Angelika The American Green Card has been a topic of discussion since Chancellor Gerhard Schröder announced plans to bring foreign computer experts into the country. However, even in the land of unlimited opportunities, there are many hurdles to overcome before one can hold the coveted document in their hands.

Ran to the mailbox full of excitement again. Will the long-awaited letter be there this time? Just a few seconds later, disappointment sets in. Unfortunately, nothing won. But maybe tomorrow. There is still hope.

We are not waiting for the grand prize in a sweepstakes, but rather for mail from the American immigration authorities. This is because we tried our luck for the third time and participated in the Green Card lottery. Yes, the Americans allow you to win your permanent work and residence permit, the so-called Green Card, in a lottery. Every year, 55,000 of these no longer green cards are raffled off among applicants from countries that send only a few immigrants to the USA. Germany also falls into this category.

However, no single country receives more than 7% of the total amount through the lottery. The chances are still not bad, especially if you are married, as both spouses are allowed to participate independently. If one wins the Green Card, the other automatically gets it too. They are quite family-friendly in this regard. Participating is also not difficult and only costs a postage stamp to send the ticket by mail. You can play from both Germany and the USA. You hardly need to send more than your name, date of birth, the country you were born in, and a valid address. A passport photo must also be included. Of course, there are some small traps built in, as they don't want to make it too easy for applicants.

For example, the application can only be sent via regular mail within a precisely defined time frame. The envelope must not exceed a certain size, and the passport photo has to have exact dimensions. Only those letters that meet the form requirements are accepted, and then a computer draws the lucky winners. But even if you win, you cannot breathe a sigh of relief yet. "Winning" only means that the American immigration authorities will check whether you are even worthy of receiving a Green Card. This includes you must have completed an education equivalent to the American high school diploma--twelve years of schooling in Germany or two years of work experience within the last five years in a profession that requires at least two years of training. You must not be HIV-infected or suffer from contagious diseases and must present a spotless police clearance certificate. "Give me your tired, poor, your huddled masses?"--that was once upon a time. The authorities also meanly draw more than 55,000 potential winners, as some are known to suddenly withdraw or do not meet the conditions. However, this is, of course, difficult to estimate. And so there are unlucky people who won, met all the requirements, and still came up empty-handed because the magic number of 55,000 was reached.

Now, the lottery is not the only way to obtain an American Green Card. On one hand, an American citizen related to the applicant can apply for a Green Card with the American immigration authorities. If you don't have an American relative available and also no luck with the lottery, an American employer for whom you are already working in America can also file a petition. However, the immigration authorities first conduct an extremely cumbersome process to verify that no American can perform the job. This only leads to success in professions for which America is desperately seeking people. And here the circle closes, as there is a strong demand for computer experts, especially in the high-tech Silicon Valley adjacent to San Francisco.

If you follow the discussion about the Schröder proposal, you get the impression that in America, a Green Card is practically handed to you. Far from it. Obtaining a Green Card with the help of an American employer is a lengthy, nerve-wracking, and extremely bureaucratic process. If you are unlucky enough to have to apply in California, one of the states with the highest immigration numbers in the USA, you can currently expect wait times of up to six years.

Most foreign computer experts in the USA work on what is known as an H-1B visa, which grants highly skilled workers a work and residence permit for a maximum of six years. This puts you at a disadvantage: the visa expires before the immigration authorities have finished processing the Green Card application--even if the application is submitted as soon as you set foot on American soil. Additionally, companies are not always willing to immediately apply for a Green Card, as they first want to ensure that the foreign employee provides good service. Moreover, the H-1B visa has a significant advantage for the employer: the work permit is valid only for a specific company--a job change sets the massive bureaucratic machinery in motion again.

The Green Card, on the other hand, grants free choice of employment. Companies thus lose the visa dependency of the employee, but due to the extreme shortage of computer specialists, most companies no longer shy away from this step. No matter what, they want qualified employees. Even the ongoing American presidential election campaign has picked up on this issue. A shortening of the Green Card process for computer experts is not yet under discussion, but the various candidates are boasting that the annual cap on H-1B visas could be increased. Currently, this is 115,000 per year. Once they are allocated, an applicant has no choice but to wait. This can sometimes mean months.

Back to the Green Card. If the American employer files the petition for the Green Card, there are three steps to go through. Above all, the application for the so-called "Certification of Labor" prolongs the process. In this first step, the American company must prove through a highly complicated procedure that it was unable to find an American citizen for the advertised job, and this must be documented with job advertisements in newspapers and conducted interviews.

This process alone can take up to two years in California. Only after receiving the highly coveted certificate can the petition be submitted to the immigration authorities. Again, it takes up to a year for the application to be processed. The third step is called "Adjustment of Status" and refers to the transition from non-immigrant to immigrant. Current waiting time in California: two to three years! That makes five to six years for all three steps. Adding to the difficulty is the fact that during this time period, one cannot change employers nor be laid off. If this happens, even just before reaching the goal, it means: back to square one! It's tough.

With a lottery win, it would naturally go a bit faster. If you won this year, the Green Card could already be in the mailbox by the end of 2001. With a bit of luck -- or, if not: It's heard that computer specialists are being sought again in Germany...

Angelika Schilli has been living with her husband in San Francisco, California, for three years.

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Angelika & Michael

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• More topics you might be interested in:

  	The History of California
  	Santa Barbara
  	Minimum wage and sweatshops
  	WebVan -- the grocery delivery service
  	Volkszählung
  	Hairdressers in the USA
  	First names and their abbreviations
  	Speaking American with the Pros
  	Visa for the USA