Jennifer Wipf: Mr. Shusterman has arrived, everyone. Please remember, all questions/answers are of a general nature and cannot be construed as legal advice.

Carl Shusterman: Good evening. I look forward to answering your questions about the green card lottery.

Question #1: How does one enter the green card lottery? Is it a complex process? An expensive one?

Carl Shusterman: The lottery is exclusively online. This means that the State Department will not accept applications that are made by mail. If you have access to the Internet, particularly from your personal computer, then the process is relatively simple and inexpensive. We link to the State Department's online application as well as to their official instructions from http://shusterman.com/toc-lottery.html.

Question #2: Maybe you can answer this question. Is this lottery for immigrants from specific countries? Can an immigrant from Mexico enter?

Carl Shusterman: The lottery is supposed to promote diversity among immigrants. Therefore, any country from which more than 50,000 persons have immigrated to the United States over the last five years is excluded from the lottery. These excluded countries are, in alphabetical order, as follows: Brazil, Canada, China (mainland-born only), Colombia, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Haiti, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Russia, South Korea, United Kingdom and Vietnam.

Question #3: How long does it take from entering the lottery to finding out if you won? And how long from finding out you won, to getting in?

Carl Shusterman: The green card lottery usually starts in October or November and ends in December. Winners will be notified the following spring. Persons who win the lottery must obtain permanent residence in the United States the following fall. 

Question #4: If a family is in the United States right now, on a 10-year visa that has to be renewed every six months, do they have to go back to their homeland (Chile) to apply for the lottery or to be eligible for that? How does it work? Do they have to leave around the time they'd be notified if they won?

Carl Shusterman: If a person is eligible for adjustment of status to permanent residence within the United States, they can apply for the lottery without leaving the United States. Otherwise, they should apply abroad. However, if a person is residing unlawfully in the United States, leaving the United States may subject them to either a 3 or 10 year bar when they want to return. In such cases, it's advisable to consult with an experienced immigration attorney.

Question #5: I read that we have to have a family member sponsor us, or an employer, if we come. So how does the lottery benefit us? Anyone who has a family member or employer sponsoring doesn't need a lottery. I thought this was for people who had no other way.

Carl Shusterman: Persons who win the lottery are not required to be sponsored by a family member or by an employer. People who are currently being sponsored by a family member or an employer, may also wish to apply for permanent residence through the lottery. Usually, obtaining permanent residence through the lottery is faster than obtaining permanent residence through a family member or through an employer.

Note from Jennifer: The questioner was probably confused about either a) The fact that you can enter under your spouse or parent's nationality if you are from a country that does not qualify, or b) the qualifications one must meet in order to take advantage of a green card lottery win, namely either a high school diploma or 2 years of work experience in a job that typically requires two years of training).

Question #6: Do you know what the statistical chances of winning are? Are they the same for every entrant? Or do they vary by country of origin?

Question #7: I am on an F1, recently married a LPR, who will not be eligible soon for naturalization. When I submit my DV 2005 application, do I need to answer to the question there "married" and that will automatically take me to the screen where I should fill in my wife info (which she does not need being a LPR)? Should I rather put "unmarried" so that only my info is submitted? And wouldn't that be considered a "misrepresentation" if I win and then have to adjust status?

Question #8: I am on H-1B visa and my wife is on H4 can we apply using two different applications?

Carl Shusterman: Yes

Question #9: If I am the citizen of England, but I was born in New Zealand, can I apply?

Carl Shusterman: Only your country of birth is relevant, not your country of citizenship. Therefore, you must apply as a person born in New Zealand.

Question #10: Do we get a receipt when we file online? How can we know they got it?

Carl Shusterman: You will receive an online confirmation message which you may wish to print out and keep in a file.

Question #11: If someone is indeed from an eligible country, is there any other restriction against winning?

Carl Shusterman: There are a number of restrictions against winning, so I will only mention two of the most prominent.

First, the photo requirements are very exacting. If you submit a photograph which is the wrong number of pixels in height or width, does not have the right type of background, shows your head in the wrong position, your eyes are covered by sunglasses, your head is covered by a hat or a scarf, etc. etc., your application may be disqualified. Fortunately, the State Department's online application contains an interesting feature called the "Photo Check Response" which lets you know whether the photograph that you submit is of the proper size and in the proper format (all photos must be jpgs).

Second, a person may only submit one application for the visa lottery. If they submit multiple applications, they will be disqualified.

Question #12: Does the system check my answers to see if I made any mistakes or anything? I am a non-resident alien and I use the tax software which does this very well.

Carl Shusterman: Other than the requirements for photographs, the system has no idea whether the information that you include on the online form is accurate, so be careful!

Question #13: I intend to enter the lottery. My question is: if I win, then marry my boyfriend who has been here illegally for 15 years, will he be able to apply at the same time like me? if this is possible, will he have to apply in his country of origin or that could be done in my country?

Question #14: Do I have to put the name of my 7 months of old daughter in dependents list for applying to the DV lottery?

Carl Shusterman: You must list all unmarried children who are not U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents on your application. These children may include biological children, adopted children, and step-children. If your child was born in the U.S., you do not need to include her.

Jennifer Wipf: It looks like we covered the big issues as many of you had the same or similar questions about the green card lottery this year and the application process. With that said, I will let Carl wrap up.

Good night and good luck to everyone!

Jennifer Wipf: Thank you Carl. Good night. Everyone, I'm turning moderation off now, if you want to chat amongst yourselves.