• Hello Members, This forums is for DV lottery visas only. For other immigration related questions, please go to our forums home page, find the related forum and post it there.

DV2016, is the lottery still taking place this year?

meme21

meme21

New Member
Good Day All

What an amazing Forum to be part of. I have spent in access of 4 weeks just reading through so many threads and information on here and then today I finally registered and can be part of this great and informative community of people.

I would firstly like to find out:
1. I read on here and another forum that DV2016 lottery might not take place? Or atleast the lottery will be stopped. Is there any trith to this?
2. I know I am thinking way in advance, considering I haven't even entered the lottery yet, but I choose to remain postive :). If I win the lottery I would love to go to the USA and activate my greencard and then return to my home country to work for another year or so. Cause I know moving over there without a job, can be very difficult. So I would rather work for a period of time in my country and once I have my SS number I can maybe start applying for jobs online and see how that goes. Now my question is, should I decide to go that route I believe once you activate your greencard in the USA you have to register for Tax with the IRS in the USA, this is mandatory. I heard that I therefore will be taxed on my income earned in my home country by the USA government, unless your country and the USA have a Tax treaty. I checked and it seems my country do have a tax treaty with the USA, so how will this affect my above situation? Like I said I read alot of info on this forum and another forum aswell. So I just want to confirm these findings?
Then also still on the matter of tax, should you keep a property in your country and then move to the USA, will I be taxed on the rental income earned from this property?
3.Have any of you guys that won the lottery and moved to the USA any regrets about your decision? In retrospect was it worth it?
4.What is the overall job situation like in the USA? How many months on average would you struggle to find employment?

Thank you for your imput and interest. :)
 
meme21 said:
Good Day All

What an amazing Forum to be part of. I have spent in access of 4 weeks just reading through so many threads and information on here and then today I finally registered and can be part of this great and informative community of people.

I would firstly like to find out:
1. I read on here and another forum that DV2016 lottery might not take place? Or atleast the lottery will be stopped. Is there any trith to this?
2. I know I am thinking way in advance, considering I haven't even entered the lottery yet, but I choose to remain postive :). If I win the lottery I would love to go to the USA and activate my greencard and then return to my home country to work for another year or so. Cause I know moving over there without a job, can be very difficult. So I would rather work for a period of time in my country and once I have my SS number I can maybe start applying for jobs online and see how that goes. Now my question is, should I decide to go that route I believe once you activate your greencard in the USA you have to register for Tax with the IRS in the USA, this is mandatory. I heard that I therefore will be taxed on my income earned in my home country by the USA government, unless your country and the USA have a Tax treaty. I checked and it seems my country do have a tax treaty with the USA, so how will this affect my above situation? Like I said I read alot of info on this forum and another forum aswell. So I just want to confirm these findings?
Then also still on the matter of tax, should you keep a property in your country and then move to the USA, will I be taxed on the rental income earned from this property?
3.Have any of you guys that won the lottery and moved to the USA any regrets about your decision? In retrospect was it worth it?
4.What is the overall job situation like in the USA? How many months on average would you struggle to find employment?

Thank you for your imput and interest. :)
Click to expand...

1. It will go ahead.
2. It is WAY to early to get into that. Win first, then well talk in about 1 year...
3. People struggle and some people go back, for sure.
4. There is no meanigful average that can be applied to your situation.
 
meme21 said:
Good Day All

What an amazing Forum to be part of. I have spent in access of 4 weeks just reading through so many threads and information on here and then today I finally registered and can be part of this great and informative community of people.

I would firstly like to find out:
1. I read on here and another forum that DV2016 lottery might not take place? Or atleast the lottery will be stopped. Is there any trith to this?
2. I know I am thinking way in advance, considering I haven't even entered the lottery yet, but I choose to remain postive :). If I win the lottery I would love to go to the USA and activate my greencard and then return to my home country to work for another year or so. Cause I know moving over there without a job, can be very difficult. So I would rather work for a period of time in my country and once I have my SS number I can maybe start applying for jobs online and see how that goes. Now my question is, should I decide to go that route I believe once you activate your greencard in the USA you have to register for Tax with the IRS in the USA, this is mandatory. I heard that I therefore will be taxed on my income earned in my home country by the USA government, unless your country and the USA have a Tax treaty. I checked and it seems my country do have a tax treaty with the USA, so how will this affect my above situation? Like I said I read alot of info on this forum and another forum aswell. So I just want to confirm these findings?
Then also still on the matter of tax, should you keep a property in your country and then move to the USA, will I be taxed on the rental income earned from this property?
Click to expand...

The tax thing is a little over-exaggerated. You get a foreign tax credit for any taxes paid overseas so you only pay tax in the USA for the difference when you apply the USA tax rate and subtract taxes paid. To make it simple: If the tax rate in your country is higher than the USA, then you probably won't have to pay any tax. I'm going to guess you are a European and since the tax rates in most of Europe are ridiculous it's unlikely to be a problem for you.
 
guestgulkan said:
The tax thing is a little over-exaggerated. You get a foreign tax credit for any taxes paid overseas so you only pay tax in the USA for the difference when you apply the USA tax rate and subtract taxes paid. To make it simple: If the tax rate in your country is higher than the USA, then you probably won't have to pay any tax. I'm going to guess you are a European and since the tax rates in most of Europe are ridiculous it's unlikely to be a problem for you.
Click to expand...

