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USA Green Card Lottery Winner

BrokenArrows · 2007-05-08 17:20:31

Today i received an e-mail stating that i had won the lottery. Wahoo. Anyway i entered this a few years back for a 4 year period. In the email it said that there will be lots of forms and interviews and security checks to be done before i get the greencard. I was just wondering if anyone else had won this and what the…

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08-05-2007 6:20pm

#1

BrokenArrows

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Today i received an e-mail stating that i had won the lottery. Wahoo.
Anyway i entered this a few years back for a 4 year period.

In the email it said that there will be lots of forms and interviews and security checks to be done before i get the greencard.

I was just wondering if anyone else had won this and what the process is to get the greencard.

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#2 08-05-2007 8:11pm
Dave!

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I'm afraid I don't, but just wanted to say well done!!!

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#3 08-05-2007 8:27pm
BuffyBot

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Posted in wrong forum. Moved to Abroad

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#4 08-05-2007 11:21pm
Random

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You got an email? Ring them up and just confirm it's all legit first

Nice one though!

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#5 09-05-2007 1:38am
BrokenArrows

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Ya its legit. Its from the company i applied to and they quoted my account no and all my details in the e-mail.

ciaranfo wrote:

You got an email? Ring them up and just confirm it's all legit first

Nice one though!

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#6 09-05-2007 1:41am
Random

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Someone I know got one .. couple of interviews and a medical involved. Need references and full work / life written down on paper for them.

(yes, that's a brief summary - not gone through it myself but it's what one of my mates went through)

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#7 09-05-2007 1:59am
2Scoops

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You lucky, lucky, lucky, LUCKY b@st@rd!!

There are a few here that have gotten one so expect some decent replies after a bit. This reply, however, will just be petty and jealous:)

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#8 09-05-2007 9:28pm
BrokenArrows

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Ya im a serious luckbox when it comes to things like this.

2Scoops wrote:

You lucky, lucky, lucky, LUCKY b@st@rd!!

There are a few here that have gotten one so expect some decent replies after a bit. This reply, however, will just be petty and jealous:)

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#9 10-05-2007 1:57am
Gandhi

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Congrats!!!

I posted a timeline of my interviews etc. here:

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=192140

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#10 10-05-2007 1:22pm
BrokenArrows

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Very informative, thanks.

I had no idea that i would have to move to the US to get my greencard.

I was also under the impression that once you get your greencard its for life not for the period of time you stay in the US and you are not allowed to leave for more than 6 months.

Im gona have to check this out a bit more

Gandhi wrote:

Congrats!!!

I posted a timeline of my interviews etc. here:

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=192140

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#11 10-05-2007 2:11pm
Faith

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Yeah, you have to be a resident there for 6 months or more per year. Ruu knows a good bit about this.

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#12 11-05-2007 3:58pm
Kattyboy25

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Congrats on winning. I have been applying for 7 years and i never won, well i never won anything in my life, but that's besides that point. When's you interview date, or haven't they informed you of that yet?

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#13 11-05-2007 4:02pm
cold_filter

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BrokenArrows wrote:

Very informative, thanks.

I had no idea that i would have to move to the US to get my greencard.

I was also under the impression that once you get your greencard its for life not for the period of time you stay in the US and you are not allowed to leave for more than 6 months.

Im gona have to check this out a bit more

If you don't want it i'll happily take it off your hands!

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#14 11-05-2007 8:01pm
FatherTed

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It took around 6 months for me back in 1994 but I was already living and working in the US at the time using an L-1 visa. I had to come back to Dublin for the interview and received the Green Card a few months after I reentered the US.

The Green Card as Gandhi said is only valid if you live and work in the US for at least six months a year. I think if you miss a year the card become invalid. After 5 years of living in the US with a Green Card you can apply for Citizenship (at least that was the case a few years ago).
Also, if you're not going to use the Green Card you notify the embassy that you're going to decline so they may give it to someone else.

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#15 11-05-2007 8:07pm
Random

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cold_filter wrote:

If you don't want it i'll happily take it off your hands!

Are green cards transferable? Possibly a stupid question .. but on the off chance

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#16 11-05-2007 10:14pm
FatherTed

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ciaranfo wrote:

Are green cards transferable? Possibly a stupid question .. but on the off chance

no

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#17 12-05-2007 1:50am
BrokenArrows

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Kattyboy25 wrote:

Congrats on winning. I have been applying for 7 years and i never won, well i never won anything in my life, but that's besides that point. When's you interview date, or haven't they informed you of that yet?

i dont know yet. I just got the e-mail a few days back. Im still waiting on the information in the post. should be here monday.

Is there anyway to postpone entering the usa to get the green card. My financial status kinda sucks at the moment as im just back from traveling around australia for 9 months. I know it will take a good while to process but id like to pay off my loans and have a bit of savings. so i would like to leave it about 2 years from now. Is this possible?

