There are no fees for entering into the green card lottery program, but once selected you should be able to pay the immigrant visa fees and a separate visa lottery surcharge. Some websites take an additional fee for rendering service in form filling and submission. The official sites of the United States department for issuing of green cards do not provide the necessary help needed for filling in the form.

Every year about 10 million applications are processed and about 50,000 visas are issued all over the world. The winners are notified through mail and others who are not selected are not notified. Even if you are selected, it does not guarantee issuance of immigrant visa as you have to pass all the requirements of immigration to the United States.

Some websites save the applicant information in a database so that it would be easy for you to fill in the form when you decide to re-enter in the green card lotteryprogram if you are not selected the first time. You can however re-appear only once in a year. These websites which render additional service will charge you a fee for their service. The service charge differs depending upon the website and the services they are providing.

The directions provided on the website are very essential since if the directions are not followed your application will be rejected. The rules and ways to apply for the green card will be provided before the drawing of the green card lottery and they are made available in the Federal Registry for reference. Instructions are usually posted between the months of July and August. The registration period of the green card lottery program is usually during the months of October and November every year. You can call the US lottery state information center on 1-900-884-8840 for more information.

The US Embassy and consulates would also have the required information. When the total application number is less, there are higher chances of your winning the lottery. The green cards are actually pink in color. It was green earlier. Usually a green card is valid for 10 years after which it needs renewal. The green card lottery program conducted this year would be called Diversity Visa Program DV-2012. Last year's program is known as Diversity Visa Program DV-2011. The opening date of the registration is generally announced in the month of July. A digital photograph is required for filling out the form.