You won the green card: how much will it cost to complete paperwork and move to the USA

So, you won a green card in the lottery from the US Department of State. Congratulations, but we advise you not to relax: from winning the lottery to getting the actual green card is a very long and thorny path, you can read about it in detail here. And the process of paperwork and relocation will surely cost you a pretty penny. We calculated how much it will cost.

Free but important

After you checked the results on the official website dvprogram.state.gov and find out about the victory, you need to fill out an immigration visa application form - form DS-260 (online). For lottery winners, it's free. If, from the moment of registration for participation in the lottery, your family composition has changed (you got married, have a baby), then new family members must be indicated in your DS-260 form, otherwise you may be disqualified.

Keep in mind, for each family member - a separate form of DS-260. This is an important nuance, and if you fill out one form for the whole family, then immediately leave the marathon “get a green card”. Here we are not spending money yet.

Body check

While you are waiting for a response from the visa center and collect all the necessary documents (their list here), you need to undergo a medical examination, it is a mandatory requirement for lottery winners.

The passage of a medical commission is necessary in order to determine whether you or someone from a family member has diseases from the list that restricts entry into the United States. In particular, it includes mental illness, an active form of tuberculosis, leprosy, and others. A list of diseases that prevent an immigrant visa can be found. here.

The commission does not need to be passed anywhere, but in special certified centers, the addresses of which can be found here (This is a list of U.S. consular offices in different countries that can enroll you for a visa medical examination). You must make an appointment and make an appointment yourself. The State Department or the embassy will not contact you and set up procedures for you.

On the subject: How to recover a lost confirmation number for a green card lottery: instructions

By the time of the interview, you should have a medical examination and all the necessary vaccinations. List of vaccinations required here.

The price of this procedure can be from $ 100 to $ 500, but on average it is $ 215 for each member of the family planning to immigrate, vaccination is paid separately.

That is, if a family of three (spouses with a child) plans to move to the USA, then they will spend about $ 650 on a physical examination.

Visa fees

After this, participants in the process will be interviewed at the consulate or embassy. For the interview you will need the originals and translations into English of all documents, the results of the medical examination and the invitation to the interview itself. On the spot, at the embassy, ​​you need to pay a visa fee - $ 330 for each family member (this money will not be returned, regardless of whether or not you will be issued an immigrant visa).

That is, here our family of three will pay another $ 990.

If you have passed the interview, you will be granted a semi-annual visa. It is within 6 months that all members of the family, or only the main applicant, will need to enter the United States, otherwise the visa will be canceled.

Now let's take the cost of moving. We included in it the price of air tickets, rental housing and the cost of products for a month. We assume that for a month newly arrived immigrants will be able to find work and cover their expenses already in place.

Flight

Given the fact that the paperwork process is quite lengthy, we checked the cost of air tickets for the summer of 2021.

So, the flight from Kiev to New York on June 1, 2021 will cost $ 314 (with transfers) or $ 553 (direct).

Moscow - New York on the same date will cost from $ 165 with transfers and $ 628 without them.

There is no direct flight from Minsk, you can fly to New York for $ 550 and more (depending on the duration and number of transfers).

That is, on average, a flight will cost about $ 350 per person ($ 1050 - for a family of three).

Of course, this is an approximate price, as it may change over time, in addition, due to the pandemic that has swept the world, not all airlines provide data on their flights. You can also try to fly from other cities and fly not to New York. We presented these data as an illustration of the approximate cost of the flight.

Accomodation

We examined the average cost of renting a one-bedroom apartment (an economical option for a family of three) in cities where Russian-speaking immigrants most often relocate.

Data for May 2020 (Apartment List National Rent Report):

• Chicago (Illinois) - $ 1
• Los Angeles (California) - $ 1
• Miami (Florida) - $ 1
• New York (New York) - $ 2 130
• San Diego (California) - $ 1
• San Francisco (California) - $ 2
• Seattle, Washington - $ 1
• Washington DC - $ 1

An average of about $ 1400 per month. Keep in mind that when renting a house in the USA in most cases it is necessary to pay not one month, but two (first and last), and also make a deposit, usually equal to the amount of the rent for a month (it will be returned to you when you move out, if you do not break anything in the apartment). In the summary table of expenses, we simply indicated the cost of a monthly lease without a deposit and payment of the last month, but in reality you most likely should add a couple thousand dollars to these contributions to the amount of the lease.

It is also worthwhile to understand that if you choose a smaller city and in less expensive states, the cost of renting housing will be significantly lower, but finding a job can be more difficult.

Products

US Department of Agriculture regularly publishes report on average food expenses American families. According to this document, a lot depends on the age of children and adults and their eating habits. But in any case, a family of three does not succeed in investing less than $ 500 per month.

We add here transport, the Internet and some unplanned expenses - this is another 160 dollars a month (if you approach the matter very economically).

Green card

Lottery winners come to the United States on a 6-month visa and must receive a green card on the spot. For the design of this document, USCIS will take, at current prices, $ 220. But they are expected to increase. This is another 660 dollars from our family.

If at the time of winning you are already in the USA, then immigration documents for changing the status will cost you more, but at the same time, most likely, you have already solved the issue of housing, work, and you do not need to fly anywhere.

So, you will need to pay the lottery winner's immigration fee - $ 330, as well as $ 1 for a petition to change status (including biometrics fees).

For a child under the age of 14, the fee for changing the status is $ 750 if the application is submitted with the petition of the parents. No biometric fee is charged.

As a result, we get the amounts that we displayed on this infographic.