Diversity Visa Program

How to Prepare for DV Lottery Interview as a Derivative

How to Prepare for DV Lottery Interview as a Derivative

A derivative is basically the eligible immediate family member who is deriving visa benefit for a principal applicant.

When it comes to DV Lottery, the derivative(s) does/do not influence the visa decision of the principal applicant. Meaning if the derivative fails to pass their interview for any reason, it will not impact the principal applicant’s visa unless in fraudulent cases.

{Now that we have clear this out of the way, let’s go to topic}

Basic Checklist

Interview Appointment letter; if you are not attending an interview with the Principal Applicant then you must have your interview appointment letter. This letter will be your means of entry to the embassy premises. But if you are attending interview together with the principal applicant, then one letter will suffice.

Confirmation page; this will be the DS260 confirmation page . It will contain the name of the derivative and the case number of the principal applicant.

Passport; valid and unexpired passport with minimum 6 months validity and minimum 2  used pages free.

Passport photo; (2) 2×2 inches or 5cm x 5cm color passport photo with your full name and DOB written on the back. DO NOT STAPLE

Birth Certificate; the original birth certificate and if you are unable to obtain it, please check the reciprocity page on the State Department’s website for your embassy’s procedure. 

Medical Exams; Typical, the medical exams results will be sent directly to the embassy  electronically. However, some U.S. embassies  still utilize hand delivered report by the visa applicant. So inquire from the medical facility if you might need to come back to pick up your results for interview day.

Police Clearance (s); if you meet the requirement for police clearance then make sure you have it or them. If you are unsure, please refer this video (insert video title)

Visa Fee; $330 per applicant. Derivatives are considered applicants at this stage and must also pay this fee. The fee must be paid in USD or local currency equivalent.

You may bring your educational certificates and work experience, but know that it will not be used in determining your visa eligibility since only the education or work experience of the principal applicant will be used in the visa approval determination.

If you are not attending this interview with the Principal Applicant, then you need to consider bringing relationship evidence and marital status evidence.

BUT if you are attending together, then there’s no need for you to also bring relationship evidence and marital status evidence.

If you have children then you have to go over this checklist for each derivative.

If you are derivative through who the eligibility is derived from, please WATCH my video on YouTube (WATCH THIS If Your DV Lottery Eligibility is Derived from Your Derivative)

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What Grades Qualify for the Diversity Visa aka “Green Card Lottery”?

For Ghana, you must have  a “C” average on the WASSCE or “D” average for those who wrote SSCE, with  credits (A1-C6) in at least six subjects including Core English, Math, Integrated Science  and three Electives.

For Kenya, you must have passed the Kenyan Certificate of Secondary Examination (KCSE) with a minimum average score of D – (minus). For those who wrote the examinations before 1986, the Kenya Certificate of Education (KCE) score must be a minimum of Division IV

For Burundi, you must have a Diploma D’Etat or Diploma A2

For Eritrea, you must have a minimum of five “D” grades on the Eritrean  Secondary Education Certificate

For Uganda,  you must have the Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education (UACE) “A- Level” or “O level” certificate with a minimum of one principal pass (Grade A-E) and at least one subsidiary Pass (Grade O) out of four subject exams or secondary pass out of four  total subject exams.

For Togo, you must have Diplome de Baccalaureate

This list will be updated as more embassies make this information available and accessible.

What do you think? Comment below!

New Changes to Electronic Diversity Visa Entry Form

The Department of State submitted request to make the following changes to the electronic diversity visa entry form which will be available to diversity visa program for 2024 fiscal, DV2024.

An obvious change to the CURRENT eDV form is the absence of the Passport requirement.

In February this year, a federal district court vacated the regulation by Department of State which required  entrants to submit a valid and unexpired passport information.

The agency had not followed the rulemaking process of 30 to 60 days for comments before making the changes according the the court hearing.

Subsequently, Department of State removed the passport requirement in response to this judgment.

 

[CURRENT]

#1.  Last/ Family Name                        First Name                      Middle Name

This current version allowed applicants to check the box last name unknown, first name unknown, and middle name unknown.

[PROPOSED CHANGES] Require Last Name on all entries

Last/ Family Name                        First Name                      Middle Name

[CURRENT]

    #13. What is your current marital status? 

