Participation in the lottery green card and marriage: is it possible to change the marital status in the process of drawing and receiving a green card

If you started participating in the green card drawing as a free person, but want to get married at various stages of the Diversity Visa Lottery (DV) or after winning, then you should familiarize yourself with several nuances of such a change in marital status.

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The issue of marital status in DV is one of the critical ones - an error can lead to disqualification. Even if it was very small or ridiculous, it is said in the material on the site BritSimonSayswhose translation was prepared by the publication RU Herald.

Some people, for example, choose “legally separated” when they are actually married, but live separately. If the divorce is not legally registered, it is not valid. In addition, if you indicate that you are married, although you are only planning or expecting marriage before the announcement of the results, this can also lead to disqualification. It is extremely important to take this issue seriously and write as is.

What to do if you are planning to get married before the announcement of the results, or you have already learned about the winnings, and then you realize that you want to marry your partner. The information concerns both sexes and same-sex couples. After the repeal of the DOMA (Defense of Marriage Act) law, the federal government recognized that same-sex couples have the same rights to receive immigration benefits as sex-opposite couples. Thus, the US Immigration Act respects marriage based on the laws and customs in force at its place of detention.

On the subject: You won the green card: why sending an DS-260 questionnaire early can ruin everything

The process depends on the exact time between registration for the lottery (approximately October), announcing her results (May), the date of the interview (depending on the order) and the end of the DV results (30 September of the following year).

Joining an unmarried couple in the DV lottery

First of all, if you are not married, you cannot specify your partner as a spouse. Of course, you can take part in the green card lottery separately from each other, and if one of you wins, you can get married in order to get an advantage in the form of a visa (and then a Green Card) for another partner. Just keep in mind that each main candidate (winner) must meet the requirements independently.

If you are single, but you have common children with a partner, then both applications from you as participants should include records about children.

1 Scenario: Marriage after registration, but before the announcement of the results

Life goes on. It is not necessary to postpone it only because you participate in the DV lottery. So, you got married, and then you learned that you won a green card. In this case, you just need to fill out the form DS-260 like a married couple.

Be prepared for a small check - even people who have been married for many years are interviewed about marriage during an interview. To be more prepared, stock up on some evidence. But about them later.

Scenario 2: Marriage after the announcement of the results of the lottery, but before the interview

There is nothing wrong with this if the relationship is real. In fact, in some cases it is even reasonable. But there is one "but." Winning the DV lottery is a huge opportunity. And there are many people who tried to manipulate the system to get two green cards based on a fake marriage.

Therefore, the couple must be prepared to demonstrate the true nature of the marriage. Especially if they intend to move to the United States from a country in which fraud occurs quite often.

If you are planning to get married soon after the results are announced, postpone the DS-260 filing until you marry / marry. This is necessary so that you can include your spouse in the profile.

If you have already sent DS-260 and got married, waiting for an interview, you can ask the visa application center to unblock your profile (it’s best to use email for this) and then change it by adding a spouse and specifying your new marital status. It is better to attach a scan of the marriage certificate to the email asking you to unlock the questionnaire.

If the marriage happens after the case is handed over to the embassy for an interview, you should still inform the visa center as a precautionary measure. But the embassy must be informed about the changes directly. In some cases, you may have to contact the embassy or ask the visa application center to contact him on your behalf in order to add your spouse to the schedule of interviews.

3 Scenario: Marriage after interview, but before entering the United States and before the expiration of the lottery results

This is still technically possible, but unwise. The process includes an appeal to the embassy who handled your case. However, this is a very risky strategy, as the embassy can delay the response, the waiting time will expire, visas will be overdue, and so on. A much more preferable option is to specify the date of the upcoming marriage before the interview.

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4 Scenario: Marriage after an interview and after entering the US, but before the end of the DV (September 30)

It is a rarity. So rare that it is unlikely to be technically possible / legal. It is possible to try to change the information in a derivative business, but it will be very risky, because the receiving party will wonder why you have not addressed this issue before. You will cause them serious doubts that the relationship is real.

5 Scenario: Marriage after DV expiration (September 30)

Alas, this situation no longer falls under the rules of the DV lottery. You will need to follow the traditional immigration process, which is slower and more expensive.

Proof of Relationship

How can you prove that a relationship is genuine? This is mainly a demonstration of living together and a large number of documentary evidence. These may include the following:

• photographs / emails / joint accounts for the period before marriage;
• photographs or other evidence of the wedding ceremony itself;
• joint financial documents such as general bank accounts;
• knowledge of information about each other, about other members of the spouse’s family, and so on.

If the receiving party has doubts, you have the right to refuse a visa without the possibility of an appeal.

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