American Green Card Lottery Access Center
Instructions on How to Enter
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LOTTERY REQUIREMENTS
MUST BE A NATIVE OF A QUALIFYING COUNTRY--Usually your country of birth
To enter, an applicant must be able to claim nativity in an eligible
country . In most cases this means the country in which the applicant was
born. However, there are two other ways a person may be able to qualify. First,
if a person was born in a country whose natives are ineligible but his/her spouse
was born in a country whose natives are eligible, such person can claim the
spouse’s country of birth provided both the applicant and spouse are issued
visas and enter the U.S. simultaneously. Second, if a person was born in a country
whose natives are ineligible, but neither of his/her parents was born there
or resided there at the time of his/her birth, such person may claim nativity
in one of the parents’ country of birth if it is a country whose natives qualify
for the DV-2010 program.
MUST MEET EITHER THE EDUCATION OR TRAINING REQUIREMENT
The law and regulations require that every entrant must have at least a high school education or its equivalent OR, within the past five years, have two years of work experience in an occupation requiring at least two years training or experience. A "high school education or equivalent" is defined as successful completion of a twelve-year course of elementary and secondary education in the United States or successful completion in another country of a formal course of elementary and secondary education comparable to a high school education in the United States. Documentary proof of education or work experience must be presented to the consular officer at the time of the visa interview.
If you do NOT meet the education requirement, you can find detailed information about the work experience requirements on web page www.americangreencard.com/work_requirements.htm .
If you cannot meet the above requirements, you should NOT submit an entry
to the DV program.
HOW TO ENTER
THE MOST RECENT REGULATIONS WERE RELEASED BY THE US
GOVERNMENT IN SEPTEMBER 2006.
ONLY ONE LOTTERY ENTRY FOR EACH PERSON
All entries by an applicant will be disqualified if more than one entry
for the applicant is received, regardless of who submitted the entry. Applicants
may prepare and submit their own entries, or have someone submit the entry for
them.
PAPER ENTRIES WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED
NO SIGNATURE REQUIRED
No signature is required for entry into the Green Card Lottery. That is because
all entries will be electronically submitted.
SPOUSE AND CHILDREN INFORMATION REQUIRED
Entries must include the Name, Date of Birth, Gender, City/Town of Birth, Country
of Birth of the applicant’s spouse and all natural children, as well as all legally-adopted
children and stepchildren who are unmarried and under the age of 21, even if you are no longer
legally married to the child’s parent, and even if the spouse or child does not
currently live with you and/or will not immigrate with you. Failure to list all children will result in your disqualification for the visa.
Note that married
children and children 21 years or older will not qualify for the diversity visa.
EASY-TO-UNDERSTAND PHOTO REQUIREMENTS
ALL REQUIRED PHOTOS MUST BE INCLUDED WITH THE ENTRY
The entry will be disqualified if all required photos are not submitted. Recent
photographs of the applicant and his/her spouse and each child under 21 years
of age, including all natural children as well as all legally-adopted and stepchildren
(except a child who is already a U.S. citizen or a Legal Permanent Resident),
even if a child no longer resides with the applicant or is not intended to immigrate
under the DV program, must be submitted electronically with the Electronic Diversity
Visa Entry Form. Group or family photos will not be accepted; there must be
a separate photo for each family member.
A digital photo of each applicant, his/her spouse, and each child must be submitted
with the Entry Form. The required photo can be a new
digital photo or it can be an exisitng photo scanned with a digital scanner.
You do not need to submit a photo for a child who
is already a U.S. citizen or Legal Permanent Resident
EASY-TO-UNDERSTAND SUMMARY OF HOW YOUR DIGITAL PHOTOS SHOULD LOOK
The U.S. Government's requirements for entry into Lottery DV-2010 state that each digital photo MUST be taken on or after June 3, 2008. That means you will need to take new digital photos AFTER JUNE 3, 2008 to email to us to info@americangreencard.com .
Over 95% of all photos we receive need digital size adjustments. Make sure you take your photos using the following instructions, and we can then make digital adjustments.
- Each photo must be a color passport-type photo, with only the head and shoulders appearing in the shot.
- Head, shoulders and eyes must be facing straight into the camera with both sides of the face and ears equally visible. NO shadows are allowed to show on any part of the face.
- The background must be a plain LIGHT color such as white (NOT red, NOT blue, NOT any bright color. NO objects or shadows are allowed to be seen in the background.
- The head should take up approximately half of the space in the photo. Do NOT smile.
- Hats or head covers are not allowed unless they are required for religious reasons. Even then, no part of the face can be covered.
- Eyeglasses are acceptable in the photo only if the lenses are NOT tinted and there is no glare, no reflections of light on the lenses or frames, no shadows, and the rims/frames do not obscure the eyes. Glare on eyeglasses can usually by avoided by a slight upward or downward tilt of the head.
