Requirements for Applications

You are advised to read this information carefully in order to complete your entry form correctly. According to the rules of the Green Card lottery, you must enter not only yourself but also your family members in your entry form. You must include your family members on the entry form:

  • A spouse to whom you are legally married at the time of application (a girlfriend, boyfriend or cohabitant should not be included in the application).
  • All unmarried children under 21 years of age. All natural children (married or unmarried), children of your spouse from other marriages, and children for whom you have legal parental rights must be listed. List all children, whether or not you live with them and whether or not you intend to immigrate to the United States with them.

The following should also be noted:

  • The application includes family members at the time of application. If a child is born after the application, you will then have the opportunity to enter the child in the visa application in case you win (the same applies to children who turn 21 after the application). Your husband or wife must be included in the application even if you intend to separate. But you cannot enter people with whom you are in a relationship or with whom you are living without being formally married, even if you plan to be married before the results of the lottery are known.
  • The fact that family members and children are included does not mean that they necessarily have to travel to the USA. This can be decided at the visa application stage after you have won the lottery. If it suddenly turns out that you have omitted any family members or listed unauthorised people, your winning entry and visa entitlement may be cancelled completely.
  • Children and husband (wife) who are already US citizens or permanent residents should not be included in the application.
  • No other family members (parents, grandparents, siblings, father-in-law, etc.) are listed on the application, so do not collect data on them (there is nowhere to enter them anyway)!
  • Any married couple is entitled to submit two entries for the Lottery on behalf of each spouse. This doubles the chance of winning the Lottery for the family!

Photo Requirements

In accordance with the current Green Card lottery rules, each raffle participant must submit a photograph and a photo of all family members indicated in the entry form. Photographs must conform to the strict requirements of the lottery rules and may be taken with a digital camera or scanned from a photograph.

Photographs of lottery entrants must meet the following requirements:

  • Head positioning: the person must face the camera lens, no tilting or turning of the head is allowed, the head must occupy about half of the area of the photograph.
  • The head image (measured from the top of the head including the hair at the bottom of the chin) should occupy between 50% and 69% (300-414 px) of the photo height.
  • The head image (measured from the top of the head including the hair at the bottom of the chin) should occupy between 50% and 69% (300-414 px) of the photo height.
  • The background and clarity of the photo must have a neutral light background and a clear image. Photographs with dark or mottled backgrounds as well as pictures that are not clear will not be accepted.
  • Photos with glasses and jewellery and accessories covering the face are not permitted.
  • A photo wearing a headdress is only accepted if it is taken for religious reasons with an open face; photos in military uniform caps, pilots, etc. are not allowed.

Technical requirements for photographs:

  • The file format is jpeg (file extension .jpg).
  • The maximum file size is 240 Kb.
  • The colour depth is 24 bit.
  • The resolution is 150 dpi.
  • Photo size: 600 x 600 px.
  • Monochrome or black-and-white photos or 8-bit colour photos are not accepted.

If the composition requirements are not met, your entry will be disqualified!

After you have prepared your photos, you will have the opportunity to check them for compliance with the technical requirements. Photos not complying with the technical requirements will not be accepted by the electronic system and will be notified before submitting the application.