Get Your U.S Visa Approved

How can someone traveling to the United States of America through visiting (tourist) visa can change from visiting visa to another type of visa (Student Visa)? Let learn How to change tourist visa to student visa in USA.

This guide will focus on being a student, two types of students in this particular case.

How to change Tourist Visa to Student Visa in USA

It is one of the most frequently asked question that is, “if I come to the United States through visiting, can I find a way to change it from one visa type to another visa type?”

The answer is yes. There are legal procedures someone can be able to do that and it will explain in this guide.

If you are going to U.S on a visit via B1, B2 visa, when you go there, it depends on the duration given to stay in the United States, the visa duration. While you are there, you can apply to become a student, and being a student, there are two types of students.

There are Students who are seeking degree and students who are going to do what is called non-degree program. These two categories also determine two different types of visas or categories of students. They are as below:

• F1

F1 visa, which people talk about every time, because this is for people who are seeking degree.

When you travel to U.S, maybe you want to do bachelor’s degree or you go to community college, then bachelor’s degree, then you are going to do masters, doctorate, that is F1 student.

F1 student is an international student visa, which allows you to go to a university or college for a degree seeking program.

But what if you don’t want to get a degree? You are going to the vocational school. You are going to get what is called non-degree program.

Remember, in the United States, they don’t have something called diploma as a level of education like in other country. In U.S, diploma or certificate is called non-degree program.

So if you want to pursue what is called non-degree program, you are going to apply for M-visa, not F-1 visa, M1 visa.

• M-1

M-1 visa is a visa for a student or a person who wants to travel to U.S to pursue non-degree program or rather going to study what is called the vocational schools.

You attend flight school, cooking school (culinary school), study Cosmetology (the study and application of beauty treatment), etc. There are certain programs you are allowed to go and take those one. If you want to take the English-speaking one, even if it’s non-degree program, is not part of the M1, is going to be part of the F1, that is one of the categories which is different.

Note: Not all institutions are allowed to give you M1 visa because you can apply for non-degree program for this certificate, e.g cosmetology, but just going out there and just get admitted doesn’t give you the documentations, which you can be allowed to enroll to those particular schools.

Remember, there are some schools that are not allowed to have international students. So in order to avoid that, there is a list of vocational and non-degree institutions which is called M1 students, are allowed to go.

There is something called a student exchange visitor program. In that particular category, there is a website, which is the website of the Department of Homeland Security, which has the list of all institutions which are allowed to enroll people to get these programs and the universities or institutions in general.

Some might be community colleges. They can allow to take M1 and F1 non-degree and degree seeking students, and some can be independent institutions, not directed to be the college in particular.

To see the institutions which are allowed, proceed here.

If you go to apply to an institution which is not allowed, then you are not going to be allowed to be given the visa.

Note: On that particular case, there are no scholarships in most cases when we talk about the non-degree programs. You are going on your own to learn any of your desired skill (e.g cooking, culinary speciality school, chef school, study about photography, videography, filming, etc).

Most of those one are not having scholarships. What does that mean? It means if you want to go to study for non-degree program, you have to prove that you are able to pay for tuition fees, and to be able to cater your own living expenses.

People who are in M1, are they allowed also to work like F1 student?

Remember, if you are a degree seeking student, F1, you are allowed to work 20 hours per week. Yes, M1 also are allowed to work 20 hours per week. Also, they’re allowed to work on campus.

What does that mean? If it’s a school year, you work on campus, when it is out of school, the holiday, you can work off campus, you are allowed to do that. But when you are looking for institutions, is better to look for bigger institution. Because if you look like a smaller institution, maybe they might not have works opportunities on campus for international students or rather M1 students, so better to look for the institution like community colleges.

Below is a website that has the name of states, name of the programs. You can select a state and you can choose all the programs you want in that particular state you want to apply.

Even if where you are outside the United States or you are inside the United States, that is one of the way you can be able to change, is to apply to do every single procedures and you’ll be given I-20, the same I-20 like someone is international student, M1 student will be given the same I-20 and you can be able to convert from one visa to become a student, either non-degree seeking or degree seeking student.

This is very important thing you need to understand about M1 visa.

Disclaimer: This site is not owned by any U.S Government Agency or an Immigration attorney. The contents in the site is for informational purpose only, collected from various public domains. You may need to contact an Immigration Attorney for your specific immigration needs.

I hope this guide has been helpful to you. Thanks.

There’s this issue about the DV medical examination cost or fee, questions on the total amount to spend on medical examination, as DV winner.

DV lottery winners, in this guide, we will learn the factors that determine the amount of money that you will pay for the medical examination or the factors that affect the medical examination fee.

After you’ve gotten your second notification letter (2NL), you are supposed to book a medical appointment for the medical examination of yourself, together of those of your derivatives, if you have any, and it means some expenses that you are going to incur.

Find out more about Documents You Will Go With To The DV Medical Examination here

We need to know what affects or what controls the amount of money that you get. Is it the embassy? Is it the Department of State? Who controls it or what controls it?

3 Main Determinants of DV Medical Examination Cost

• Size of Family

The first factor that will affect the amount of money that you will use during the medical examination is obviously the size of your family.

If you are a single person, that mean you’re just catering for the expenses of one person, and that mean the charges that you go through will not be as high as of those with a family.

If your family is of two, the husband and the wife or the mother and the kid or the father and the kid, that means you have two people and therefore each of you has to be examined and has to be vaccinated. Definitely, you will have higher cost than the one who is single.

All of you have to go through the medical examination, not only the principal applicant, and that determines the amount of money that you use.

• Age

The age determines what amount of money you’ll use. It determines the number of vaccination that you’re going to get.

If you have a child that is below 15 years, you will have fewer vaccinations and fewer checks. If you are of the age between 15 and 25, that’s a different age group, and you’re going to have different expenses as compared to a child between one year and 15.

Also if you are of age 25 and above, that means that there are some certain vaccination that you are going to undergo and others you are not going to go through, and that means a different price for that.

So age determines the number of vaccinations to be administered and the type of vaccination to be administered and therefore affecting the total cost that you are going to incur.

• Status of your Immunization

The third thing that affects the cost of the medical examination is the status of your immunization, your immunization history. What is the record of your immunization?

It is good for you to try and get access to the documents that details all the vaccinations that you have taken since you were born.

Remember, every person since birth there are vaccination or immunizations that has undergone and those immunizations can really count into this.

If you were immunized at a certain age against a disease that is been listed by the CDC as one requiring immunization, then that one is knocked out of the list of the vaccinations that you are going to undergo or to take.

So if you can and if it is possible, get all those documents to show that you have such and such vaccinations and therefore needs to be eliminated from your vaccination lists.

You need to go with the immunization record and by so doing, you will end up reducing the expense that you should have undergone if you had none of the immunization.

Make sure you Get Tested And Treated Of These Diseases As Early As Possible Before DV Medical Examination, find out more>>>

These are the key three points and factors (the size of your family, the age of every member of your family, and the immunization status, the immunization record) that affects the cost of the medical examination for DV winners.

Another factor that affects the cost of the medical examination is the country in which you come from.

It also depends on the country in which you come from. It depends on the inflation rate. It depends on the cost of each vaccine in your country.

If the vaccines in your country that are required are expensive, therefore you expect your medical examination cost to go high. If it’s cheaper, then it goes low.

If you are currently residing in the United States, you are exempted from this vaccination.

The point is the vaccination cost is not determined by the United States government, not at all. It is not determined by the embassy as well. It is solely dependent on those factors that have been discussed above, including the cost of those vaccination in your country.

So if you are a DV winner and you are waiting for this for your second notification letter or you have received it and you have booked the appointment or you are just on the point of booking the appointment, then prepare the immunization record. That would be very, very much important.

I hope you’ve gotten all the details of the guide.

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 you want to make sure that your U.S visa application is approved at a U.S consulate abroad? This guide is going to take you through 5 things that you should not be saying or doing at your U.S visa interview, to make sure that you get approved.

What not to say at your U.S visa interview, in order to get yourself approved. If you do these 5 things, you might not get approved for your visa.

5 Things NOT to Say at Your U.S. Visa Interview in order to get APPROVED Visa

1. Not having a return ticket back to where you came from

You cannot go to get a non-immigrant visa at a consulate without making sure that you have a return ticket, a round trip ticket back to the country where you came from. Not necessarily has to be back to the country you came from, but it better be back to a country outside the United States.

You will not be issued a US visa to United States with a one-way ticket. If by chance you do get the visa, unlikely you’re going to get through Border Patrol, if you only have a one-way ticket. Because a one-way ticket implies that you are not leaving the United States, you’re going to stay in the United States longer than you should or permanently.

