Open world borders make it possible for the citizens of Uzbekistan to change their place of residence by moving to another country. A stable economy, a high standard of living and great opportunities for personal development make the United States an attractive country for a large number of migrants. The green card in Uzbekistan is seen by many residents of the republic as a way to simplify the path to the American dream.
What is a green card
Green Card USA is an official document confirming the presence of a residence permit and the right to work for a person who does not have US citizenship. It is mandatory for all foreigners wishing to move to the country for permanent residence.
There are several official options on how to get a green card for a citizen of Uzbekistan:
- to marry a US citizen;
- move to the United States of America on the basis of family reunification;
- get a job at the request of an American employer;
- get political asylum;
- win a diversification lottery in your country.
The Diversification Lottery is a state-run green card drawing program for foreign citizens. The official name of the program is Diversity Immigrant Visa Program - Immigration Diversity Visa Program.
To become a member, you must register and meet the formal requirements. Winning does not guarantee obtaining a residence permit and work permit: for this, the applicant must meet a number of additional requirements.
The list of countries whose citizens can participate in the lottery is limited. Traditionally, these are countries with historically low rates of immigration to the United States. In order to increase immigration diversity, a lottery was established.
You can find the current list of countries participating in the Green Card lottery at the link.
From the states of the post-Soviet space, the list includes:
- Azerbaijan,
- Belarus,
- Georgia,
- Kyrgyzstan,
- Latvia,
- Kazakhstan,
- Lithuania,
- Estonia,
- Russia,
- Tajikistan,
- Turkmenistan,
- Ukraine,
- Uzbekistan.
The winners are determined using a random number generator. The maximum quota for winners from one country is 7% of the total number of winning numbers and no more than 3,500 units.
How to become a participant of the Green Card lottery in Uzbekistan
To get up-to-date information on the conditions of the lottery and to register as a participant, you must visit the official website of the Green Card lottery.
Acceptance of applications for participation in the drawing begins annually in October. The registration period for applications lasts about a month. The exact dates are indicated on the official lottery website.
Participation in the lottery is free. Applicants are required to comply with the mandatory rules and conditions:
- education received at home is not lower than secondary;
- work experience in the specialty for at least 2 years (while the minimum period for mastering the specialty is at least 2 years);
- the application is submitted by the country of birth, and not by the current citizenship of the applicant (that is, a citizen of the Russian Federation born in Uzbekistan must take part in the lottery from Uzbekistan);
- you can participate according to the country of birth of your spouse;
- the application is submitted only once a year;
- all family members can be included in the application;
- spouses can apply separately, each including their family members;
- children over 21 years of age can apply separately.
There are practically no exceptions to the rules. They can accept an application by country of citizenship, if the country of birth is banned from participating in the drawing. But all decisions of this kind are made on an individual basis and are not guaranteed in advance.
Rules for filling out an application for the Green Card lottery
To fill out a form for participation in the Green Card lottery, you must visit the official website.
The following information about the applicant / persons included in the application is indicated in electronic form:
- personal data: full name, gender, age, place of birth;
- information about education;
- home address.
The electronic form is filled in only in English. The information provided must not contain errors or typographical errors.
Digital photographs of all persons indicated in the questionnaire are attached to the completed application form.
Photo requirements
Attaching a photo to the electronic form of the questionnaire, check it in advance for compliance with the following requirements:
- color image with natural shades, without effects and shadows;
- the look is neutral, the eyes are open;
- the height of the head in the photo is 22–35 mm (50–69% of the height of the photo);
- casual clothes, overalls or uniforms are unacceptable;
- the picture should not be older than six months.
The consular service may request a new image if the applicant has experienced significant weight gain / loss, facial tattoos / piercings, head and face injuries, if gender reassignment has taken place.
When uploading a photo to the site, the following technical requirements for the file must be met:
- jpg format;
- file weight no more than 240 kB;
- square pixels, resolution - from 600 × 600 to 1200 × 1200 pixels;
- color depth - 24 bits.
Photo scans should be 51 x 51 mm, resolution 12 pixels by 1 mm. Scanning of photos pasted into other documents is inadmissible.
Where to find out the result of the drawing
To find out the final status of your application in the Green Card lottery, you must:
- Go to the official lottery website.
- Click the Check Status button, and then Continue.
- Fill in the form that opens:
- Confirmation Number (number assigned when filling out the questionnaire);
- Last / Family Name (surname) / No Last / Family Name (no last name);
- Year of Birth
- Authentication (captcha).
- Click Submit.
If you haven't won, you will see a page with the following message:
Based on the information provided, the Entry HAS NOT BEEN SELECTED for further processing for the Electronic Diversity Visa program at this time. Please verify that you have entered all information correctly. You may re-check the Entry status by clicking on the ESC Home Page link below.
Translation:
“Based on the information provided, your profile was not selected for further processing through the Electronic Diversity Visa program. Make sure you have entered all the information correctly. You can re-check the status of the profile by going to the main page. "
If you received a positive response, you will see the message page: You have been randomly selected for further processing in the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program for the fiscial year 2021.
Translation: "You were randomly selected for further processing in the Immigrant Visa Program for Diversity for Fiscal Year 2021."
