Green card: what is it, why is it needed and how to get it

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

We have prepared for you step-by-step instructions for obtaining a green card: from filling out an application form to flying to permanent residence in the United States.

What is a green card?

Green Card is a United States Permanent Resident Card, which confirms a residence permit and the right to work in the United States.

What does it give?

You can:

• live anywhere in the States;
• work;
• own real estate;
• study in a public school;
• get a local driving license;
• enlist in certain branches of the US armed forces;
• receive social security benefits, age and disability benefits, health insurance benefits for the elderly.

Over time, you can:

• apply for citizenship when you are eligible;
• apply for visas for your husband or wife and unmarried children;
• to leave and return back subject to certain conditions.

And what is required of me for this?

The green card holder solemnly undertakes:

• pay income tax;
• register with the conscription service if he is a man between the ages of 18 and 26;
• maintain your immigration status;
• always have a document on the status of a permanent resident with you;
• inform the immigration office about the move.

How to get a green card?

• Marry a US citizen. In order to obtain a green card through marriage, you need to confirm its good faith to the Citizenship and Immigration Service. It is advisable to provide photographs before and after the wedding, joint bank accounts, printed emails, statements of phone calls, documents that confirm the presence of common property.
• Reunite with your family. Obtaining a green card is possible by the closest relatives of a US citizen, which include: spouses; unmarried children under 21; parents; brothers and sisters over 21 years old. Obtaining a green card by the widow of a citizen and the child of a foreign diplomat born in the States may be considered.
• Coming to work at the request of an American employer. He must obtain the consent of the Federal Employment Service to hire a foreign worker and apply to the US Citizenship and Immigration Service for an H1B work visa. It allows a specialist to become a green card holder.
• Get political asylum. To obtain refugee status, you must provide convincing evidence of persecution for political, racial or religious reasons. You can apply for asylum while you are in the United States or at their embassy.
• Win the diversification lottery.

Diversification lottery? What kind of lottery is this?

The Diversification Lottery is a program to draw up to 55,000 visas annually for immigrants of different nationalities from countries with a low level of immigration to the United States in order to increase the cultural and ethnic diversity of the population. Acceptance of applications begins in October and lasts about a month. They check them until May next year. The lottery is called DV (Diversity Visa) for short.

How to take part in such a lottery?

To participate in the lottery, it is enough to have a secondary education, have no criminal record, socially dangerous diseases and cases of violation of immigration laws.

Natives of almost all countries, except those excluded, can participate. Bangladesh, Brazil, Great Britain, Vietnam, Haiti, Dominican Republic, India, Canada, China, Colombia, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, El Salvador, Philippines, Ecuador, South Korea, Jamaica were not allowed to participate in DV-2018.

To become a member, you need to fill out a form on the US Citizenship and Immigration Services with biographical information. The questionnaire requires photographs of all family members (spouses and children under 21), taken strictly according to the rules specified there, on the website.

What are the odds of winning a green card?

Application numbers change and decrease automatically. Renumbering is an essential element of a random draw. However, as the statistics of winnings show, this system reduces the chances of representatives of some countries to win. Therefore, the probability of winning ranges from 0.5 to 1% depending on the region. The winners are randomly selected by a computer.

Winning in DV does not automatically mean getting a green card. This is followed by an interview, at the stage of which two-thirds of the lottery winners are eliminated. You can apply for participation in the diversification lottery annually.

Wouldn't that stop me from getting a US tourist visa?

Participation in the lottery is not an immigration intent, but may appear to an individual visa officer as a desire to remain in the country. Since 2009, there is no longer a question about participation in the lottery in tourist profiles, and the Embassy itself does not officially consider participation in DV to be an obstacle to obtaining a tourist visa.

How do I know if I won?

Go to the lotteries on the US Department of State website and follow the link to check the results. For DV-2017 lottery participants, you can check the results from May 3, 2016 to September 30, 2017.

What to do after winning DV?

Prepare for an interview at the US Embassy. To get started, the Department of State needs to fill out the DS-260 form - an immigration visa application form. Then - print the confirmation page and take it with you to the interview, the date of which will be communicated by e-mail after filling out the questionnaire.

What documents should I take for an interview?

Passport, photographs, diploma or other educational documents, work book, birth certificate, police clearance certificate (or a judge's decision for previous convictions), marriage / divorce certificate, military ID, bank statement, property valuation, employer's letter, guarantor of material support. A complete list of documents and recommendations is presented to the US Embassy in Russia.

Consular fee payment - USD 330 per person.

What to do after receiving a green card?

If your interview is successful, you will be given a six-month time limit to enter the United States. Study, play sports, integrate, work - you are in a country of freedom and unlimited opportunities!

Will I still have time to participate in this year's lottery?

Information on the dates for accepting applications for DV-2019 will be published on the website of the US Department of State in the near future.