Mike and I have applied for the Greencard Lottery for 3 years. We each apply separately to increase our chances.
A month ago I received a notification that I had won and was shortlisted for an interview! Then, 2 weeks later Mike also won!
Well, the first thing we thought that it must be rigged or something but looking at the documents, I found that I was number 99 in the application list and Mike was number 333. So after applying online, then Mike applying a few minutes later, some 234 people must have applied. Upon further research online, I found that 6.4 million people applied from around the world and only 100,000 people received the application forms. Since they accept around 55,000 people, we have a pretty good chance of winning!
The application forms were lengthy and basically you have to have a high school education or have worked in your field for 2 years to qualify. And the usual "Do you have any diseases or criminal convictions" and another interesting question was "Are you a member of an organization?" I suspect they wouldn't accept people in the communist party... Of course we have no problems with those questions. I imagine that some applicants will fail this first step.
So, a Greencard for us would mean we wouldn't have to keep leaving the USA to reapply for our visas every 2 years, and have to apply for our driver's license in 6 months again. We would be considered permanent residents and both have the right to work in the US. Mike would have the right to own a business here which he cannot do because he is under my visa. Also be protected by all the US laws. The only things we cannot do is vote for President or be President!
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Did you get it??? We also entered. here on an E3 visa.
Yes we did get it! The process was not easy though.
We had to get a police report from Australia, a full medical examination which in theory has to be done in Australia and can take weeks for results etc. We did our blood tests here in the US since we were already living her under the E3 Visa but they had to be done with official USCIS approved MD's. We had to get fingerprints done with an approved fingerprint place, photos done to exact dimensions (which we got wrong but had others done another time which worked). We had to get documents certified etc.
The thing that probably weeds out most people is the costs involved. There are medical fees, fingerprinting, photo and certification fees, police report fees. And then there's the greencard fee of US$775.00 and costs to travel to Australia and go to the Australian Consulate in Sydney and stay for a few days till it's processed. You can do it through a lawyer which is obviously expensive too.
But if you can afford it, it's worth it by far! The day of the interview was really easy and they said we got it there and then. We were absolutely thrilled - no more E3 hassles!
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