You won. You actually won. That little screen on the Electronic Diversity Visa (EDV) website didn't show the usual "has not been selected" message. Instead, it gave you a confirmation number and a barcode. It feels like hitting the Powerball, but instead of cash, you get a path to the American Dream. Honestly, though, being one of the lucky green card lottery winners is just the beginning of a bureaucratic marathon that breaks a lot of people before they ever step foot on a plane.
Most people think the "lottery" part is the whole game. It isn't.
Winning the Diversity Visa (DV) lottery is essentially just an invitation to apply for a visa that might not even exist by the time your number comes up. Every year, the U.S. Department of State picks way more "winners" than the 55,000 available visas. They do this because they know people will fail the medical exam, mess up their paperwork, or simply realize they can't afford the move. It's a brutal numbers game.
The rank number is everything
Your case number determines your fate. If you're one of the green card lottery winners with a high number—say, 40,000 in a region that usually only gets through 20,000—you might never even get an interview. It sucks. You have the winning notification sitting in your inbox, but the fiscal year ends on September 30, and if the clock runs out before the embassy calls you, your "win" evaporates. It just disappears.
The fiscal year is the ultimate deadline. For example, for the DV-2025 cycle, everything must be finalized by September 30, 2025. If there’s a government shutdown or a local embassy backlog—like what happened during the COVID-19 pandemic—thousands of winners get left behind. We saw this in the court cases Gomez v. Biden and Goodluck v. Biden, where winners sued because their visas weren't being processed fast enough. The courts sometimes reserve visas, but usually, once the year is over, it’s over.
The "public charge" and the money problem
Let’s talk about the money. You don't get a plane ticket. You don't get a house. You don't get a job.
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You need to prove you won't become a "public charge." Basically, the U.S. government wants to know you aren't going to immediately go on welfare. This means showing bank statements, job offers, or having a "Sponsor" in the U.S. who signs Form I-134, an Affidavit of Support. If you don't have a few thousand dollars saved up for the medical exams, the visa fees (currently $330 per person), and the actual move, winning the lottery can feel more like a burden than a blessing.
The medical exam is another hurdle. You have to go to a specific, U.S.-approved physician. They check for "communicable diseases of public health significance." They check your vaccine records. If you're missing a polio shot or a COVID-19 vaccine, you're paying for it out of pocket right there.
Why the DS-260 is a minefield
Once you're selected, you have to fill out the DS-260. It’s an online form that asks for every address you’ve lived at since you were 16. Every single one. If you lived in a dorm for three months in 2012 and forget to list it, a grumpy consular officer could technically flag it as a misrepresentation.
Mistakes are fatal here.
I’ve seen cases where green card lottery winners accidentally listed their "High School Diploma" as "Vocational School" or vice versa. In some countries, that distinction is the difference between getting a visa and getting a permanent ban for fraud. The law requires you to have at least a high school education or two years of work experience in an occupation that requires at least two years of training. There is no "oops" or "I'll fix it later" with the Diversity Visa. You get one shot at the interview.
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Common reasons for disqualification
- Photo issues: Using a photo that’s more than six months old or one you used in a previous year. The system has facial recognition. They will catch it.
- Marital status: Getting married after entering the lottery but before the interview is fine, but failing to list a spouse you already had when you entered is an automatic disqualification.
- Children: Same thing. If you forgot to list a child, even if that child isn't coming with you, you’re done.
- Police certificates: You need one from every country you've lived in for more than six months. Getting a police certificate from a country currently at war or with no diplomatic relations with the U.S. is a nightmare.
The interview: Ten minutes to change your life
The interview at the embassy is surprisingly short. You’ve spent months gathering documents, translating birth certificates, and stressing out, and then you sit behind a glass window for ten minutes.
The officer isn't looking to be your friend. They are looking for reasons to say "no." They check your original documents against what you put in the DS-260. They might ask about your plans in the U.S. "Where are you going to live?" "What kind of work will you do?" You don't need a perfect answer, but you need a plausible one.
If they say "Your visa is approved," they take your passport. A few days later, you get it back with a shiny printed visa page. That’s when it hits you. You're actually moving.
The reality of arrival
Landing at JFK or O'Hare as a permanent resident is weird. You go into a different line at Customs—the one for "New Immigrants." They take your sealed yellow packet (if the embassy gave you one, though many are electronic now) and fingerprint you.
Then you're out. You’re in the U.S.
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But you don't have the plastic green card yet. That comes in the mail weeks or months later, provided you paid the $220 USCIS Immigrant Fee online before you arrived. Your stamped passport acts as a temporary green card for a year. You need to get a Social Security Number immediately. Without that 9-digit number, you can't work, you can't rent an apartment, and you basically don't exist in the American system.
Surviving the first year
The first year for green card lottery winners is notoriously tough. You’re often overqualified for the jobs you can get. I know a guy who was a literal rocket scientist in Ukraine and spent his first six months in Chicago delivering pizzas because he needed to build "American credit history."
The U.S. doesn't care about your foreign credit score. You start at zero. You’re a 35-year-old with the credit profile of a teenager.
You’ll need to open a "secured" credit card, where you give the bank $500 and they let you spend that same $500 just to prove you can pay it back. It’s annoying. It’s humbling. But it’s the only way to eventually buy a car or a house.
Practical steps for winners
- Check your rank immediately: Look at the Visa Bulletin published every month by the State Department. If your case number is much higher than the "cut-off" for your region, keep your expectations low.
- Gather documents now: Don't wait for the interview letter. Get your birth certificate, your marriage license, and your military records (if applicable). If they are not in English, you need certified translations.
- Save more than you think: The "minimum" to survive is a myth. Costs in the U.S. for rent and healthcare are astronomical. Have a cushion of at least $10,000 if you're coming alone, more for families.
- The "Address" problem: You need a U.S. address for them to mail your physical green card. If you don't have family, look into "virtual mailboxes" or friends of friends. You cannot change this easily once you're at the port of entry.
- Scan everything: Keep digital copies of every single form you submit. If the embassy loses a paper—and they do—you need to be able to produce the copy instantly.
Winning the lottery is a door opening, but you're the one who has to carry all the luggage through it. It isn't a free ride. It’s a chance to work harder than you ever have in your life, in a place where that work actually might pay off.
For those who make it, the transformation is incredible. Within five years, most lottery winners are eligible for U.S. citizenship. They vote. They start businesses. They forget what it was like to check that website every May, hoping for a different result. But they never forget the moment they saw that barcode for the first time.
Key Actionable Insight: If you have been selected, prioritize the DS-260 submission immediately. However, do not quit your job or sell your house until the visa is physically in your hand. The gap between "selection" and "visa issuance" is a valley where many dreams go to die due to administrative processing or retrogression. Move fast, but keep your safety net intact until you cross the Atlantic.