How to get a GreenCard

Green card winners from The American Dream at the Rockefeller Center, New York, August 2007

With a little luck, you can make it too – just like more than 8,000 American Dream winners have done before you!

So let’s cross our fingers and assume you participate and win in the next lottery: How does this process look like and what will The American Dream do for you?

1) Filling the application

Application form

The first thing, of course, is to apply at The American Dream to participate in the GreenCard lottery. If you are married, both partners can fill an application and then your chances are doubled. Register Now!

2) The application will be checked

Official hard copy
confirming receipt

We check your application and write back in case of corrections or questions and shortly after the entry deadline, we send your documents electronically to the U.S. authorities. Then you will receive a personal certificate in the mail with the official hard copy confirming receipt of your application by the U.S. authorities.

3) Sending of the winning documents

The official winning notice

Between April and July of the following year, you will receive (assuming that you are among the winners) a phone call from us confirming the original winning documents received from the U.S. State Department. This will be a volume consisting of up to 20 pages that we will send to you in the original format, along with detailed instructions on how to fill out the documents from our expert team.

4) Confirmation of winning the lottery

The winners' forum
of the The American Dream

You should send these documents back within a few weeks in order to confirm your winning. During this period, The American Dream team can be reached via telephone, personally and also via e-mail. Furthermore, as a winner, you can log in to the winners’ forum and profit from the knowledge of other winners. More than 10,000 entries just from The American Dream winners will help you along the way!

5) Invitation to the U.S. consulate

Invitation to the U.S. consulate

Depending upon your winning number, you can count on an invitation to the U.S. consulate close to you anywhere between October of the same year and up to about 10 months afterwards. In Germany, this is always Frankfurt, in other countries this will be the U.S. consulate that is responsible for immigration visas. The American Dream will help you prepare for this appointment in every respect, personally and of course for free.

6) First entry into the U.S.A

Visa Registration

After a successful interview appointment, you will have up to 6 months to enter the U.S.A for the first time. Your first entry as a future GreenCard holder will be with an immigration visa and this allows you to already go into the “U.S. citizen and GreenCard holder” lines. At the airport control, your finger print will be taken and it will later be saved on your GreenCard and you will receive a stamp in your passport that documents your status as a GreenCard holder until you get your real GreenCard. Theoretically, you can start working immediately upon arrival in the U.S.A. However, you can also just go on a short vacation or even fly back on the same day if you want to stay in your native country for the time being before you immigrate to the U.S.A.

7) Receiving address for your GreenCard

Notice of Action

Upon entrance, you need to give a U.S. American address to which your GreenCard will be sent to in a few weeks. The GreenCard cannot be sent abroad by the U.S. authorities. The date it will be sent will be announced beforehand with a “Notice of Action“ letter. If you do not have any friends or acquaintances in the U.S.A that can receive mail for you, then you are more than welcome to use The American Dream New York office address (after arranging it with us beforehand) and we will forward it to you.

8) You receive your GreenCard

The GreenCard

Wir stellen Ihnen sodann die Original-GreenCard zuverlässig an Ihre Heimatadresse zu! Ab jetzt sind Sie stolzer GreenCard-Inhaber und dürfen alle Vorteile der GreenCard nutzen!

9) Support after winning

By the way: The services provided by The American Dream don’t end here! Even if you need help now, you can come to us for no charge as our customer, for example, if after 5 years you are considering applying for a U.S. passport – which is theoretically possible.