What Is the Diversity Immigrant Visa?

Anyone who comes to the United States with the intention of remaining for an extended period of time should arrive carrying a visa. That way, the government can keep track of all the men and women who have made some region of the U.S. their temporary home. Yet in the past, that regulation has managed to limit the number of immigrants with visas from certain countries.

The Diversity Immigrant Visa represents an effort to diversify the ethnic background of those who come to America’s shores. Those who obtain such a document have become winners in the annual Diversity Visa Lottery, also called the Green Card Lottery. The State Department uses a computer generated drawing, when selecting those winners.

The winner of that lottery can have a continued presence in the United States. He or she can work in any government, public or private job available. He or she can enjoy the advantages linked to health, retirement, social security and other benefits. At the same time, that lottery-winner is expected to pay any required taxes.

Later, the same male or female visa-holder can apply for citizenship. Then, once he or she has become a citizen, the same person could decide to contact an immigration lawyer. An immigration attorney that is present on this website, could help him or her to file petitions for further visas.

While the winner of a DV visa can bring his or her immediate family members, that does not include relatives such as aunts, uncles and cousins. By contacting an immigration law firm, a green card holder can learn how to gain visa-status for a larger circle of relatives. The immigration lawyers in the firm can offer advice on completing the forms that must be submitted, in order to obtain a more traditional visa.

A winner of this Green Card Lottery must have at least a high school education, or two years of working in an occupation that demands two years of training. Rather than an obstacle, that requirement really gives the immigrant a useful stepping stone. It ensures the immigrant’s possession of a skill set, the sort of thing that can help him or her to find a job.

In addition, that skill set can help a man or woman start a business. If he or she does decide to become a business owner, then again, that man or woman might find it necessary to contact one of the many immigration attorneys. That way, he or she could learn how to get papers for a relative, and thus have that family member working as an employee of his or her business.

Of course an employment visa does not give someone the benefits enjoyed by a permanent residence. That visa-holder must be sure to complete all the necessary documents, in order to have a chance for getting a Green Card. Sometimes an immigrant finds it necessary to seek legal assistance, while traveling that path to residency status. Guided by such legal help, he or she stands a better chance for gaining the right to enjoy a continued presence within the United States.