dv lottery sponsor requirements

There have been several questions revolving around getting a spouse, about the names and how they affect the DV lottery. We have several types of affidavits that you might come across during the DV lottery process.

Types of Affidavits

Below are 4 major types of affidavits that you might come across during the DV lottery process.

• Affidavit of Name

The first one being an affidavit of name. The affidavit of name becomes important when you have issues regarding your names or the names that you use.

If you have names on one document differing from those on the other document, and those documents are critical in the DV lottery, then you need to confirm to the embassy or the relevant bodies that you are the same person with those different names, like for example, if you have two names on one document and three names, that is the two plus a different one on the other document, then you have to show them that you are the same person with those names, and you do so by acquiring an affidavit of name.

Another way: Maybe your name is incorrectly spelled on some documents, while on others it is correctly spelled. For example, you have a name that has an “I”, but on another document it has not. How do you merge the two?

For you to prove that you are the same person with those incorrectly spelled names, what you need to acquire is an affidavit of name.

Another issue is when you have changed your name. Maybe some individual along the way, they can decide to change the name because of one reason or the other. So after changing the names, then you need to prove to the consulate or the embassy or the consular officer that you changed the names. And that’s why there are different names on different documents.

Anything that makes your name differ from another one on your document, you only need to acquire an affidavit of name for that matter.

• Affidavit of Marriage

The other affidavit that we have is an affidavit of marriage. You applied for the DV lottery, but at the time of application, you had someone that you call your spouse, but you are not holding anything to prove your relationship, your union, and therefore you get selected and you are preparing to get to the interview.

In this scenario, you are supposed to get the marriage certificate, that is without a doubt. Even if you don’t have, you need to get. And how do you get? This is by getting an affidavit of marriage that you will use to prove to the relevant body of your country, that is the registrar of Marriages, and then they go ahead to issue the marriage certificate.

So that same document that you used to get this marriage certificate, the affidavit of marriage, that same document, you are needed or you are required to come with it during the interview. That is among the proof documents that will second your marriage certificate. So you go with the original marriage certificate, the certified copy, the affidavit of marriage. You go with those three documents.

Also, maybe you got the marriage certificate after getting selected, that means you need to prove on another level of your existence relationship, even before you applied for the DV lottery. What are the things to prove your union, before the application? You might use many things like the photos, bank statements, the joint accounts, many things that you did together even before this. Something to solidify that this marriage is not a fraud. It is legitimate.

So you need to go with the affidavit of marriage, the marriage certificate, both the original and the certified. And also you go with the things to prove that this is legitimate and not fraud.

• Affidavit of Support

The other affidavit that you need is an affidavit of support. You might need the affidavit of support, though it’s not needed by all embassies. But majority of the embassies will request of the affidavit of support.

It is better that you have one, if you are not sure that your embassy is one of those that don’t request. So just get it and be with it. In case you asked for it, then you provide.

What is an affidavit of support?

This is the document that you get from someone who has agreed to give you sponsorship once you land in the United States. This might be your host or someone else apart from your host, the one that agrees to give you monetary support or financial support as you start life in the new country.

It will simply prove to the consulate that you are able to sustain yourself as you begin life there, and you cannot become a public charge. By becoming a public charge, what it simply means is becoming dependent on the public or on the government for support, depending on the food stamps, for example.

So you will need the affidavit of support to prove to the consular officer that you are able to sustain yourself and you will not become dependent on the public.

• Affidavit of Birth

The other affidavit that some countries will require you to have is the affidavit of birth. For example, if you come from the East Africa, the country called Somalia, all individuals from Somalia will by default be scheduled for their interviews at the Nairobi Embassy and what the Nairobi embassy needs from the people coming from Somalia, the Somali, is an affidavit of birth, not the certificate of birth.

So you come with the certificate of birth together with the affidavit of birth. Those two documents, what they trust is the affidavit of birth. So some embassies will ask for the affidavit of birth on top of the birth certificate, especially for the foreigners, people not from the same country where the embassy is.

Those are just four types of affidavits that you might come across in the DV process.

DISCLAIMER: This post and content is designed for general information only and is NOT legal advice. This site is not offering any Diversity Visa and is not the official site for DV Lottery program. The information presented in this post should not be construed to be formal legal advice. If you have any questions about the DV lottery, please contact an immigration professional/officer or a licensed attorney.

