Emigration to the United States has remained attractive for many years. For residents of Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Russia, Belarus and other states that emerged on the site of the former USSR, one of the easiest ways to get the right to live and work in America is the diversification lottery. Considering that the lottery is held only once a year and any mistake in the process of passing it can become fatal, it makes sense to consider how to fill out an application for a green card, what documents to prepare, where and how to find out about the results of the drawing.
Green Card in the USA: what is it
For everyone who wishes to reside in the United States, the first task is to obtain a Green Card (the unofficial name of the United States Permanent Resident Card). The holder of such a document and his family members receive free of charge a lifetime right to live in any state, move freely around the country, enter and leave without a visa outside the United States.
Resident status makes it possible to:
- find employment in all sectors of the economy and spheres of activity, except for those that are closed to foreigners or stateless persons (CIA, FBI, police, defense industry, etc.);
- engage in business activities, create firms, corporations;
- own and dispose of real estate;
- receive lower interest rates on loans from banks;
- buy a car and get a driver's license (after the exam);
- own firearms and melee weapons;
- educate children in American public schools and universities at preferential rates (in comparison with foreigners who hold an F-1 student visa);
- receive government benefits, insurance, pension benefits;
- apply for a U.S. Indian after 5 years of residence in the country.
There are several ways to obtain a Green Card: through marriage to a US passport holder, through family reunification, or through asylum. One of the most widely available options is the annual Diversification Lottery (DV) Green Card draw.
Diversification DV Lottery
In the United States, in the past three years, criticism of the special program of the State Department of the country - the holding of the DV lottery - has increased on the part of the administration of President D. Trump, up to proposals for its cancellation.
This program has been operating since 1994 and includes the drawing once a year of 50 thousand Green Cards among citizens of states with a low level of immigration to America.
The goal of the lottery is to enhance the country's immigration diversity, to attract active and courageous people who are able to overcome difficulties. Its result is not influenced by such factors as age, profession, work experience, language proficiency - everything is decided by a random choice.
The winners will receive US resident status (this is a nice moment). There are also disadvantages: it is necessary to go through the procedure for opening a visa; then all the problems associated with emigration - relocation, employment, search for housing - have to be solved independently.
The online lottery procedure is simple: the computer selects the Electronic Diversity Visa Entry For winning numbers. But preparation for the lottery begins long before it is held.
So, to participate in the draw in 2021, participants will need to first register in the fall of 2021 on the official website www.dvlottery.state.gov. The draw itself will be held only in the spring of 2021, after which the deadlines are set during which the winners must open an immigrant visa. And only upon arrival in the United States they will become owners of a green card.
Green card application: how to fill it out correctly
Filling out an online questionnaire is not a formality, but an important condition that seriously affects the final result. The procedure is given exactly 30 minutes, but you should not be afraid ahead of time. Step-by-step instructions for filling out a Green Card questionnaire will help to successfully pass the first line even for those citizens who are still weak in English.
Applicants for DV must meet two main criteria: possess a secondary education document or have worked officially for 2 years as a highly qualified specialist; be a native of a country participating in the US Department of State program.
For most of the year, the Electronic Diversity Visa Lottery website looks like this:
The organizers thank you for your attention and inform that registration for the draw in 2021 has already ended. Only one window remains active - Chek Status, which can be used by participants in the last two draws - 2021 and 2021.
The site will "revive" only with the beginning of a new registration for the lottery in 2021. This will happen in October - November. The closer October is, the more often you need to visit the site. Usually, the exact date of submission of documents and the start of registration becomes known already in September.
In order not to waste time, you should familiarize yourself in advance with the registration rules based on the materials of the two previous lottery draws on the website https://travel.state.gov/. Here you can also get detailed instructions in Ukrainian, Armenian, Uzbek and other languages.
In addition, a lot of useful information is thrown by the participants of numerous forums dedicated to the lottery: http: //greencard.by/community/forum/ and others.
The signal for the first step along the registration path is the appearance on the site of the inscription Welcome - "Welcome".
So, the site is up and running, and you can start registering for the DV-2021 lottery (examples are screenshots of the site's pages from the last draw). The process includes 9 steps.
- Preparing to apply. It includes familiarization with the instructions and the established rules. To do this, click on DV-202… Instructions, after which you will be automatically redirected to the Diversity visa instructions page.