Make sure you have a round trip ticket booked and with you not only at your interview, but make sure when you’re entering the U.S, you have a round trip ticket.

2. Don’t show ties back to your home country

You must show you have ties back to your home country, the country you’re leaving from to go temporarily to the U.S. You must show them and prove to them that you have a reason to return back home, either family, bank accounts, job, property, businesses, something that ties you back home and the reason why you’re only temporarily going to stay in the United States.

If you don’t have ties to your home country, they’re going to make the assumption that you have no reason to come back and you have no reason to leave the U.S.

Therefore, unlikely that they’re going to prove your visa. Make sure you have ties and you bring proof of that to your interview.

3. Don’t mention U.S Citizens

Don’t talk about a U.S citizen, boyfriend, girlfriend, spouse, or very immediate relative. If you have a U.S citizen boyfriend or girlfriend or fiancé or spouse or immediate relative in the United States, do not talk about that at your interview. If you’re asked, do not lie, but do not talk about that on purpose.

For example, “I’m going to the United States to visit my US citizen fiancée.”

That’s not a good idea to do. You do not want them to have any reason to believe that you are going to remain in the United States permanently because you have access to a U.S citizen person that could sponsor you for a green card when you arrive.

Therefore, it is not a good idea at a Visa interview to talk about your U.S citizen, spouse, partner, mother, brother, etc, don’t talk about them unless you’re asked. If you’re asked, you do not lie at any interview, you tell them the truth. But there’s no need to bring up that fact when you’re in your interview.

4. Don’t tell them you will be working in the United States

Unless the visa you’re actually applying for requires you to work. But if you are going into the U.S as a student or a visitor or someone who should not be working and is not authorized to work in the United States, you do not go into your visa interview telling them that you’re going to go work in the United States.

Even if you’re going to be working for your company abroad, even if you’re going to just be volunteering, you are not to be working in the United States on a visa that does not authorize you to work.

Do not talk about being in the United States working on any level unless there is a reason that you have to do it, that’s related to the actual visa. If not, and you’re not allowed to work because it is not authorized visa to allow you to work, then do not talk about anything that you’re going to work in the United States while you’re there.

5. Don’t say the word “I Don’t Know”

Uncertainty at a U.S Consulate Visa interview will set off alarm bells for them. Because if you’re not certain where you’re going, where you’re staying, what you’re doing, what you’re allowed to do, where you’re going to work, what your job is going to be, where you’re going to perform, all these things are critical to show that you understand the parameters of the visa that they’re going to be issuing you, and what you can and can’t do.

Also, it shows that you understand why you’re getting the visa, and it shows that their credibility behind the actual application that was filed on your behalf.

If you are a recipient of an “O visa application”, Extraordinary Ability Visa application, and you go in and you have no idea, where you’re performing, what you’re doing, and you say that you’re a guitarist and you’re applied for as a backup singer, that is not going to work. That uncertainty is going to cause you problems at a U.S visa interview.

Make sure you do some homework before you walk into that interview and know the parameters of the type of visa that you’re applying for, and make sure that you know where you’re staying, what you’re doing, what you’re allowed to do, how much money you need, what is your itinerary, what is the name of your employer, the address of your employer and where you’re going to be staying.

All those things you need to know and be very certain of when you walk into that U.S visa interview. The words I don’t know is not a good one to put out there at a U.S consulate interview.

Those are 5 things that you should not do at a U.S visa interview in order to make sure that you get approved.

There’s lots of other things that you shouldn’t be doing or you should be doing, but those are top five. Those are basics that you have to be aware of when you walk into that visa interview. Make sure you don’t do any of those things. You get prepared, you do your homework, you talk to the attorney that helped you, etc.

I hope this was helpful. Good luck to you all out there.

Source: Szew Law Group

DISCLAIMER: This guide and content is designed for general information only and is NOT legal advice. The information in this guide should not be construed to be formal legal advice nor the formation of a lawyer/client relationship. the information presented in this guide does not create an attorney/client relationship nor is it a solicitation to offer legal advice.

There are 5 Reasons Why You Should Never Let Your Green Card Expire which will be discuss in this guide.

Becoming a permanent resident of the United States should be a monumental achievement for you. After navigating a maze of paperwork, multiple interviews, and a few rigorous tests, and you finally held the hard-earned Green Card, you should be committed to keeping it valid and up-to-date.

5 Reasons Why You Should Never Let Your Green Card Expire

If you’re curious why you should be so vigilant, here are top 5 reasons for never letting his Permanent Resident Card expire:

1. Your Job is at Stake

As a permanent resident, you should cherish the liberty to work anywhere across the U.S. But to exercise this right, you must prove your employment eligibility. Employers are bound by law to confirm the identity and employment authorization of their hires, and your Green Card simplifies this process. An expired card could potentially jeopardize your employment, a situation you’d rather not face.

2. Your Love for Travel

As someone that his/her passion for travel knows no bounds. Being a U.S. permanent resident, you has the advantage of traveling internationally and returning with minimal issues. But this privilege is contingent on a valid Green Card. An expired card can lead to significant hiccups at the border or airports upon reentry, something that could dampen your travel spirit. Therefore, insists on keeping your Green Card current.

3. Staying Out of Legal Trouble

While your status as a permanent resident doesn’t expire, your Green Card, the tangible proof of your status does. If your lets it lapse, you might face difficulties with institutions that require proof of your legal residency status, such as banks and government agencies. To sidestep potential legal disputes or misunderstandings, makes it a point to renew your Green Card regularly.

4. Your American Dream

Becoming a U.S. citizen is part of many people American Dream. You wouldn’t want an expired Green Card to obstruct your path. If you decides to apply for naturalization, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) would need to see your Green Card. An expired card could delay your application process. After working so hard and waiting so long, you wouldn’t let an oversight interfere with your dreams.

5. The Much-needed Peace of Mind

Above all, you should value the peace of mind that comes with an updated Green Card. You should know the security of knowing your compliant with U.S. law, can prove your right to live and work here, and can travel abroad on a whim without worrying about reentry.

Moreover, avoid the stress and cost of potential legal complications that could arise from an expired card.

Renewing your Permanent Resident Card isn’t just a necessary administrative step, it’s a crucial part of safeguarding your rights and privileges as a U.S. permanent resident. As such, stays mindful of the expiration date and initiates the renewal process well in advance. This diligence is a small price to pay for the vast opportunities and freedoms that your Green Card affords you.

DISCLAIMER: This guide and content is designed for general information only and is NOT legal advice. The information in this guide should not be construed to be formal legal advice nor the formation of a lawyer/client relationship. The information presented in this guide does not create an attorney/client relationship nor is it a solicitation to offer legal advice.

Applying for Citizenship with Pending Green Card Application: In today’s, we are going to learn the answer to this question, can somebody apply for naturalization (Citizenship) to become a U.S citizen, even if their application to remove the condition from their green card is still pending?

If you’re somebody that’s a conditional, lawful, permanent resident, you have your conditional green card and you’re waiting for the application to remove the condition from your green card, so that you can become an unconditional green card holder. You’re wondering if you can file your application for naturalization, then this guide will help you out, make sure you read it to the end.

Applying for Citizenship with Pending Green Card Application

In many cases, when somebody gets their green card based on marriage, they first get a 2-year green card and they’re referred to as a conditional lawful permanent resident. They basically have a green card with a 2-year expiration date on it.

Toward the end of that 2-year period, the individual can apply to remove the condition from their green card to become an unconditional lawful permanent resident.

In the context of a marriage-based green card case, the application to remove the condition from the green card is referred to as the Form I-751. The issue is, oftentimes the Form I-751 can take a very long time to process.

While the Form I-751 is still processing, the individual becomes eligible to naturalize, meaning that they are now eligible to technically apply for naturalization to become a citizen of the United States.

In many cases, they’ve satisfied the continuous presence requirements and the physical presence requirements that are required for naturalization purposes, meaning that they have been a green card holder for the minimum required time to apply for naturalization, and they have been physically in the United States for the required minimum amount of time to also apply for naturalization.

But the issue is that their application to remove the condition from their green card is still pending. The question is, can somebody still apply for naturalization in this situation? The answer is yes.

Somebody can still file their form N-400, even if their application to remove the condition from their green card is still pending, assuming they satisfy the naturalization requirements.

Here’s a very important point to note:

USCIS will not approve somebody’s naturalization application until the application to remove the condition from the green card is approved. But you can still file your Form N-400.

What’s interesting is that in some cases, what we’ve seen is that, filing the Form N-400 can at time increase the processing speed of the Form I-751.

It can actually, at times, result in a faster decision of the Form I-751 by initiating the Form N-400. It may not always do that, but it happen at times.