Who really is a Host? Why is the Host Important in Diversity Immigrant Visa Program?

The word host is very famous when it comes to the DV lottery and the green card. Why is it so famous? And do you really know about the host?

What is a host or who is a host? Must you have a host if you’ve won the Green Card?

A host basically means a person with a United States address. A host is a person living in the United States, and by living in the United States, they have an address. So any person with a United States address can be a host to you.

When we are talking about a host here, we have address here. Without the address, there’s not the host. What does that mean? The host only has to provide you with the address. The address to where your documents once you move to the United States will be sent to. That’s the only importance of the host.

But sometimes the host can offer to give you a place to live, a place to stay in as you start settling. That’s a different story. But the principal role of the host is the provision of an address for you to receive your documents once you go to the United States.

If the host accepts to give you a place to live, what we call sponsoring, if the host decide to sponsor you, that’s a different story.

Therefore, by defining the host that way, it means that a student who is studying the United States can give you an address, that when you go there, you will receive a statement too. The student may not be in the position to sponsor you, but the student has just provided you with address. So he/she is basically your host.

You can as well decide, I have a lot of money, I’m financially capable. I don’t need anyone’s address. You can rent an Airbnb over the United States in whichever state you choose.

When you get an Airbnb, you will use the address of that Airbnb as your address. In that case, you don’t need any other person to give you an address, any other person to be your host. You can rent a hotel. You can rent an Airbnb and use that as your permanent address, the address in which you receive your documents.

That is what hosts means, that the host is a person that gives you an address that you may receive your documents once you land in the United States.

Mind you, you can have a host here and have a sponsor on the other side. So a host can give you the address and you can get another person to give you a place to live in as you begin to settle in the United States.

READ: How To Get The Right Sponsor / Host | Who Can Sponsor You for DV / Green Card

All Documents A Sponsor Should Give You For DV Interview

There are two ways in which you can prove to the Consular officer or to the United States government that you’re not going to become a public charge once you land in the United States.

These two ways they include:

• Having enough savings in your bank account, with evidence

You can choose to have enough savings in your bank and produce a statement of the savings, present it before the consular officer that will be interviewing you and use it as a form of proof that you can sustain yourself when you start life in the United States.

Although many people are not able to fulfill this way.

• Providing affidavit of support from a sponsor

Another way is by producing an affidavit of support from a sponsor who is already in the United States, either a citizen of the United States or a permanent resident.

This sponsor is supposed to fill the form called Form I-134 and give you the copy to present it during your interview. In this guide, we will learn the documents should accompany the Form I-134?

Or in other words, which other documents should the sponsor provide you to accompany the Form I-134, for it to act as a sufficient affidavit of support.

Documents A Sponsor Should Give You For DV Interview

• Green Card or National Identity Card or Divers License

The first document that should accompany the Form I-134 is the copy of the green card of the sponsor, or if the sponsor is a citizen, the national identity card copy, or the driver’s license.

That is the first document that should accompany Form I-134.

• Form 1040 or W-2

The second document is the Form 1040, the tax compliance form of the sponsor. Remember, to qualify as a sponsor, the sponsor has to have complied fully with the taxation in the United States.

In place of the Form 1040, the sponsor can give you a W-2 form instead. That is the second document that is supposed to accompany the Form I-134.

• Payslip

The third document that should accompany the Form I-134 that should come from your sponsor is a copy of payslip, just to act as the proof that indeed your sponsor is earning the salary, the income.

Your sponsor can give you maybe an annual payslip copy as a proof of the salary.

Those three documents are supposed to accompany the Form I-134 for it to act as an affidavit of support.

Once you present these documents together with the Form I-134, then you are fully secured and your visa can get approved.

Remember that majority of the embassies will request for this affidavit of support, either the financial statement or the form I-134 from the sponsor. So if you’re preparing to go for your interview, ensure that you are obtaining an affidavit of support from the sponsor or you’re preparing the financial statement.

If you fail to produce one, as a means of proving that you’ll not become a public charge in the United States, then definitely you will be put to the administrative processing until you produce these documents.

Question: What time should I-134 be fill? Can the sponsor fill prior to the scheduling of interview?

Answer: It’s better after 2NL.

Question: How many payslips are required? Is the latest tax transcript sufficient?

Answer: Payslips for like 3 months or so.

