Personal experience. How I won the green card and moved to the USA

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How to win a green card for legal life and work in the United States? Actually, you just need to fill in the simplest form on the site. dvlottery.state.gov (takes about five minutes). That's exactly what I did. In my case, the most difficult thing about it is to make a photo.

After all, it is necessary to put on a clean T-shirt, stand at the bright monophonic wall and take a picture of yourself with the phone, all children and official spouses with a face that looks like something in a mirror. In the lottery, I was not chosen the first time, which is quite expected. I filled out a happy questionnaire on the October night of 2015, in the interval between coursework in a half-dead state.

From this the following conclusion was made: do not think about what you are doing, just keep the application number and forget about it until May - this is my secret of success.

Fill out the form for the green card is usually in October, the terms are approximately as follows: October 1 - November November 3. After filling in, the participant is given a unique number, which will be required when checking the winnings. I usually sent this number to my e-mail by writing a logical header in the letter, and then marked the letter with a checkmark — so it’s almost impossible to lose data.

3 may already be known winners of the lottery, but the site is usually dead, so check the result better at night. Sometimes they hold an additional draw, which can be found on the site. dvlottery.

To test your luck, you must enter the last name, date of birth and the same number that was given when sending the application. And now you know the result. For the winners there is a detailed instruction on what to do next.

The first step is to fill out the form DS-260 on the site, which is specified in the instructions to the winner. In the questionnaire everything is extremely simple.

I had a question on the patronymic: should I write it and how. Answer: if you want to be entered into the green card itself - transliterate, if you do not want it - leave it only in Cyrillic. At the end of the questionnaire also offer to immediately make the coveted SSN number, without which anywhere in America.

There is one subtle point - the address in the United States. They will send there greencard and card with SSN. In my case, there was an acquaintance through the eighth hands, who agreed to provide his address and let him know when the letters would come so that he could pick them up. What to do if there are no such acquaintances will certainly be able to prompt at the embassy. Several times I sent them emails with questions about the documents, and the answer came quickly. The social insurance card comes within three weeks after entering the country, a green card can go up to six months.

Now I have to wait, while the guys from Kentucky study and approve the questionnaire, and also set the date for the interview at the consulate I chose from the list to my taste, filling out the 260 form. This means that it was possible to go not only to Warsaw, but also to Riga, Petersburg, Vilnius and other cities from the list. I am a citizen of Belarus, maybe that's why I was given such a choice.

It was convenient for me to go to the Riga embassy (I was living in Latvia at that moment), which was conveniently located in the backyard of my favorite store.

There is about a month between the response from Kentucky and the date of the interview at the embassy. This time is enough to quietly go through the necessary physical examination and translate the necessary documents. The question may arise: why not pass the examination while waiting for an answer? Answer: medical examination has an expiration date, and more specifically, it is valid for 6 months from the date of fluorography, and you have to pay for it. You can enter the United States only while a physical examination is in effect. This moment must be taken into account by the person who will affix the validity of the visa for the first entry into the United States.

Medical documents that the employees of the US Embassy will like, can only do selected doctorsspecially appointed by the Americans.

To successfully obtain the necessary medical documents, you must be moderately healthy, that is, without tuberculosis, sexually transmitted infections (gonorrhea, hepatitis and something else) and be vaccinated. Vegans and other new-minded people who ignore vaccinations for “religious” reasons are not allowed to emigrate.

I have 30, and in childhood I received all the necessary vaccinations, so I had to update only diphtheria and measles + parotitis + rubella (CCP). For the vaccine to work, you need to update it once in 10 years, so everything in general went according to plan. If we talk about the nuances, then in conditions of limited time, you should first be vaccinated against diphtheria, because the very next day you can get a PDA without harm to your health. The vaccine against measles and its companions is alive, so one cannot be vaccinated after a month or two, I do not remember exactly.

The doctor in Latvia, without any problems, figured out the Russian karakuls of the Soviet doctors, who were on my children's card, did not have to translate or specially prepare medical cards. I was vaccinated against diphtheria in Minsk, and against measles in Riga, since there was no vaccine in Belarus.

