Green Card Lottery Opens October 2nd 2012

Green Card & Citizenship, , , ,

The Green Card Lottery is open again on October 2 for DV-2014 (Diversity Visa Lottery). This actually may be the very last Green Card Lottery every if some in Congress get their way and reallocate these Green Cards to STEM and other high skilled foreigners who have studied at US Universities or start new companies that employ US Citizens.

The Diversity Visa Lottery DV-2014 or its more common name, The Green Card Lottery is completely FREE to enter! There are many sites out there that charge a fee saying they wil enter you multiple times over many years, ensure your application is correct and enhance your chances of winning as well as pay for your ticket over here partially or in full if you win. Please IGNORE all of these sites!

US visas in general are very difficult to get as there is a limited allocation each year and generally it is the best educated and the richer foreigners who get most of them. So for many around the world this is their only chance to establish permanent residency in the USA.

The Lottery is run by the US Government and is very simple application for the most part with just basic details required along with a digital photo. More official information can be found at the official Green Card Lottery Information area of the US State Department. Official instructions and eligble countries are yet to be announced for this year but if you read our Diversity Visa Lottery Instructions you will get a pretty good year about a lot of this as it doesn’t change that much

This year the online lottery will run from October 2, 2012 to November 3, 2012 and results will be announced online between May and July of 2013. Ensure you keep your confirmation number as that is what you will use to check your results. Also the current Green Card Lottery (DV-2013) that ran during October to early November 2011 may announce additional winners on October 22, 2012.

If you do win, you will be notified via a formal letter which will give you instructions about the next stage which includes an interview. Following an interview at the US Consulate you will then be able to enter the US in the 2014 Immigration year in their calendar which begins on October 1, 2013.

Being selected as a winner does not guarantee you a green card as you must pass some additional criteria as well in the application process. Unfortunately those who missed out on the green card and permanent residency will NOT receive any notification.

A couple of additional points to note.

1. Be patient with receiving the 2nd letter if you have received the first as sometime the mail is slow. The only people that you can contact that will give you any insightful information if you are a winner and received the first letter is the KCC.

2. Check the US government websites to see the current dates for your number if you are a winner

3. If you were a child on a winner’s application and since turned 21 after being 20 at the time of application, you are still eligible as your age is frozen. However you must take up the green card within a year as otherwise you will be ineligible

4. High School education or its equivalent as per the requirements of the primary applicant means the successful completion of a twelve year course of elementary/primary and secondary education in the U.S. or successful completion in another county of a formal course of elementary/primary and secondary education that is comparable to the US 12 year education system.

5. If you are currently residing in the US on another non-immigrant visa, you are able to adjust your status within the US if you are a winner

Good Luck

CJ

E-3 Visa Annual Quota & History

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The E-3 visa officially began on October 1, 2005 and a subsequent and separate Act passed by US Congress in 2005 following the AUSFTA (Australia & United States Free Trade Agreement) during that year. The idea behind the E-3 visa was that Australians now had a secondary route to work professionally in the US outside the long standing route of the H-1B visa which is available to all foreign nationals to the US and has an annual cap of 85,000. Given the H-1B visa is global it is of course far more competitive sometimes running out in a matter of days from the opening of application acceptance.

The E-3 visa had a separate annual cap of 10,500 annually (about 12% of the H-1B visa cap which was seen as very generous) and also had many other lucrative differences to the H-1B visa including;

  • Only available to Australian citizens
  • No Employer fees (vs. thousands for the H-1B visa)
  • No need for an application petition to the USCIS (United States Custom & Immigration Service)
  • Ability for a spouse of the E-3 visa holder (regardless of nationality) to also work in the US
  • Ability to apply for the visa at any time of the year (i.e. season is always open)
  • Is for 2 years but renewable indefinitely
At the time many Australians rejoiced thinking that the ability to work in the US suddenly became a whole lot easier. In some ways that was true with Australia now second to probably Canadian citizens via the TN visawith access ease to working in the US. However a fundamental misunderstanding by both the Howard Government and thus Media and General Public as to how the US Immigration system worked ensued and thus a lot of misinformation spread.While the above  advantages are certainly beneficial the mechanics of finding and getting a job, having an employer agree to sponsor, having to do a US consulate interview and otherwise be a party to the US Immigration system (or mess of a system) still remained. Unlike the UK where many more Australian professionals head to work;

  • You have to have an employer and job offer prior to being able to apply for the E-3 Visa
  • You have to go through a US Consulate Interview
  • During that interview you have to demonstrate strong ties to Australia (the E-3 visa is NOT a Green Card)
  • The rate of pay has to equal or more to the average wage for that role in that city where you plan to work
  • The job you apply to has to have a bachelor’s degree as a minimum criteria and be considered a specialty occupation
  • You must either have a relevant bachelor’s degree or enough relevant work experience to equate a US bachelor’s degree to the job to which you are applying
  • You can’t immediately start working once a job offer is made as you need have your E-3 visa approval first
  • It is not easy to transfer to a new job under the E-3 visa

Given all of that the table below shows the amount of used and unused E-3 visas over the last few years

YEAR E3 Visas Issued Unused E-3 Visas
FY2006 1,918 8,582
FY2007 2,572 7,928
FY2008 2,961 7,539
FY2009 2,191 8,309
FY2010 2,175 8,325

As is immediately evident about 75-80% on average of the E-3 visas each US Immigration year have not been used up (if unused they do NOT get added to the following year’s quota). In fact in the last couple of years the E-3 visa numbers have declined significantly although it should be noted that if you compare it to the H-1B visa during those years there was even a very slow takeup of those visas b/c of the Recessions and slow recovery in the US.

Some Australians still opt for the H-1B visa route mainly for a couple of reasons but in the current year and the year of 2005 (immediately prior the E-3 visa going live) this has only number a little over 500 of that 85,000 total (about 0.6% of the global total);

  • H-1B period is for 3 years so requires less renewal
  • H-1B visa allows a portability provision making it easier to switch employers
  • H-1B visa is known as a explicit dual intent visa making it more smooth for Green Card sponsorship and future renewals

Ultimately the E-3 visa is a lucrative option for Australians and with the Irish wanting to get their hands on the E-3 visa, it may become more competitive in the not too distant future. However be under no illusions that it is not an easy ride just a slightly easier ride with greater options than before. We have many resources on here to help you find a job, prepare for a US job interview, create a US style resume, explain the E-3 visa to a prospective employer, what a US Consulate interview is like and much more.

Cj