What Are You Still Waiting to Migrate to America? | Complete Guide
Would you like to live in the USA, the most advanced country in the world? I heard you say “I would”. All you need to do for that is to apply for “Green Card”. Green Card is a kind of lottery in which visa for the USA is provided. We gathered all details you would like to know regarding the topic for you. With correct application and luck, you can obtain visa to the USA and you can change your life completely. Come on, let us go through the details without losing time.
What Is Green Card?
Green Card is like a ticket that makes you able to go to the USA, country of dreams, permanently. With this card, you get residence and work permits. Moreover, when you obtain green card, not only you but also your wife and children under 21 can go to the USA with you. Furthermore, it is also possible for you to apply for your parents.
With this card, you have the chance to apply for citizenship after living in the USA for 5 years. It is a great chance to get the opportunity to have these rights that are actually dreams of many people in the world.
Green Card can be obtained in different ways. The first option is the lottery. The lottery is done every year and 50.000 Greed Cards are distributed around the world. Except that, it is also possible to get Green Card via family reunification, finding a job in the USA or similar methods. You can also select one of these options depending on your status.
What Are The Conditions to Apply For Green Card?
Green Card system has been designed to enhance cultural diversity in the USA. Therefore, it is also named as Diversity Immigrant Visa Program. Government of the USA aims for enhanced cultural diversity with this lottery. Therefore, one of the most important conditions before an application is to be from a country that emigrates relatively less to the USA. For example, Turkey is one of the luckiest countries at this point.
Of course, country of birth is not the only condition. Except that, your education and job statuses are also very important. In order to be able to join the lottery, you need to have at least 12 years of education, in other words, you need to graduate from high school. If you don’t meet this condition, you have another chance. If you worked for at least 2 years in an expertise area for the last 5 years, you can also apply for Green Card.
- Conditions here are only required for the applicant. They are not requested for applicant’s spouse or kids.
How To Apply for Green Card?
If you don’t have any previous relation with the USA, or in other words, you didn’t find any job there or you don’t have an American girlfriend you are about to marry, don’t be sad. You still have an option! It is Green Card DV Program, or shortly, DV Lottery. You can easily join the lottery on the official webpage of the program, which is run by the U.S. Department of State (https://dvprogram.state.gov/). Except this, you don’t have to pay money to someone for the application or you don’t need to apply via an intermediate agency. Moreover, warnings against fraud are announced by authorized units of the USA. So, you need to be careful about that.
Is There A Fee for Green Card Application?
Making an application via U.S. Department of State is completely free. You don’t need to pay anything for that. However, if you make an agreement with an intermediate agency for your application, this will change. The agency will definitely request money from you. Furthermore, some agencies include flight tickets to the cost in case you won the lottery.
Requested Information During Green Card Application
There are some information you need to provide during your Green Card application as below:
· Your name,
· Date of birth,
· Country of birth,
· Address,
· Your education status
· Your work status,
· One photograph taken in the last 6 months
· Your passport information
In the past, until DV-2021 Green Card applications, passport information wasn’t requested. However, due to high amount of invalid applications, it has also been added to the list. This way, invalid applications have been prevented considerably. So, before your application, don’t forget that you will need a valid passport. There is no statement regarding the validity duration of passports. Yet, if you consider that the application period is approximately two years before the lottery, you can adjust the validity of your passport accordingly.
* You can check the duration of the application via the official DV program web page we shared above.
Important Details
Green Card application conditions are valid only for the applicant. Yet, you have to fill in information about your spouse and children as you are filling in the application form. There is no passport prerequisite for your spouse and children. It will be sufficient if you fill in the other details. You have to enter those details even if you don’t plant to bring your spouse and children to the USA. Otherwise, your application will be considered as invalid.
· Since the application will be done online, your biometric photograph and passport should also be available in a form such that they will be able to be sent online.
· Additionally, your photo has to have white background and except religious accessories, everything has to be removed from your head.
· If you wear glasses, you also need to remove them before having your photograph taken.
These conditions are important so that your application can be valid. When you apply for Green Card, you will be given a confirmation number by the system. Note that number down somewhere and don’t lose it. Because, when the lottery winners are announced, you will need that number in order to learn the status of your application.
Things to Do After Winning The Lottery
When you become one of the winners, firstly enjoy this! Then, without losing so much time, you need to fill in the form DS-260 (https://ceac.state.gov/ceac/). When you go to the URL, your confirmation number will be asked.
If your spouse or children will come to the USA with you, don’t forget that they are also required to fill in this form. You will fill in and send the DS-260 form online. After this process, be sure that you print the form out. The form you filled in on that website will be delivered to Kentucky Consular Center (KCC).
After your form is registered into the system by KCC, you will be asked to deliver:
· Criminal record,
· Photocopy of your passport
· Birth certificate
You need to upload scanned versions of these documents completely to the system. If any of the documents is missing, you have to send an email to KCCDVDocuments@state.gov in which you explain your status without losing time.
Visa Interview Phase
Gather the originals of the documents that you digitally sent in a folder. After you win the lottery, you will be invited for a visa interview. During this interview, originals of the documents will be asked. So, it is important that you have such a folder ready. Moreover, a health check report will be asked from your prior to the interview. Get an official health report from a suitable healthcare organization and add it to your folder. Another important point is that your passport and passports of your spouse and/or children have to be valid at least for 6 more months.
Before the interview, 330$ payment has to be made for each person who will go to the USA. Application for the lottery is completely free, but winners have to pay this visa fee if they want to go to the USA.
After you got your visa, you will have 6 months to go to the USA. If you don’t go to the USA within this 6 months, you will lose your right for Green Card. So, you need to make plans and get prepared as soon as you learn that you won the lottery. This way, you can move to the USA within 6 months in a well-prepared and planned manner and you can start your new life there.
Sources:
https://blog.cambly.com/tr/green-card-basvurusu/
