History

The sixth, comprehensively revised edition of the standard work for all America fans was published in summer 2024. It provides German-speaking readers with compact background knowledge on everyday life in the USA and concrete help in preparing for your American dream - from choosing the right visa and finding a job or place to study to social security and tax legislation. Self-employed people will find tips on setting up a company and for HR departments, “Der amerikanische Traum” is an indispensable aid when sending employees to the USA. In this book, you will learn everything you need if you want America to become a part of your life!

The US State Department has made UK-born individuals eligible for the DV-2025 Green Card Lottery. This move will open up the opportunity for countless Britons to live and work permanently in the US.

The requirement to present a passport to participate in the Green Card Lottery was lifted by a US federal judge in 2022. The passport rule had only been introduced by former President Trump in 2019 and had excluded many people from the popular lottery. Learn how the repeal came about and why it's good news.

We make teenager dreams come true: From now on, The American Dream will donate three scholarships for a high school year in the USA every year. Students between the ages of 15 and 17 can apply for these "The American Dream Scholarships" worth a total of €15,000.

Effective June 2021, Diana Bohlinth will become the new CEO of The American Dream - US GreenCard Service GmbH, forming a dual leadership team with founder and CEO Holger Zimmermann.

Our former CEO Marcus Sieber will remain with The American Dream as a shareholder.

With the relaunch of our website, we have also introduced our new photo tool. This makes the registration for the Green Card Lottery even easier. 

The intelligent software is integrated into the registration process. It automatically removes photo backgrounds, adjusts the image size, and controls the correct head size, position, and image resolution. 

A new kind of customer account also makes life easier for you: you receive automatic notifications when action is required, and you can always retrieve important documents such as invoices or your submission certificate. Furthermore, you can keep track of your data at all times and update it with just a few clicks. The payment process is also simpler and absolutely secure.

As visa-free travel to the USA is becoming more in demand, we now offer our assistance with the ESTA application. The ESTA Service from The American Dream grants the following benefits:

• A thorough data check by our government-licensed consultants.
• The secure submission of ESTA applications
• An ESTA reminder service, so you never miss a deadline
• a 24-hour customer service hotline
• A money-back guarantee in case of rejection

The team of The American Dream thanks all customers, partners, subscribers, readers, and USA fans for 25 years of loyalty! Without you, we wouldn't be where we are now. Here's to the next 25!

A month late, the US Department of State released the 55,000 winners of the annual Green Card Lottery on June 6th, 2020. The stricter eligibility requirements have had a positive impact on the chances of winning for those who meet the new requirements. In addition to personal data and a biometric photo, valid passport information has also been required since 2019.

This has been a problem for applicants from Eastern Europe in particular. While around two-thirds of EU citizens have a valid passport, the figure for Russia, Ukraine, and Albania is just under ten percent in each case. However, there are huge numbers of applicants for the US Green Card from these countries.

Green Card Lottery photo requirements have become more rigorous in 2019. The changes primarily affect the age of submitted photos to ensure a clear recognition of the participant. 

Since the formation of The American Dream in 1996, nearly half of the photos submitted had to be re-requested due to the strict Green Card photo rules. Our double application check protects you from disqualification, but the photo submission process has always been time-consuming. 

Since 2021, our Green Card Lottery Photo Tool saves you a lot of time when submitting your Green Card photo. 

In July 2019, the US Department of State introduced a new rule for the Green Card Lottery: a valid passport is now required in addition to the already existing mandatory information. 

As a result, the number of participants worldwide has dropped significantly. This also means that the chances for USA fans with a valid passport have increased significantly.

Ex-President Donald Trump first called for abolishing the Green Card Lottery after an attack in New York on October 31st, 2017. 

He desired to switch from the characteristic element of chance of the lottery to a performance-based selection of US immigrants. 

The result: Trump was able to tighten the entry requirements two years later, but he was not able to abolish the lottery.

For the 20th anniversary of The American Dream, there were boat tours in Berlin and New York with numerous Green Card winners. We also raffled off a 20-day USA trip for two people.

