If you''d like to move to our lovely, financially downward spiralling country....

[TravelingGal]

I announce this every year in case you or someone you know may want to sign up for the US Diversity (Greencard) Lottery. The lottery is now open to applicants.

I''m also happy to answer questions if I know the answers on the DVL.

http://www.travel.state.gov/pdf/T1026V-DV-2010bulletin(3).pdf

 

[VRBeauty]

TG, thanks for passing that along. I didn't kinow there was a visa program outside of the normal preference system. I would dearly love to have my aunties on my father's side living here. I don't think either would move at this point without the other, but... a girl can dream!

ETA it may be in a downward financial spiral, but it still offers a lot of freedoms, such as the freedom of religion, and at laws and mores, at least, against racial discrimination, that are lacking in other countries.

 

[LaraOnline]

A friend of my husband''s won in that lottery.
Obviously I won''t be entering, (just bought a house!

) but it is an interesting concept...
Do you know if it is a true lottery, (ie truly random competition), and how many cards are issued?

 

[fieryred33143]

Date: 10/13/2008 1:00:45 AM
Author: VRBeauty
TG, thanks for passing that along. I didn''t kinow there was a visa program outside of the normal preference system. I would dearly love to have my aunties on my father''s side living here. I don''t think either would move at this point without the other, but... a girl can dream!

ETA it may be in a downward financial spiral, but it still offers a lot of freedoms, such as the freedom of religion, and at laws and mores, at least, against racial discrimination, that are lacking in other countries.

We had a former VP of immigration services at our office giving a speech two weeks ago. Some things that I didn''t know until he met with us is that a) there are Visas for everything and b) the INS is a self-funded organization. The money comes directly from fees paid to INS, so when you hear politicians say "I don''t want to waste my tax money on immigration" they aren''t

.

Also, what I didn''t know was that there are only 50,000 HB1 visas distributed annually. Of those 50,000: 5,000 are reserved for people from Chile and some other country (I forget). Soooo, we''re going to get my FI''s cousin who is an attorney in Chile a Visa to come over and work

 

[onedrop]

Date: 10/13/2008 6:52:35 AM
Author: LaraOnline
A friend of my husband's won in that lottery.
Obviously I won't be entering, (just bought a house!

) but it is an interesting concept...
Do you know if it is a true lottery, (ie truly random competition), and how many cards are issued?

TGal could probably answer this question more thoroughly than I, but from what I know "yes" it is a random lottery. They are committed to issuing 50,000 visas. Not everyone chosen will be eligible for various reasons, so I think maybe they account for an additional 5,000. An acquaintance of DH just came over a couple of months ago after winning the DV2008 lottery. He had to jump through a lot of hoops to actually get the visa but he was successful!

 

[TravelingGal]

VRB, well, tell them to enter. You never know, and it would mean it''s fate! As long as they are from an eligible country...

Lara, it is truly random. From what I remember, the lottery is divided into 6 regions, with each region getting an allocated number of visas based on population or entries (I can''t remember). Australia falls within Oceania, which is a small region in the DVL (usually Oz, Nz and Fiji are the countries with applicants). Most people from Oceania don''t really care to leave their countries, so the chance of winning is much better in Oceania. The odds are usually about 200 to 1, but the year TGuy applied, we figured out that the odds is Oceania were actually 100 to 1...pretty darn good odds!

If your name gets "drawn", it does not automatically mean you win...all it means is that you were selected for further processing. Since they give out 50K greencards in this lottery, they will draw double the names with the assumption that many will be disqualified along the way. If you win, you get a case number from your region...the lower the case number, the better. It''s really a bummer for some people with a high case number because they were drawn, but they will never get a chance for the DVL interview, so their "win" is worthless.

Most of Oceania actually seems to get through and processed. Being processed means you have to pay fees, get your criminal check and healthy check for TB and other things, and have enough money (or be sponsored) for them to approve you. Then you have to come to America to be processed at a POE (Point of Entry) within 6 months of your approval or the visa is dead.

If you were to enter for DVL 2010, the entry window closes in early December 2008. Names are drawn in the spring with winners getting their notices as early as April 2009, with most notices going out in May-July. Then interviews would start with the new govt fiscal year which is Oct 2009 (So even though this is DV2010, you could get processed in 2009). The last interviews for DV2010 would be in Sept 2010. After Sept 30 2010, if you haven''t had a interview, or were being processed but ran out of time in getting everything approved, you''re pretty well screwed.