Here is the most relevant information, including the dates of registration; there is an opportunity to download the instruction.
Clicking on the Foto Examples button will open the photo requirements for the questionnaire.
According to these requirements, a photo (51x51 mm) with a white or light gray background should reflect the natural complexion, there should be no shadows in the photo. You need to be photographed full-face, without glasses (even if the candidate wears them daily), with a neutral facial expression. It is forbidden to retouch, use photoshop, etc.
To be sure that the application will not be rejected because the photo does not meet the established requirements, you can use the validator https://www.greencardphotocheck.com/ru/. You will also need a photo of all family members indicated in the application.
- Proceed directly to filling out the questionnaire. To do this, you need to click Begin Entry, after which the first part of the questionnaire - Entrant information (14 questions) will become available for filling.
It takes exactly half an hour to fill out the questionnaire.
- Enter name, surname, gender.
Here the first difficulties may arise. It is easy to make mistakes in the transcription of the Latin spelling of the surname and first name. It is most correct in such a situation to be guided by the entries in your foreign passport.
Another difficulty lies in the fact that many Russians do not quite understand what a middle name is in a questionnaire. While everything is clear with the name (First Name) and surname (Last / Family Name), then among Russians there are rarely carriers of two names (for example, Jean-Pierre, where Pierre will be this very middle name).
You should not try to enter your middle name in the column, but you need to click on the No Middle Name field. The questionnaire provides for two options for gender - male and female, which are accompanied by appropriate pictograms.
- Mark your date of birth. When filling out the questionnaire, you should pay attention to the fact that first you need to indicate the ordinal number of the month, then the date of birth and the year.
- Enter the place of birth - locality and country. Place of birth in the lottery plays a more important role than citizenship or place of residence.
When filling out this item, certain difficulties also arise.Firstly, not everyone will be able to correctly write the name of their native village or settlement in Latin letters. The Google Maps service can help you with this.
You need to find the required item on the Google map, switch the language to English in the menu (from Russian by default). If the city has been renamed, both names should be hyphenated (Leningrad - Saint Petersburg).
Another problem may arise for persons whose country of birth is the USSR. Today there is no such state, but the 5th point of the application requires the name of the applicant's country of birth. In this case, you need to choose a state that emerged on the site of the former Soviet republic after the collapse of the Union: for example, the RSFSR - Russia, the Ukrainian SSR - Ukraine, and so on.
- Leave clause 6 by default on the compliance of the country with the conditions of the lottery (Country of Eligibility for the DV Program), subject to birth in a state that can participate in the lottery.
- To upload a photo. The uploaded photo in JPEG format cannot exceed 240 KB and must have a resolution of 600 by 600 pixels. The special application of the US Department of State Free photo tool will be able to help in uploading photos. The photo must be no older than six months and meet all the requirements. Otherwise, the application will be disqualified.
In addition to the photograph of the applicant himself, it is necessary to upload a photo of his wife and each of the children indicated in the application form.
- Specify home address (Mailing address).
Despite the fact that messages about winning the lottery by regular mail have ceased to be sent, you need to enter the address that is most convenient for the participant in the Address Line column: place of residence, address of parents or another.
Do not fill in the In care of column.
When writing a postal address, you should take into account Russian realities. So, in the district / province / state column, you just need to indicate the subject of the Russian Federation (region, territory, republic) where you live.
- Specify the country of residence - select the desired option in the column.
- It is advisable to enter a phone number indicating the international country and city code. This item is optional.
- Enter your email address (email) and confirm it.
- Fill in the field about the level of education.
A certain difficulty in filling out the column lies in the fact that the scale of education in the United States is prescribed in the questionnaire, which is different from the Russian one. The correspondence table will help to fill in the column:
| USA | RF |
|---|---|
| Primery school | Primary School |
| High school degree | middle School of General education |
| Vocational school | Vocational school |
| Some University Courses | College, incomplete higher education |
| University Degree | Higher education, bachelor |
| Some Graduate Level Courses | Master's studies |
| Master's Degree | master |
| Some Doctorate Level Courses | Postgraduate studies |
| Doctorate degree | Candidate, Doctor of Science |
- Indicate marital status.
You should choose:
- to those who have not yet married - Unmarried;
- widowers - Widowed;
- married to non-citizens / non-residents of the United States - Married and my spouse is NOT a U.S. citizen or U.S. Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR);
- spouses of US citizens - Married and my spouse IS a U.S. citizen or U.S. Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR);
- divorced - Divorced.
