A Green Card is a permit allowing immigrants to permanently live and work in the United States Of America. Green card holders are known as permanent residents.
For many Kenyans, applying for a Green Card is seemingly difficult, with many opting to participate in the Green Card lottery for a chance to win. There are different categories of Green Cards for different groups of people.
Green Card categories
- Green Card through Family
- Green Card through Employment
- Green Card as a Special Immigrant
- Green Card through Refugee or Asylee Status
- Green Card for Human Trafficking and Crime Victims
- Green Card for Victims of Abuse
- Green Card through Other Categories (Lottery)
- Green Card through Registry
Below is a step by step guide on how to apply for a Green Card in Kenya through the Diversity Visa Lottery.
Eligibility
- Applicant must be from a country which is not excluded from participating in the Green Card lottery.
- Applicant must prove that they have at least a US high school diploma or an equivalent level of education. This means that you should have completed at least 12 years of formal primary and secondary schooling.
Alternatively, you can prove at least two years of work experience within the past five years in a qualified profession. Qualified professions are those that require at least two years of training. - No age limit but you need to be above 16years to be eligible to satisfy that you have completed at least 12 years of formal primary and secondary schooling.
- There is a limited period of time during which you can register for the Diversity Immigrant Visa (DV) Program during each fiscal year updated regularly on their official website.
Requirements
- Passport size photo.
- Birth certificate or National ID card.
Submission of entries are made electronically on the Electronic Diversity Visa Lottery website. Note that multiple entries and submitting photos which do not meet the requirements lead to automatic disqualification of the applicant.
After you have completed the steps on the Diversity Visa Process on their website, you may then receive an email from the Kentucky Consular Center (KCC) to let you know that an interview has been scheduled for you, if your application was successful.
The e-mail will also give instructions on logging in to the Entrant Status Check on the Electronic Diversity Visa (E-DV) website, using a DV entry confirmation number, to view the date, time and location of your interview.
At the end of your immigrant visa interview, the consular officer will inform you whether your visa application is approved or denied. If your visa has been denied, you may find useful information on Ineligibilities and Waivers.
However if your visa has been approved, you will be informed how and when your passport and visa will be handed to you. At this point, you will be required to pay USCIS Immigrant Fee of Ksh. 24,442 ($220).
It is worth noting that if you want to increase your chances of winning the lottery, both you, your spouse and even children who are eligible should apply. This gives you a higher chance of winning or either of your family members winning because if any of them wins, then they can bring you to the USA too after following the due legal process.
The DV-2021 Diversity Visa program registration period has not been announced yet but the online registration period for the program usually runs between October 1st and November 3-6th each year. Submissions for the DV-2020 Diversity Visa program were closed in 2020.