regions, with a greater number of visas going to regions with lower rates of immigration - and no visas going to countries sending more than 50,000 immigrants to the US in the past five years. No one country can receive more than 3,500 diversity program visas in any one year.

If the winner files a successful green card lottery application, he or she can enter the US and exchange the immigrant visa for a green card, issued by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). If the winner is already in the US, he or she can get a green card from USCIS without leaving the country.

Visa processing can be difficult and confusing. If you would like the assistance of an experienced immigration attorney, please contact the firm by e-mail or call our offices. Bertolino LLP maintains offices in Austin, Houston and San Antonio. To reach an immigration law attorney in the Austin office, call 512.476.5757. For the San Antonio office, call 210.223.5553. For the Houston office, call 713.225.7474.