Won the green card: what to do next
Each lottery winner receives an individual Case Number, for example, 2021 EU000XXXXX. Each part of the number matters:
- 2021 is the financial year during which the visa will be issued;
- EU - the region for which the prize was received (in this case, Europe);
- XXXXX is the number in the winners' queue for this region (the higher the number, the less chances of obtaining a residence permit in the United States).
The number in the queue does not depend on whether you applied in Tashkent or Samarkand: the choice is made randomly.
The procedure for working with winners includes passing the following mandatory stages:
- Filling out the DS-260 application form (immigration visa application form) and collecting a package of documents for applying for a visa. Necessarily includes:
- civil and foreign passports;
- birth / marriage certificates;
- diplomas / certificates of education;
- certificate of absence or presence of a criminal record;
- a certificate containing the results of passing the medical commission;
- a receipt for payment of the consular fee;
- a printed confirmation page for sending the electronic form DS-260;
- military ID;
- additional documents at the request of the visa officer.
- Interview. The date is set after filling out the electronic form DS-260. The information is sent to the applicant to the e-mail address indicated by him. You can check the full and up-to-date list of documents for an interview on the website of the US Consular Service.
- After successfully passing the interview, you will receive your passport and a yellow sealed envelope. From now on you have 6 months to enter the United States of America
- Entering the United States. The yellow envelope is opened by the visa officer at the border.
Please note that all required vaccinations and medical examinations must be completed prior to the scheduled interview date. The white envelope with the results of the medical examination must be presented to the consulate sealed. Some doctors may send their test results directly to the US Consulate.
Chances of winning the green card lottery in Uzbekistan
According to the results of 2021, Uzbekistan took 5th place in the number of winners in the USA Green Card lottery. It was bypassed by Russia, Iran, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Ethiopia.
The total number of winners from Uzbekistan was 4,494.
Traditionally, Uzbeks submit much more applications than citizens of the leading countries in terms of the number of winners. Thus, for 131,202 applications from Russians there were 2,028 issued visas, and 1,387,420 Uzbek applications - 2,524. Thus, based on the percentage, the chances of becoming a lottery winner in Uzbekistan are much less than in other countries from the top five.
The reason for such a high activity of the Uzbeks is that there are a large number of intermediaries on the territory of the country, offering assistance in applying for a fee. If the application wins, redemption of its number costs a lot of money. Hefty fees are also requested for assistance in passing the subsequent stages.
Thanks to intermediaries, even those who do not know how to use a computer have a chance to win a green card in Uzbekistan.
How to get Green Card in other ways
Those who wish to receive the Green Card in other ways must be ready to overcome a lot of difficulties:
- So, it is not enough to marry a US citizen: you need to prove that it is not fictitious.
- When planning to move to the United States of America on the basis of family reunification, be prepared to prove your relationship.
- To get a job at the request of an American employer, you need to perfectly know the language and confirm professional skills and education.
- Those who wish to obtain political asylum must prove that their stay in their home country threatens their life or health.
It may be easier to find out when registration for the Green Card will begin and apply to participate in the lottery.
Frequently asked questions about the green card lottery for citizens of Uzbekistan
Let's consider several topical issues.
- Can a questionnaire be excluded from the drawing if it contains incorrect information about the applicant or family members?
Incorrect data in the questionnaire is a direct violation of the lottery rules. This applies to any part of the questionnaire. Such applications can be excluded.
- If an intermediary filled out the electronic form, is the applicant personally responsible for any mistakes?
All responsibility lies with the person on whose behalf the application was submitted.
- If during the consideration of applications the applicant marries, will his / her spouse be eligible for a visa?
He will have such a right.
- Can I reschedule the interview date?
The interview date can be rescheduled if there are compelling reasons. To do this, you must send a request to postpone the date to the US Embassy, where the interview is to take place, or call. But there may not be free time for the transfer, so it is better not to risk it and show up on time.
- Is it possible to provide not originals, but copies of educational documents?
It is possible, however, the consular service has the right to request additional papers confirming the compliance of the applicant's level of education with the current requirements of the drawing.
- Do I need to certify the papers in the office with a notary?
No. But the translation must be affixed with the translator's licensed seal. Self-translation is not allowed.
- If the winner lives outside the country of birth, can the interview location be rescheduled?
This is possible, but for this you need to contact the Kentucky Consular Center before scheduling an interview date. For example, if you were born in Bishkek and live in Moscow.
- Do you need documents proving financial solvency?
No. But the consul must make sure that the green card applicant can work and support himself in the United States.
Summarizing
To become a participant in the drawing of a residence permit and the right to work in the United States, you must fill out an application on the official lottery website. Annual registration for the Green Card Lottery takes place in October. The exact start and end dates for accepting applications are indicated on the official website.
Winning the draw does not automatically mean getting a visa. Each winner must fill out an electronic migration visa application form, collect the necessary package of documents, successfully pass a medical commission and an interview with a visa officer. If all the stages have been passed, the candidate will be given six months to cross the border of America using the Green Card issued in his hands.
The interview, registration and issuance of visas is carried out in the next financial year after the lottery. That is, if the application is submitted in the fall of 2021, the visa processing will be carried out in 2021.