Another important point is that:

Does it always make sense to do this? To file the Form N-400 while the Form I-751 is still pending? The answer is no.

One of the situations that you want to watch out for is if your Form I-751 might be a little bit doubtful. If you do not have a strong application to remove the condition from your green card or there might be something at issue in your case and you’re not confident that the Form I-751 will be approved, then it may not necessarily make a whole lot of sense for you to file your Form N-400 and to spend the money on the filing fee for the N-400 and go through that whole process when you’re not sure that the Form I-751 application to remove conditions will be approved.

That’s one instance where you might want to wait for the I-751 petition to be adjudicated before filing the naturalization application.

Another situation where you might not want to file the Form N-400 naturalization application, is if there’s issues with your naturalization application.

You want to make sure that you clearly satisfy the naturalization requirements before submitting your N-400, because ultimately there’s a big process with filing for naturalization. You have to submit an exhaustive application and you go through a biometrics appointment and a naturalization interview.

There’s a lot of steps to the naturalization process, and you do not want to initiate that process unless you know that you satisfy the requirements. To that end, it can be very beneficial to consult with an experienced immigration lawyer that can guide you through these various considerations.

That’s it about whether it’s possible for somebody to apply for naturalization while their application to remove the conditions from their green card is still pending.

I hope you found this guide about Applying for Citizenship with Pending Green Card Application very helpful.

Source: Ashoori Law

DISCLAIMER: This guide and content is designed for general information only and is NOT legal advice. The information presented in this guide should not be construed to be formal legal advice nor the formation of a lawyer/client relationship.

The information presented in this guide does not create an attorney-client relationship nor is it a solicitation to offer legal advice. If you need legal advice, you should seek the advice of an attorney in your jurisdiction before taking any legal action.

As such, I disclaim all liability with respect to actions taken based on any information presented. Nothing herein is intended to nor constitutes a guarantee, warranty, or prediction regarding the outcome of your legal matter. Every case is different and outcomes will vary depending on the unique facts and legal issues of your case. Thank you.

U.S Green Card (DV) Lottery selection process: Let learn those factors that will not affect your chances of getting selected in the DV lottery process.

There are many theories, stories and notions out there that have been raised by many people about the factors that will affect you getting selected, this guide will rectify some ideas that have been put forward regarding the selection process and your chances of getting selected.

Factors that will not affect your chances of getting selected in the DV (Green Card) lottery process

Below are things people thought determined chances of Selection in DV Lottery, but do not:

• The time you take your photo

The first thing that will not affect is the time at which you take your photo.

Remember, the photo that you will use in the application must not be older than six months. But even if you took the photo one month’s time before the application, one day before the application, or two months or so, that one will not affect the selection process.

• The place in which you apply from will not affect you.

The other thing that has created theories about selection out there is the location where you were at the point of application or the country in which you were at the time of application. So long as your country was eligible, every one of you will have the same chances of getting selected, equal chances of getting selected.

If you applied while in the United States, maybe you are there on a visit visa or an academic visa, maybe you are there on a family visit and then you applied from that location, that will not guarantee you higher chances of getting selected more than other people in other countries that were qualified.

A person coming from this country and the other one from the other country and the other one from the other one, all of you have the same chances. It is not country-dependent. Not at all.

If you apply from the land of the United States, or if you apply from Ghana, or if you apply from a country in the Middle East or in Europe, the locality in which you are in at the time of application does not affect the selection process.

• The time of the day in which you apply does not affect selection.

Some people are saying that many that apply in the middle of the night (i.e the midnight) have higher chances of getting selected. No, that’s not correct. The time you apply is not what determines the selection.

In any case, in your country, midnight is not the same as that midnight of the other country’s citizen. One person from this country, the midnight might be different from another person in a different country. So we have different mid-nights in different locations.

Therefore, the time that you apply does not determine. People have applied in the noon time of their country, at 4:00 PM in their country, whichever time in their country and they have gotten selected. So the time factor is not a determinant. That one should not confuse you at all.

If you apply in the morning, if you apply at noon time or at midnight or at 6:00 PM, that one will not affect.

• The day in which you apply will never matter.

Some are saying that the time you apply affects your chances of getting selected or applying on the first day gives you higher chances of getting selected. That is not correct. Because what would you say of that person that applied on the last day and was selected and moreover, had a lower case number? What would you say of that?

So the notion that if you applied on the first day, you have higher chances of getting selected, that is a wrong notion.

DV selection is randomized and it’s just by a computer program that knows nothing about the time you entered the lottery or the day, but only the numbers that are given and then randomly selects or picks from those numbers.

So about the day that you apply, be it on the first day or the last day or the middle days, that does not matter at all.

If you apply on a Sunday, if you apply on a Monday, if you apply on a Wednesday, if you applied in the beginning of the lottery application period or on the day the lottery application period end or in the middle of the lottery application period, the day in which you apply never affects selection.

• The gadget that you use in your application will not matter.

If you use an iPhone, if you use Samsung or you use whichever brand, or if you use a computer or a laptop, whatever gadget you use never matters in the selection process.

• It will not matter if you are single or you are married.

Whether you are single or married, that will not affect your selection in the DV lottery.

• It will not matter if you have a big family or you have a small family.

If you are a family of two or you are a family of five or you are single, that one does not affect chances of getting selected.

• It will not matter how many times you’ve entered into lottery.

It does not mean that if you have tried seven times, then you have high chances of getting selected or you have tried once or twice, that one will not affect the chances of getting selected.

• It will not matter your age.

Whether you’re 30 or 45 or 20 or 18 or 21, the age that you are in does not affect or increase any chance of getting selected. Neither does it lower your chances of getting selected. It does not matter.

• The person that applies for you or the agent that applies for you.

In any case, you are supposed to do your own application. Don’t get anyone to apply for you. Any person applying for you or the agent applying for you will use the same website that you would have used to make your application.

It will not matter the person applying for you. Whether he or she is in the United States or is in whichever place, or he’s a professional or he is a quark, it will not matter the type of the person applying for you.

• The level of your education does not determine selection.

The other major thing and theory that has been put outside there is that your academic and professional achievement greatly affects your selection. No, it is not based on any life achievement, any academic prowess, any professional achievement. It is not based on that completely.

Yes the requirement for the DV entry is at least a high school diploma or a two-year work experience within the past five years. If you have your high school certificate and another person has a degree, another one has a diploma in some other country, that is an education above high school, or others have even postgraduate. Others are doctors, others are nurses, other engineers, others teachers.

A person with the PhD, a person with the masters or the degree, all of them have equal chances. One requirement is that all applicants should have attained a high school education.

If you have obtained the high school education, any other level of education higher than that does not determine the selection. It does not mean that with a PhD you have high chances of getting selected and with a degree you have some substantial chances, no.

All of you, even the high school diploma, everyone have equal chances of getting selected.

Regardless of the position or the professional achievement, all of you have the same chances of getting selected. So long as you have achieved the minimum qualification for the DV lottery application, the rest do not factor in. You are equally on the same position in terms of selection. Everyone has equal chances of getting selected.

• Social Status 

DV selection does not depend on the social status, your social status in your community or in your country. Maybe you are a very well-known politician or you are a very big person in your society. That one will not determine your selection at all. It is not based on any merit. It’s just randomized, based on the numbers that were put on those entries.

There are other things that people have created out there about DV selection process, which are not true.

I hope this guide have clearly explained the DV Lottery selection process with focus on those Factors that will not affect your chances of getting selected in the DV lottery 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.

Visa Application Gets Denied: Imagine you go in for your visa interview and after all that preparation, the consular officer or the immigration officer overseeing your visa interview and your visa application ultimately denies the case. What do you do?

Well, that’s what this guide will talk about. So make sure you read it very well from beginning to end.

What should you do in the unfortunate event that your visa application ultimately gets denied?

The first thing that you should know is that generally when a visa gets denied, the recourse that you have is basically to reapply.

Ultimately, when you reapply, it’s imperative to know what you need to do to improve your application, and in order to know that, you need to know why the application was originally denied.

Was the application denied because the immigration officer felt that you did not satisfy one of the requirements?

For example, for a visitor visa, you are required to overcome the presumption of immigrant intent. You have to satisfactorily convince the immigration officer that you are not an intending immigrant to the United States and that you truly plan to just visit the United States.

So was your visa application denied because you didn’t successfully do that? Or did the consular officer determine that you’re ineligible or you’re inadmissible to the United States for some reason?

For example, maybe you had a prior issue with overstaying a visa in the past and now you might be subject to some sort of bar from reentering the United States. Is that the case?