 

[D2B]

Hi

TGal, do you know what is the savings amount is that they require you to have to enter the country?

Thanks
d2b

 

[TravelingGal]

Don't quote me on this, but I remember an amount around 30K of liquid assets. I don't think there is a "set" amount. They will want to know what you do, look at your bank accounts to make sure someone didn't just deposit a bunch of money at once, and make the call from there. If you are really interested, I can find the document that gives you the amount that they consider over the poverty line and that amount must be met per person who is immigrating. I believe the amount is lower than 30K I mentioned, but for some reason the US consulate in Sydney marched to the beat of their own drum and required more than the povery line minimum - hence the 30K.

For any Aussies that are considering (or anyone else actually) a group of people, including myself and TGuy, left behind our 2005 DVL experiences in the hopes it would save people from getting an attorney. Our experiences are still on the net and are still helping people today for the OC region.

http://www.clalar.dk/dv-lottery/oc-region-lottery/

ETA, went back and checked a couple of things...don't think it has to be liquid as real estate is OK. However cars do not count as assets so if you want to use it, you have to sell it and get the money.

 

[MishB]

Yes, I would, in a heartbeat if both my husband and I could get working visas.

TGal - if one spouse has a greencard, can the other work legally? Or would you both have to be randomly successful in the lottery?

A greencard is unrestricted isn''t it? You could work in any job, any industry and not have to be sponsored or have special skills?

 

[LaraOnline]

Also, TG, do you have to give up your own natural citizenship?
Or maybe I''m not really understanding what a Green Card is... perhaps it is not citizenship, but is really just a ''ticket to work'' and live in the US in an unrestricted manner? Are there restrictions on how long you can spend in your own country, and how long you must live in the US, once you have won your Green Card?

 

[TravelingGal]

MishB, you both can enter the greencard lottery separately, but I believe there is a place on the application where you can put that you have a spouse (or it is on an application later, I can''t remember). If one of you wins, the other can also get the greencard on the same application. However the criteria/eligibility requirements only matter for the PRIMARY applicant (i.e. the winner). You also don''t have to be married at the time of the lottery draw, but you MUST be married by the time of the interview, or else if your significant other decides s/he wants to come later, they have a many many year wait ahead of them.

A greencard, or permanent resident visa as it is called because it is no longer green, is indeed unrestricted. You can live, work, buy a house, etc. You just don''t have the rights of a citizen though (voting, jury duty, etc etc). You do not need a sponsor once you have it, but you often need a financial sponsor to be approved through this lottery because you must show you have enough money to not get on welfare once you are here. If you have a 12 years of finished education, enough money (or a sponsor), no criminal record and are medically OK, they will approve your greencard if you are chosen for further processing through the lottery.

Lara, as an Australian, you do not have to give up your citizenship. With a greencard, you are still an Aussie citizen and will carry your Australian passport. After 5 years of US residency you can apply for US citizenship. Australia used to require you give up your Australian citizenship if you take on citizenship from another country. However, as of around 5 years ago, they changed that law. A lot of Australians were moving abroad for better job opportunity and Australia was finding that it was losing a lot of its professional population. Take away their citizenship and they probably won''t come back; let them keep it and they may come back. So now you can apply for US citizenship and keep your Australian one, which is the way to go so that you can''t get kicked out of the US. TGuy would not apply for US citizenship if he could not keep his Australian one, and I certainly would not ask him to.

Applying for a greencard means you intend to live here permanently. Therefore once you immigrate with a greencard, you cannot leave the US for more than 6 consecutive months. You can apply for an extended leave though (1 yr, I believe). For Austalians, the idea is to stay here for 5 years and then apply for citizenship. Then you can come and go to and from both countries with no time limit. As a citizen you would have the right to enter either country at any time. However for that first 5 years, you are pretty much committed to stay in the US. I have heard that people win the lottery and then find life in the US too tough and move back to Australia. After 6 months away, your residency is no longer valid. It''s a shame to give that up as getting a greencard through other means is extremely difficult and time consuming.

