Working Visa / Green Card Lottery - USA

mollycasey

Hi All,

I know there are loads of threads on the above but they are going back a few years so i thought i would start a new one.

Myself, my husband and 4 year old daughter are looking to move to the USA, i have family there and we were hoping to apply for a family sponsorship visa but not sure if we would be eligible as there are not immediate. Has anyone had experience in these visas?

We are also going to apply for the green card lottery - any tips here? What documents do you need?

Thank you

él statutorio

Pretty sure you need a parent to be there to sponsor you, don't think that works if you're already married.

Others here will know better, but you're looking at the lottery as your best shot.

ReturningForY

For family based immigration, the main determinant of whether you can be sponsored and how long it would take is your exact relationship to your family in the United States.

There are two kinds of family based immigration: non-quota based and quota based. Non-quota based means there is no yearly quota so as soon as someone sponsors you, you can apply for a green card. Non-quota green cards are limited to a few categories that I think don't apply to you:

• Your spouse is a US Citizen.
• One of your children is over the age of 21 and is a US Citizen.
• One of your parents is a US Citizen and you are under the age of 21.

Based on your post I presume you don't fall into any of these categories.

The only possible option then is one of the four quota based categories:

• If one of your parents is a US citizen you are eligible to be sponsored but there is a wait time of at least 13 years right now for a green card to become available. (This is called the third family preference category.)
• If one of your siblings is a US citizen you are eligible to be sponsored but, again, there is a wait time of at least 13 years right now for a green card to become available. (This is called the fourth family preference category.)
• You are not eligible for the first family preference category because you are married, and the second family preference category is for spouses or children of green card holders, which I again presume does not apply to you.

There are only four family preference categories. More extended family (aunts, cousins, etc.) cannot sponsor you. Do any of the two above work for you?

ReturningForY

For the green card lottery, you don't need any documents but just need to fill out a special form that is accessible once a year, usually mid-October to mid-November. The form is at https://dvlottery.state.gov/.

The chances of you getting a green card through the lottery was about 0.3% this year. Your husband can also apply, and if either of you are selected your whole family can move. This doubles the odds to a whopping 0.6%!

The green card lottery is an exciting game to play - and it's free! - but it's not a real option if you're serious about moving to the United States. Instead you have to look into actual options, like getting a transfer through your multi-national employer.

mollycasey

Thank you all for your replies.

It looks like it will be the lottery for now unless a miracle happens!!

circular flexing

ReturningForY wrote: »

The only possible option then is one of the four quota based categories:

• If one of your parents is a US citizen you are eligible to be sponsored but there is a wait time of at least 13 years right now for a green card to become available. (This is called the third family preference category.)
• If one of your siblings is a US citizen you are eligible to be sponsored but, again, there is a wait time of at least 13 years right now for a green card to become available. (This is called the fourth family preference category.)
• You are not eligible for the first family preference category because you are married, and the second family preference category is for spouses or children of green card holders, which I again presume does not apply to you.

There are only four family preference categories. More extended family (aunts, cousins, etc.) cannot sponsor you. Do any of the two above work for you?

Worth pointing that it's 13 years at the moment based on current dates, but those wait times are only getting longer. Also I believe if any children were 21 or over by the time the petition is current then they would age out of that petition.

If it was only you, then I would say there was no harm in at least filing the petition and forgetting about it. But I don't think it makes any sense if you have a child who is probably going to age out.

ReturningForY

circular flexing wrote: »

Worth pointing that it's 13 years at the moment based on current dates, but those wait times are only getting longer.

100%. Every year, more people join the line than get out of it.

jme2010

ReturningForY wrote: »

100%. Every year, more people join the line than get out of it.

Wow. Do those people have to wait in their home country for 13 years? Madness

Palmy

jme2010 wrote: »

Wow. Do those people have to wait in their home country for 13 years? Madness

Yes they have to wait in their home country. This is why there is an uproar in the States at the moment. The huge amount of illegal immigration happening (100,000+) a month that they know of, when there are literally hundreds of thousands possible millions of people waiting inline to legally enter the country.

mollycasey

Hi All,

I am filling out the application for the green card lottery, currently myself and my partner are not married however we will be getting married in December so should we choose the single option for now?

lilmissprincess

Yes, unless you’re already married you’re put down as single, according to the instruction manual.