It’s very important for you to understand ultimately what the reason was why the visa application got denied? Because as I mentioned, your recourse is essentially to reapply.

When you’re reapplying you need to know what you need to fix with the application, is it just presenting some documentation more strongly or is it something entirely different?

For example, in the example mentioned above where there was an issue with a prior overstay, do you need to apply for some sort of a waiver to overcome that grounds for inadmissibility? All of this comes down to what the basis was for the denial.

Oftentimes when an immigration officer will deny a case, they may provide you with some sort of documentation that specifies the grounds for the denial, but sometimes they won’t, and that’s where it’s beneficial for you, depending on the circumstances, to ask the immigration officer to elaborate on the basis for the denial, so that ultimately you have a better understanding and you can communicate that with your immigration lawyer to develop a game plan for reapplying.

Also, to better understand whether it makes sense to reapply for this particular visa or if there’s potentially another visa that might be more suitable for you.

So there you have it.

If the visa gets denied:

• make sure to understand why the visa got denied;
• strategize with your immigration lawyer to determine whether it makes sense to reapply for this visa, whether you’re going to be required to apply for a waiver of some kind, whether it makes sense to apply for another visa or a different sort of immigration benefit and ultimately go from there.

Hope you found this information helpful.

The Diversity Visa Bulletin for the month of September DV2024 and DV2023 is already out. This Visa Bulletin have some few things to note on it.

It is the first Visa Bulletin that gives us a glimpse into the DV Lottery 2024. Actually, it gives the cutoff numbers for the month of October. That is the very first interviews to be conducted for the DV Lottery 2024.

As a DV selectee, you are supposed to keep track of the visa bulletins, it is important for you to always check the visa bulletins.

This visa bulletin essentially marks the beginning of the DV Lottery 2024 interviews and also the closure of the DV Lottery 2023.

From the last visa bulletin, that was the visa bulletin for August, we saw the last cutoff numbers for the DV Lottery 2023.

So what about the DV Lottery 2023? As of now, we only expect a very few number of 2NLs sent to the winners because majorly the month of September, that is the last month of a DV lottery, tend to focus more on the 221G visa refusals.

Recently, there is a cumulative number of 221G visa refusals of around about over 5,000 cases and this number of 221G refusals is quite big and it will be handled within this last month.

Only a few visas for the DV Lottery 2023 are remaining, there is speculate that majority of those might go to the 221G visa refusals, those who will be lucky and also the adjustment of status, which is ongoing. So very few 2NL may be sent out.

Remember the interviews are ongoing and therefore we expect them to continue till the 30th of September. So if you have your 2NL, you get prepared well and don’t risk a chance. If you have been scheduled for the interview, make every effort not to fall in the 221G visa refusal.

From the visa bulletin we have some cutoff numbers for the month of October, and this is for the DV lottery 2024.

For the region of Africa, it is 10,000, for Asia 2,000, Europe 4,500 and so on and so forth. There are some exceptions and what this means is that if an exception is put on a country, it simply means that below the cutoff number, there are many cases from that country.

Therefore, if they can be given up to the cutoff number, then the embassy might be overwhelmed with cases for them to handle within a month. For example, if you come to Egypt, they are given up to 5,500, and that means that they have many cases within the lower bracket, the low case numbers. And therefore, if they can be given up to 10,000 as the rest of Africa, then the cases might be very many for the embassy to handle within that month to all others in the various regions.

What is the total number of selectees in the DV Lottery 2024?

A total number of 143,000. As up to now, this is the highest number of selectees in a DV lottery. Also in this DV lottery 2024, we’ve also seen exceedingly high or huge case number. For example, someone with a case number of 122,000.

There was a total of over 22 million applicants. This is the number that applied for the DV lottery. Again, note that the 143,000 includes the selectees together with their derivatives. It is the principal applicant together with the family members.

Also, there are only 55,000 visas available for the DV lottery program. So a big number of this will miss their visas. What makes them miss their visas? Their case numbers.

If your case number is so huge, you might not find an opportunity to get visas. That is important to note.

Note that the dates for the DV Lottery 2025 will be publicized in the coming months. The DV Lottery 2025 application period will be on the website, the DV Program official website and not from any other source.

For the exact number of selectees together with their derivatives for every country. You can get the exact number of selectees together with the beneficiaries from this list.

So what are you supposed to do? Visit this Diversity Visa Bulletin For September 2023 and go through these numbers.

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.

Principal Applicant And Derivatives DV Interview: In previous guide, we learned the important tips that will give you a successful DV lottery interview. If you’ve not read the guide, it’s good that you go back and read that guide.

READ NOW: How to Successfully Pass DV/Green Card Interview

But in this guide, we will learn one of those tips that you that is regarding not leaving your derivatives when you go for the interview.

The Principal Applicant Must Attend DV Interview

Derivatives are those people that you include in your DV process as the DV principal applicant. The principal applicant is the main person that played the lottery and was selected a DV winner.

The principal applicant (either he or she) must be present during the interview. The principal applicant cannot be left behind and the derivatives attend the interview. It is impossible.

The principal applicant is the one that is known to KCC. He’s the one that was selected and has the case number. So he’s the person that KCC knows of.

Let’s say, if the principal applicant decides not to proceed with the DV process, that means an end to the whole process. The derivatives cannot proceed without the principal applicant.

In another uncertain situation, might be the principal applicant dies. If the principal applicant happens to die during the process, that is also a total end to the process.

Even if the DS-260 was submitted and maybe you are waiting for the interview, but the principal applicant dies, then the program comes to a halt. The derivatives cannot attend the interview without the principal applicant.

These Derivatives Must Be Present at the DV Interview

Having understood that, let’s come to the derivatives. Who are those that should count as derivatives and should attend the interview together with the principal applicant?

The first qualified derivative that must be present during the interview is the spouse of the principal applicant. That must be included in the whole DV process, the first or the initial application, and also on the DS-260 form and be present during the interview.

The spouse is not a girlfriend or a boyfriend. A spouse is not a person that you’ve lived with for many years. A spouse is someone to whom you are legally married and you have the marriage certificate.

The marriage certificate is the single document that proves that this is your spouse. He or she must be added on the DS-260 form. That is the document that proves he or she is your derivative.

Therefore, if you are with a person that you’re not legally married, he or she is not your spouse.

The second person that should be present at the interview and is one of your derivatives is the child or children. All the children that the principal applicant has must be included in the initial application, as well as on the DS-260 form. Clearly outlined with their details.

The children that are your derivatives are not just children you’re living with, no, they must fall under these three categories:

• Your biological children

The children that you gave birth to, your natural children, they are your derivatives and they must be added in the initial application on the DS-260 form and they must be present during the interview. If you leave them out, then that is a total visa denial.

• Your step-children

This is second set of children that must be included. Step-children are the children of your spouse. If you have legally married your spouse, then the children they came with, they are your stepchildren, and they must be added in the initial application on the DS-260 form and must be present during the interview.

If you leave one of them, that is a visa denial, they must be included in the whole process. Another thing to note about the step-children, you don’t need the consent letter of their biological father or mother. Owing to the fact that you are now legally married to this new spouse, they become his or her step-children and don’t need the consent of their biological father or their biological mother.

Don’t forget to include your step-children and also attend with them to the interview.

• Adopted Children

The children that you have legally adopted by a court procedure, a legal procedure, you’ve adopted the children. All those adopted children, they must be included in the initial application and also on the DS-260 form and must be present during the interview.

All those in the three categories above, those children must be under the age of 21. All the children have discussed about as your derivatives must be under the age of 21, and also they must not be married.

If your children are below 21 and they are already married, they don’t qualify to be added in your DV process.

Some frequently asked question regarding those people that should attend the interview

Question: If I don’t speak English, should I go with my interpreter?

Answer: Yes, you may go with your interpreter to the interview and the interpreter must be certified.

Question: Should you go with your parents to the interview?

Answer: No, you should not go with your parents to the interview.

Question: Should you attend the interview with the attorney?

Answer: The DV interview only requires you as the principal applicant and your derivatives. There is no need for an attorney.

Another thing that you should remember about the derivatives is that, they too may undergo questioning during the interview. So when you’re preparing for the interview, also let your derivatives know of this.

Make sure you prepare them as well with the example questions that they may be asked. Let them know about the DV process and let them know that they might be asked some questions and most cases they are asked most questions.

Finally, remember that you need to carry all the documents that are required, that pertains to your derivatives, e,g the birth certificate, the police clearance for those above 16years of age, the passports, those documents you need them.

Note: The qualification is based on the principal applicant. The principle applicant is the one qualified and is the one that needs to be academically qualified or qualified through work experience.

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.