There are cases that have an "unfair" tax situation. For instance, take someone who has activated their LPR status but is in the UK during the first 12 months after activation. Let's say that person sells their home in the UK. If it was their main residence they would not pay UK tax BUT could be liable for US CGT.

However, the issue is not just the tax to be paid - it is the reporting requirements that many find unfair.
 
Britsimon said:
However, the issue is not just the tax to be paid - it is the reporting requirements that many find unfair.
Click to expand...

But unlike the poor person who is born in the US, the green card holder goes into this with their eyes open. It may be unfair that women can't drive in certain countries so, I don't go look to immigrate there. If the tax regime is so odious to people, they have the option to stay somewhere else.... (And the reporting requirements are not so different from a number of other countries in fact. Spoilt Western Europeans ;) )

The world would be a wonderful place if we could pick and choose a selection of laws from a sample of countries to suit us wouldn't it...but real life makes you choose and compromise.
 
There's a big IF surrounding DV2016. I just noticed this topic but I'll paste what I wrote in the 2014 DV Australian winners thread:

Just thought I'd chime in with some info on the possibility of the DV lottery being abolished. I've been following US politics for some time, especially this new immigration bill that Obama is pushing forward. The fact is the bill stipulates that the DV lottery will be replaced by a new program for high skilled immigrants. For this to happen, Congress; both the Senate (Democrats) and the House of Representatives (Republicans), have to vote to pass the bill. As of now only the Senate has voted in favour; the House refuses to even bring it to the floor (to open it for discussion and a vote).

Thing is though, there will be elections for the House of Representatives on November 4th this year, for all 435 seats. This is where I'm worried, because if the Democrats win the majority of the seats, then they can vote in the new bill and there goes the DV lottery. If the Republicans win, then we can breathe a sigh of relief, since they don't agree with the immigration bill.

But according to the Wikpedia page for the DV lottery: "If passed, the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act of 2013 will abolish the program from fiscal year 2015." The US fiscal year for 2015 begins on October 1st. Assume the bill passes, I'm not sure if this means that DV2016 will be the last one, or whether it will just be scrapped regardless if it has started for 2016? Because if the Democrats win the House of Representatives, and they vote in the bill, then will the lottery automatically be cancelled, even though it has already begun in October? I'm thinking that it means it will be scrapped, regardless of whether it begun in October. So the date many of us have to look out for is November 4th this year, and hope that the Republicans win.

I had my first try for 2015, but wasn't selected. So I'm *really* hoping that it will hold out for 2016, and I get a place!
 
Best not to post the same thing multiple places. Choose the best thread and post there. Otherwise various arguments go off in tangents.

Personally I think it makes perfect sense to replace DV with a skilled immigrant visa... Irrespective of whether you are democrat or republican..... Hope everyone here gets their DV visas while it lasts!
 
laplace4 said:
There's a big IF surrounding DV2016. I just noticed this topic but I'll paste what I wrote in the 2014 DV Australian winners thread:

Just thought I'd chime in with some info on the possibility of the DV lottery being abolished. I've been following US politics for some time, especially this new immigration bill that Obama is pushing forward. The fact is the bill stipulates that the DV lottery will be replaced by a new program for high skilled immigrants. For this to happen, Congress; both the Senate (Democrats) and the House of Representatives (Republicans), have to vote to pass the bill. As of now only the Senate has voted in favour; the House refuses to even bring it to the floor (to open it for discussion and a vote).

Thing is though, there will be elections for the House of Representatives on November 4th this year, for all 435 seats. This is where I'm worried, because if the Democrats win the majority of the seats, then they can vote in the new bill and there goes the DV lottery. If the Republicans win, then we can breathe a sigh of relief, since they don't agree with the immigration bill.

But according to the Wikpedia page for the DV lottery: "If passed, the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act of 2013 will abolish the program from fiscal year 2015." The US fiscal year for 2015 begins on October 1st. Assume the bill passes, I'm not sure if this means that DV2016 will be the last one, or whether it will just be scrapped regardless if it has started for 2016? Because if the Democrats win the House of Representatives, and they vote in the bill, then will the lottery automatically be cancelled, even though it has already begun in October? I'm thinking that it means it will be scrapped, regardless of whether it begun in October. So the date many of us have to look out for is November 4th this year, and hope that the Republicans win.

I had my first try for 2015, but wasn't selected. So I'm *really* hoping that it will hold out for 2016, and I get a place!
Click to expand...

I doubt they will stop a DV year once the process has started. So, although immigration reform is likely to happen one day, it is a while away for now...
 
Hello all, I'm new to this forum so please be kind if this is a repeat question :)
I was all geared up to enter the DV program this October when now I've read on various websites that the lottery has been cancelled/discontinued, but I found all the information to be slightly confusing. Could any of you verify? So far I couldn't find any dates or forms for the DV-2016 so I'm beginning to wonder whether it actually HAS been cancelled, or will be.... Or if there's a chance of another type of DV program being installed in its place? Many thanks :)
 
Kay May said:
Hello all, I'm new to this forum so please be kind if this is a repeat question :)
I was all geared up to enter the DV program this October when now I've read on various websites that the lottery has been cancelled/discontinued, but I found all the information to be slightly confusing. Could any of you verify? So far I couldn't find any dates or forms for the DV-2016 so I'm beginning to wonder whether it actually HAS been cancelled, or will be.... Or if there's a chance of another type of DV program being installed in its place? Many thanks :)
Click to expand...

Communication from US department of state eg via their Facebook page confirms there will be DV2016. The websites should be updated with entry etc info during September.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top