Teen can seek diversity visa
Q I am 17 years old. Can I apply for the Diversity Visa lottery? Name withheld A Yes. Anyone who is a native of a qualifying country can enter. However, if you win you will need to have graduated high school by the time you get called for your green card interview, sometime between Oct. 1, 2019, and Sept. 30, 2020. Or, you must prove that you worked at least two years in a job that required at least two years’ experience in the five years prior to making your immigrant visa application.
You have until Nov. 6 to enter the DV 2020 lottery. Get instructions at the State Department website, bit.ly/2OTHnw6. Some readers say they spent large sums on online companies to help them win the lottery. Others want to know if I can tell them of any “tricks” I might know to increase the chances of winning. I don’t. The lottery drawing is random and winning is just a matter of chance. Don’t waste your money. If you don’t win this year, keep trying.
QI am here with Temporary Protected Status. I came here legally, but I can’t find my passport or I-94 Arrival/ Departure document. I recently married a U.S. citizen. Can I interview here for my green card? Name withheld, New York
ABecause a federal court has ordered TPS to be extended for Haitians (as well as nationals of Sudan, El Salvador and Nicaragua), you have good options. I wrote recently about getting proof of lawful entry (read that column at nydn.us/2RnDBwB). That’s a place to start. Or, you can travel abroad with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services permission, called advanced parole. Your lawful reentry is all you need to qualify to interview in the United States, a process the law calls “adjustment of status.”
All immigrants with TPS qualify for advanced parole. To apply, file USCIS form I-131, Application for Travel Document. It would only be risky to travel abroad if you have an outstanding deportation order or you committed a serious crime since getting TPS. Otherwise, travel with advanced parole and you’ll be fine to apply for adjustment of status when you return.
Wernick is an attorney and director of the City University of New York’s Citizenship Now! project. Send questions and comments to Allan Wernick, New York Daily News, 7th Fl., 4 New York Plaza, New York, N.Y., 10004 or email to questions@allanwernick.com. Follow him on Twitter @awernick.