In this guide, we will learn specific things that you must do for you to have a smooth and successful first DV interview and get your Diversity Visa approved.

It will focus mainly on the tips that you can use in preparation for the interview and also during the interview process to get your Diversity Visa approved.

As a first timer in the DV lottery interview or it’s your first time to attend the DV interview, there is a great tendency of panicking or missing some things in the preparation or during the interview.

Tips To Prepare For DV First Interview

1. You need to familiarize yourself with the whole interview process.

You’re going for the interview, just as the other normal interviews, the work interviews, or any other interview, you need prior preparation, you need to familiarize yourself with what it takes for the interview.

How do you do this?

You do this by simply consulting the previous interviews. Those people that have undergone through the interviews, and how do you consult with those interviews?

It is by going through the interview experiences. People are very generous with their information. Many that have gone to the United States, many that have passed through the DV interview, they have shared their interview experiences all over the internet and they are all different experiences.

You’ll find some for single persons, you’ll find some for married people, you’ll find some for married with kids, and others single with kids. When you go through those interview experiences, you’ll learn a lot of things. For example:

• You’ll know what happens during the interview.
• You’ll know what changes you can make during the interview.
• You’ll know what people to meet at the embassy.
• You’ll know what happens at the security check.
• You’ll know what size of baggage you should carry.
• You’ll know of the questions that you get during the interview, and you’ll know how to correctly go around those processes.

You need to go through the interview experiences.

Read: DV Interview Questions and Answers

Go through it, you’ll get to familiarize yourself with the whole process, and this will eliminate the panic that comes.

In other words, you will have gone through a mock interview. It’s like you’ve gone through a virtual tour of the whole interview process, and when you go for the interview, you’ll find yourself that whatever you’re meeting or encountering will be what you already know of.

So it’s very important to go through the DV interviews for you to get all this information. Go through the different interview experiences from those people.

2. You need to prepare the documents that are required correctly and they should be organized correctly.

The documents form the very important part of the DV interview because you’ll have to present those documents. What are those documents?

They are the supporting documents to the information that you field on your DS-260 form. Every document that is required, you need to have it.

Remember, there are some documents that need to be notarized. That is to certify them. They need a certified copy of the original one. So you have the original copy and a different one that is called certified.

READ: Original And Notarized Documents For DV Lottery Interview

You will get this certified from the custodian of your documents in your government. If it’s the birth certificate from the registrar of birth, for the marriage certificate from the registrar of marriage, etc.

For those documents that are listed as requiring certified documents, don’t forget to get the certified documents. Prepare your documents well, both you as a principal applicant and those of your derivatives, for a smooth interview.

3. Throughout the process, you have to be so honest.

Be honest with all information that you give. Be truthful. If you say yes, it’s a yes, and if it’s no, it’s a no.

If you don’t have these documents, don’t say you have them. Anything that you present should be true from the start to the end. Veracity is key. Lies are considered as fraud.

The principal item that will lead to your visa denial is for you speaking falsely, is for you presenting false information. That is fraud, and fraud is a definite visa refusal. So honest and truthful is what is needed in this process for a smooth interview.

4. You need to stay calm and be self-composed during the interview.

Fear can arise, the fear of unknown, not knowing whether you’ll be successful or you will fail and that can create anxiety. Fear can cause you not to be at ease.

Therefore, one thing that you need to do and you need to exercise is to be calm and to be self-composed. By this, you’ll have the confidence to answer the questions that are forwarded to you.

You create this confidence and calmness by going through the interview experiences for you to at least have the prior information of the process. Panicking can mess you up, be self-composed and calm when you are going through your DV interview.

5. You need to attend the interview with all your derivatives.

Derivatives must be present during the interview, if you leave the derivatives out then be sure you will not get your visa. All people that you included in your DV application as your family members (your spouse, your biological children, legally adopted children, stepchildren) you need to attend the interview with them, and they must be present there.

They should also have all the documents that they are required to have, e.g birth certificate, their passports, the police clearance certificate for all that are above 16 years of age. Every document that is attached to the derivatives must also be present.

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.

Does unlocking the DS-260 form cause you harm or delay on your DV Process? Does it cause any delay in the processing of your case? This is what has been answered in this guide.

Contrary to what information you get regarding unlocking your DS-260 form, unlocking your DS-260 form once you’ve realized you had made some serious mistakes, is ultimately an important step to take and it is very crucial for your case.

Those that says that unlocking your DS-260, you harm your chances or you cause delay to your cost and therefore you should not unlock, they are actually not correct.

There are errors that you might do on your DS-260 form that will end up ruining your chances. They will lead to your visa denial.

For such type of errors, the only way around them, the only remedy to them, is to write to KCC and request them to unlock your DS-260, specifying the specific DS-260, whether it is yours or your derivatives, and update it to the correct information.

Can that process cause you any harm or will it cause any delay?

The answer on the highest side is definite no, and on the lowest side is yes. What does that mean?

Majority of the corrections made on the DS-260 forms, they never cause any delay. For example, you are a DV Lottery 2023 winner and you submitted your DS-260 around May of last year, and later on you discovered that you had error in entering some critical information.

In around August you requested the form to be unlocked and it was unlocked and you updated the DS-260 and submitted. Then the interviews began in the month of October last year. If you take such a scenario, and let’s say your case number is around 10000AF, or 5000AS, if you take that case, there will be no delay.

What does it mean? If you have a case number that is not yet near to getting current and then you request unlocking and you update the information, there will be no delay at all. On this other side, if your case number is current and at that time of which you cannot tell, KCC is about to transfer your details to the embassy for the interview scheduling, at that time of which you cannot tell, and then you request unlocking of your DS-260.

Then definitely they will hold back, until you do the changes for them to hand over the case to the embassy. That is obvious. But those, as you can tell, are very rare cases.

So people saying that you are causing a harm to your case by you unlocking, then they are not correct.

On the other hand too, what will be the benefit of you not updating your DS-260, yet you realized you had a grievous mistake and you end up being denied the visa, yet you had the chances of unlocking?

What if, even if you request unlocking and the case is delayed for some time and then you get to the interview and you are issued with the visa because you had corrected the errors?

Or what if it might cause any delay? Which one of these will you take?

For the first scenario, you realize you have made a mistake, you decide not to change anything at all, you end up in the interview with the errors and because of the errors you get visa denial.

For the second scenario, you realize that you have made some mistakes, you write to KCC to unlock your case, you do the necessary changes or amendments and you submit your DS-260 form and if it happens, then it delays.

Then you go to your interview and simply because you corrected the errors, you get your visa approved. Which of those would you take?

That’s why the idea that people are giving you that you should not unlock for you not to cause any delay is not correct.

What would you benefit if you lose your chance because you did not update the information?

In conclusion

A bigger percentage of those cases that are corrected, they are never delayed, and only a small percentage get some kind of delay. It is better for you to even get a delay and correct the errors and get your visa approved, then not to correct the errors in fear of your case getting delayed, and at the end of it, you get denied the visa.

So, if you realize that you have made any mistake, don’t hesitate to request unlocking for you to update the information, to be on the safe side.

The mistakes that should cause you to request unlock, they should be those critical mistakes. For example, if you made errors in your names or some other personal related information, you need to change them.

Thank you for reading this guide. I hope it gets you at the right time and it clears your doubt and your worries.

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.

What next after Submitting DS-260 form? This is another guide of interest to diversity visa applicants and it has to do with what comes next after you have submitted your DS-260.

Everyone is aware that after you get to elected in the Diversity Visa Lottery, the next thing to do is to fill out and submit your DS-260. But remember that you should consider your circumstances and not rush into submitting the form.

After submitting your DS-260 form, what do you do next?

In recent years after submitting your DS-260, you were also required to submit a list of supporting documents to KCC. But that is not always the case.

Depending on what the State Department decides for a particular year, you may or may not be requested to submit supporting documents to KCC.

So if submitting supporting documents to KCC is a requirement that applies during your program year, then after submitting your DS-260, you will have to submit your supporting documents.

But in case submitting supporting documents to KCC is not a requirement during your program year, then after submitting your DS-260, your next line of action will be to turn your attention to the Visa Bulletin.

Remember, after the Diversity Visa Lottery results are released in the month of May and you see that you were selected, the Visa Bulletin that is published in that month of May does not concern interviews for your program.

The one that is published in the month of June does not concern interviews for your program. Neither does the one that is published in the month of July.

It is from the month of August that the Vista Bulletin is going to show information regarding interviews for your program and that is when you have to begin to follow the Visa Bulletin, if you are selected from the results published in the month of May.

It is the Visa Bulletin that will tell you when your diversity visa interview is supposed to be scheduled.

