radion

Hi guys,
Long time no see, I had given up on moving to the USA seeing there was no point, after my first posts here.

But I did apply and got the paperwork thru today for the lottery GC.
So just wanted to ask, I fill in what they have sent me,and photos back to Kentucky, then what happens next, I will sort out my documents for the poss. interview.

But just wanted to find out from you lot what happens and what to expect later on.

I qualify as a Occ. Health and Safety Specialist and have the needed experience and it is rated as required.

Any help as always greatly appreciated indeed...

meauxna

Congratulations on your DV win!

BenGrant

Congratulations! I thought they were going to start sending out the results on May 1 and it would take a few days to reach the "winners", but looks like you already received the letter ! Are you already in the US ?

fatbrit

The catch question is your address in the US. Hope you know someone there. BTW, leaving it blank or writing that you don't know......is not the correct answer!

John Manley

Your expectation should be that you are now beginning an application process. You will be sent the application. You pay the fees, etc...

You will have to document that you qualify for the visa and that you are not inadmissible. You need to show that you have a high school education or its equivalent.

If you are already in the U.S., you might be able to adjust status here. If you are here and cannot adjust status, you might want to consult with an attorney before proceeding with a consular processing application outside the country. If you are outside the country and have not had prior instances of unlawful presence (anything greater than six months) in the U.S., you apply at the applicable U.S. Consulate for the immigrant visa.

starky

Congrats on selection. The hard part is getting your name pulled out of the hat, however you are far from out of the woods yet, and you have to entertain the fact that there is always a possibility that you may not end up with a GC. The best advise is not to make too many plans till you have your stamped DV-1 immigrant visa in your passport.

Now first things first you have been assigned a case number, it will look something like: EU000019456, not sure of the number of digits. This is very important as it will determine when you are likely to have your “visa interview”. Also what country is your DV country of eligibility? These are the two most important things you need to think about. If you let me know a rough idea of your case number, (don't post it anywhere on line) for example the number above could be posted EU...19XXX if you get me :-), then I can have a bit of a guess as to when you are likely to get an interview based on past years, its will just be a guess though there are no guarantees with winning the DV lottery.

this site will be your new friend:

http://travel.state.gov/visa/frvi/bu...etin_1360.html
(Current bulletin) http://travel.state.gov/visa/frvi/bu...etin_4454.html

you are interested in the section that says:

“B. DIVERSITY IMMIGRANT (DV) CATEGORY”

match your case number to the current cut off and your interview is scheduled. :-)

A quick tip, take your time filling in the forms, there is no rush sending them back, triple check everything you write on them, better still fill them in on your computer and print them out, thats ok to do, its what I did and the forms are much clearer to read then as if they are handwritten:

http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/81807.pdf
http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/80148.pdf

And make a copy of them before you mail them in, seems obvious but its important that all your time lines and employers etc all add up. You may have to wait 8/12/16 months for your interview and you will probably forget what you filled in on the forms by then! :-)

You will need police certificates from any country you have lived in for over 6 months, since the age of 16. Also try and get as much $$$ (£££) saved in a savings account, you want to aim to have about $10,000 (or £ equivalent) saved. This will help you no end when you have your interview, it will mean you wont need a USC to sponsor you, or a job offer. If you don't have the money you will still be ok, but you may have to do a little more hoop jumping to prove you wont become a public charge. You need a birth certificate confirming your country eligibility, or other related documentation if you are claiming it some weird way.
Also you will need to prove your education level, and or employment experience. Generally if you have any kind of third level qualification you will be fine. If you are claiming eligibility based on relevant work experience then again it slightly more hoop jumping, but equally as legitimate way of doing it.

There is also the immigration medical, which if you ask me is a bloody expensive blood test :-( I had to pay about £280 for my one, took all of 10 minutes.
Then the actual visa fees are about $800. I went through the entire process last year and aside from the 20 month turnaround time from entry (Nov06) to visas issuing (June08) it was relatively painless, although I had a very high case number which put my interview was in June. If your visa is not cleared and issued by the 30th of September 2009 then your chance is gone. Hundreds of people get stuck in “Administrative processing” which is slang for “you have the same name as a terrorist so the FBI are seriously checking you out” and stay stuck in it till long after the 30th of September and they lose the DV-1 immigrant visa.

That will get you started for now! Let me know if you have any more questions

starky

Bare in mind that the Process for AOS while physically in the US is only really advised if you have a low case number and your case number is current early in the DV fiscal year (Oct 1-09 to Sep 31-10). The AOS process is more complicated then the consulate processing route. (CP for short) CP also requires a trip home to the US consulate.
Of course as John Manley pointed out not just any one can up and leave the USA due to “status” complications, if this is the case then you may already have DV eligibility issues. If you tell us more about your personal circumstances then we can comment further on that.

radion

Hi Starky,
Thank you ever so much for this mate, your a star and I will make a point of following what you have said.
I have signed up for the bulletin board already, so thats done.
My number is about this 2010oc00000( between 600 and 640 ) does that help you at all...
Can you explain a bit more about these cut off dates and exactly what I am looking for regarding that.

I'm under the region OC for the Australian selection, wife is british.

I'm currently living in Cornwall England have been for 30yrs or so.

Hope this gives you a little better understanding as you are now my new friend on this...

I appreciate all you have said mate and it has helped me get my head around all I have to start looking at, thank you for that

radion

I do know someone there as an address, what happens to folk who don't have an address out there and are applying to move to the USA for the first time... from the UK

radion

Thank you for that John, taken onboard, I haven't been unlawful at all and live in the UK, hoping to move to the USA, as I know it's very hard to do I do not intend to cock this up, many thanks for your advice

starky

Looks like your in good shape, you have a mid range case number. If you had won the lottery with the same number this year your interview would have been in march. So you can begin to plan with that in mind. Don't get too worried about the US address, you can give them an address to send your GC to the day of the interview, so any old address will do for now. Given the fact you have a good, case number, no convictions, etc I'd say you have a great chance of getting the DV visa. You have plenty of time though so no need to worry too much.

radion

Thanks for that Starky, once again I appreciate the advice and will plan accordingly.

I will keep you updated on this as it unfolds...

P.S. whats this perm. address question : perm address where you intend to live, include name of person who currently lives there??
Is that a N/A answer???

meauxna

Nearly every question applies to you; be very careful about using N/A.

fatbrit

Mine was a decade ago.....and this question tripped me up. They expect you to have an address in the US even if you don't live there! The answer N/A resulted in the form coming back with a yellow marker. First choice would be any relative/friend PROVIDED they live legally in the US. Failing that, look up the address of the airport Marriott and tell them you'll be staying there for a week or two till you sort yourself out.

radion

Thanks for that Fatbrit,
Yes, I do have friends in the US, but that has cleared that up for me.

May I thank all of you for this sound advice, your all stars