The Diversity Visa (Green Card) Lottery program, conducted by the US Government, allows people from eligible countries around the world to obtain an immigrant visa (Green Card) to immigrate to the United States. If the Green Card lottery entrant is already in the United States on some other status, then he will be able to change from non-immigrant status to immigrant status by applying for an Adjustment of Status by filing Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, with the USCIS.
But applying for and obtaining an adjustment of status through the DV Lottery is not a very easy task. It is because of the increasing number of applicants for the DV lottery every year. At present, 50,000 immigrant visas are offered to people from eligible countries. Eligible countries are the countries with low immigration rates to America. An application to enter the DV lottery must be filed online. People who meet the eligibility requirements for DV lottery only may apply for an immigrant visa through this program.
If you are in the United States and if you had won the DV lottery, a visa will be made available to you and you must file Form I-485. You can adjust your status to permanent resident status once your Form I-485 is approved. If you had won the DV lottery and if you are found to be eligible for an immigrant visa, your eligible dependents also will be able to immigrate with you to the United States on meeting the eligibility requirements. You will be required to submit certain civil documents at the time of filing Form I-485.
While in the United States on some other status, you must first determine your eligibility to apply for adjustment of status as all the applicants may not qualify for an adjustment of status in the United States. If you are found to be eligible to adjust status by the USCIS, you will be provided with information and instructions on how to proceed with your visa application. You may not be required to get in touch with the Kentucky Consular Center (KCC) for information, if you are already eligible for adjustment of status in the United States.
On determining your eligibility for adjustment of status, a non-refundable diversity visa fees must be paid to the US Department of State. This DV fees will be used by the department to run the DV lottery program. This fee is separate from the other fee that you must pay to the USCIS for filing an application for adjustment of status. This Diversity visa fee must be paid separately for yourself and your eligible dependents who may apply for adjustment of status along with you. Your visa processing will begin only after you pay the diversity visa fees.
If you apply to adjust status while in the United States and if your spouse and eligible dependents are abroad, they may apply for diversity immigrant visas at a US consulate or embassy abroad. Their applications will not be processed until the embassy or the consulate receives notification from the USCIS stating that you have adjusted your status in the United States. It also has to be noted that eligible dependents who were listed on your DV lottery application must apply for and receive immigrant visas before the program could end on the 30th of September every year.