When you see from the Visa Bulletin that your case number has become current, then it means that there is a Visa number available for you and that is when your diversity visa interview is actually supposed to be scheduled.

How do you know when your case number is current?

Every month the Visa Bulletin shows a number for each region. That number is referred to as the cut-off number for that region, for that month.

So when you see that the cut-off number for your region for a given month is higher than your case number, then your case number is current for that month and it means that it is in that month that you are supposed to be scheduled for your diversity Visa interview.

That is for cases that submit their DS-260 before their case number becomes current in the Visa Bulletin.

There are cases when the applicants have not yet submitted their DS-260 but the Visa Bulletin shows that their case number has become current. In such a case, there will be a Visa number available for such applicants, but their Visa interview will not be scheduled because they have not yet met the necessary requirement, which is the submission of their DS-260 and in cases where they are required to submit documents, the submission of their documents.

For clear understanding, if you submit your DS-260 and possibly your documents before your case number becomes current, then you will have to wait for your case number to become current, in order for you to be scheduled for interview.

For example, your case number is 7200 in the Africa region, and you check the Visa Bulletin in the month of August. You will realize that there’s information for the month of September and the month of October.

The month of September concerns the previous program. So it is the information that relates to the month of October, which is the first information concerning your program that you are going to change your attention to.

You see that the cut-off number that applies to the region of Africa in the month of October is 2500. It means that you cannot be scheduled in the month of October because the cut of number is lower than your case number.

So you will have to wait until the Visa Bulletin is published in the month of September, when it will be showing information for both October and November.

Also, you look at the information that pertains to the month of November. If the cut-off number for the Africa region is, e.g 5000, you will still not expect to be scheduled in the month of November. You will have to follow again for the month of December.

The Visa Bulletin that will show information for the month of December will be released in the month of October.

So let us say that the cut-off number that is shown for the month of December is 8000. Because that cut-off number is higher than your case number of 7200. It means that it is in the month of December that you can expect to be scheduled for interview.

On the other hand, if you do not submit and your case number becomes current, you will have to submit before you can expect to be scheduled for interview.

For example:

You saw that your case number will be current for the month of December, but up until December you have not yet submitted your DS-260. You submit the form after December.

When you submit after December, that is when the form will be processed and your interview is expected to be scheduled along with the next batch of interviews because your case number has been current since the month of December.

So that is how things are after you submit your DS-260.

Note: For the past few years, things have not worked in that way, maybe due to the effects of COVID-19.

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.

This guide will help you with all the tips that you need on how to increase your chance of getting your U.S B1/B2 visa approved. You will also learn three (3) important things you must do to get your visa approved, which no one will tell you.

B1 B2 visas are visas that give you temporary stay in the United States for purposes such as visas for vacation, graduation, funeral, medication, business trips, conferences, etc.

It is a visa category that is easy to get, but it’s not for everybody because of the cost involved. It is not just about the cost involved as in getting the visa, but the cost involving the entire process of getting your B1/B2 visa and traveling.

Whenever you appear for your B1/B2 visa interview, you must really prove to the consular that you really need the visa. There’s a good reason for you to get the visa for whatever purpose, which will be explained in this guide.

How to increase your chance of getting U.S B1/B2 visa approved

• What is your purpose of visit?

The first thing to do to increase your chance of getting your visa is to establish clearly your purpose of travel.

When asked, “Why are you coming to the U.S?” Don’t just say this,

• For a visit.
• I’m come to visit my friend.
• I’m come to visit my auntie.
• I’m come to visit my brother.
• I have a friend I met on Facebook, I have a girlfriend, I have a boyfriend, I’m come to visit.

That is not enough because you cannot just stand up and say I’m come to visit somebody. So the purpose of the visit is key.

Yes, you are coming to visit but what is the purpose of the visit?

So it is not just telling the consular, “I’m going to visit”, visit to do what? That is the question you must ask yourself, what is the purpose of visit?

For example,

(i) You want to visit your friend who is celebrating his birthday. Maybe it’s been a while, you guys have connected and since it is his birthday, he’s doing a birthday party. He has invited you to attend his birthday party. That is the purpose of the visit.

(ii) You are coming to visit your auntie because you have a leave from work and as a result you want to take a vacation, go somewhere to relax and rest your mind before you resume work. So you spoke to your auntie and she is willing to welcome you to visit, to tour some parts in U.S such as Florida, Orlando. That is the reason and purpose of your visit.

So when you go for your U.S interview, it is not enough to say you are coming to visit, add the purpose, the reason for the visit, your brother or your sister may be doing his or her wedding and she has invited you to her wedding.

So in this case the purpose is to attend your sister’s wedding to be the maid of Hannah or the best man or to help your sister in the preparation and also aftermath of the wedding.

You have a leave from work and you have decided to visit your sister and attend his wedding. That is the purpose of the visit.

So you must always be clear, have a purpose, e.g you’re coming for graduation, that is a clear purpose. Even that you must justify that you have a brother, you have a sister, you have a son, you have a daughter who is doing his graduation and he has invited you.

Your son did well in school, he’s going to receive a lot of award and it should be an honor for you to be there to support him and to celebrate with your son. This is a reason, this is a purpose for travel.

You are coming to visit your boyfriend or your girlfriend because you guys are planning to marry but you have not had the opportunity to meet his or her family. Going to use this opportunity to visit him, meet his family and plan your wedding since your wedding will take place in your home country.

So it will be good to meet his or her family before you return and come and prepare for your wedding. This is a purpose, this is a reason for your visitor, make sure you are clear on that.

• Proof of funds

The second thing is to establish that you have enough funds. Stating that you have enough fund is not just what is in your bank statement or who is sponsoring you. It is about who you are, what you do.

Reason:

Usually, when you go for the interview, consular want to know whether you are financially viable, capable to sponsor the trip. There are some people who are being sponsored by their auntie, their uncle, their boyfriend, or their girlfriends, who are already in the U.S.

The consulate concerned is that they don’t care about who is sponsoring you because they know the person might be able to sponsor you.

What they care is that, assuming you get your visa and you get to U.S and something happened, the person you are coming to visit is not there or you come and something happened that you need to go and load in a hotel. You need two or three days to lodge in a hotel to prepare yourself or there’s an emergency.

You need to take care whilst you are in the U.S. What will you do?

So it is not enough to say this person is sponsoring me, or that person is sponsoring me, it is important to also show that even though somebody is sponsoring you, you are also financially viable. Because the consular is not want a situation where you come to the U.S and you become a burden.

They are also trying to avoid people who are trying to run away from your home country to the U.S, through the B1/B2 visa.

This is where you explain that you are doing something meaningful, something that will bring you money, you have money or you earn money on your own, you don’t need to leave your country to be okay.

Sometimes the consular have that mindset that, as soon as you are leaving, you won’t come back. The consular want to know who you are. Your uncle is sponsoring you, your sister is sponsoring your aunt, your boyfriend is sponsoring you.

But in case you come and something happened, do you have the means to support yourself? Will your financial situation now affect or compel you to overstay, compel you to find your way out when you come to the U.S?

This is what it means to say you are proving you have enough fund. Because it is really expensive to travel to the U.S for a vacation.

This is something people will not tell you because that is the fact.

• Strong Ties To Home Country

The third thing to do to increase your chances of getting your visa is to establish that you have plans to return to your home country. There are so many ways to do that.

Here you explain it to the consular, who you are, what you do and why you will come back.

You are a lecturer, you are a professor, you are doing your business, you have your children in your country, you have your husband in your country, you have your parents in your country, you have a property. There’s something that connects you.

Here you can prove anything, use anything that will connect you to your home country. You can use it to prove, except that sometimes you have to even go beyond reasonable doubt to show that you come. Because if you say you have an asset, you have a car, the consular know that when you travel you can sell your asset, you can sell those things.

So it is not enough to say I have a car, I have a land. They know that it can be converted into cash soon and whenever you want.

It is important to use what you do, whatever you are doing, you are engaging something. You are taking care of your parents, married, your children in your country, there’s something that connects you to your home country.

DISCLAIMER: This post and content is designed for general information and educational purposes only, and is NOT legal advice. The information presented in this post should not be construed to be formal legal advice. If you need legal advice, you may contact a licensed attorney.

This guide will clarify you on this question, will previous visa denial affect your diversity visa interview?

The answer is that the embassy or the consulate, they have all your information regarding the former visa applications.

If you’ve ever tried to apply for any visa, the visit visa, the student visa, the work visa, any other visa, including the tourism visa, every other kind of information regarding those visas, they already have the information.

Also tied to that, they also have all the reasons that caused your visa denial. They have all those information.