I post this every year because there is always talk of abolishing the greencard lottery. If anyone has dreams of coming here, there is no easier, faster, cheaper way in than the greencard lottery, IMHO. With H1B (work) visas, you are tied down to the company that is sponsoring you (and they often pay much lower and sometimes treat their sponsored employees like crap). With the greencard lottery, once you get processed, you come in free and clear. It''s truly an awesome way in - although not without its flaws. The guy who took a gun and shot people at the international terminal at LAX a few years ago came in under the greencard lottery. I also think it might be far more fair to take those 50K visas and give them to family/friends who have been waiting a long time to come into the US. But it is what it is and since it is still available and going on, I would encourage anyone who wanted to come to the US to apply. It is FREE and worth a shot, and if you get chosen for further processing, I will probably still be around pricescope and guide you through the process (saving you a lot of attorney''s fees!)

 

[lovegem]

from the bulletin
"To qualify for a Diversity Visa on the basis of your work experience, you must have, within the past five years, two years of experience in an occupation that is designated as Job Zone 4 or 5, classified in a Specific Vocational Preparation (SVP) range of 7.0 or higher."

Both DH and my current occupations are in Job Zone 5, but we don''t know what SVP is. How do we know if we meet this 7.0 or higher requirement? BTW, we currently holding work visas in US.

 

[TravelingGal]

Date: 10/14/2008 3:39:12 AM
Author: lovegem
from the bulletin
''To qualify for a Diversity Visa on the basis of your work experience, you must have, within the past five years, two years of experience in an occupation that is designated as Job Zone 4 or 5, classified in a Specific Vocational Preparation (SVP) range of 7.0 or higher.''

Both DH and my current occupations are in Job Zone 5, but we don''t know what SVP is. How do we know if we meet this 7.0 or higher requirement? BTW, we currently holding work visas in US.

lovegem, do you and your DH have the equivalent of a high school education? If so, qualify under that...MUCH easier.

So this jobzone thing...that''s new, although I think they''ve always used it internally. Geez, I guess they are getting stringent on what they are saying is OK to qualify if you don''t have a HS degree.

Did you go to the site and check out the job zone link under the summary section once you found your occupation? The svp rating is there. SVP is special vocational preparation and you can read more about this under the bulletin link I posted under FAQ#13. Or let me know what your occupations are and I will look it up for you in the ONet database.

What are your countries of nativity?

 

[beau13]

No offence, but shouldn't people be trying to flee the US because of the way the econonomy is headed?

I do feel bad for those who have lost jobs, homes..etc..I heard (on the news), that the US is headed for times similar to the Great Depression.
I am also thankful that Canadian banking is the best in the world right now, and that they put a quick stop to these 40 year mortgages, that US banks were offering, and could see how that would be very BAD for our economy. (it's also great to own your home after 15 years, rather than 30 or 40). I know we will be somewhat affected by what happens in the US (unfortunately), and again, no offence..I just wouldn't think there would be a lineup to get into the US at this particular time.

 

[TravelingGal]

Date: 10/14/2008 2:43:36 PM
Author: beau13
No offence, but shouldn''t people be trying to flee the US because of the way the econonomy is headed?

I do feel bad for those who have lost jobs, homes..etc..I heard (on the news), that the US is headed for times similar to the Great Depression.
I am also thankful that Canadian banking is the best in the world right now, and that they put a quick stop to these 40 year mortgages, that US banks were offering, and could see how that would be very BAD for our economy. (it''s also great to own your home after 15 years, rather than 30 or 40). I know we will be somewhat affected by what happens in the US (unfortunately), and again, no offence..I just wouldn''t think there would be a lineup to get into the US at this particular time.

Beau, no offense taken of course!

Perhaps the line is a little longer to get into Canada now

, but I assure you, there are still many people around the world who dream of moving here!

 

[beau13]

Date: 10/14/2008 3:13:56 PM
Author: TravelingGal

Date: 10/14/2008 2:43:36 PM
Author: beau13
No offence, but shouldn''t people be trying to flee the US because of the way the econonomy is headed?

I do feel bad for those who have lost jobs, homes..etc..I heard (on the news), that the US is headed for times similar to the Great Depression.
I am also thankful that Canadian banking is the best in the world right now, and that they put a quick stop to these 40 year mortgages, that US banks were offering, and could see how that would be very BAD for our economy. (it''s also great to own your home after 15 years, rather than 30 or 40). I know we will be somewhat affected by what happens in the US (unfortunately), and again, no offence..I just wouldn''t think there would be a lineup to get into the US at this particular time.

Beau, no offense taken of course!

Perhaps the line is a little longer to get into Canada now

, but I assure you, there are still many people around the world who dream of moving here!

I''m sure there are a lot WORSE places to live..for SURE!!