Legally separated means that a married couple is separated by a court order. In the Russian Federation, there is no such legal status - it cannot be noted in the questionnaire.
- Indicate the presence of children under the age of 21.
It is necessary to indicate the total number of children in the family who have not created a separate family and have not reached the age of 21 - joint or adopted. If there are none, put down "0". After all information has been entered, click Continue.
If the applicant is single and has no children, then the application form has already been completed - a page will open where you can check the data, make any changes or correct mistakes. To correct it, you need to click Go Back to Part 1. If everything is fine, click the Continue button.
If the applicant has indicated the presence of a spouse and children, the transition to the second part of the questionnaire will automatically occur. Here you will need to enter information about family members. The filling procedure is the same as in the first part (there are no columns on education and marital status).
If the applicant does not enter this information, his application will be disqualified. When finished, click on Continue again. A page will open with all the entered data for verification.
- Check the correctness of filling. If errors are found to correct them, click Go Back to Part 1 or Go Back to Part 2. If you refuse to send the application, click Cancel Entry. If everything is correct - Submit Entry.
- If the application is successfully sent, a page with the message Success will open on the screen, indicating the unique number of the lottery participant (Confirmation Number) and the electronic key. Be sure to take a screenshot of the page and write down the number.
Now it only remains to wait for the moment of the lottery - approximately 6 months from the date when the registration for the green card ends.
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How to find out about the results of the Green Card Lottery
The drawing is usually held in May of the year following registration. The Department of State does not send any notifications, other than a reminder to check the status of applicants after the end of the draw.
Information on the results of the conducted lottery is available only on the website https://www.dvlottery.state.gov/esc/. Having entered the page, you need to click on Continue.
On the new page, enter your personal data:
- Confirmation Number,
- Last / Family Name,
- Year of Birth,
- Authentification (protection against bots - symbols in the picture).
Then click Submit. If a barcode appears on the new page and the text "You are among those randomly selected for further processing", it means that the lottery result is positive. All other answers will mean no.
Sometimes (especially in the first few days after the end of the lottery) the State Department server is overloaded, and in this case, the inscription "Session timed out" appears. You should try to access the site after a while.
Interview after winning a Green Card: preparation of documents
Winning the lottery is only half the battle and you shouldn't rest on your laurels. According to statistics, almost half of the lottery winners stop halfway due to problems when opening a visa to the United States.
One of the reasons is the discrepancy between the submitted documents and the data stated in the questionnaire, so you need to take a responsible approach to the process of preparing the required package of papers.
The algorithm of actions is as follows:
- For each family member of the lottery winner, fill out an online visa application form (DS-260) in English at https://ceac.state.gov/IV/Login.aspx. To enter, enter the received unique number. A sample of filling out the questionnaire can be found at https://travel.state.gov/content/dam/visas/DS-260%20Exemplar.pdf. After completing each questionnaire, print a confirmation sheet. This document must be presented among other papers during the interview. The date of the interview will only be known after completing Form DS-260.
- Wait for an answer. Applications are processed at the Kentucky Consular Center. Usually the answer (email) comes on the 7-10th day. The letter will indicate the date of the interview with the migration officer. The most impatient ones can send a request on the status of the case to [email protected], indicating the case number, their country, last name, first name, date of birth.
- Preparation of a package of papers:
- international passport;
- birth certificate;
- educational documents;
- employment history;
- certificate of good conduct;
- marital status document;
- military ID (for those who have served in the army);
- financial documents (bank statement, appraisal of movable and immovable property, sureties, etc.);
- certificate from the place of work.
Papers written in languages other than Russian or English must be accompanied by a certified translation. If there are court decisions, translation into English is required. Apostille or notary certification is not required.
- Pass a medical examination at a special medical center for the presence of diseases that may prevent obtaining a visa in the United States (https://www.cdc.gov/ncezid/dgmq/#communicable and https://www.cdc.gov/ncezid/dgmq/ ). In the Russian Federation, there are such centers in Moscow, Yekaterinburg and Vladivostok (https://www.usembassy.gov/russia/). The cost of the examination is $ 215 per person, plus a separate vaccination fee. The answer is given in a sealed envelope, which must be carried with you at the interview.