- Sunglasses are NOT allowed.
- Click here to see samples of properly taken photos.
EASY-TO-UNDERSTAND SUMMARY OF HOW TO TAKE NEW DIGITAL PHOTOS
Each digital photo MUST be in .jpg digital formal.
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The camera setting should be either normal or high quality.
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The digital format MUST be .JPG.
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The ideal final digital photo should look like the samples below, will be 300mm by 300mm, with a print resolution of 150dpi.
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If your digital camera cannot take a square photo, do the following:
Set the camera for high quality
Take a
horizontal shot (a photo wider than it is tall), with the head and shoulders showing as in
samples of properly taken photos below. We will then crop to get rid of any excess white space on each side of the photo and make it square. If the final digital size is too large, we can adjust it to meet the U.S. Government's requirements. We will also make all the digital resolutions meet the exact requirements.
EASY-TO-UNDERSTAND SUMMARY OF HOW TO SCAN EXISTING PHOTOS
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Get a high-quality scan (at least 200dpi).
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The final scanned photo MUST be in .JPG format.
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The scanned size resolutions should be 300mm by 300mm.
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The final digital photo should look like the sample photo below.
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If close to the required digital resolutions, we can adjust it to exactly meet the requirements.
Email each required digital photo as a separate attachment to the message you send to info@americangreencard.com . Be sure to identify who is in each digital photo you send to us.
SAMPLES OF PROPERLY TAKEN PHOTOS
CORRECT PHOTO
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CORRECT PHOTO
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CORRECT PHOTO
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SAMPLES OF WRONG PHOTOS
WRONG...
Nothing allowed in back-
ground; do NOT smile
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WRONG...
Resolution too low; not in
sharp focus; do NOT smile
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WRONG...
Shadow on background;
do NOT smile
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WRONG...
Shadow on side of face; do
NOT smile
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MORE COMPLEX INSTRUCTIONS FROM THE U.S. GOVERNMENT DETAILING INSTRUCTIONS FOR PREPARING DIGITAL PHOTOS
The submitted image must adhere to the following specifications. Photographs submitted must be a recent photograph, taken within the last 6 months. Please be advised that failure to comply with any of the following requirements may result in disqualification from the lottery.
Image Acquisition:
- The image file may be produced by acquiring an image with a digital camera or by digitizing a paper photograph with a scanner.
- Digital enhancement or other alterations or retouching are not permitted.
- The original aspect ratio of the image must be preserved. (No image stretching is allowed.)
Compositional Specifications:
Content
- The image must contain the full face, neck, and shoulders of the applicant in frontal view with a neutral, non-smiling expression and with eyes open and directed at the camera.
- The image must not contain any parts of the body below the applicant's shoulders.
- The image must not include other objects or additional people.
- Applicant must be vertically oriented in the image.
- The image must be from a recent (within 6 months) photo of the applicant.
Head Position
- Subject must directly face the camera.
- Head must not be tilted up, down, or to the side.
- The head height (measured from the top of the head, including the hair, to the bottom of the chin) must be between 50% and 69% of the image’s total height. The eye height (measured from the bottom of the image to the level of the eyes) should be between 56% and 69% of the image's height. The diagram below shows these measurements on a correctly-proportioned image.
Each digital photo can be produced in one of the following ways:
- Take a new digital photo that meets the following Compositional Specifications
and Technical Specifications.
OR
- Use a digital scanner to scan an existing photo that meets the following
Compositional Specifications and Technical Specifications.
Compositional Specifications:
All digital photos must conform to the following compositional specifications
or the entry will be disqualified.
- Head Position in Photo
- Person being photographed must directly face the camera.
- Head of the person should not be tilted up, down, or to the side.
- Head of the person should cover about 50% of the area of the photo.
- Background
- Person being photographed should be in front of a neutral, light-colored
background.
- Dark or patterned backgrounds are not acceptable.
- Focus
- Decorative Items
- Photos in which the person being photographed is wearing sunglasses
or other items that detract from the face will not be accepted.
- Head Coverings and Hats
- Photos of applicants wearing head coverings or hats are only acceptable
due to religious beliefs, and even then, may not obscure any portion
of the face of the applicant.
- Photos of applicants with tribal or other headgear not specifically
religious in nature will not be accepted.
- Photos of military, airline, or other personnel wearing hats will
not be accepted.
- It is recommended that you NOT smile for the photo.
Technical Specifications:
The submitted digital photograph must conform to the following specifications
or the computer system will automatically reject the Entry Form.
- Taking a New Digital Image.
If a new digital image is taken, it must meet the following specifications:
(If your digital photos are close to the required digital size, we can adjust them to the exact requirements.)
- Image File Format: The image must be in JPEG format.
