Friday, June 29, 2012

U.S. Diversity Visa lottery application

U.S. Diversity Visa lottery

us diversity visa lottery


Are there Legitimate Ways of Improving Your Chances With the US Diversity Visa Lottery Program?


While you have probably heard of the US diversity Visa lottery program, very few people know that you can apply for it even if you are already in the United States. The only criterion is that your country belongs on the list of eligible countries for the lottery program. A country can become eligible for this program based on how many emigrants have moved to the United States in the last five years. They are also some basic training and educational requirements that one must meet. These requirements are much lower than most other visa qualifications and only involve a high school diploma with five years of occupation in a recognized profession. Additional training is also helpful in the qualification process.

Diversity Lottery

Many also wonder about how much it costs to be a part of the US diversity Visa lottery program. This is an important piece of information, so pay close attention as you read this. Entering the pool for the US diversity Visa lottery should cost you nothing. That's right, it is absolutely free. The only time that you may be required to pay fees is when you are chosen by the lottery and are invited to interview. At this time you will be asked to pay visa processing surcharge fees which are required for just about any kind of visa you apply for. It is the poor understanding of this aspect of the visa lottery program that allows many applicants to be taken for a ride. There are many scam artists that prey on folks that do not understand the system as they dupe applicants into thinking that there is a fee just to apply for the US diversity Visa lottery. Unsuspecting folks pay up large amounts of dollars in the hope that they are one step closer to living the American dream. But in reality, even US immigration officials have no part to play in the outcome of the lottery. The results are completely at random as the computer picks qualified applicants from a pool. In order to maintain cultural diversity, the pools are separated based on the region from which the applicants originate.

United States DV Lottery


Another question often asked is if one can participate in the lottery system if one is not born in an eligible country. The truth is that if your spouse is from an eligible country you are eligible to apply as long as you are still married to him or her. If you are unmarried, it is sufficient if even one of your parents is from an eligible country. A husband and wife can apply separately if they qualify individually making the chances of winning the lottery better.

 us diversity visa lottery

Sunday, June 17, 2012

US DV lottery - An Individual’s Criminal Past and the US DV Lottery

US DV lottery


An Individual’s Criminal Past and the US DV Lottery


It is not always easy to qualify for the US DV lottery. Not only must your country meet the eligibility requirements but so should you with respect to your education and employment background. In order for you to qualify you must have at least a high school diploma and must be skilled in at least some way. But the one qualification that is more important than anything else is a clean police record. If you have committed even simple crimes, you would be automatically disqualified from the US DV lottery process.

If you do qualify for the US green card lottery and win it, you would be eligible for all the rights that an American has except the right to vote. You will enjoy all the privileges such as healthcare, Social Security and education among others. For this reason, many foreign nationals hope to gain US green cards. But even the smallest hint of a criminal past will eliminate any chance that you would qualify for the US DV lottery. If your crimes were before you turned 21 or as a juvenile, it may be the practice of your country to expunge records. Some Western countries have adopted this practice in the last 20 years or so. In this instance, an individual with a criminal juvenile past would not have to worry as there would be no records of your past that can be shared with the US government. But if you belong to one of the countries that do not follow the system in that the juvenile record is not expunged, it is more than likely that the police records from your country will be fully available for US immigration officials to look at.

In order for a country to qualify for the US DV lottery, it is important that they share any records they have of the individual who is applying for the lottery. In the event that the country does not want to share an individual's records with the US government, that applicant along with the country eliminate it from the list of DV lottery eligible countries.

Once you have applied, you can keep track of your application through a website which constantly updates you of how far your application has made it. If you qualify, you would be notified through the mail and would be assigned a number which you must retain for the duration of the lottery. If you apply online, you will have an easier time following the guidelines and meeting the deadline as the websites does not allow you to skip any pertinent information in the application process. Also for those that do not conform to the guidelines are not accepted.


US DV Lottery Application


Thursday, June 7, 2012

US Immigration

US Immigration

us citizenship application

 


The Significance of US Immigration Laws

US immigration laws have been set up with the express purpose of keeping out elements that want to come to the United States using illegal means and solely for their own benefit. While the American dream can be just about anybody's, entering the United States is by no means a birthright of a foreign national. These laws are set up to make it difficult for these individuals to enter the country and remain here if they do not contribute significantly to the United States. If you are not a citizen of the United States, you will need a visa to enter the country. There are many types of visas that a foreign national can apply for and mostly depends on the purpose of the visit.

US immigration officials grant a visa after evaluating the applicant's merit and reason for visiting. If the applicant has a criminal history, he or she must explain in detail the circumstances surrounding the criminal behavior if it is a simple misdemeanor. Felony charges are taken much more seriously and summarily turned down for a visa. The visa that is obtained is then stamped onto a passport which must be produced upon seeking to enter the country. But the United States does have relationships with other countries that allow their citizens to enter the United States without a visa. These countries include Canada, Bermuda, Australia, Japan Singapore and Brunei among others. Most European countries also fall under this category which is called the visa waiver program.

The US visa is a document that is approved by the Department of Homeland Security saying that this person does not pose a threat to the United States. For this reason, US immigration laws have been set up so that the applicant goes through a stringent background search making sure that there are no questionable actions in the past which might indicate a possible threat to the United States. Immigration laws also have the visa process split into two distinct categories namely immigrant and nonimmigrant visas. Nonimmigrant visas encompass an entire range of individuals ranging from students to businessmen to religious workers whereas immigrant visas are usually relatives of a US citizen or those seeking asylum from persecution in a different country. Immigrant visa provide an individual a green card. This is called adjustment of status and allows a nonimmigrant to obtain immigrant status without having to leave the home country. After five years of having a US green card , an individual can apply for US citizenship.

US immigration laws while strict are straightforward enough that you do not need to hire an attorney. But if there are exigent circumstances surrounding your case, it might be advisable to invest in one.

   US Visas - US Green Cards - US Green Card Lottery - US Citizenship - US Immigration - Us Naturalization