What next after winning the green card lottery?
After the portals have been opened and the winners have received their results here begins another long tiresome journey to a dream many long for. Well, it's a steep road to follow and it will need a lot of energy physically, emotionally and financially. Let's take you step by step until the final journey of boarding your flight.
First at this time if you managed to fill in your form without your passport you should have your passport handy because you will need it to fill in the details. The immigrations will send you a ds2 firm to fill in the required details.
What's a Ds2 Form?
For those who have no clue of ds2 form it's a form sent to the shortlisted selectees winners of the green card that you will fill in your details and that one of the host where you will reside once you reach the US. Once you get selected you will need to have a host if you don't have one you will be required to look for one in order to qualify for the final stages towards preparations to settling in the US. Many applicants who apply for greencard do not have a host handy, it's now a high time you look for a possible host as this is mandatory in filling in your ds2 form.
If you have no one in the US that you know search groups of fellow winners who made it through greencard lottery and do research on how the made it there. There are also agencies that cater for that. We'll look at one of the popular trusted company below.
The Host Family
There are many WhatsApp groups and Facebook groups that discuss about the journey, if you join them, it'll give you some comfort to have people who share the same journey with you. For those that do not have a host and are wondering who to turn to there are different companies that caters for you at a fee. They are very nice and from many experiences from people who've passed through them it will be a great place to host because of their friendly services. They will walk with you through the first day you land at the airport to the very day that you leave them to rent your own place.
Their services also include helping you find a job and after that they'll even look for a nice affordable accommodation for you to live in. The good thing about them is you can't afford to pay them at once, they'll deduct your paycheck for the first few months. This is a very good deal to go with. Although the major draw backs is they don't accept to accommodate kids. So if you're taking this direction it'll only means you leave your kids behind and pick them within the first three months after your paycheck.
Many find it hard to leave behind their loved ones and hussle their way out to finance their stay in the US. It is advisable to make a good decision on which host will take you in to avoid last minute disappointments. Now that we've looked at the host let's go to the ds2 form.
The ds2 form should be inline with the form you filled in the first application. If some information does not match with the other this can result to automatic disqualification when it comes to visa allotment due to false information given.
When filling in details in the ds2 form be very careful on the information outlay. Many people get denied visa because of simple mistakes they outlook. If you filled out that you are single in the first form stick with that unless you have a proof of marriage certificate that got married after the application.
Another tip to consider to increase your chances of getting a visa, always stick to your own children do not include extended families such as nephews, nieces or cousins. Stick to your own children or adopted if any, this is because when you include extended families the consular will find it as a way of trying to ship a lot of people to the US who also have the chances of applying through their own parents.
The Scheduled Dates of the Visa Interview
Many applicants wonder about the dates of the scheduled interview and they wish to have it sooner but it is always the decisions of the immigration officers when they will schedule one. It can be such a long wait. The dates of the visa interview is one hectic process that requires a lot of patients and faith. Most people pray that their interview be scheduled at a near date. This is because the last period at which you're required to be in US and the dates of the interview can collide and make you lose this precious chance. The opened dates of most visa interviews are fully booked and available ones are spread to the following year.
There are medical tests that they'll sent you to a specific laboratory, the payment is quite costly but in the end it is worth it. You will be required to present this at the interview along with some cash for the scheduled interview. It's said that this money is for the maintainance of the embassy thus the reason why it tends to be costly. It is nonrefundable so whether you lose at the interview they will not refund it.
Preparations for the Interview
Before the day of the interview, be well prepared with all the required documents. Be at the embassy early enough before the scheduled time to avoid being late. While there, take sometime to relax as you wait for your turn.
You're wondering what questions they ask at the interview. Mostly they ask common questions if you're married you need to tag along your husband. They'll ask for your host and their address and contact to confirm with them, always make sure it's a valid address or phone.
When at the interview always be yourself and don't panic. The less you're calm and collected the better chance you have to be granded a visa. The consular will be confident enough and have faith in you. Unlike a person who's panicked and mumbling things out of fear.
With all the documents in place and the interview being a success the consullar should be able to grand you a blue piece of paper and congratulate you on your visa. This is something most people long for. As you walk out of the embassy feeling happy what comes in mind is the date to travel.
Normally after the winners have been shortlisted between that date and the day you're required to have left for US is normally 2 years. Within this two years you should have some substantial amount of savings to begin life in the US.
By now you'll be doing research on how much it costs for both you and your family.
Conclusion
Greencard lottery is a luck that most people have been able to better their life in the US. After winning you should follow the right channel and everything will be okay. As you wait for the portal to open take good greencard photo.