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#18 14-05-2007 2:11pm
Kattyboy25

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Eeh two years, no that is not going to be possible. You could decline the green card offer and in two years when you are ready to go over you could find a company that will sponsor you a h1-B and then a green card, or just sponsor you the employment based green card (you want to have at least 2 degrees for this to become an easy process) but this takes 6 months to process. There are various ways to get over the the US, if you would only like to work there for a year you could get a J-1 training visa, that can last up to 18 months. Its up to you, I have friends that had the green card and went to the US and ended up moving back home because the lifestyle and quality of life in Ireland exceeds most places in the US. It is really comes down to what you want to be doing in the future, the best thing to question for you right now is where do you want your career to be going, and can going to the US help advance your career?

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#19 18-05-2007 5:27pm
Uncle Rico

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Hi.

Recently got letter saying I'd been picked out through the lottery system.
Got the different forms to fill out but have a problem with the one about Social Security number. Went over on a J1 visa years ago and got an American Social Security number when I was ther but have misplaced it since. Any ideas on how I go about finding out what it was?

Thanks.

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#20 19-05-2007 1:29am
Kattyboy25

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Hi Uncle Rico,

I have a question for you about the letter you received. Does it give you your interview date on it? Nearly two months later after the National Visa Center sent my application to the Embassy here in Dublin I still haven't heard anything. :-(

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#21 19-05-2007 2:40am
Gandhi

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@Uncle Rico
Check out http://www.ssa.gov/ssnumber/ and you should be able to figure something out. If not, then a good resource for this is the YMCA. Yes, the YMCA, and don't give them any "Are you the cowboy or the cop?" jokes. They have heard them. Seriously though, they really helped me out with advice when I was going through this.

@Kattyboy
They move slowly. Don't panic if it takes them two months. Don't even panic if it takes them six months. They are government workers who deal almost exclusively with people who cannot vote. They move at the speed of grass growing.

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#22 19-05-2007 1:29pm
Kattyboy25

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Thanks Gandhi,

Holy moly I hope it doesn't take six months! I think my application reached the Embassy at a bad time, it's J-1 season, lol! All those young 20 somethings going for their interviews, poor Embassy, I am talking about thousands of students! And now the DV results are out, hopefully my application will be dealt with before the DV people are processed!

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#23 21-05-2007 5:50pm
Uncle Rico

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No. Nothing about when my interview is. I got these forms about 2 weeks ago. It just informs me that once I send them back they will be in touch about an interview. Have a friend that got picked a couple of years ago. He got his initial letter around May time and didn't have his interview till October. So might be a bit of a wait. The interview was in the American embassy in Ballsbridge. Good luck with it!

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#24 21-05-2007 5:53pm
Uncle Rico

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Oh, and Thanks Gandhai. Will check out your info.

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#25 21-05-2007 5:57pm
Uncle Rico

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Sorry, I mean Gandhi...

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#26 25-05-2007 8:58pm
SoBe

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Kattyboy25 wrote:

Hi Uncle Rico,

I have a question for you about the letter you received. Does it give you your interview date on it? Nearly two months later after the National Visa Center sent my application to the Embassy here in Dublin I still haven't heard anything. :-(

hi kattyboy
are you going on a h2b visa?if you are and havent heard word from them i would advise contacting them,they recomend you contact them within 30 days if you havent got word.
i am going through the i129 visa process at the min,we sent in the application on feb 2007,on monday passed she got word that we were processed and that all the stuff was being sent to the embassy in dublin.
i got all the stuff in the mail from dublin this morning so it shouldnt take that long for you.as i said before if your going on a work visa contact them asap,if not just ignore this post.

all the best

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#27 26-05-2007 2:14am
Kattyboy25

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Hi SoBe,

Thanks for letting me know, I think i'll phone them on next week. I m not getting a h2b visa, I am getting a greencard sponsored by a company that wants to employ me. The whole process was pretty quick, but this stage is slow, and I am not sure why that embassy is taking so long, maybe it has to do with me going for an interview with them.

I just can't believe it, 2 months, when i ring them they better not say "oh you should have let us know sooner", i'll just go spare, I could have been there starting work weeks ago if that was the case.

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#28 30-08-2007 11:20pm
starky

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BrokenArrows wrote:

i dont know yet. I just got the e-mail a few days back. Im still waiting on the information in the post. should be here monday.

Is there anyway to postpone entering the usa to get the green card. My financial status kinda sucks at the moment as im just back from traveling around australia for 9 months. I know it will take a good while to process but id like to pay off my loans and have a bit of savings. so i would like to leave it about 2 years from now. Is this possible?

Did you get the information about your GC? I also won the lottery and have spent the last four months reading up on it let me know if you still even checking this thread!

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