Diversity Visa Lottery (DV-2006) - Green Card Lottery information

GREEN CARD LOTTERY FAST TRACK

DIVERSITY IMMIGRANT VISA PROGRAM

(DV-2007)

US GREEN CARD LOTTERY (DV-2007)

The US Diversity Visa (DV) Lottery, also known as the Green Card Lottery, is taking place once again this year. The US Department of State will accept lottery applications between October 4 and December 5, 2005.

Please note that the submission period is slightly shorter this year.

The lottery offers a unique opportunity to obtain a green card. With a green card you can live and work permanently in the US and, after five years, apply for US citizenship.

WHY IS THERE A LOTTERY ?

Normally, to obtain a green card you have to be sponsored either by

(1) an immediate relative who is a US citizen or who already has his/her green card or

(2) an employer who has offered you a job. The normal application process can take anywhere from one to fifteen years.

The Green Card Lottery therefore is often the only chance for all those people who would not otherwise qualify for a green card. Through the lottery 50,000 green cards are distributed to people from countries that historically have had low levels of immigration to the US .

Who is eligible to enter the lottery ?

There are only two basic requirements to participate in the lottery.

First, you must have been born in an eligible country. Certain countries are ineligible because a large number of people from those countries have already received green cards within the past five years.

The ineligible countries for this year’s lottery are: Canada, China (mainland-born), Colombia, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Haiti, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Pakistan, Philippines, Russia, South Korea, United Kingdom (except Northern Ireland) and its dependent territories, and Vietnam. Persons born in Hong Kong SAR, Macau SAR, and Taiwan are eligible.

Even if you were born in an ineligible country, however, you still can participate in the lottery if either (1) you are married and your spouse was born in an eligible country, or (2) under certain circumstances, your parents were not born in your country of birth.

The second requirement for entering the lottery concerns your education. You must have either a high school education or its equivalent (defined as the successful completion of a 12-year course of elementary and secondary education) or two years of work experience within the past five years in an occupation requiring at least two years of training or experience to perform.

There are no other requirements for entering the lottery… you do not have to speak English; you do not have to have family already living in the US ; and you do not have a job offer.

What services does Attorney Weiner offer for the lottery?

For years my office has been submitting lottery applications and helping winners to obtain their green card. My services include the following:

Confirming your eligibility to participate in the lottery. For clients born in an ineligible country, there are often questions about their eligibility claimed through their spouse or parent. Similarly, for those who did not complete secondary school, we will verify that their work experience conforms with the Department of State regulations.
Preparing and submitting your lottery application. Your lottery application must include information about you and your family members. Incomplete or improperly prepared applications will be rejected or, even worse, you could be ultimately denied a green card. Lottery applications are submitted electronically by Internet and a digital ID photograph of each family member must accompany your lottery application. For those clients who do not have access to a digital camera, my office will transform their photograph(s) into the proper digital format. Attention to detail counts. My office will ensure that your application fully conforms with the Department of State regulations, and we will send you written confirmation after your application has been submitted.
Use my office address as your contact address. After the close of the lottery registration period, the US Department of State will randomly select winners by computer and then notify them by mail the following spring (between May and July). My clients can use my office address in the US as their lottery contact address, and if they are selected the Department of State will notify me directly. This option is particularly useful for clients living in countries where the mail service is not reliable or for those who are not likely to be living at the same address next spring. Once my office has been notified, we will then contact you immediately in order to begin preparing your green card application.
Preparing and submitting your green card application. Winning the lottery is only the first step in getting a green card. Winners must submit their green card applications between October 1, 2006 and September 30, 2007 . This application is much more detailed than the one for the lottery application. As part of the application process, lottery winners will have to show that they are eligible to receive a green card. Those with serious criminal records or previous immigration violations, for example, may be found ineligible to receive their green card. As your attorney, I will address any legal issues affecting your eligibility.
Providing legal representation until you receive your green card. DV-2007 lottery winners must receive their green card before September 30, 2007 . After that date the government can no longer process applications for DV-2006 winners. Further complicating matters, although there are only 50,000 green cards available through the lottery, many more winners are selected at the outset. The 50,000 quota, therefore, could be reached before the September 30 deadline. As your attorney I will monitor the status of your application to ensure that it is processed as efficiently as possible.

HOW MUCH DOES IT COST ?

My fee for preparing and submitting your lottery application is $45 for one application and $80 for two applications (for a husband and a wife). The US Department of State does not charge any fee for the lottery. If you win the lottery, there are additional fees for me to prepare your green card application and represent you. You also will have to pay a fee to the US government for the processing of your green card application.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

For a more detailed presentation of the Green Card Lottery, click on the link below:

http://www.immigration-aux-usa.com/Green_Card_USA.html

TO REGISTER NOW FOR THIS YEAR'S LOTTERY CLICK ON THE BUTTON BELOW :

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