In nationwide cooperation between The American Dream and Dunkin' Donuts, we created USA Donuts. The "Stars & Stripes" pastries were called "The American Dream Donut," "Peanut Party," or "Marshmallow Magic.“ 

The cooperation was rounded off by a joint raffle in which a flight to Los Angeles and much more was given away. 

You'd rather not see pictures of the first "The American Dream Donut Competitive Eating." ;)

The American Dream was reinforced in 2015 with the hiring of additional US visa experts. 

As Germany's largest service agency for US visas, twelve visa consultants were already serving more than 350 companies worldwide each year at that time. 

That year, The American Dream's entire team already included 20 employees. There were also reinforcements for our Social Media accounts.

Since the responsibility for the Emigration Protection Act was completely transferred to the Federal Office of Administration, we went through a new approval process. 

In December, the team of The American Dream - US GreenCard Service GmbH as well as The American Dream - US Visa Service GmbH received the new unlimited approval for emigration consulting according to §1 AuswSG in the version of March 12th, 2013. 

This replaced the authorization which had already been obtained in 2000.

In 2013, the company spun off its "US GreenCard Service" division, which to this day has primarily been responsible for serving customers in the annual US Green Card Lottery. 

The spin-off allows us to focus even more effectively on making the dreams of USA fans around the world come true. 

Now there are three companies with the name "The American Dream": 

• The holding company of The American Dream - USA Services Ltd.
  
  
• The American Dream - US GreenCard Service GmbH
  
  
• The American Dream - US Visa Service GmbH

Our rapid growth required us to move to new, spacious business premises in the fall of 2013. The team of 14 USA experts at that time worked in Berlin-Charlottenburg at Danckelmannstr. 9 since then.

In 2012, one company was no longer enough, and US Visa Services was founded. As Managing Director, Alexander Kos headed the business unit from now on. 

Since this restructuring, we can now be there for our US visa customers even faster and better. The decision came at the right time because as early as 2012, more and more DAX-listed companies were placing their trust in the expertise of The American Dream - US Visa Service GmbH.

Unser Buch „Der amerikanische Traum” erschien 2012 in der vierten Auflage.

The American Dream thanks all customers and employees for their loyalty and support.

In 2009 we completely redesigned our website. Our main concern was creating clear and informative content for easy browsing.

At this time, the comprehensive FAQs for US visa and Green Card services were launched. We published more than 1,500 web pages and created websites for our growing international customers in English and eight other languages.

Moreover, we introduced blogs from our customers as well as a quiz based on the American TV show “Who wants to be a millionaire?”. The new website contains travel information, social media fan pages, and other interesting USA tidbits. More than 80,000 people also subscribe to our free monthly newsletter.

Since 2008, The American Dream has been a large presence at fairs and events about the USA, US visas, employee transfers to the USA and similar topics.

We have been attending the "Zukunft Personal" in Cologne on a regular basis. In 2009, we also participated in a two-day seminar about employee assignment to the USA which is sponsored by the famous "management circle" event team. 

Furthermore, we are a member of the American Chamber of Commerce in Germany (AmCham). In previous years, we even sponsored the welcoming event for the US ambassador on July 4th. On July 4th, 2009, we were again the main sponsor for the 4th of July 2009 program. At this event, we celebrated the opening of the new US embassy in Berlin, Germany.

Unser Buch „Der amerikanische Traum” erschien 2008 in der dritten Auflage.

In 2007, The American Dream expanded its international business through the cooperation and eventual acquisition of the company "National Visa Service" of US immigration lawyer Mark Jacobsen.

National Visa Service, also founded in 1996, had already served over 5,000 Green Card winners before and had built up an active and loyal customer base primarily in the USA and Africa. In many African countries, National Visa Service and The American Dream are still the US Green Card sector's market leaders.

In a US Senate vote, the immigration reform bill backed by President Bush failed to win a majority. Among other things, the bill would have made it more difficult for family members to join immigrants and abolished the Green Card Lottery.

The famous German news magazine FOCUS organized a meeting of our winners in New York in the record Green Card year of 2007. Afterward, there was a big report on The American Dream winners, including the magazine cover.

