I have a cousin in England who has had a very difficult life, to say
the least.  His only family remaining is his Dad and Grandmother, who
are both much older.  He does, though, have family in America that
would love to have him here with us.  He has visited twice over the
past two summers and loves it here.

He is 35 years old, has minimal education, and a great work-ethic
(mainly manual labor)--his lack of advanced education makes me believe
that it would be difficult for him to obtain a green card/citizenship
to live here permenantly.

My questions is several-fold:  What steps would he (I) need to take to
have him move here permenantly?  How much would it cost me to get it
started?  If I take the recommended steps, what are the chances that
he will actually get to live out his life with his family in America? 
Thank you in advance.

<There are several ways that someone can be granted permanent
residence status in the US. The link to permanent visas below details
the various methods. From the details that you have given it appears
that your only option is to apply for the Diversity Visa Lottery
Program.

The diversity visa lottery program allocates 55,000 immigrant visas
each year. Selection is by a random computer generated lottery. If you
are selected under this procedure you can apply for permanent
residence in the U.S. If accepted you can live and work permanently in
the U.S. After a period of permanent residence in the U.S. it is
possible to apply for naturalization (currently five years).

To participate in the lottery you must satisfy the following
conditions:
1. You must be over 18
2. You must have your country’s equivalent of a U.S. high school
diploma or two years work experience in a job that requires two years
of training.
3. You must show that you can work or support yourself.
4. You must not be a criminal.
5. You must not be mentally disturbed.
6. You must not be a threat to the United States’ national interests.

To apply you need to complete the entry form and mail it to the
address given with your fee and a photograph – a link to this form is
given below.
 
Applications may be made all year round. The lottery runs from October
7 2002 to November 7 2002.  Winners are notified between April and
July. If you don’t get accepted, you can re-apply the following year.

It costs $40.00 for one application and up to $150.00 to enter the
lottery for the next ten years. An optional fee of $25.00 can also be
paid which will give entitlement to a payment from the U.S government
of $2000.00 for relocation expenses. Applications must be accompanied
by a photograph of the applicant.>


<Additional links:>

<US immigration – permanent visas.>
<http://www.usais.org/visas_permanent.htm>

<Diversity lottery.>
<http://www.usais.org/gcl_faq.htm>

<Green card lottery application.>
<http://www.usais.org/gcl_application.htm>


<Search strategy:>

<us immigration>
<://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=us+immigration>

<Hope this helps.>

---

Request for Answer Clarification by wildgeneral-ga on 03 Nov 2002 17:56 PST

Thanks for the answer Belinda--I work look further into the lottery. 
I was also wondering about what Immigration attorneys are able to
offer in terms of services, as well as a potential range of cost. 
Thanks, John

---

Clarification of Answer by belindalevez-ga on 03 Nov 2002 23:53 PST

<An immigration attorney may be helpful in trying to get an EB3 visa.
This is for a skilled worker. The applicant would need to be able to
show proof that he has had at least 2 years training or experience in
a job. In addition you will need to find an employer who is willing to
hire him and complete the lengthy complex process. This can take up to
two years. The employer must be able to show that the position is
available because no U.S workers who satisfy the minimum requirements
for the job are available.

The link to legal fees will give you an idea of the fees that a
typical immigration attorney charges. Together the legal fees for the
EB3 visa application and labor certification cost about $2200.00>


<Additional links:>

<Skilled worker EB3 visa.>
<http://www.us-immigration-attorney.com/skilledworker.htm>

<Labor certification overview.>
<http://www.us-immigration-attorney.com/labor-certification3.htm>

<Legal fees.>
<http://www.us-immigration-attorney.com/legalfees.htm>


<Search strategy:>

<"immigration attorney">
<://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=%22immigration+attorney%22>


<Hope this helps.>

Thank you for taking the time to give me an excellent answer.  Highly recommended!

Hi wildgeneral,
An excellent guide to immigration is found here:
http://www.ins.gov/graphics/howdoi/legpermres.htm
secret901-ga

This is an erroneous answer. There is no fee to play the greencard
lottery. It is entirely free as you can verify on the INS website.

In addition to which - the Lottery is not available to UK citizens.
Seems like a lot of effort for nothing here.