🇺🇸 US Green Card: Complete Guide
Thousands of people around the world dream of moving to the USA every year. Someone gets a visa and achieves their goal, while others leave this idea only in their dreams. However, you can get a lucky ticket and get a chance to move to the States thanks to the famous lottery. We tell you how the green card draw works and what you need to do to participate in it.
What is a green card?
Essentially, this document is a certificate that confirms its owner's right to permanent residence in the United States. However, it is important to remember that the card does not mean obtaining citizenship. In fact, this is a kind of bridge to a country’s passport, which can be obtained if certain conditions are met.
The card allows you to reside permanently in the state, as well as move within and outside of it. In addition, the holder of the certificate can work, receive social benefits, undergo training and purchase real estate in the United States. By the way, already five years after the green card is issued, a migrant can apply for citizenship.
Do not forget that the person who received the treasured document must strictly comply with all national laws, be a conscientious taxpayer and not leave the country for a period of more than six months.
What is the Green Card Lottery?
The US State Department is playing the treasured document among those interested around the world. Every year this procedure takes place in October-November and is indicated by the Latin symbols DV, as well as the year the visa interviews end.
This program allows migrants from countries with a low likelihood of moving to the United States a chance at a long-awaited move. In addition, the State Department imposes one important condition on applicants: they must be citizens of states from which the number of migrants arriving in the United States over the past five years does not exceed 50 thousand people.
It is because of this requirement that Brazil, Canada, China, South Korea and some other countries do not participate in the current drawing.
How does the 2023 draw work?
The current lottery is designated DV-2025, because all bureaucratic formalities must be completed before 2025. If you plan to try your luck, you can do this from October 4 to November 7 on the official website. Please note that this is the only resource that collects data about the participants in the drawing and assigns them serial numbers. You should not trust scammers and give them personal information.
To apply for participation, you need to meet several criteria:
- You must be born in a country that has not exceeded the required quota of migrants.
- It is important to obtain a high school education or have two years of work experience over the last five years in a specialty that requires at least two years of vocational training. In addition, the minimum SVP Range (special vocational training) must be 7 or higher.
How to take part in the lottery?
In order to receive a serial number in the drawing, you must fill out a form on the website and attach a photo. The State Department has established serious image requirements, violation of which automatically deprives applicants of a chance to win:
- The parameters of the digital version are 600 600 pixels, the printed version is 51 51 mm, format is JPG.
- The photo must be taken no earlier than six months before submitting the application.
- The head should be in the center and occupy about 50-69% of the total height.
- The use of retouching and editing programs is prohibited.
- Photos must be taken against a uniform light background without shadows.
- You must be photographed in casual clothing, without glasses, uniforms or hats.
- It's best to choose a neutral expression and keep your hair out of it.
When will the results be known?
The results of the drawing will begin to be announced on May 4, 2024, and you can view them on the official website, where applicants applied and attached photos. To find out if you live under a lucky star, simply enter the serial number received after registration, last name and year of birth.
What to do if you win?
If you are lucky, congratulations! However, this is just the beginning. First, you need to fill out a visa application form DS-260. Prepare a list of documents and make sure they meet the requirements. Then all that remains is to wait for a call for an interview at the consulate or consular department in the period from October 1, 2024 to September 30, 2025.
At the same time, sometimes there are so many lucky winners that there are not enough visas for everyone, so not every winner makes it to the interview stage. Sometimes a triumphant person who takes a place in the queue after the 50,000th mark, purely theoretically, cannot enter the pool of those who will have the chance to communicate with the consul in person.
To find out whether you can count on an interview, you need to monitor the visa bulletin on the State Department website. Check whether your personal case number fits into the cut-off range that is determined for each region. If your number is above the limit, the time has not come yet. But if the number is less than the “ceiling”, the invitation is in your pocket. Another status – current – means that absolutely all residents of the region have a chance for an interview.
The next step is to receive vaccinations and vaccines approved in the United States, as well as undergo a medical examination at a facility that has received approval from the American consulate. Then all that remains is to pay the fee ($330) and go through an interview.