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Next week many who wish to obtain a residence permit in the U.S. will be a little closer to his dream, because from Tuesday they will be able to apply to participate in the annual lottery Green Card 2019.
Of course, that winning this lottery is a matter of chance, but something that depends on the players who have to be among those 50 thousand lucky people, you should be very careful when registering for participation in the lottery. And what more important – when you win it.
Most of the errors committed through ignorance or carelessness, can lead to delay consideration of your application, its rejection or even suspension.
At best, it means that your planning to move to USA will be delayed for a few months. Option worse – you have to wait next fall to once again participate in the lottery. That is, to move to the States you will be able not earlier than 2020. But it’s still better than a disqualification.
It is also worth mentioning that getting a green card based on DV-lottery consists of several stages:
You are determined to tempt fate and meet the mandatory requirements for participation in the raffle? Then imagine that you have already won. What rules should you follow to chance that not everyone in life is given, accidentally slipped from your hands?
1. To fill the form DS-260 for each family member
For each family member (spouse and children under 21) with which you are planning to move to USA, immigration visa application form DS-260 is filled separately. Info about new family members that you got after the filing of the application for participation in the lottery is required to specify, otherwise you disqualifiziert.
2. Providing the correct contact information in the United States
When filling out the same form DS-260 (at least, in the interview) you will need to supply a us address to which you send a green card after you make your entry to USA on immigration visa.
If you indicated that you live at this address, but before his arrival in the States found something else, then this should definitely inform the employee of border controls, which by the way, you should hand over a sealed envelope given to you after a successful interview.
3. Fill out all necessary forms
To see the entire list of forms here password filter Green Card-Based Forms. Of course, not every one is suitable for your situation, because green cards are issued not only to lottery winners.
But if you forget at least one of the necessary, the review process of your application may take from six months to several years.
Special attention is recommended to pay the Certificate of financial support (I-134 Affidavit of Support), which can be a proof of your financial viability. This will be discussed in the next paragraph.
4. Not to get confused in the figures in the Certificate of financial support
The certificate of financial support is the obligation of the sponsor to provide financial support to the lottery winner and his family after they moved to the States.
To become a sponsor, you must meet certain requirements:
- to be a citizen or have a residence in USA;
- to have a sufficient level of income (generally at least 125% of the annual poverty level for the number of sponsored family members).
To know the minimum amount you need to earn for the maintenance of a certain number of persons can familiarize yourself with this user manual.
There are three tables: for residents of Hawaii, Alaska and all other Statesand Puerto Rico, the virgin Islands, GUAM and the Northern Mariana Islands.
Each table consists of three columns:
- The sponsor’s Household Size (number of persons on the assurance of the sponsor);
- the amount is identical to 100% of the annual poverty level (for sponsors serving in the U.S. Armed forces);
- the amount is identical to the 125% of poverty level (for all other sponsors).
Sponsor it is important to understand that when comparing his income with the minimum in the second and third column, you should consider your expected income for the current year, not the one that you have paid taxes last year.
Ilona Dzhamgarova — immigration lawyer
Ilona Dzhamgarova is one of the best Russian-speaking immigration lawyers in America advises that when preparing for an interview remember:
In addition to taxes Your sponsor must provide a letter from work, copy of green card or us passport.
Remember, the main thing to give for an interview diploma (certificate), birth certificate, marriage, if there were previous marriages, all of the certificate of divorce, military ID, for those who served in the army.
Due to the lack of these documents, many are denied for an interview.
You should be careful and counting of the persons to be provided by the sponsor. Have you noticed that in the first column of the table are not listed figure 1? This is because your income the sponsor relies and on himself too, so if he agrees to provide financial support to only one person, then this situation corresponds figure 2.
About the principles of counting we should not forget when filling out Form I-134, otherwise you will have to wait with moving to the States from two to four months.
N. B. If the income of your sponsor does not meet the expected performance, then it can attract additional guarantor.
5. To sign all necessary forms
This may seem like a small thing, but many applicants do forget to sign each completed form in all necessary places. This mistake could cost you six extra months of waiting.
Please note that in some cases, a person wishing to obtain a green card, can be in forms such as the Complainant (applicant) or the recipient (beneficiary). At the same time, the person, undertaking to take on sponsorships, too, can be a Complainant (applicant) or the applicant (petitioner).
Some of it is confusing, leading to errors. And this, in turn, can cause the rejection of the application.
6. Translate all documents into English
After filling out the DS-260 and all accompanying forms, you proceed to the next stage – the collection of documents, including: birth certificate, marriage certificate or its dissolution, certificate, military ID, certificate of good conduct, proof of financial independence, etc.
A detailed list will be sent by e-mail for a few days (or even weeks) before your interview with a visa officer. Each of these documents must be translated into English. The translation must be certified.
Otherwise, you risk significantly delay processing of your application up to six months.
7. To provide only truthful information
Keep in mind that with the staff Service, citizenship and US immigration services (USCIS) to be trifled with: if when filling out forms or questionnaires you accidentally or deliberately confused the dates, I forgot about the important parts pointed out false information about previous convictions, etc., in the best case the process will be delayed for six months, and in the worst – way to the USA will be for you forever closed.
8. To make sure all paid
All who are preparing for immigration to the United States should be aware that it will cost «a pretty penny». You have to pay the visa fee for immigrant visa, obtaining a green card, the physical examination in specially accredited hospital.
If the amount you wish to send to the American government, is comparatively low, it is recommended to recheckwhether all the expenses you took into account.
Undoubtedly, test will do myself the Service of citizenship and immigration, but after the fact. To notify you of necessary copayment and make a new payment, additional time is required. This means that you will lose the extra two to four months.
9. Prepare for an interview with a visa officer
This is the final stage before you get on a plane and fly to the United States. However, after the interview you may become clear that the flight will have to cancel. Answering the questions of the visa officer, it is essential that information did not differ from that which was specified in the questionnaires, forms and you have collected documents. Otherwise, you will not get an immigrant visa.
10. To meet the deadline
After a successful interview, you get an immigrant visa. It is issued for six months, and during this time, the applicant must be entering the U.S. to get his green card. Otherwise, the visa will be cancelled.
By the way, since we are talking about the timing, for everyone who decided this year to try their luck in the lottery, there is a useful tip: do not submit your application in the first days after their admission.
The fact is that due to the large number of people wanting the server may be overloaded and give errors. For example, after completing the application, you will assign a personal confirmation number (Confirmation Number).
It’s a double-edged sword. On the one hand, your application could be accepted in another. But know this immediately impossible. Re-filling out forms is a big risk, because if the previous request was accepted, the filing of a transcript will result in disqualification.
