You won the green card: what to do next

If you are lucky enough to receive a notification about the winnings of the US green card, the next drawing of which took place the day before, on the official lottery website E-DV, you need to fill in the following pages of the questionnaire correctly.

After that, the date of your interview at the US consulate of the country in which you applied is scheduled, and only then will it be decided whether or not to grant you a visa. It is necessary to fill in the specified questionnaire as soon as possible.

If you are already in the United States at the time you receive a notification about winning a green card, you have the opportunity change your status in the US to immigration. Read more about this at the official website of the program.

It should also be understood that receiving a notification of winning a green card does not guarantee applicants receiving it. In order to emigrate to the United States, you must meet all the requirements that apply to applicants for an immigration visa.

The green card is a certificate of a permanent resident of the United States who does not have the citizenship of this state. The presence of a green card gives foreign persons the right to stay and work in the United States of America.

Participants of the 2017 program of the year, as reported by ForumDaily, can check the status of their application for a green card from 3 May 2016.

Among other things, to complete the process of obtaining a green card, you must confirm your qualifications.

Minimum requirements are to be a high school graduate (equivalent to a 12-year degree in the US) or have two years of work experience within the last 5 years in a field that US law requires at least two years of experience or specialized training (job category 4 or 5 with a rating of 7.0 or higher ).

Moreover, these requirements apply only to the person who won the lottery, and not to her husband, wife or children, who will receive a green card with him / her.

Details and classification of the working categories can be found at O * NET OnLine websitewhich was created by the US Department of Labor.

Procedure:

• Go to the “Find Occupations” section
• Select Job Family
• In the window that opens, find your field of activity and click “GO”
• Select a specific specialty with a number in the register of the US Department of Labor and click on it
• In the description of the specialty you will find a working category and rating under the item Job Zone
• If, for example, you have category “4” and a rating of “7.0 to < 8.0”, you can expect to receive a green card

The main applicant, who received a notification about winning a green card, must fill out a form DS-260. It is necessary to indicate the number of your application for the green card in order to be able to update the information about you and your family members.

If during your participation in the lottery, your marital status has changed (you got married or got married, you had a baby, etc.), you need to add new members of your family to the application. As you know, children must be up to 21 year and they should not be married.

Keep in mind that if you had a wife / husband or children at the time of applying for the lottery, but you did not indicate them, you will be disqualified during a visa interview.

After filling out the form DS-260 print the confirmation page that you need to bring with you to the interview.

In addition, it is necessary to bring accompanying documents to the meeting with the representative of the US consulate, which must be collected in advance.

Both the applicant and all members of his family must submit originals or certified copies, as well as photocopies of documents. If they are in Russian or some other language, you must also provide a certified translation of documents, in addition to which a certified translator must confirm his qualification and indicate that the document has been translated accurately.

Required documents:

• Proof of education or work experience (described above)
• Birth certificate
• Certificate of presence / absence of criminal record
• Deportation information (if any)
• Marriage certificate
• Divorce certificate
• Information about military service

It should also be borne in mind that in some countries and in a number of related circumstances additional documents may be required. In this case, you will receive a notification from the consular service in the country in which you are applying.

To view information on your country, select it below. of this page on the US Visas website and download a PDF file with additional instructions. If you have any questions, you can address them to the consulate or the US embassy.

Read also on ForumDaily:

How to replace the green card

How to change your status in the US on immigration

Immigration to the USA: five stories of people who won the green card

One step before the green card: medical board, interview, work permit

In the United States has changed the application form for citizenship

How to pass a test for US citizenship

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