Once again, I am a paralegal not an attorney. So this is in no way meant to be, taken as, or construed as legal advice. This Blog is intended to be legal information only. Also let us not forget that when a lawyer and or a paralegal becomes involved your problem becomes an ISSUE.
Okay, let’s get this show started than. I think we’ll started with the infamous Green Card. The quote Green Card was created in the 1950’s as part of the Immigration and Nationality Act. A Green Card had two major purposes. First as Photo-ID Card issued to a foreign national. Then it allows an alien to live, work and pay taxes in the United States. A Green Card holder gets to do this without giving up citizenship in their home country. Yes, Martha legal immigrants do have to pay taxes.
However over the years the term Green Card has become generic. Meaning everything from a immigration Photo-ID Card, to allowing an applicant to attend school in this country. It to even includes the type of ink used to validate a travel visa when you come back from abroad.
Believe it or not there is a Green Card lottery. Playing the Green Card Lottery is only slightly more complicated than playing power-ball. You see Instead of buying a scratch ticket like for any of the money lotteries, all an applicant fills out a set of forms including a photo submitting them online. Each year the State Department accepts Lottery applications from October 1 to November 3. Than all an applicant has to set back and wait. Hoping and praying to win.
Side-Note: Until 2009 a lottery applicant could mail in hard copies to the US State Department but now an applicant can only submit their application online.
Note: If an applicant wins they can bring their spouse and or children with them if they were listed on the entrance application.
This Green Card lottery is held each a year by the US State Department not Homeland Security. Each year, 55,000 immigrant visas (Green Cards) are awarded in this lottery. This Green Card lottery was created as an official program pursuant to Sec. 203 (c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. The idea behind this is to diversify who immigrate to our county. Opening the door to immigrants from 3rd and 4th world countries. This Green Card lottery is also supposed to open the door for low-income emigrates from other countries.
According to the rules there is only two things that can disqualify an applicant’s Green Card lottery application. First is trying to enter the lottery from a country on the disavowed list. Such as Brazil,
Ecuador and or the Dominicans Republic who are on the State Departments naughty list. other countries like Great Britain and or India who were disavowed for other reasons. Than not having the skills or education an applicant claims to have
WARNING: The countries on the State Departments naughty list. This list of naughty countries changes and changes frequently. So keep an eye on that list.
Now here is the catch if an applicant wins the State Department will not notify them. An applicant has to go online every few weeks. Just to see if they had won. The only thing a winner has to pay are the travel costs to get them here.