But does this affect you? The answer is yes. It affects you either way. It affects you positively or it can affect you negatively, and this depends on the reason as to why you are denied that previous visa application.

If you had applied, let’s say for a student visa and you were denied the visa due to insufficient document proof, insufficient documentation or insufficient financial support.

If you had this reason, that is not a valid reason to cause any visa denial, be it any other type or the diversity visa, those are just common reasons.

So it will not affect you if you have a reason that is just general, that cannot affect you.

But let’s say for example, the cause of your visa denial was on legal grounds, maybe a criminal record. If that was the cause, then definitely you are sure that it will also affect you in the diversity visa or any other visa that you are applying.

Because they will have to go through your criminal record and if they find that you are not fit for the immigration, then you’ll be denied.

So it depends upon the reasons as to why you are denied the visa.

But if it’s on just general lack of information, general lack of documentation that proves then that will not affect you.

But if it’s on the legal grounds, they might have to check thoroughly. If that legal ground reason still affects you, then definitely you’ll get denied your diversity visa.

So does the previous visa denial affect you in the diversity visa interview? The answer is yes. Either positively or negatively.

I hope this is informative.

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.

What does DV Lottery case number stand for? What is it and what do you understand about it? That is basically what this guide is going to tackle.

If you’re waiting for the DV results or if you’re waiting for your DV interview, this will be very important to you to understand.

What is DV Case Number? What is Green card Lottery Number?

The case number is the number assigned to each and every winner in a DV lottery selection. This means that you only get your case number if you are successfully selected.

After the results are out, if you check the results and you are lucky to have been selected, that’s only when you will have access to see or to know your case number. You will find this on your first notification letter.

That message that you find on the entrant status check, congratulating you on your selection. On that message, you will find your DV case number and the DV case number will look something like this 2023AF00012345.

The first four digits of the case number normally indicates the fiscal year for the DV lottery. What does this mean? It means the year in which the interviews will be conducted for the DV lottery.

For example, for the DV lottery 2023, that means the first four digits in the case number is 2023, the fiscal year in which the interviews are being conducted. For the DV lottery 2024, it will be 2024 in which the DV-2024 interviews will be conducted.

The second part is the two letters which stand for the regions. For example, we have the EU for Europe region, we have OC for Oceania region, we have AF for Africa region, we have AS for Asia region, and so on and so forth.

After these two letters we have the rest of the numbers, these rest of the numbers are the actual numbers standing for your position in the case number system. For example, you have 00012345 as your position in the case number system.

The case number is unique to each and every winner. No two individuals will share the same case numbers. The case numbers are issued randomly. There is nothing, no qualification or nothing that is considered when issuing the case numbers. It all depends on luck.

Whether you get a low case number or a high case number, that depends on the luck, on the selection, random selection. Nothing is considered when issuing these case numbers to the successful winners.

Therefore, some will be lucky enough to get low case numbers, while others will get high case numbers.

Each region has its own order. That is, each region will have a case number beginning from the lowest to the highest. For example, for the EU region, you might find that we have from a 0001 up to maybe a 00023,000. This is just an example.

For AS, you might find that we have a 0001 up to a 00036,000. Each region will have its own numbering.

Interviews are scheduled in the order of these numbers. This means that the interviews will be scheduled from the lowest case number in a certain region and numerically to the highest case number in that region.

For example, you might find that we have an AF, 10,000 and also an EU 10,000. Therefore, you might find similar numbers but in different regions.

Holes in DV Lottery Case Number

If in a certain region we have a certain number of selectees, it does not mean that there are in totality those numbers. For example, if for Africa we have AF 84,000 as the highest case number, it does not mean that we have 84,000 selectees from Africa.

In between from the lowest number to the highest one, there are many vacant spaces that we call holes. You might find we have a case number 0001 and we don’t have 0002 or 0003, but we have 0004, 0005, we don’t have 0006, we don’t have 0009, but we have 00010, and so on.

Therefore, between the lowest case number and the highest case number for a specific region, there exist vacant slots that we call holes.

If we have AF 84,000 for Africa, then you might find we only have half the number of selectees from the Africa region. This is just to exemplify.

Finally, remember that the case number is unique to every individual, the case number is personal and private. But if a case number comes to be known by anyone, it is not a risk. No one can impersonate you. No one can take your number. Your number is unique to you.

Every information that regards you is attached to the case number and it is hard for anyone to impersonate you to produce a true copy of your documents. Therefore, your case number cannot be stolen.

Thank you for reading this guide. I hope the information is good and relevant 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.

How to Pass DV Lottery Interview: Are you panicking regarding your DV Lottery interview? In this guide, you will learn how you can go through your interview successfully.

The DV lottery interview or the famous green card lottery interview is a process that you should not panic about because the DV lottery interview is basically the simplest of all interviews.

You cannot compare DV interview to the job interview that you once went through. This is completely different.

How to Successfully Pass DV Lottery Interview

There are ways in which you can really make your DV interview process become very simple. Let’s dive through the question of how to be successful during the Green Card Lottery interview.

• The benchmark of you succeeding through this interview process is for you to be always true with what you are filling in and what you are saying.

To always speak the truth and only the truth alone. If you speak the truth and only the truth, there’s no way you can mess up with this interview. Provide true information regarding your background and everything that they require.

• Make sure you have gone through all the instructions pertaining the Green Card interview, which you’ll find in the State of Department’s website.

Visit the State Department’s website and read all the instructions regarding the interview and carefully stick them, carefully follow them and do exactly as they require you to. That is another very important thing that will make you successful during this interview process.

• Go through all the documents that you are required to have during the interview and you’ll find this document in the same place, the State Department’s website.

They will clearly outline each and every document that you will be required to present during the interview. Provide all the supporting documents to whatever you filled in the DS-260.

The first thing that the Embassy will try to look for, or the first thing that they will try and assess will be your qualifications.

They will try to assess if you have the relevant documents to prove your academic qualification or if you applied using the work experience, they will go through the work experience documents to see if you have enough proof and then if you do have the right qualification, there’s no need to panic. You will successfully go through the process.

Note that there are no specific or written down questions that the consular officer will ask you. There are no pre-written questions, he or she will ask you random question regarding your DS-260 and your application.

There are no specifically written questions that he or she will ask you, but all the questions will revolve around your application and your DS-260 and how you’re going to sustain yourself the very first days in the United States. Those are the questions that are likely to be asked.

Therefore, prepare yourself with the correct rationale and a workable plan to explain to the consular how you are planning to get yourself started while you land in the United States.

Do you have some finances to support you as you’re taking off? Do you have an evidence to prove that you have someone who is willing to sponsor you, to take care of your needs as you’re starting off your life in the United States?

Have a clear plan to show the consular how you’re going to sustain yourself within the very first days of settling down in the United States. By this, they may require a financial document to prove your financial status at the present that it will be able to stand for you as you are starting your life there.

Alternatively, you may present, if they ask you, the affidavit of support (form I-134), to prove that you have a relevant sponsor who is willing to take care of your everything, as you are settling down in the United States.

If you are able to prove this, then there is no point of being denied the visa.

Another famous question is regarding what are you intending to do in the United States? What are you intending to become? What is your vision when you land in the United States?

This is a very famous question, though it’s not always asked. So prepare yourself, have a good plan. For example, you can just say you are going there to study as well as to work or such an example.

Have a defined way of explaining your reason, your purpose of going to the United States, and let it be positive, because if it’s negative, then you may end up being denied the visa.

To Pass Your DV Lottery Interview, Proceed to: DV Lottery (Green Card) Interview Questions and Sample Answers>>>

Generally, the interview is not so long. It takes very short time, at maximum around five minutes. Very short interview and very direct interview, and if you’re honest and true, you cannot fumble around with what to answer.

You’ll answer things correctly and you’ll always be given your visa. Have confidence and just prepare yourself.

I hope this information has been great 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.

How to Correct Mistake on DS-260 After Submitting: There is this question, can I update my DS-260 once I have filled it up and submitted? Or What if I realized that I made mistakes, can I request unblocking for me to update my DS-260?

First of all, once you’ve completed filling the DS-260 and you have submitted it, the system will show the DS-260 as completed. When the form status show completed, it is locked for editing. You cannot edit it.

But remember, an accurately filled DS-260 form is very essential for the success of your case.

Back to this question, Can I update my DS-260 form once I have submitted it? The answer is yes, you can update it. But how?

How to Correct Mistake on DS-260 After Submitting

If you need to change anything in your DS-260 form, you’ll have to email the KCC asking them to unlock your DS-260, so that you can make the changes.

Below is a sample email you can use it to request KCC to unlock the principals DS-260:

The KCC email address is as shown above is KCCDV@state.gov. You can see on the main body of the email, is requesting the KCC to unlock the DS-260, meaning the principal applicant’s DS-260.

