I'm just wondering are there any people here, who have ever won a Green Card and had a possibility to move to USA and to stay there legally. I'm asking this because our familly just won GC and now we have to leave Lithuania in six months. I'm happy that we were lucky at this lottery but at the same time it scares me a little. It's a very strange feeling when you know that you will have to leave your country maybe for all your life (I mean, never come back to live here). Now we have to sell everything we own here in Lithuania and will have to start a new life in USA. We hope to find a better life there and to reach something more than we were able to do in Lithuania. Of course, at first it will be very hard, cos everything will be new: people, language, culture, etc., but in the future we hope to create a better life with our own efforts. So, guys, wish me good luck

P.S.Maybe somebody can share they own experience about such things? What your ideas (this question goes to Americans) about such immigrants?

the US embassy does the same thing in Morocco and i know a couple of people who won and live now in the US , so far they're happy with their lives and i hope it's gonna be the same for you and your family good luck

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"A style that's impossible to define. Prog? Hardly. Tech house? Not boring enough. It's like trippy twisted acid house but deep and funky. See, I told you - impossible."

you are very very lucky. a green card is extremely hard to get. do you know where you are moving to? i have a friend who is from lithuania.

My father had to get one when we moved to the US from Canada - but that's not exactly rough transition, so I doubt anything I could say would be of much help.

Best of luck,

Arbiter

I don't need a green card for the usa....I already have an automatic one. I'm canadian born, hence a canadian. My mother who is american got me and my brother american citzenship in 1987. So I hold dual citzenship and I hold an automatic green card. So all I need is a social security number to work in the states and I would be bumped to the front of the line because I hold a green card already. Life is great.

i'm an immigrant who came to the states when i was 11.
i was discriminated against, treated like crap by American kids, as well as all sorts of other uncomfortable stuff they pulled on me.

nobody ever picked a fight though cos i was a big kid

all that made me just stronger..but made me wanna fit in so i learned the language in about a year, and assimilated. FUCK ASSIMILATION

be yourself...but at that time i just couldnt.

hmm....its defiitely a hard process of getting up and leaving cos that's what my parents did...and i along with them.

one advice is to try to get involved as much as you can with as much as possible, make friends, and do the whole Lithuanian support thing where you meet up with people of your kind that will support you and help you and your family out.

good luck

btw. any ideas as to where in the USA you are coming to?

>JM<

You can win green cards? Im originally from Canada and it was an insanely stupid process i had to go through to get mine. Beside not being able to leave the country for 4 years (some people may not think its a big deal but when everyone your related to even your own father is there its not so easy) I had to go to many places waiting in line for rediculous amount of times just to get pictures taken or fingerprints, or asked a couple questions. Also spent thousands of dollars on papers and travel money becuase there is only a small number of places you can go to do things. The added workload of highschool was stupid also. I was in school from 7 in the morning to 8 or 9 at nite most nights of the week. Most Americans dont know what people from other places have to go through to get a small little card with your picture and finger print on it. And im only from Canada. The legal process is by far the hardest on you as far as im concerned.

It seems that you wont have to go through much of what i had to, so your lucky in that way. Depending on where you move to will determine how hard it will be to get used to the way of living. I have lived in afew places (Florida, Alabama, Virginia) and the people are all diferent. Im lucky becuase im from Canada so nobody could pick my out of a bunch of people. Well in florida when i was wearing shorts in the winter and everyone had jackets on it was a little easy. But i never had any troubles with people being mean because i was from Canada. Sure my friends like to crack jokes when i say milk or bag or tooque, but its all in good fun.

Moving far is never easy, but dont get yourself down. You will meet good people no matter where you go. On the other hand there will be assholes but thats the same with any place. Just roll with the punches and everything should be cool. If you move anywere close to anyone on the board you will have a couple friends, or at least people to talk to, which makes life alot easyer when your new in town.

If you have any questions about anything feel free to ask me, iv been through the process. Good luck with everything though, im sure you will enjoy this side of the world.

Last edited by FrosT on Nov-20-2002 at 00:56

It's not so bad. I moved around a lot and got used to it. But, honestly, I don't know which place to call home. I am from Montenegro, and I love it there so much, but I'm not considering moving back.
It will be a bit hard at the beginning, without anything or anyone familiar, but you speak the language and that's one major thing you don't have to worry about.
Think of it as an experience.
And if you don't enjoy it, you can always leave, you're not tied up, no one is forcing you to go along with it. It's your choice.

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..::Adventure is something that while it is happening you wish it wasn't!::..

<<<I am, I flatter myself, completely a citizen of the world. In my travels, I never felt myself away from home.>>>

First off, CONGRATS! You will definitely be warmly welcomed here, you seem to have your English down. School might be the roughest transition, as the learning style is very different from Eastern Europe, and kids are a lot more out of hand here(i assume you are still in school). It all really depends where you move, hopefully to a big city. Keep us updated.


I've just got my Green Card a month back, and I've been here in the states for 10 years now. Moved from Moscow,Russia when i was 9. It is extremely difficult, and very inconvenient if you travel outside the country as much as I have. It is such a relief to finally get a real job(as opposed to working on the black market!), and to be able to travel without getting a re-entry visa.

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giggidy giggidy!

WOW, first of all I'd like to thank you all boys & girls for your support and kindness. I didn't expect to get so much and so warm replies. Thank you once again.

quote:

do you know where you are moving to? i have a friend who is from lithuania.

We are not sure where to go yet, but we are thinking of moving to Chicago, cos there live a few friends of our family. Also we thought about Florida, but the climate of this state scares my parents, cos it's so hot and humid there. So, probably our first steps will be in Chicago, but it doesn't mean that we will have to stay there for all time.
butterfly, where do you know that Lithuanian from? Does he live in USA?

It was a really hard process to go trough all required steps to get a GC. Besides that we spent ~$5000 for all that lottery (including payments for medical checking, consultations, documentations, photos for all dosuments, visa, a journey to US embassy in Poland, etc.). And even after that we weren't sure we would get that "dream card". Somebody in USA may think that $5000 isn't much, but here in Lithuania you have to work 2 years in a well paid job to earn these money. But that is already in the past.

quote:

If you move anywere close to anyone on the board you will have a couple friends, or at least people to talk to, which makes life alot easyer when your new in town.

I appreciate your kindness FrosT, thx.

quote:

i assume you are still in school

No, I'm not. I'm already in the university, but only for the first year. Anyway, I will not be able to finish my first year at university, cos I'm leaving in April. But I hope to start studying in USA. Maybe somebody can give me some information about the studies in America. Just a little about the whole educational system.

I'll keep you informing about the changes as soon as something new will be known.
Thank you all, it really helps when somebody is supporting you.
See ya

Hey, congrats, you will deff. like it here. Maybe not right away, but as soon as you will settle down and will find some friends, you will be allright. It will deff. make things easier if you live around people you know.

Good luck!

This is why I love Toronto so much, such a wide variety of people. I attend Centennial College, the most diverse post secondary school in Canada. I love having people from other parts of the world come to Canada and Toronto and live here. I learn so much about different cultures by just going out.