It's like winning the lottery
A Green Card would mean you'd have even chances on the job market, after graduating.
![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe223a50d-0520-4461-ab61-cb5701be0dbf_2560x1440.png)
I should really get some new artwork, huh
Hello, friends.
Know what I did today?
I submitted my entry for the United States’ Diversity Visa Lottery. You know, the program that grants 55,000 lucky winners a Green Card every year since 1995.
You know, the one Trump wanted to cancel?
That’s the one.
He didn’t though. So here I am, applying for the 6th year in a row, with as much hope as the first time.
You just never know. At the very least, it doesn’t hurt to try. There’s no entry fee and the filling out the form takes 10 minutes, tops.
So I’m encouraging you all to apply as well. Should you win, you can navigate the process of getting your Green Card while being on a student visa with little-to-no difficulty.
The submission portal opened this past Tuesday, and it closes at noon EST on November 10th - which gives you plenty of time to apply. Then, you have to wait until May 8th, 2021, to find out whether you were selected or not. Patience is a virtue or whatever.
The purpose of this program is to bring in more people from countries with historically low rates of immigration to the U.S. and as such, some countries that don’t fit this description are left out.
Here is the list of countries that are not eligible this year, according to the American lawyering firm Fragomen:
Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, China (including Hong Kong SAR), Colombia, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, South Korea, United Kingdom (except Northern Ireland) and its dependent territories, and Vietnam.
If that’s you, I’m sorry.
For everyone else, let’s quickly go through the steps.
You can apply if you’re over 18 and have finished (any) high school. If you’re married or have children, you can add them to your application and thus if you win, they get Green Cards too.
All you need to do is go to the official website (beware of scams!) and click “Begin Entry.” This will bring you to a page where you’ll need to fill in some personal information: name, country of residence, citizenship and stuff like that.
Notably, they ask for your passport’s expiration date and number, plus a passport-type picture of you that has to be recent. The picture is, quite frankly, the hardest part of this. It needs to be between 600 x 600 and 1200 x 1200 pixels; the website is pretentious about it. You can use Canva to resize yours.
No glasses, no jewelry. White background, no shadows, clean shot. I usually take mine the day I apply, against a bare wall. You can read the photo instructions here, but just pretend you’re taking a passport photo and you’ll be fine. Hijabs are allowed.
In the Before Times, which is what several news outlets now call our pre-pandemic world, you could go to CVS and ask them to take a passport picture of you against a white background, and have it printed and digitally sent to you. This might not be an option now, plus I don’t think you even need to go to these lengths. This is good to know if you’re ever applying for a visa though - like when you win this Green Card, hehe - because then you’ll need a physical copy.
Listen, just apply and we’ll see what happens. If it makes you feel better, your chances of winning are pretty slim. After all, many people from all over the world are applying.
Fine, but what if you do win? Ah, well then a world of possibilities would open up to you.
For starters, when you enter the job market after graduation, you wouldn’t have to worry about finding visa sponsorship as well - you’d already be allowed to work. Like an American. And wouldn’t it be nice for skill & talent to be the only factors in your search for a job?
Would be nice.
Does that sound bitter? Sorry, maybe I still am a bit bitter. Bitter, but hopeful.
As always, feel free to reach out if you have any questions, input, or fun tidbits to share.
P.S. Remember I told you I wanted to get a Beagle this year? Yeah, I don’t think that’d be wise anymore. I’ll wait until next year.
Go have a nice weekend and I’ll see you next week.
bye,
Ana