Everyone in Azerbaijan has heard the words green card, but most people treat them as a synonym for the lottery. In fact a green card, officially the US permanent residence card, is the document that gives you the right to live and work in America for life, and the lottery is only one way of getting it. In this article we explain in plain language what a green card is, the ways of getting one, how the DV lottery works, what changed in 2026 and what the real odds are for a citizen of Azerbaijan.
What is a green card?
A green card is the card confirming the permanent residence status the US government grants to a foreign citizen. The holder can live in any state of the USA, work for any employer, study and use most of the social and medical programmes; and after five years they gain the right to apply for citizenship. The card is valid for 10 years and is renewed; a first card obtained through marriage is conditional for 2 years. A green card is not citizenship: the holder cannot vote, does not get a US passport, and can lose the status by staying outside the country for a long period, usually more than a year.
| Official name | Permanent Resident Card, Form I-551 |
| The right it gives | To live and work permanently in the USA |
| Validity | 10 years, renewable; 2 years conditional through marriage |
| Route to citizenship | After 5 years, after 3 years through marriage |
| Ways of obtaining it | Family, work, investment, asylum, the DV lottery |
| The most realistic route for Azerbaijan | The DV lottery and family reunification |
What are the ways of getting a green card?
There are five main routes.
The first is through family. The spouse, parent or child of a US citizen, or a close relative of a permanent resident, applies by petition. There is no queue for the immediate relatives of a citizen; the others wait years.
The second is through work. A US employer files a petition for a foreign specialist, and the EB-1, EB-2 and EB-3 categories are for scientists, highly qualified and qualified workers respectively.
The third is investment. The EB-5 programme requires a large investment that creates jobs in the USA.
The fourth is the humanitarian route. Asylum and refugee status convert to a green card after a year.
And the fifth is the Diversity Visa, that is, the DV lottery. Every year visas are handed out by random selection among the citizens of countries with low immigration to the USA. Azerbaijan is on that list and thousands of Azerbaijanis are selected every year.
How does the green card lottery work?
The programme runs under an act of Congress and allocates about fifty thousand immigrant visas a year. Registration is carried out only on the official site of the State Department, usually in the autumn and within one month. It used to be completely free; since 2025 a symbolic registration fee of one dollar has applied.
The conditions are simple. You must be born in Azerbaijan or your country of birth must qualify under the list, and you need either completed secondary education or at least two years of qualified work experience in the last five years. You fill in the form, upload a photo meeting the requirements, and you absolutely must keep the confirmation number.
The results are checked in May of the following year, and only on the Entrant Status Check page. If news that “you have won” arrives by email, phone call or letter, that is unambiguously a fraud.
Those selected fill in form DS-260, gather documents and go to an interview at the US embassy, and at the interview stage a visa fee of 330 dollars per person is paid. The official rules are set out on the Diversity Visa page of the US State Department.
What changed in the green card lottery in 2026?
The past year has been the most confused period in the programme’s history. First, DV-2027 registration did not open on the traditional October date: the State Department announced two new requirements, the 1-dollar fee and the uploading of a scan of a valid passport at registration, and postponed the start of registration to give time to those without a passport; the date will be announced “as soon as possible”. Second, in December 2025 the US government suspended the issuing of DV visas, the court found that unlawful, and visa issuance was restored on 28 August 2026. Third, fake “registration is open” sites multiplied. The upshot: the programme has not been abolished, because only Congress can abolish it, but the dates have to be followed on the official site alone.
Read next: How to get a US visa: step by step from the DS-160 form to the interview
The mistakes people make most in green card registration
- Registering twice in one year. The system finds the duplicate and cancels both forms. A husband and wife may register separately; one person may not register twice.
- The wrong photo. An old, filtered photo, one with glasses, or one whose size does not meet the requirement invalidates the form.
- Leaving out family members. Your spouse and all children under 21 must be listed on the form even if they are not going with you; leave one out and you are refused at the interview.
- Intermediary sites. Official registration costs 1 dollar; sites selling a “guaranteed win” take your data and sometimes never send the form at all.
- Losing the confirmation number. The result can be checked only with that number; recovery is possible but difficult.
After being selected: documents, the interview and the move
Being selected does not mean a visa, it means a place in the queue. Every year more people are selected than there are visas, and those with a low queue number, the case number, are called to interview sooner.
Before the interview you prepare birth, marriage and education documents, a criminal record certificate, a medical examination and financial support documents. The visa is issued, you enter the USA within six months, and the green card comes to your address by post.
Planning that first flight early matters for the budget, because one-way air ticket to America prices from Baku differ twofold with the season. Those who want to see the USA before the interview go on a tourist visa, and America tour packages in that case require a separate B1/B2 visa.
Frequently asked questions about the green card
How many people from Azerbaijan are selected in the green card lottery?
In recent years about 1500–2000 a year; for DV-2026, 1817 Azerbaijanis were selected. That is roughly 1–2% of those who registered.
Do you lose Azerbaijani citizenship?
No. A green card is not citizenship but a residence status; your Azerbaijani passport stays. The citizenship question only arises when you move to US citizenship.
How long can you stay outside the USA on a green card?
Trips longer than six months raise questions, and a trip longer than a year may be treated as abandoning the status; before a long trip you obtain a reentry permit.
Do you need English to register?
There is no language requirement for registration or for the visa; English is required only years later, at the citizenship exam.
In closing
A green card is the right to live permanently in the USA, and for a citizen of Azerbaijan the most realistic route is the DV lottery: 1 dollar, a passport, the right photo and the official site. When the registration dates are announced the Viza.az team helps with filling in the form without errors, and, once you are selected, at the DS-260 and interview stage; the service terms are on the USA page and the first step is in the application form.
Note: the information here is as of the publication date. The dates and rules of the DV programme can change, so follow the official site alone.