Due to the increased demand for visa services by business customers, we needed new premises in 2006. As a result, we moved into an entire floor in a beautiful old building in Berlin-Kreuzberg.

Unser Buch „Der amerikanische Traum” erschien 2005 in der zweiten Auflage.

In addition to the Green Card Lottery, The American Dream's US visa consulting division for non-immigrants was established in 2002.

Many well-known companies and private clients now rely on the expertise of The American Dream visa team.

In 2003, the US government decided to digitize the Green Card Lottery, which resulted in the most significant change in our company's history: Instead of sending in a paper data sheet with real passport photos of all family members, there was now an online application with digital images. 

In record time, the "Dream Team" digitized 150,000 passport photos and submitted a digital Green Card application for each customer. 

Instead of the US Postal Service's paper submission certificate, we now send our customers an official, individual screen printout from the U.S. State Department as an "Electronic Submission Certificate".

In 2001, participation forms for the Green Card Lottery were available in all German Burger King restaurants for a while. This cooperation, which also included a poster campaign and online appearances, enabled us to dramatically increase awareness of the lottery. In addition, all our customers received Burger King vouchers.

Due to the tremendous awareness of the brand name "The American Dream", we received an increasing number of inquiries about temporary stays in the USA. For this purpose, a separate department for advising and obtaining non-immigrant visas was established in 2000. 

Initially, two employees worked here. Today, there are six full-time visa consultants. The American Dream has thus assisted countless companies with branch and company formations, employee assignments, USA travel, and Green Card procedures.

In June 2000, we published the first edition of our 560-page book „Der amerikanische Traum - Mit GreenCard oder Visum in die USA."

The guidebook in the German language - now available in its fifth edition - passes on bundled knowledge from our many years of experience in USA consulting.

Never before has an "Immigrant's Handbook" with so much detailed knowledge been published in Germany. That is why our guidebook quickly became a bestseller.

At the beginning of 2000, the employees of The American Dream were licensed as state-approved immigration consultants.

The basis of the license is §1 of the Emigration Protection Act (AuswSG) in the version of March 12th, 2013, which stipulates that a state license is required to advise people wishing to immigrate from Germany. Even large charitable institutions such as the counseling centers of the Red Cross or Caritas must obtain this approval for employees who work in immigration counseling. 

The team members of The American Dream were the only people working in the private sector who received the license after passing the extensive examination. Even today, there are very few individuals who have received this special government recognition.

In Germany, but also in Austria and Switzerland, the Green Card Lottery quickly became known through The American Dream. Billboards and information posters were hung on advertising pillars, bus stops, and large screens. 

Ads in the Teletext of all major German and Austrian TV stations (RTL, Sat1, Pro7, ZDF, ORF, and Kabel1) also attracted many new interested parties. In 1999, a TV commercial starring German actor Bjarne Mädel (Tatortreiniger, Stromberg) was launched.

Our motto: "We work hard for your dreams!" 

It quickly became apparent that our project would grow into a larger company. We founded a “GmbH" and commissioned a call center to answer our customers' questions 24 hours a day. By 1997, we were already receiving several hundred calls daily. 

At that time, the US government required each application to be sent in by mail. To do this, employees of The American Dream flew to New York every year during the application period.

In their "luggage" were up to 50,000 individually labeled letters each year, which were then sent domestically to the National Visa Center. Each customer received a personal certificate of submission from the United States Postal Service (USPS). 

The American Dream office in New York City is still available to international customers today.

What is now an international company with tens of thousands of customers a year was initially created as a study project by Holger Zimmermann, a banker and business administration student, and Marcus Sieber, a law student. From longer stays in the USA, they knew that an annual draw for Green Cards had been taking place in the United States since 1994.  

American law firms already offered an extensive service for this purpose. In Germany and Europe, however, the Green Card Lottery was largely unknown. 

The two student friends learned how great the interest in the Green Card Lottery and a corresponding service would be by displaying flyers at their university. Amazed by the great response, they were able to process several hundred applications in the first year. The American Dream was born!