Pepper

Hey

My husband has just got word that he's been selected for the first stage of the diversity lottery... unfortunately for us we were were in the US on holiday when we were notified and there has now been a 4 week lapse before getting off our application forms... so I'm not sure whether we've left it too late now to be given with an interview...

BUT if by some luck we're not, i'm just curious to know what the interview entails? Can any one shed any light? Also for the medical - are we required to hand over our Doctor's medical records? A few years back I had had a few medical problems where I ended up seeing a neurologist on and off for two years and they investigated the possibility that I may have MS. As it is I've been well now for 2 years with no symptoms... could this still go against us... Any advice at all would be appreciated...

Thanks

Ingo Pakleppa - See Web Site For Email

On Sat, 26 Jul 2003 19:18:50 +0000, Pepper wrote:


    > Hey
    >
    > My husband has just got word that he's been selected for the first stage
    > of the diversity lottery... unfortunately for us we were were in the US
    > on holiday when we were notified and there has now been a 4 week lapse
    > before getting off our application forms... so I'm not sure whether
    > we've left it too late now to be given with an interview...

I'm not sure what you mean by "first stage" but if you are talking about
being notified of winning the DV-2004 lottery, don't worry. You have
plenty of time. The main processing part won't even start until October.

    > BUT if by some luck we're not, i'm just curious to know what the
    > interview entails? Can any one shed any light?

The interview actually is the last part; there are some steps before that.
Presumably, you opted for consular processing (and if you did not, you
made a potentially serious mistake). In that case, the interview typically
is little more than "Congratulations, here is your immigrant visa".
Actually, I'm slightly exaggerating. What will typically happen is that
the consular officer will go over all the documents with you and confirm
that all your answers are accurate. He'll also compare the signature on
the DV entry form with a signature that you'll give right there (some
people actually got disqualified because a friend signed for them).

    > Also for the medical - are we required to hand over our Doctor's medical
    > records?

No. You do need all your immunization records. If any vaccinations are
required, the doctor can probably give them to you right there, or you can
get them from your family doctor. If there is a reason why you can't get a
certain vaccine (for instance, religious reasons or an allergy to eggs are
common), be sure you have evidence of that reason, and the doctor can then
waive the vaccination requirement.

In addition to the immunizations, the doctor will draw blood for an HIV
test, and test for a few other communicable diseases (tuberculosis, in
particular). Not a big deal.

    > A few years back I had had a few medical problems where I ended up
    > seeing a neurologist on and off for two years and they investigated the
    > possibility that I may have MS. As it is I've been well now for 2 years
    > with no symptoms... could this still go against us... Any advice at all
    > would be appreciated...

MS is NOT on the list of diseases that makes you excludable. Of course, if
you had late-stage MS, then you could be excludable under the public
charge provision, but as long as you are able to function in society
without relying on welfare, and earn money, even if you did have
full-blown MS, it should not be a problem. Of course, I keep my fingers
crossed for you that it's something more benign!

--
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newsgroups.

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Pepper

Hi

Thanks for helping shed a bit of light on the process.. Just curious by what you mean by opting for consular processing?? All I know was that we filled in the appropriate application forms and sent them off..

Cheers

denno

Hi, consular processing basically means that you do your interview at a consulate abroad, usually in your home country. As opposed to doing an Adjustment of Status (AOS) here in the US. Also you can check my post of June 27 for my DV interiew experience.

Pepper

Ahhhh! Thank you Denno...

Yeah that's ok... we basically asked to be interviewed at the nearest consul office to our home town (Belfast, Northern Ireland), which i think is going to be either London or Dublin.. Thanks

katiaitaly

Hi ! i was reading your replies and I was wondering 'why do u suggest to opt for consular office overseas interview? what happen if you only adjust your status going to an immigration office in the uS?
would it be more difficult - if you are in US and not out of status?
thanks,

denno

Hi,

Unfortunately, its not quite as simple as walking into the BCIS (?) office and asking them to adjust your status. It can easily turn into a very long process. Fingerprint checks and names checks can take forever. The catch is, if you do not have your adjustment of status completed, that is the magic stamp in the passport, by the end of the fiscal year (Sept 30?) you lose your Green card. What it seems to boil down to is that when you do AOS, they will not start doing the name checks etc... until your number is current. With CP, by the time your number is current it is already done.

D.