I hope the information is very clear and I hope it is useful to you.

DISCLAIMER: This post and content is designed for general information only and is NOT legal advice. This site is not offering any Diversity Visa and is not the official site for DV Lottery program. The information presented in this post should not be construed to be formal legal advice.

Affidavit of Support is one of the list of official documents that may be required from the DV lottery winner when you go to the interview of the diversity visa. Affidavit of Support is also known as the Form I-134.

Not all embassies are requiring this particular document. Some of the embassies and consulates are requiring this document while some are not requiring this documentation.

DV Lottery Affidavit of Support

Who is supposed to fill this form, if the U.S embassy in the country where you are taking the interview, require this form?

Not everybody has the status or is allowed to fill this form. Only the person with green card or a person who is a U.S citizen is required to fill this form, if this form is required.

This form is not a sponsorship form. It is a form which the U.S government believes that if you get the financial difficulties, instead of going to the U.S government to request for financial support, the person who is filling this form will be required, will be responsible for supporting you during that financial hardship.

They prefer or they require a green card holder or U.S citizen to fill this form.

Again, even if you’re U.S citizen or green card holder, will be able to fill this form. They need to know how much your annual income is, and that annual income is related to the poverty guidelines of the poverty line.

If a person who is going to fill that form is single, he/she needs to have e.g $18,000 per year, and then if he’s going to sponsor or to put two or three people, then he/she need to have up to $35,000.

There is a poverty guideline to determine how many people and how much income you need to have. It’s not about the bank statement, it is about the annual income and the annual income is going to be proven by tax return or tax credit, the tax transcript, which will be able to include or say, this is the annual income of someone according to the IRS.

What is the challenge of getting this one?

People are assuming, if you are hosting me, you have to fill this form. No, you can have a person A as a host and person B can be the person filling the Affidavit of Support, if the embers in your account is requiring the affidavit of support.

The host is any person giving you the address or the place to stay. A host can be an international student. A host can be a person visiting America. A host can be any person with a non-immigrant visa. But the person filling the feeling the affidavit of support must be a green card holder or a U.S citizen with a certain required income.

The challenge usually is rising based on the following things to get someone to fill that form:

• Not everyone who is in America will have the income which will meet the poverty guidelines, if is adding you and your derivatives in that particular list. Though the person can be above the poverty line based on their income.

But if, for example you and your spouse and two children, that is four people on top of their salary or the top of their income, that will be difficult to find people who will be able to do that.

• The fact that the tax return or the tax credit has the social security number, why then should I give you the document which has social security of myself, my wife and three children?

He/she may not want to know what it will be used in those information and say no to you. So that is a challenge. Some people, they don’t like to share either how much they make or sometimes the exact social security number in that particular context.

Some of the embassies, they know that because of such reasons, they allow the person (the sponsor) to send it directly to the embassy. So if the country where you are, the embassy requires that, you can ask the embassy if they can give you the particular email so that the person can send that information directly to the embassy.

The person will be confident to send that information directly to the embassy than to you, because he/she do not know how you are going to handle Social Security Number, whether it’s going to be compromised or not. So that is a challenge in that particular case.

But the best way to avoid this issue, for instance, if the embassy in Nairobi, Kenya, requires affidavit of support and the embassy Tanzania does not doesn’t require, you have difficulties completing the form or you cannot get the affidavit of support, then you can move the interview location from Kenya, to Tanzania, then you are not required to provide the affidavit of support, and that will be the quick solution for that.

In all, the affidavit of support is not required in all embassies. But if your embassy requires it, you must go with it. If you don’t go with that particular affidavit of support, they are not going to deny you the visa, they will give you the time.

Maybe you have four weeks or five weeks or six weeks to go and bring this documentation so that they can give you the visa, or they are not going to give you the visa, if you completely fail to bring that document in the countries where the affidavit of support is a requirement.

DISCLAIMER: This post and content is designed for general information only and is NOT legal advice. This site is not offering any Diversity Visa and is not the official site for DV Lottery program. The information presented in this post should not be construed to be formal legal advice. If you have any questions about the DV lottery, please contact an immigration professional/officer or a licensed attorney.

Today, we will learn about the Form I-134 and Form I-864. What are they used for and which one do we require for the diversity visa lottery?

