Green Card through DV & Marriage

[MartinJ]

Hi!

I want to apply for a green card together with my now girlfriend. We got recently engaged and are planning on marrying sometime next year.

We would now apply as individuals, correct? That means if one of us would receive a green card the other one has no relation to him/her and if marrying afterwards this would be considered fraud?

Would it be better for us to marry first and THEN apply for green card through DV? Then my spouse would be eligible for derivative visa - does that mean we could apply for derivative visa right after receiving the green card for one person? Are there any quotas and does it take years?

My general question being: How would be best go about immigrating to the US through the DV program in our current not-married, soon-married situation?

Martin

[usafis]

Hi Martin,

You can apply separately even if you are not married, however it would be better to marry before the process so would conduct the entire process together as a couple, thus avoiding future problems.

After you marry, you can also apply separately and then double your chances of winning the DV lottery.

Regards,
Dana Smith

[MartinJ]

Thank you Dana for your response. We already applied for the DV without being married (that's the plan for next year) - we will see whether we get a DV spot. I'll then inform myself how to proceed (probably in the embassy?) - if we won't get a DV spot we can marry and try again next year.