Greencard Lottery Immigration Stories

Visa Lottery

My husband and I won our Green Cards in 1999 in the DV1 Visa Lottery.

To give you an idea of our background, we had just left the bush in Western Qld and NSW so that he could learn to fly a helicopter. He has spent 12 months getting time up back in the bush in 1997 before coming to the coast of Queensland and teaching people to fly with Becker Helicopters.

One of the students at a course he was taking was talking about the Green Card Lottery and we didn't have a clue what he meant, so we asked (along with the rest of the class)and he gave us a phone number for the United States Consulate in Sydney. We called the number asking for information and received an 11 page fax in return.

Upon reading the fax, we realized that we had to be very particular in following their directions. We sent an envelope in with only our names and address I think. This was sent to the USA. It had to be a specific size and the information inside and outside had to be placed exactly as they requested. We each sent an envelope and promptly forgot all about it, thinking we wouldn't have a chance in a million years as there was over 10 million people applying world wide.

From memory I believe 4000 are issued in the zone that included Australia. New Zealand and New Guinea were also included, I am not sure what other countries came into the same zone as Australia.

About 6 months later we received a letter back to say that our application had made it through the first round and to send a multitude of information about ourselves dating back to when Noah was a boy.

6 Months later yet again, we received a letter to say we had to be in Sydney at such and such a time with proof of our vaccinations, chest X-rays, a medical certificate from a Dr on their approved list, evidence of our financial situation, a statement from the Police Department, photo's taken precisely as they ask, we had to face slightly to the left with our right ear showing, no hair touching our ear etc. I was growing my hair out at this stage and couldn't get it off my ear, they made me on the day of the interview to go get more photo's or lose the opportunity, I nearly cut it off trying to get it off my damned ear. I can't remember what else we needed to have, but they were very specific on documents required at the interview.

The interview itself was stressful, basically they were checking our paperwork and credentials to be sure we fitted the visa requirements. We were told to pay for the administration fee and application fee up front. This came to about AUD$1500 for the two of us and when we handed over that money it was like pulling teeth, we still weren't convinced we had got in yet. There was a moment when it all hung in the balance when they queried our experience but thankfully they let it go.

They then asked us to sit back down, so we did. Not to long went past and we were called up again and this guy was wonderful. He asked what our plans were and what we intended to do for work. Fergus said he hoped to fly over there and the guy said they needed pilots. He asked us when we were going to go, and we said we didn't know. We asked if we were approved and he said yes…. We nearly split ourselves. He was so casual and we were so stressed. We got the stamp of approval and were told we had 6 months to arrive in the USA.

Talk about walk out in a DAZE. We were shell shocked. Jumped on the plane back home and took about a week to get wrapped around the idea that we were going to the USA.

We were approved December 1999 and arrived March 2000. The worst of the whole process was once we arrived and waiting at LAX INS counter. There were tonnes of other families there from all over the world with the exact same paperwork in hand. We had 2 suitcases each and our hearts in our throats. It was a piece of cake, we were stamped and away we went.

The stamps in our passports said that we were approved to work, but when we arrived at the Social Security office in Tucson Arizona to get our SSN, we were told we couldn't work until we received our cards. They said it could be up to six weeks. We couldn't afford to wait, so we ended up doing some day work around Tucson for an agency that you turn up at 5am to get a job for the day, you got a cheque at the end of the day for that days work. This saved us. Not very glamorous, but kept us sane.

From there we both got jobs in Alaska for companies that were happy to put us on, but wouldn't pay us until we got our SSN cards. It was at least nine weeks before we got them, a long wait. We both had accommodation with our jobs and some food provided, so we were lucky. I can't imagine being a family and waiting in a city paying rent and all the peripheral costs associated while we waited for those cards.

The requirements of the Green Card are that we can go home for no longer than 12 months without prior arrangements with the INS to come back or we will lose the cards. We are also required to keep them updated with our current address. As for coming and going to Canada or home, its easy and much simpler than worrying about visa's and stamps. The Green Card is for 10 years, however I gather its not that difficult to renew it at the end of that time when you have won it on the DV Lottery.

So that's our story of the DV program. We were extremely fortunate and very thankful for the opportunity. For my husband, there is a wealth of flying over here and so much more opportunity than ever in that industry with the experience that he has gained over here. He couldn't get a decent start in bigger helicopters in Australia because there are so few and so many ex military pilots wanting the same jobs, so America has really been a golden opportunity for us.

We now have a 4 month old dual citizen baby. He was born in Alaska and I am excited for the opportunities he will have in the future. We plan to start the process to our Citizenship in 2005.

Greencard Lottery

This is the green card which is "won" in the green card lottery. Basically, you send in a form which has your name, address and phone number on it. Your application is pooled with other applications from the same region (Oceana for Australia). Names are then drawn out of a hat (actually, it is all done electronically) and the successful applicants notified around March the following year.

When I applied for the green card lottery, the paperwork had to be received by the Department of State within a one month period (September-October). Now the information is submitted electronically. You can do this yourself, or you can use one of the many companies which are set up specifically to ensure that all of your paper work is in order and received at the appropriate time. Applications for the lottery which are not in the required format, are automatically thrown out. The company I used was dvlottery.com. My brother also used this company. We both won our green cards in the lottery.

If you are already in the USA on a different type of visa, you have two options. You can either stay in the USA and apply for an adjustment of status, or you can go back to Australia for consular processing. Consular processing is by far the easiest, and fastest way to go. You will need to allow about a month in Australia so that you can have the appropriate medical tests done. I organized everything from the USA, then flew home for the medical test, had a little holiday while waiting for the results, then went on to Sydney for my "interview". The interview took about 10 minutes and the rest of the paperwork and financial stuff took about 20 minutes. I was out of the Consulate in about 30 minutes with my passport stamped and my temporary visa in my hand. On returning to the USA, the customs official told me it would take up to 9 months to receive the actual green card. It arrived in less than a week!

Anyone wanting to apply for the green card lottery really should do so. I think applicants from the Oceana region have fairly good odds. The green card that you get is a 10 year green card - so no conditional 2 years which accompany marriage! There are heaps of websites on the internet that tell you all about the lottery and there are plenty of people who have won it and can tell their story. So, go for it!

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