These two forms are both the Affidavit of Support. It is very important to understand the differences between these two terms and which one you are going to use for the diversity visa lottery.

Ways in which you can migrate to the United States

There are two modes or two ways in which you can go to the United States.

• The first way or the first mode is the temporary stay.

This means that you are going to the United States for just a short period of time, maybe to visit a friend or a family or maybe to tour. It’s just a short time. In this case, you use a temporary visa, which is called non Immigrant Visa.

• Another mode in which you are going to the United States is for a permanent residence.

You are immigrating to the United States and you’re intending to live in the United States as long as you want, or permanently. For this instance, you have to obtain the immigrant visa.

In both of these two ways, you will need to provide or to assure the United States government that you are able to sustain yourself within that time. In both this case, you’ll need to provide the Affidavit of Support.

So which of the form do you use in which situation?

For the temporary visit or the short term visit, you will require to provide the Affidavit of Support, the Form I-134.

This is a smaller version of the Form I-864, and it’s not legally bound, though it is recommended by the United States government.

When you are going for a permanent stay or a long stay, you require to provide the Affidavit of Support, form I-864. This is a form that legally bounds your sponsor that he or she will provide full financial support for you as you stay over there in the United States.

For the temporary or the short visit, you require Form I-134 as the Affidavit of Support, and for a long stay, permanent residence, you require the Form I-864.

Which of these two forms (Form I-134 and Form I-864) do you require for Diversity Visa Lottery?

Note: When you are moving for a permanent stay, where you are required to have form I-864, it means that someone has petitioned for your green card visa and that person is willing to support you.

For example, a spouse may want to petition for his or her spouse to come to the United States, or a parent may petition for the Green card for their children, or some job employer would petition for a Green card visa for you to go and work with them in the United States.

When we come to the diversity visa lottery, it is unique and it is different from the other visas. It is a permanent residence status visa, it is different from the other immigrant visa.

In this case, no one is petitioning for your green card. It is a lottery by the United States government.

In other words, it is the United States that is supposed to sponsor you to petition for your green card. But you are not required to provide any financial support document or any affidavit of support. It is not a recommendation in the diversity visa lottery.

But most embassies request for the affidavit of support, form I-134 because you are immigrating to the United States for the first time, and it means you don’t know that place.

You are new to the United States, and therefore you don’t have any means, so they will need you to have or to prove to the United States government that you’re not going to become a public charge, that you have some way of supporting yourself for a short time as you pick up or as you take on the life in the United States.

After you have sought for a sponsor, it is not the sponsor who petitioned for your Green card.

You just found a sponsor and the sponsor has agreed to sponsor you, and it is for a short time, maybe a month or two or so, for you to start life in the United States.

Therefore, for the diversity visa lottery, you will require the Form I-134. Even though it is not a requirement, it’s not mandatory.

Prepare the Form I-134 before your interview and go with it to the interview, in case the consular officer asks for one, you will have it.

I hope this information has been very informative to you.

DISCLAIMER: This post and content is designed for general information only and is NOT legal advice. This site is not offering any Diversity Visa and is not the official site for DV Lottery program. The information presented in this post should not be construed to be formal legal advice.

If you have any questions about the DV lottery, please contact an immigration professional/officer or a licensed attorney.

There are two ways in which you can prove to the consular officer or to the United States government that you’re not going to become a public charge once you land in the United States. This guide will point out those Documents A Sponsor Should Give You For DV Interview.

These two ways include:

1. You can choose to have enough Savings in your bank and produce a Statement of the savings, present it before the consulate officer that will be interviewing you and use it as a form of proof that you can sustain yourself when you start life in the United States.
2. By producing an affidavit of support from a sponsor who is already in the United States, either a Citizen of the United States or a permanent resident.

This sponsor is supposed to fill the form called Form I-134 and give you the copy to present it during your interview. There are documents that should accompany the Form I-134, which your sponsor should provide for you to accompany the Form I-134, for it to act as a sufficient affidavit of support.

Documents A Sponsor Should Give You For DV Interview

Below are the document that should accompany the Form I-134:

• Copy of the green card of the sponsor, or if the sponsor is a citizen, the national identity card copy or the driver’s license.
• Form 1040, the tax compliance form of the sponsor. Remember, to qualify as a sponsor, the sponsor has to have complied fully with the taxation in the United States. In place of the form 1040, the sponsor can give you a W2 form instead.
• A copy of pay-slip, just to act as the proof that indeed your sponsor is earning the salary, the income. So let your sponsor give you maybe an annual pay slip copy as approved of the salary, i.e the pay slip.

