The 4th Annual Greencard Winners’ Conference was held on August 18th in Berlin. Guests of THE AMERICAN DREAM and Greencard lottery participants were feted at the Grand Hyatt Hotel at Potsdamer Platz, in the very heart of the “New Berlin”. As usual, the turnout was great – about 150 winners of the nearly 900 DV-2002 lottery participants.
The program and festivities were presided over by Holger Zimmermann and Marcus Sieber, the company’s heads, who personally welcomed all participants and guests and congratulated the winners.
U.S. immigration lawyer Liam Schwartz, a licensed practitioner in New Jersey and Tel Aviv (Israel), was in attendance at the conference with the sole purpose of informing the new Greencard applicants of their rights and obligations. The interesting lecture was followed by role playing scenarios and questions from the audience.
Tax expert Ralf Zschieschank, from Frankfurt, explained the extremely complicated US tax system. He provided details about the double taxation convention between Germany and the U.S.; and (citing the examples of specific US states) illustrated the relatively lower income taxes in the U.S. as a whole. Mr. Zschieschank was also available for specific advice after the seminar.
The final agenda item was a presentation by Mr. Georg Mehnert, head of THE AMERICAN DREAM’s visa department, on social services, retirement and health insurance in the U.S. He also talked about the return and adjustment to life in Germany after a prolonged stay in the U.S. |
