Category Archives: Green Card & Citizenship

Information to become a permanent resident, get a passport, vote and becoming a US citizen

Green Card Visa Bulletin June 2013 Update

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The US Department of State recently published their June 2013 Visa Bulletin which tells people whether they are eligible to continue their process for a Green Card. This is essentially the monthly announcement that so many wait for because it may spell the beginning of a 5-10 year wait or more for the chance to continue their Permanent Residency quest in the US. The wait times in particular for Indian and Chinese foreigners is crazy and is a direct result of the illogical nature of how the current US Immigration laws are written.

This is a quest that ultimately has cost them career growth, salary growth, the ability to be flexible with themselves and their family, left them unable to move and even caused a guest blogger on this site to pen a letter to President Obama pleading for action on this green card issue for both the Immigrants who are legal and hurting as well as for the benefit of the US Economy at large. The current proposed US Immigration Reform seeks to address this to some degree but the reality is either may not pass, may be amended so it doesn’t help situation or more likely cause new issues with the backlog.

The main updates in the bulletin are;

EB-1 Permanent Residency Visa (Extraordinary Ability Professionals & Individuals)

  • EB-1 remains current for all applicants

EB-2 Permanent Residency Visa (High Skill, Advanced Degree & Senior Experienced Professionals)

  • EB-2 remains current for all applicants except Indian and Chinese
  • EB-2 priority date for Indians remained at Sept 1, 2004
  • EB-2 priority date for Chinese went from May 15, 2008 to July 15, 2008

EB- 3 Permanent Residency Visa (Skilled Professionals with Bachelors Degree or Equivalent Work Experience)

  • EB-3 (Skilled Workers) priority date for Indians advanced from Dec 22, 2002 to Jan 8, 2003
  • EB-3 (Skilled Workers) priority date for Chinese advanced from Dec 1, 2007 to Sept 1, 2008
  • EB-3 (Skilled Workers) priority date for Filipinos advanced from Sept 15, 2006 to  Sept 22, 2006
  • EB-3 (Skilled Workers) priority date for all other countries advanced from Dec 1, 2007 to Sep 1, 2008
  • EB-3 (Other Workers) priority date for Indians advanced from Dec 22, 2002 to Jan 8, 2003
  • EB-3 (Other Workers) priority date for Chinese advanced from Sept 1, 2003 to Oct 22, 2003
  • EB-3 (Other Workers) priority date for Filipinos advanced from Sept 15, 2006 to  Sept 22, 2006
  • EB-3 (Other Workers) priority date for all other countries advanced from Dec 1, 2007 to Sep 1, 2008

EB-4 Permanent Residency Visa (Religious Workers)

  • EB-4 remains current for all applicants

EB- 5 Permanent Residency Visa (Investment Visa)

  • EB-5 remains current for all applicants

One final point I will leave you all with if you are an Indian foreign professional who has been working in the US since as late as October 1, 2001 (given to do a green application process takes about a year) and then had their Green Card Application approved in Jan 2003 has reached an important milestone. After 10.5 years, no promotions at work, thus no career growth, little salary increase and the same company they can finally continue their Green Card process to the medical test and interview stage and final few months to hopefully officially becoming a permanent resident in the US. When they were originally approved and now waited 10.5 years, George W Bush had only finished 2 years of his presidency, the Iraq war was 2 months from starting, Windows XP was the latest operating system, there was essentially no such thing as a proper Smartphone, Facebook was a year away from commencing and Finding Nemo was a top movie of the year.

Cj

Green Card Lottery – What To Do After Winning

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The Green Card Lottery or what is officially know as the Diversity Visa Lottery is one of top 3 read topics here as the demand each year to enter this around the world around October is staggering. Some of these articles we have talked about before include;

Each year millions of people enter to win the elusive Green Card to live and work in the US of which only 55,000 actually win. It is free and relative simple to enter but the chances of winning are very small but the prize of being able to live and work in the US is so tempting for many and possibly their only plausible route here.

However one topic we haven’t addressed directly other than through the endless comments is what happens after you win the lottery. It is a very murky process and just because you checked online or received a letter saying you won doesn’t actually guarantee anything. So some important points to note;

  1. Just because you have been notified officially you have won does not guarantee you a Green Card
  2. Beware Scam Notifications of winning and check at the official USCIS site and await your official notification by mail
  3. The US Department of State announces well over the 55,000 Winners because due to various forms of ineligibility like country, criminal history, education background, ability to support themselves, medical reasons, family connections, security risks and people who just never bother to continue the process a good portion of people who actually win never get a Green Card
  4. You will receive an official notification in the mailing address you put on your entry form and only then can you follow the instructions given. These usually arrive between April and June
  5. If you are allocated a higher winning number you may not get to complete any steps because the US determines the 55,000 green cards are already used up
  6. The entire process including the US Government portion of them running criminal background checks via the FBI on you must be completed by September 30 of that year
  7. If you are selected as a winner you can be issued your legal entry into the US after October 1 of that year and you will be mailed your actual Green Card(s) a few weeks later to your US address
  8. If you are within the US on another legal visa status and have complied with all conditions of that status you can do an Adjustment of Status within the US and have an interview and criminal check in the country
  9. If you are outside the US, a part of the process will be a US Consulate interview with all family members on the application present in your home country

If you are applying through a US Consulate in your home country, is for you have to complete and return two forms to the Kentucky Consular Center (KCC);

  • DSP-122, Supplemental Registration for the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program
  • DS-230 (Part 1 & 2), Application for Immigrant Visa and Alien Registration,

Once the KCC receives your Immigrant Visa Application Forms, the criminal background and security checks of you (and your family) which is largely done by the FBI.  If that part is passed then a Visa appointment is setup at the US Consulate and also instructions on the relevant medical examinations that need to be conducted. Ultimately the appointment is not made until after the Department of State in the Visa Bulletin that a visa is available to you based on your case number. Prior to the interview the KCC will send any additional materials to your US Consulate case officer that they think is relevant and may need to be investigated further in your case.

If you are living in the US then you can’t do the Adjustment of Status process until the Visa Bulletin indicates a visa number is available based on your case number. Then you will file along with the appropriate fees the;

  • I-485 (Adjustment of Status)
  • I-765 (Employment Authorization) *optional
  • I-131 (Advance Parole – Travel) *optional

It is at this point the security check portion is initiated and requests for Biometrics is requested.

In either case the form I-134 may need to file as affidavit of support from a US Citizen or legal resident if you are deemed to not have sufficient funds and/or the means to support yourself in the US. Ultimately as mentioned all this has to completed by September 30 and can result in missing out even if is the US Government who is completely at fault for the delay.

Cj