  •  Unmarried
  •  Married and my spouse is NOT a U.S. citizen or U.S. Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR)
  •  Married and my spouse IS a U.S. citizen or U.S. Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR)
  •  Divorced
  •  Widowed
  •  Legally Separated

Legal separation is an arrangement when a couple remain married but live apart, following a court order. If you and your spouse are legally separated, your spouse will

not be able to immigrate with you through the Diversity Visa program; however, you must include your spouse even if you plan to be divorced before you apply for the

Diversity Visa. Failure to list your eligible spouse is grounds for disqualification. If your spouse is a U.S. citizen or Lawful Permanent Resident, do not list him/her in your

entry.

[PROPOSED CHANGES] Revise language in question #13 regarding legal separation and allow optional spouse entry.

  #13.  What is your current marital status? 

  • Unmarried
  • Married and my spouse is NOT a U.S. citizen or U.S. Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR)
  • Married and my spouse IS a U.S. citizen or U.S. Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR)   
  • Divorced
  • Widowed
  •  Legally Separated
    • Enter Spouse Information

Legal separation is an arrangement when a couple remain married but live apart, following a court order. If you and your spouse are legally separated, your spouse will not be

able to immigrate with you through the Diversity Visa program. You will not be penalized if you choose to enter the name of a spouse from whom you are legally separated.

If you are not legally separated by a court order, you must include your spouse even if you plan to be divorced before you apply for the Diversity Visa. Failure to list your

eligible spouse is grounds for disqualification.

If your spouse is a U.S. citizen or Lawful Permanent Resident, do not list him/her in your entry

 

Overall, these changes have resulted in few questions on the form. There are 14 questions now instead of 15.

Not all entrants will have to answer all the questions,  only those that are applicable. Check out my video explanation of these changes.

 

Single Applicant Interview Checklist for Diversity Visa Lottery

 Interview Appointment Letter

Bring your  second notification (2NL) or interview appointment email or letter to your interview.

DS260 Confirmation Page

Don’t forget to bring the confirmation page of your DS260 application.

Two Color Passport size photos 

Bring (2) color passport photos . You should write your full name and date of birth at the back of the photos.

Valid and unexpired Passport 

Bring a passport with at least (6) months expiration and at least (2) unstamped pages

Original Birth Certificate 

Bring your original and (2) photocopies of your birth certificate.

School Certificate(s)if applicable 

Bring all your school certificates from secondary school and up, if you have this education.

Work Experience Documents- if applicable 

Bring your employment appointment letter typed on company letterhead. Anything documentation that could help support that you are employed or have been employed.

Visa Fees

Don’t forget to bring your visa fees of $330 or equivalent in your local currency. This fee will be required to be paid before interview begins.

Most important of all is to bring your confidence and say a prayer!

Goodluck !!

OFFICIAL GREEN CARD LOTTERY REGISTRATION| DV2023 Green Card- Opens!

The official Green Card lottery registration for the Diversity Visa Lottery 2023 fiscal year opens on October 6th at noon Eastern Daylight Time (GMT-4) to November 9th noon Eastern Standard Time (GMT-5).

Each year the United States government makes available 55,000 immigrant visas to people from countries with historically low immigration rates to the Untied States of America. Selection is a randomly done by computer.  The number of available diversity visas are distributed amount the six regions by State Department: Africa region(AF), Asia Region (AS), Europe Region (EU), Oceania Region (OC), North America (NA), South America and Caribbean (SA).

Selected applicants must complete immigrant visa application, complete medical exams and pass their interview at a U.S. Embassy post to obtain a visa.

DV2023 Instructions for the application has been published to help applicants understand the requirements and the FAQs

It is FREE to apply and there’s no need to pay to apply. You can easily do it yourself by watching my YouTube video explanation of the process available on Wofoy TV channel

Click this link to take you to the official application>> DV2023 GREEN CARD LOTTERY APPLICATION

On October 6th, these will be some of the local times that you can begin gaining access to the website:

Ghana 4pm local time

Liberia 4pm local time

Kenya 7pm Local time

Uganda 7pm Local time

Cameroon 5pm Local time

South Africa 6pm Local time

Ethiopia 7pm Local time

GOOD LUCK to you all