Diversity Visa Derivatives Issue: You have family members or you have derivatives that you added in the DV lottery application, the results are out and then you discover that you are among the DV lottery winners, you have been selected but you don’t want to immigrate/relocate with them to the United States. What then happens in this case?
Let’s say your children or the spouse, the legally wedded spouse, maybe due to some reasons that you have, you don’t want to immigrate with them or you have come into an agreement that you will go alone to the United States. This guide explains about the derivatives or family that you don’t intend to relocate with to the United States. This guide answers all those concerns, and also towards the end we shall learn the impact of you excluding them in your process.
To answer this question in various ways and various scenarios:
- Diversity Visa Derivatives First Scenario:
There are those people that don’t want to immigrate with their derivatives immediately after the DV interview, but they want to later have them immigrate and join him or her later.
If you are this person with the derivatives that wants to first go to the U.S and establish yourself and then bring your family to come and join you, then this would be the best answer for you.
You have to fill the DS-260 form for each and every person. You’ll fill yours as a principal applicant and list your derivatives in your DS-260 form, create DS-260s for all of those that you’re going with.
Remember, the DS-260 form is an immigrant Visa form. This is the form that you fill for you to get a green card. Therefore, winning a DV lottery is not the visa you need to fill the DS-260 form for each and every person that will require the visa, because it is the Visa application form. It is for everyone that needs a green card.
So in that case, whereby you want to first go establish yourself for some few months and bring your family to join you, that is the way to go.
- Diversity Visa Derivatives Second Scenario:
If you have decided that you completely don’t need to move with your family, your derivatives to the U.S, then this is what to do. Once you have realized you have been selected, after the results are out, you will fill the DS-260 form for yourself alone. That is the principal applicant’s DS-260 only.
In the DS-260 form you’ll fill the full length, i.e filling your personal information and listing all your derivatives inside there and then you just select “Not Immigrating with you”.
After filling your principal DS-260 form to the end, then you submit it. You don’t need to create other DS-260 forms for your beneficiaries, because you don’t want them to have a green card. They don’t need it because they won’t move with you.
But the point is, you will have to list all of them in your DS-260 form, but select Not Immigrating with them, and thereafter not submitting their DS-260 forms. By so doing, you’ll go along to the U.S, and then you will have your own green card, but your family won’t come and join you later.
If you will want at some point later to have them come and join you on a green card basis, after you have stayed there for several years, you will have to go the full breadth of the process of filing the family visas for them.
Does eliminating some of your beneficiaries from your form harm you?
Yes, indeed. If you have a family and you did not include them in the initial entry, that is a visa denial. But what about you included them, but you don’t want to move with them to the U.S?
As pointed above, you’ll include them in your DS-260 form and select not immigrating with you. That is the way to go. But if you eliminate them in the DS-260 form, meaning you don’t add them, you omitted them in your DS-260 form, then that can ruin your chance.
But understand this, by you not moving with your derivatives to the U.S and you have correctly indicated them in your principal DS-260 form, that is not a problem.
For example, if you have a family, you have filled their details well or properly, but you don’t want to move with them and you have indicated that you’re not moving with them, that will not ruin your chances. It’s normal, it’s your choice.
If you have a family, you have indicated them in your DS-260 form. You indicated them also in the initial application, but you said you don’t want to move with them. It’s your choice. That does not harm your chances. You’ll go through the interview successfully and if you pass the interview, you just go alone and that is normal and that is okay. There is nothing you lose by doing that.
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.