The subject of the mail as shown, will read “Unlock Request”. In the body of the email, you will have to be specific, you will include your names (that is the first name, the middle name and the last name).

You will have to indicate your case number, indicate your date of birth, the American format.

Then you will have to tell the KCC which DS-260 form they are to unlock for you. This sample shows the principal applicant unlocking. This email will request the KCC to unlock the part of the principal applicant for review, to unlock the DS-260 for the derivatives.

As you can see in the body of the email, you will have to specify to KCC which derivatives DS-260 form you want them to unlock for you for revision.

There is no limitation to the number of times you can ask KCC to unlock your DS-260 form for revision.

Note that the interviewing Consular Officer will be able to know the number of changes that you did. But you have not to worry about that because it not affect anything.

Also note that you cannot request unlocking once your interview has been scheduled, because at this point, it is only the embassy that can unlock your DS-260 form.

Will the unlocking of the DS-260 leads to the delay of the scheduling of my interview?

If your case is going to be current in many months to come, then there’s no concern about delay. But if your case will be current in the near future, then the answer may be no or possibly yes in some cases.

For example, if you are requesting the unlock to add the details of a newborn, then this will not cause any delay.

But if you are requesting unlock for you to add maybe your spouse, since this is a grown up, an adult, and he or she has to go through some background checks, then this means there’ll be some delay.

Another example that may cause some delay is when you request unlocking for you to add travel details. If you are adding travel details of a country that has cases with terrorism, definitely they’ll have to do some background checks of the travels. So this can cause some delay.

Also, if your case is going to be current soon and then request unlocking for you to revise your dates of birth or name, there might be some possible delays.

Some minor changes like changing the address in the United States or the work experience might not cause any delay. But remember, it’s better to get some delay, but have a correctly filled up DS-260 form because it will determine your success at the embassy.

So request unlocking for you to make the necessary changes. Do not consider delays. Another point to note is that requesting for unlocking towards the end of the processing year.

Let’s say for example, you request for unlocking in the month of July, then it might be impossible for the unlocking. This is because the KCC will not be having enough time to schedule for your interview.

Therefore, it is important for you to request the KCC to unlock your DS-260 form as soon as possible. As early as you realize there is mistake, make sure you request for unlocking for you to update your DS-260.

That’s all about unblocking and updating your DS-260.

I hope the information was 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.

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

This is about the journey of a diversity visa winner entering the United States and more so at the point of entry. This guide is important for you, even if you are among those who are not selected because there are still preparation for the application in the upcoming DV lottery.

So for those who are preparing to enter into the United States after the successful interview, what are you expecting? As the diversity visa winner, and you have gotten your visa after a successful interview, what are you supposed to do?

The Journey of a Diversity Visa Winner to U.S for the first time

Below are the next steps:

Preparation for the relocation itself i.e preparing the departure from your country to the United States.

Before embarking on your journey to the U.S, there are several things that you should take care:

• You need to book a flight

The key point here is depending on your ability, you can decide to book for your flight earlier. Remember, you have six months to relocate. Therefore, you can book for your flights two months before, and by so doing, the flights become cheaper.

The flight ticket depends on the time from when you book and when you intend to travel. So if you book the flight today and you set it two months away, definitely that flight will be cheaper than booking the flight today and you want to travel tomorrow or some three days after.

• Gather your required documents

There are several documents that you will need to carry with you and these documents includes the envelope that you received via the courier service or from the embassy after the interview.

The document that contains your passport stamped with the visa, plus the sealed envelope that is inside there that is supposed to be handed over at the point of entry. That is the passport and it will be stamped, the diversity visa and the sealed envelope. Those are the documents that you are required to carry with you for the whole trip.

• Packing your bag

Packing it smart. If it is in the winter season, you just pack the warm clothes. If it is the normal seasons, you just pack smart. Pack it smart. Don’t over pack.

• Arrival in the United States

What happens when you arrive in the United States? So the point where you land with your plane, that is what you call the point of entry, because you’ll need to go through the custom and border protection. This is where they do a recheck of you to verify your identity, to verify your validity.

The point of entry Procedures: The officer will ask you a series of questions. Here are just some few examples questions, they vary from one person to the other. They are just overall questions just to verify the identity, nothing more.

• What is the purpose of your trip to the U.S?
• How long do you plan to stay in the U.S?
• Where will you be staying in the U.S?
• Do you have any relatives or friends in the U.S? And so on.

Such type of questions. Just the overall question to confirm the validity, and what you’re supposed to do is to be truthful.

Biometric Collection

They will take your biometrics, of course, take a photo of you, you’ll undergo some checking, your luggage will be checked for anything and so on.

Once your documents are verified, then they’ll tell you, Welcome to the United States.

What are the documents that are contained in the sealed envelope?

It simply contains the following documents:

• Sealed envelope with “To be opened by a DHS(Department of Homeland Security) officer only” written on it.
• Sealed medical exam results in a brown envelope.
• Original civil certificate/documents (the birth, the marriage, etc) whatever you had provided during time of the visa interview.

That’s what is contained in that sealed envelope that you’re requested to hand it over at the point of entry without unsealing it, without breaking the seal.

In conclusion

Entering the U.S for the first time can be an exciting and nerve-wrecking experience. By following the steps outlined above, you can ensure a smooth journey from start to finish. Remember to carry all necessary documents with you and answer all questions truthfully.

Some frequently asked question

Can I travel to the United States after the expiration of the visa?

No, you cannot travel to the United States after the visa that has been stamped on the passport gets expired and it only has six months to expire since the time of your interview or to be so precise, since the time of your medical examination. So after that, you cannot travel to that.

What happens if I forget to bring any of the required documents?

If you fail to carry, for example, the sealed envelope with you to the United States, then you’re not get through that point. If you don’t bring any required documents, then you don’t get through that point.

Can I extend my stay in the U.S after entering on a diversity visa?

After entering the United States, the visa is stamped on your passport. That is the diversity visa that gives you a stay of up to one year. So at the point of entry, there is a visa that will be stamped that gives you a stay for about one year.

During that stay, you are supposed to have taken your green card. The green card expires after 10 years, and after 10 years, you are supposed to renew that green card.

What should I do if I face any issue at the point of entry?

If you face any issue, just be calm and respectful and if you need any consultation, ask for the supervisor to clarify on those issues.

Can I travel within the United States after entering on a diversity visa?

Of course, yes. Once you land to the United States, you can move or you can relocate, or you can stay, or you can go to whichever location you want. You are not restricted to a certain jurisdiction.

You are not confined within any boundaries. You can relocate and move to whichever state you want, to whichever city you want, to whichever location you want, you are free to move around.

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.

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.

Congratulations to DV Lottery Winners. What are the next step after winning DV lottery? After you have checked your DV lottery result and you realize that you have won, what will be the next steps?

In this guide, we will learn about what next after you checked your DV Entrant Status and realized you’ve won the DV lottery.

What are the next step after winning DV lottery?

The next step will be to fill the DS-260 form, the Immigrant Visa and Alien Registration Application. If you are a foreign national and you are among those successful selected for DV lottery, you are required to submit this online form.

This form is the form that will carry all the information of yourself together with those of your derivatives.

When you start filling the DS-260, it is advisable you feel it in stages. Don’t rush to feel it within a single day you, can fill it bit by bit. Fill one bit, that bit that you have filled, the documents and everything, save it, go and get the other documents and then continue to fill, then save.

For example, you might be having all the details that you have for yourself, the passports and everything, but you might not be having those for your derivatives, you are dependent.

Fill in your part, then save, go and apply the passport for your derivatives, your dependence. Get the passport, get everything they need, then come back again, open the form, fill those details and then save.

You go to the next step, there is a part where they need your host details, where your documents will be sent to the address of your host. So you go on, find your host, look for a host, request for their details, their address and everything that they need in that DS-260 form, then come back, reopen the form, fill it correctly and then save it.

Go on to fill every document bit by bit, every part of the document. It may take days, it may take a month, but make sure you feel bit by bit and in a relaxed state that you may feel correctly.

Then, after you’ve filled everything and you’ve confirmed again and again, then that’s the time when you comfortably submit and wait for the Second Notification Letter (2NL).

The DS-260 filling process should not be done in a single day, for you to be accurate, fill bit by bit, slowly by slowly, until it is complete, and then when you are sure that the details are correct, then submit it and wait for the next step.

How to fill DS-260 Form

In my next guide, you will learn how to fill DS-260 form bit by bit without making any mistakes.

Thanks for reading this guide, I hope it was so informative.

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.