How to maintain Immigration visa after DV lottery

[meprd]

Dear friends,

I won 2012 DV lottery that includes my spouse and 3 year old child. We have got our visa which requires the port of entry in the USA before 20 Nov 2012. I have some queries, please bear with me to read them through.

1. both of us are working in United Nations, can we continue work here in our native country by maintaining Greencard. Are we allowed to work at our native country in the organization like UN. If so, I came to know that we need to file a tax return after spending extended time out of US, do we have to pay tax for any foreign country income? if yes, what will be case for being UN staff where tax is exempted.

2. We are planning to remain in the USA only for one month since we will only be granted for 1 month leave at the office. Would this time-frame be sufficient enough in order to get greencard and Social security card on hand?

3. Can i get my SSN and Green Card in my native country sent through courier service once it is received by my uncle who lives in the stated address of US. Then I will plan when to visit USA next.

4. As I plan to stay in USA only for about a month, will there be any consequence at immigration if i buy round-trip ticket in advance? will this make any difference?

5. Could you please suggest, how will it be possible to get visitors visa or tourist visa for my parents before i leave to US? because they will be left alone here which i don't want to be.

Many thanks in advance for your time and suggestions on my concerns.

best,
Prd

[osweiti50]

Here is point to point answers:

1. both of us are working in United Nations, can we continue work here in our native country by maintaining Green card. Are we allowed to work at our native country in the organization like UN. If so, I came to know that we need to file a tax return after spending extended time out of US, do we have to pay tax for any foreign country income? if yes, what will be case for being UN staff where tax is exempted.

Answer: No you can't work in your home country, you need to live and work in the US. In fact if you were working for a US company that would have worked, with this some tax exemption is there as well.

2. We are planning to remain in the USA only for one month since we will only be granted for 1 month leave at the office. Would this time-frame be sufficient enough in order to get green card and Social security card on hand?

Answer: Your immigration visa works as a temporary I-551 (Green Card) for about one year, so you can travel overseas from the US until your card is issued. Usually it takes about 4 week to get to your address in the US. As far as the Social Security is concerned you need to visit their local office in right after you arrive in US, you apply and you need like 2 -3 weeks to get it. However once you apply for Social Security you are there, they will send it to your address in US.
I guess one month is sufficient however try to have one week more for just in case.

3. Can i get my SSN and Green Card in my native country sent through courier service once it is received by my uncle who lives in the stated address of US. Then I will plan when to visit USA next.

Answer: yes it can be posted to your uncle address if that will be the address written in your Immigration Papers (Ds-230). I wouldn't recommend that these sensitive documents be posted by courier, it is up to you, if planned let him copy both the SSN card and the Green Card.

4. As I plan to stay in USA only for about a month, will there be any consequence at immigration if i buy round-trip ticket in advance? will this make any difference?

Answer: No problem at all, you are fine, just make the first landing and you can travel the next day no matter what kind of ticket you are holding.

5. Could you please suggest, how will it be possible to get visitors visa or tourist visa for my parents before i leave to US? because they will be left alone here which i don't want to be.

Answer: please visit the US Embassy in your country or visit their website to see the requirements. it is possible that you apply for your parents non-immigrant visa.

Note: If you plan to work in your country and maintaining your Green Card, there is a possibility to do that for TWO YEARS absence (trip outside the US) only and for ONE TIME only as well. In this case you need to apply for that while in the US.
Good Luck

[meprd]

Thank you so much for your valuable inputs, I really appreciate and grateful for your help. This is tremendously resourceful link.
As going through your very logical answers, I further wish to know few things in addition to those.

1. On the scope of job I have been involved with UN is quite well; thus would like to continue at least for one year. Would it be possible to enter USA then come back and continue my work with UN until Sept next year?

2. I would like to apply for B2 (tourist) visa for my parents before I go to USA. What consequence it may take place, if consular ask what does your son / daughter do? if my parents don't tell him that I actually have won a dv lottery and going to USA soon. Would consular be interested to know these facts intentionally?

best,
Prd

[osweiti50]

To my best knowledge here is my point to point answers:

1. On the scope of job I have been involved with UN is quite well; thus would like to continue at least for one year. Would it be possible to enter USA then come back and continue my work with UN until Sept next year?