Send scanned documents to the US Consulate ([email protected]) for review 10 business days before the scheduled interview date. On the day of the interview, before the interview, pay the visa fee ($ 330 per person), pass the biometrics.
Show up at the reception with all the above documents, 2 visa photos (50 x 50 mm), a general civil passport of the Russian Federation and an invitation for an interview.
Why you don't need to use the services of intermediaries
The popularity of the green card lottery is explained by the huge number of firms, agencies, intermediaries, consultants who want to provide future lottery participants with “all possible” assistance for a small fee. For example, fill out a questionnaire for US $ 30-150.
At first glance, the offer is profitable - send an application without unnecessary hassle and nerves, and if you're lucky, then get one of the winners. In this case, the applicant must be personally present when filling out the application and receive a confirmation number.
However, upon closer acquaintance with the situation, there are many more disadvantages:
- the lottery is free, and the scammers are trying to make money on it, talking about the "insurmountable difficulties" of filling out the questionnaire;
- no one can predict the results of the drawing - everything is decided by the computer;
- the intermediary can enter false data into the system, which will be found out later during the verification, and the questionnaire will be disqualified;
- there is a danger that the reseller submits a template every year without even notifying the customer. The simultaneous submission of two or more applications by one person will automatically lead to his disqualification;
- Americans don't like being deceived. Each participant must apply independently and provide only truthful information.
The best solution is not to depend on questionable helpers and to take matters into your own hands.
Most Frequently Asked Questions
Applicants for participation in the lottery have a large number of questions related to the preparation, filling in the application and participation in the green card drawing. Let's try to answer some of the most frequently raised by Russians:
- Can spouses submit two applications at the same time? Yes, it is allowed by the lottery rules, and it doubles the odds. The main thing is that in each application a second spouse is indicated and both of them meet the established requirements;
- When should you apply for registration in the lottery and until what date can you get a green card? Submission of applications for a green card drawing is possible on the day a special notice about the start time of admission appears on the website. The submission deadline lasts a little over a month. You should be prepared for the fact that in the first and last 3-4 days, due to the large influx of people who want to get to the server, it is often impossible to open the page the first time. If you win a green card, you should not hesitate with the paperwork: the annual program will be closed as soon as 50 thousand diversification visas are issued.
- Can a 9th grade student apply for a green card as the main applicant? The requirement for secondary education or work experience does not give the right to be the main applicant for persons under 18 years of age, therefore, a green card after grade 9 is possible for a student only upon application by his parents.
- How many applications are accepted from one applicant during the annual registration period? One applicant is eligible to submit only one application. The presence of the second will lead to the disqualification of the participant.
- Can someone apply on behalf of and on behalf of another member? The US Consulate strongly recommends that participants personally participate in registration, since it is not difficult to fill out a green card application on their own. In case of non-self-completion of the application, the likelihood of distortion of facts, submission of incomplete information, which may lead to disqualification, increases;
- Is it possible to fill in part of the application form, save it and complete the rest later? No, this option is not provided and the time for entering data is limited. If you need to leave, you can simply interrupt the filling by clicking Cancel Entry, and later fill out the application again.
- Can I download and save the application form in Word so I can fill it out and send it back later? No, this service is not provided - you can submit an application only online in WEB format. Speaking about whether it is possible to fill out a green card through a phone, it should be said that modern smartphones are in no way inferior to laptops or tablets.
- How long do you need to wait for confirmation that the application has been accepted and registered? In a stable browser environment, a notification with a confirmation number comes immediately. If for some time the notification is not received, you should press Submit several more times until confirmation is received. After receiving the number, it is no longer possible to send the application again, it will be counted as a duplicate.
- What to do if, after clicking the Submit button, a notification with a confirmation number did not come, why was the connection reset when filling out the green card, can I apply again and are they not disqualified for this? Internet coverage areas are different. Unstable communication can cause the application to fail registration. If the confirmation number has not arrived, you must go through the application procedure again. Such oversubmission is not considered a duplicate.
Instead of a conclusion
The successful registration of an application for a green card requires some preliminary preparation. Until the registration period for applications for participation in the DV lottery begins, you should familiarize yourself in advance with the available instructions, basic rules, practice filling out the questionnaire, find and correctly write out all controversial terms and names in Latin.
Do not miss the chance to obtain the right to permanent residence in the United States for free, especially since every year opponents of the drawing of diversification visas are more and more actively conducting campaigns for its abolition.
