Green Card Lottery (immigrate, drivers, employment, interview)

[Bumbu]

Im thinking about participating in the green card lottery and wanted to get some advice on if it is worth it and how it works in detail.

I heard the chance of winning is about 160 to one. HOw much money will I have to spend on the lottery before I get lucky and what are you're experiences?

I am married what if I "win" a green card and my wife does not?

I have lived in the US for 6 years (some time ago - live in europe now) and have a social security no. / card which is not valid for employment. does this in anyway contribute towards accessing a green card quicker / easier?

Can employers provide their foreign employees with green cards?

Thank you in advance for your advice / experiences!

[Penguin_ie]

To enter the green card/ diversity lottery is free (you do not need one of those places that advertise on the web, you can do it yourself!), but if you are selected you will need to go for an interview which costs a fee (400 dollars last time I heard, but that is a couple of years ago). There will also be other associated costs such as a medical, you may need documents such as your birth cert translated etc. Plus you will need to proof that you can support yourself once you come here (assets, savings, a job to come to, etc).

If you are married, then if you win the lottery it will include any family (wife, children under 21) which you mention at the time of applying. If you get married after applying, I am not sure- I think you would need to get to the USA and then apply for a visa for your wife, which can take several years.

Your social security number has no impact on winning the green card lottery or getting another type of visa, but it will make it easier for you to apply for a bank account, drivers license etc once you are here, as you don;t need to wait for your SSN to arrive.

Employers cannot provide employees with green cards, but they can apply for a work based visa on behalf of the foreign employee. These are farily easy to get and are rarely denied, but you need to show you have skills they cannot hire an American for, which in the current economic climate may be difficult. It usually applies to highly skilled workers such as IT programmers, scientists etc. Check out the H1-B visa thread for more info on work based visas.

[Bumbu]

Thank you for your answer.

How do you know all this stuff? Can I send an application for my wife as well? Which information do they need from me when I apply (starts July 1st again)?

Everything else is no big deal, I would just have to wait until they eventually choose me. I read this depends on where you live. Living in Germany what would this mean for me - how long will I have to wait in average and do I have to reapply every year or so?

Best regards

[Penguin_ie]

I am from Ireland and have several friends who came over to the US on this visa, hence I know a bit about it. I myself immigrated on a spousal visa.

You do not need to send an application for your wife, the whole family will be going under one application. You'll need to fill in a form with details on where you lived, work experience, any previous marriages and other life details. BTW, the application period usually is later in the year than 1st July; October- December. Well, in Ireland at least, but I doubt it is different in other countries. You need to apply fresh every year so if you do not get chosen this year, apply again next year and so on. It takes over a year until all the paperwork, medical, interview etc is done and the visa issued, so if you apply in 2009, and are successful, you can hope for an interview in 2010 and getting the visa and moving to the USA in early 2011.

Check out your countries rules for the visa lottery here: Diversity Visa Program

[Bumbu]

cheers mate! thanks for your help by the way: I'm half english/irish (mom side) and half german (dad side). It is really hard to get reliable information from the web on this issue with all the scam stuff out there! I also found out that the green card expires after some time - does one have to move to the US right after recieving it? How much time do I have before I consider making the move after recieving it (regarding employment and other related liscencing issues that have to be dealt with beforehand)?

Thanks for the link! Whats Arkansas like? I'm more familiar with the east coast...

[Penguin_ie]

With most visas, you have 6 months to move initially, but once you receive your green card (about 3 months after you first enter the USA), you can travel freely back and forth, as long as you spend the majority of your time in the USA. If you do not move within whatever time period you are given, your green card will expire and you would have to apply again. Similarly, if you get your green card and then spend the majority of your time abroad, your green card may be taken away (this is somewhat up to the officer at the airport when you try to enter again- some will refuse you entry after as little as 6 months abroad, others, if you catch them on a good day, give you longer). If you do move however, your green card doesn't expire; you need to renew it after 10 years, but that is just paperwork (and a fee!), and as you can apply for citizenship after 5 years, you probably won't need to renew your green card anyways.

Arkansas is lovely, I would call it "typical" America, as opposed to the huge cities on the east coast such as NY and Boston. It is very family orientated, lots of nature too so great if you are into fishing/ hunting/ hiking. NW Arkansas, where I live, is fairly international as we have several universities here as well as Wallmart HQ and Nestle offices, so you get a lot of the good stuff of big cities here (museums, theatre, international food), without the high crime rate and other negative points of big cities.

[Threestep]

Originally Posted by Penguin_ie

Employers cannot provide employees with green cards, but they can apply for a work based visa on behalf of the foreign employee. These are farily easy to get and are rarely denied, but you need to show you have skills they cannot hire an American for, which in the current economic climate may be difficult. It usually applies to highly skilled workers such as IT programmers, scientists etc. Check out the H1-B visa thread for more info on work based visas.

Employer sponsored GC is often the step after H1B.

[bentlebee]

I have seen the paper and so far the fees were $ 1010.- but that is for a person who is already over here on a visa and got the green card lotery paper. Than you have the extra fees which are smaller but still will add up. You need a birth certificate (International version) which in Europe is around Euro 11.-. Your passport needs to be valid for at least 6 months or you have to renew it. Than you have to add your travel costs to tha embassy for the interview and if I'm correct you can expect an interview in kentucky as well (later on, so and additional flight ticket(s)). Some laywers are stating you need a lawyer to help out with the paperwork which will be an additional $ 1750.- or more, depends on how many people will be on the paperwork. In order to enter in the green card lotery and if you win , later to be allowed to follow the next steps, you need to have proof of a clean record, no criminal history, have at least graduated from High School (proof) and/or have worked for 2 years. I guess the criminal history will also need to be clean for additional person who will apply for the green card.

So if you use the help of a lawyer your cost can easily go up to $ 5000.- or more if you incl. flight tickets and I didn't incl. your moving costs and place to live and the time needed to find a job in todays economy. It has been done by hundreds of people so it can be done, but I always thought that if you win the greencard, they would check you out and that is it, but it isn't that way. So far I learned that if you win last years lotery you will be able to be notified in May, June and maybe even July....than your greencard process will start in October of that year (this is called the fiscal year) and it depends on the number that is on the letter (between 0 and 50.000, the last 5000 are for a certain group of people) and it can take a few months before the process further starts.

Before I read on this forum about a Frenchmen who won and came to the realization that it wasn't all so easy...I'm not sure if he went through with it. In the past I have met some families who won but never really asked how it worked. Right now I have a friend who recently received the letter and I'm following the process and costs. It could be that due to the economy and job market less people want to move here since it is already hard for American's to get a job, but of course it depends of your qualification...

Good Luck

[Threestep]

What you win is not a GC but an application. The application requires medical exams, proof of education, ... Once your application is approved you have certain activation criteria to fulfill. Once your GC is activated you have to move your center of life to the US in order to keep it active. You can request to spend up to a year (I have heard two but never seen anything supporting it) abroad. This will be deducted from your witing period for citizenship application.

[bentlebee]

I wish the green card lotery was more clear to foreigners...most people think they win a green card...but you are right you win the chance to fill out the application without needing to be already in the US or already having a visa....

Before people enter the lotery, hardly any one knows how much the cost are get the green card...it isn't just being able to proof that you have the requirements...if you have no money you won't be able to move here...