If you are a girl, then you need a paper from a gynecologist, where he writes that you are healthy. The Riga doctor wanted the female doctor to feel the chest in addition, to make sure that there is nothing superfluous in it.

Blood and urine should be donated directly in the office of an elected doctor. The door to the toilet directly from her office. There you need to go without a bag and any things. In the toilet there is a glass for urine and a marker to write the name.

Children do not need anything beyond the standard Belarusian vaccination kit. My child has not had a Mantoux skin test for a long time, so they made him right in the office during the examination. In winter, both adults and children need to be vaccinated against flu. Finally, everything is measured by temperature and pressure.

The test results are given in a thick sealed envelope, one per family. I was told that with the health of all the full order. In addition, the doctor gives an immunization card in English for each person, which is suitable for use in the United States, which is especially important for schoolchildren.

The medical envelope must be given in an unaltered, sealed form to the embassy officer on the appointed day of the interview. They will print it there, study it and draw conclusions before meeting with the consul.

To qualify for a visa without education, you need to have experience of two years in a sought-after specialty (the list is on the website for the winners). A high school diploma (full 11 grades) or a university, as well as a secondary special or vocational education eliminates the need to have two years of work experience.

For the embassy you need to translate the birth certificate, marriage and divorce, the birth of children, one diploma of education, the highest, and not all that is, certificates of conviction or their absence in all countries where you lived more than six months, for boys need a translation of a military card. It seems to have remembered everything. Translation must be done with a notarization. I did not spoil the originals, and I made all the assurances of the translations on copies. For reference: in Belarus the price for the transfer is higher in 2 – 2,5 times than a similar service in Riga. It will be cheaper to go to Riga on 2 of the day (room and board were taken into account when I wrote the word “cheaper”).

As soon as you came to the embassy, ​​and the employee (not the consul) checked the availability of all the necessary papers, you need to pay a visa, which may not be given. Nobody will return the money, even if there is a refusal.

You can pay in cash and by card. To the note: check the limit on the bank card, otherwise the payment will not pass. From personal experience for reinsurance, I recommend holding cash in addition to the card.

The decision whether to let you into the United States or not will be made instantly, immediately after the conversation with the consul. There is an opinion that if there are no lies in the questionnaire, and the candidate is not involved in fake marriages and other dirt, then the probability of being refused is very small. A passport with a visa will be sent free of charge in the country where the consulate is located, within three days. The visa itself is valid for about six months to enter the country (depending on the physical), but it can replace the green card (namely cardboard or plastic) during the year.

And a little about spending.

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Prices are in the currency in which they paid. The work of the selected doctor cost 142 € for each person who is more than 15 years old, and 128 € for a baby before 15 years. A special kind of fluorography (not one that everyone is supposed to do once a year, but deeply extended) was done in a special center with my photo on a special form from an elected doctor and cost € 42 per person. Children do not need to do this.

Translation of documents for 2 adults and children cost 250 € (all married once without a divorce).

Payment for visas at the embassy for two adults and a child 990 $.

For a green card (a plastic card itself) after receiving a visa, they paid 220 $ per person, for three of them - 660 $.

SSN card does not require separate payment.

Flight from Riga to Los Angeles with airline norwegian cost 964 € for three. This price includes 3 full-size hand baggage for 10 kg (no one weighed), 4 luggage suitcases for 20 kg (weighed), 1 bike in a bag 25 kg (weighed, but my bag besides large bunkers and all kinds of bicycles stuff), 1 a full meal on board (flew during the day), 1 snack (huge butter, cupcake, cookies, juice, plus additional alcoholic beverages (beer, 2 kind of wine) and non-alcoholic).

After each meal, tea was offered twice and coffee twice (a total of 8 was offered once). At the airport, they gave us + 1 free baggage for 20 kg, but there was almost nothing to take, so the feelings were ambivalent. As a result, part of the dinosaurs and seals flew in the luggage compartment.

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