Those three documents are supposed to accompany the Form I-134 for it to act as an affidavit of support. Once you present these documents, together with the Form I-134, then you are fully secured and your visa can get approved.

Remember that majority of the embassies will request for this affidavit of support, either the financial statement or the Form I-134 from the sponsor.

So, if you’re preparing to go for your interview, ensure that you are obtaining an affidavit of support from the sponsor, or you are preparing the financial statement. If you fail to produce one as a means of proving that you will not become a public charge in the United States, then definitely you will be put to the administrative processing until you produce these documents.

Some Frequently Asked Questions

Question: Can I present additional i-134 form apart from my sponsor to make sure. We are three (applicant, spouse and son/daughter).

Answer: Just one form i-134 is enough.

Question: What time should I-134 be fill? Can the sponsor fill prior to the scheduling of interview?

Answer: It’s better after 2NL.

Question: Is i-134 filled before the interview or after the interview?

Answer: Before interview.

Question: My sponsor is in USA, how can i get the i-134 Form from my sponsor, since am not USA yet?

Answer: Let him/her fill it and scan it and send it to you.

I hope the information is very useful and clear.

DISCLAIMER: This post and content is designed for general information only and is NOT legal advice. This site is not offering any Diversity Visa and is not the official site for DV Lottery program. The information presented in this post should not be construed to be formal legal advice.

Do I need a sponsor for the DV Lottery? Am an applicant, how can I find a sponsor for the DV lottery? Who can sponsor me for the DV lottery? This guide will give you answer to some of these questions DV lottery entrants ask always.

Do I need a sponsor for the DV Lottery?

Diversity Visa (DV) applicants do not need a sponsor, such as an employer or immediate family member in the United States, nor are they required to provide an Affidavit of Support.

No DV winner needs a sponsor. You don’t need a ‘sponsor’ for the DV Lottery. All she/he needs is a rational plan for supporting him/herself from the day of arrival until being independently solvent.

This can include savings, family funds, promises for food and lodging from friends or relatives either in the home country or already in the U.S, or any other plan that shows initiative and sense.

If you were lucky enough to win the draw, you must simply figure out – and be able to explain to the interviewing US consular officer – how you will support yourself and get started in your new life in the US.

If you have savings, relatives or friends who will give or lend you money, a relative or friend in the US who will let you live with him/her while you get going, or any other simple, rational and reasonable plan to not starve in the streets, that’s all you need.

If this plan can be explained to the interviewing consular officer and makes sense, off s/he goes to the U.S.

What happens if I win the DV lottery and I don’t have a sponsor nor enough money?

A sponsor, and a large bank balance, are not mandatory for the DV, but the successful applicant must convince the interviewing consular officer that s/he has a well-thought-out plan to support him/herself and any accompanying family members from the day that they land.

That convincing can take many forms and combinations of forms: a legitimate job offer, a friend or relative willing to house and feed the person until he gets on his feet, etc.

Is it compulsory to bring proof of sufficient funds to the DV lottery interview?

A successful DV applicant will, at the time of the interview, have proof of sufficient funds to support him/herself on arrival in the US, or a reliable source of income and support (family member or friend already in the US, promised employment, etc).

If the applicant has no idea how to be able to afford to live in the US without relying on public assistance, the visa will not be issued.

Just be aware that registration for the DV Lottery will only run till about the first week in November so you still have about 2 weeks to register, the official website for the Lottery is (dvprogram.state.gov) check out the registration requirements on the website alternatively you can find information on the Department of State website.

The entry submission period for DV-2024 is from 12:00PM EDT (GMT -4) on October 5, 2022 to 12:00PM EST (GMT -5) on November 8, 2022. The entry form will only be available for submission during this period and this period only.

Entrants may be disqualified for not completing the entry form correctly or by submitting more than one entry.

I hope you find the information useful.

DISCLAIMER: This post and content is designed for general information only and is NOT legal advice. This site is not offering any Diversity Visa and is not the official site for DV Lottery program. The information presented in this post should not be construed to be formal legal advice.

If you have any questions about the DV lottery, please contact an immigration professional/officer or a licensed attorney.