Answer: you can keep working with the UN however to maintain your residence for applying your citizenship in the future you need to bear in mind the following:- according to the US immigration law and as a Green Card holder you shouldn't make a trip outside the US that lasts longer than 5 months and 29 days (must be always less than 6 months). If you make a trip that lasts ONE year then you will break your residence and may loose both your continuous residence and reset your continuous physical presence . Accordingly if you think you will stay more than a year w/o being able to travel back to the US in this period (these ONE or TWO YEARS) then I strongly recommend that before you leave the US during your upcoming FIRST LANDING visit then go ahead and FILE what is called "Travel Parole" , this travel parole will allow you to stay outside the US TWO YEARS while maintaining your Green Card.

This option may cause some delay on when you will be eligible to file your US citizenship in the future.

Now if I may advise I would say, do the first landing, apply for SS right away, wait for your green card, you may choose to stay in the US until you get them both SS and Green Card and travel back home, after 4 months (less than 6 months) come back to the US for one week (you and your family) and travel back home, keep doing so until you stop working for UN abroad. This is the most secure way. As you can see every thing has a price, the law is flexible but do it the right way.


2. I would like to apply for B2 (tourist) visa for my parents before I go to USA. What consequence it may take place, if consular ask what does your son / daughter do? if my parents don't tell him that I actually have won a dv lottery and going to USA soon. Would consular be interested to know these facts intentionally?

Answer:In fact if they apply before you do your FIRST LANDING and get your Green Card then they can't claim that we are going to visit our son who is holding a Green Card, simply because at that point in time you will not have obtained your Green Card Status yet, your Green Card Status is solely linked to your FIRST LANDING at the US POINT OF ENTRY.

I advise you to let them apply for B1/B2 visa before you travel to US and let them refer to your uncle/cousin in the US (as the person they intend to visit). But if they apply after your travel then they may refer to you as the one they are going to visit.

Hope this helps, good luck.

[meprd]

Dear Friend,

I have a query on whether or not I can start working as soon as i reach USA. I have a diversity immigration visa and planning to visit US shortly.
1. Do I need Green Card or SSN to start a job in US?
2. Will I be authorized to work immediately when I reach US? or I will have to wait for Green Card and SSN?

grateful for all your guidance and help.

[rehan4u]

hello sir i had my interview on 4 may i even submitted my passport i got my passport back along with a letter they are saying you have kept pending administrative processing under section 221 (g) .
what is this .? do i have to contact them.? in how much time i shall receive my visa,?
thank you please reply soon..

[osweiti50]

I believe you need to wait sometimes until they get clearance on your case from the security office back in the US...this is normal procedures...it may take longer than 2 week to get cleared. So please wait.

[osweiti50]

Once you do your first landing you need to wait like 2 to 3 weeks to get your Green Card. during this period you need also to visit the Social Security Office to apply for SSN.

Your DV lottery Visa works as a temporary Green Card, so you can work right after you arrive in US.

[Diversity]

Hi, my daughter and I received our US immigrant visa (DV-2012) which is valid for 6 months. We must enter the US before March 2013. I am divorced and my daughter (13y) lives with me since 5 years ago. I am seeking legal custody through a court and permission for her to travel and for us to continue living together in the US. These court processes take some time and I am not sure if the judge will render the decisión befor March 2013. Preparing ourselves for this scenario, I would like to now if there is any way we can extend the immigrant visa for a couple of months just until we get court approval? I work in a US company abroad, would this help in any way? hope you can help. Thank you.

[jeri]

Dear friends,

I won DV lottery that includes my spouse and2year old child. also we are waiting a baby in the next months
( we think that we cannot travel all together that moment since the baby is too young, may be he will get sick*)

- I would like to know if I can travel first to USA stay 2 weeks and come back while my green card and SSN are on processing?

- Can I enter the USA after without a green card , just after two weeks or month since

- ** should my wife travel with me with the 2year old child and new born baby, Or I can apply for them the green card while arrive in the USA and bring with me their the green card and their SSN

Many thanks in advance for your time and suggestions on my concerns.

best,