- Image File Size: The maximum image file size will be sixty-two
thousand five hundred (62,500) bytes.
- Image Resolution: 320 pixels high by 240 pixels wide.
- Image Color Depth: 24-bit color or 8-bit color [Note: Monochrome images (2-bit color depth) will not be accepted.]
- Scanning a Submitted Photograph.
Before a photographic print is scanned, it must meet the following specifications:
(If your digital photos are close to the required digital size, we can adjust them to the exact requirements.)
- Print Size: 2 inches by 2 inches (50mm x 50mm) square.
- Print Color: The image should be in color.
The photographic print you scan must also meet the Compositional
Specifications listed above. If the photographic print meets the Print
Size, Print Color, and Compositional Specifications, scan the print
using the following scanner specifications.
- Scanner Resolution: Scanned at a resolution of 150 dots per
inch (dpi).
- Image File Format: The image must be in the Joint Photographic
Experts Group (JPEG) format.
- Image File Size: The maximum image file size will be sixty-two
thousand five hundred (62,500) bytes.
- Image Resolution: 300 by 300 pixels.
- Image Color Depth: 24-bit color or 8-bit color.
[Note: Monochrome images (2-bit color depth) will not be accepted.]
AFTER YOU ARE SURE THAT YOU QUALIFY TO ENTER THE LOTTERY, PLEASE FOLLOW THE STEPS BELOW TO SEND US YOUR ENTRY
MATERIALS FOR THIS YEAR'S AMERICAN GREEN CARD LOTTERY DV-2010.
- Click on Entry Form, fill out the online Entry
Data Form and press the "Submit" button. Your entry data will then be
stored in our Lottery database. You will automatically receive an email reply confirming your entry data has been received.
- Get a separate digital photo for each required photo (Complete instructions
about required digital photos are listed above.)
- Email us the following items
We cannot review entry data or photos until after receiving your service fee.
OUR SERVICES
Over 95% of all photos we receive need corrections to meet the U.S. Government's requirements. Photos that are not taken correctly result in an entry being automatically disqualified. Also, if the digital resolutions are not exactly correct, the U.S. Government's official entry web site will not even accept your photos.
American Green card Lottery Access Center accepts your entry data every day of the year, reviews that data and your digital photos, and then makes corrections, as needed.
After receiving the service fee, we review your entry data, make any needed corrections, and confirm your digital
photos are correct. Remember...over 95% of all photos we receive need corrections to meet the U.S. Government's requirements.
- If your photos are not correct, we either adjust the digital resolutions to meet the exact requirements or we request new photos from you...which we then review and adjust if necessary.
- We then electronically submit your entry and digital photos
to the U.S. Government's Green Card Lottery Office at the exact time required
by Lottery Regulations for your official entry into the Lottery.
- We then email you a copy of the U.S. Government's official "Receipt of Entry", confirming your entry was submitted.
SERVICE FEE INSTRUCTIONS
The US Government's official acceptance period for DV-2010 is
from approximately October 3, 2008 to noon on December 2, 2008. The last day for American
Green Card Lottery Access Center to receive your electronic entry data, photo
files and our service fee is November 25, 2008. All service fees received after
November 25, 2008, will result in the materials being reviewed, any necessary
corrections made, and entries held as pre-paid into the following Green Card Lottery.
No refunds allowed.
MORE INFORMATION ABOUT
THE GREEN CARD LOTTERY
The United States Government holds one American Green Card Lottery
each year, and there are 50,000 winners in each Lottery. Qualified winners and
their family members can receive a US Green Card and the right to live and work
in the USA.
You may submit your entry for Green Card Lottery DV-2010
to our office today! American Green Card Lottery Access Center accepts entries
every day of the year. By accepting entries now, we have plenty of time to make
any changes or corrections, should they be needed.
There is no fee to enter the Lottery; however, we do
charge a fee for our service. You are reminded that we are not affiliated with the US Government. We are a service company that has been assisting clients with entries into the Lottery since 1996. It will be our pleasure to assist you with your entry as well..
In a recent Green Card Lottery, the U.S. Government disqualified
2.9 million people for errors in their entries--and they all read the same instructions!
We won't let that happen to you.
- After receiving our service fee, we review your entry data form (submitted
to us while online at http://www.americangreencard.com/entryfrm.htm
) and let you know if any corrections are needed.
- After receiving our service fee, we review the digital photos you email to us to info@americangreencard.com
and let you know if any corrections are needed.
- After receiving our service fee, we email you the results of our review of your entry data and your digital photos (if corrections are needed).
- We submit your final entry and required digital photos into the Green Card Lottery during the exact time allowed by the U.S. Government..
- After the close of this year's Lottery, we email you a copy of the U.S. Government's "Notice of Receipt" of your entry into the Lottery.
Best Wishes and Good Luck!
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