One of the blog members asked for a page solely for people to post their interview experiences. So this is it – with some rules!!!
First – NO questions on this page. Let’s keep it for interview experiences only – good and bad. I will probably delete questions to try and keep the page focused on interview experiences
Please at least mention your embassy (city and country, like Accra, Ghana) and brief details about what questions you were asked and any interesting points about documents you were asked for and any tips you can give others. This will be useful to others who have not yet had their interviews. People could use the search function to look for their embassy.
September 24, 2018 at 00:46
Hi All,
Case: 2018EU24xxx
City: Paris/France
Bulletin: July for interview in September
2 people (married before the lottery)
Living in the US under L visa for 2.5yrs
Choose AoS at beginning of the process (in the DS260) before switching to CP around March (called KCC several time to confirm and emailed them) => nothing to worry, but people doing that should receive an email from KCC confirming the new process.
2NL received: around July 20th for interview on Sept 12th
Embassy called (no email) us around Aug 12th to tell us to reschedule on Sept 5th => So be careful KCC and Embassy didn’t seem to coordinate and embassy has the last word.
CAREFUL: for Paris embassy they don’t use any email/phone number = you have to use the embassy website communication form to communicate with them, don’t forget to provide your contact number/email, they will reach out later. Don’t waste your time on the phone number they provide on the website it’s useless.
Beg of August: Filled in some info on the embassy’s appointment service website (usvisa-info) and scheduled the doctor/Xray/medical tests 1 week before the (new) interview. CAREFUL: tests and Xray must be performed before the doctor’s appointment.
My wife renew her passport beg of August, so we used the new passport for the rest of the process (didn’t face any issue with it, just tell officer/doctor/everyone that you have a new passport, they will manually make the change, they never asked her her old passport)
Interview date : Sept 5th, 9:45am
9:15am: arrived at the embassy, went through the security checks (CAREFUL: they don’t allow any laptop/cell phones in the Embassy, so bring something to read), paid 330$ x 2 at the cashier and started to line up for the 1st interview.
10:30am: 1st interview, a lady asked us all the required documents = 2x ID photos, Birth cert, Police cert, marriage cert (1 for EACH so bring 2 if you are married even if it’s the same!), High school diploma (only for the principal applicant), passports, Medical results, etc. ALL were in French, we used caution and translated them but she never asked for the translations neither for the copies, she did her own copies. She told us that the file is complete and we can wait to be called by an Immigration Officer.
Note: my wife has been adopted when she was a child but the lady never asked for the adoption papers.
12:30pm: IO called us. It took 5 mins and asked us 2 questions (in English): when did you get married and what do you currently do in the US. We answered and he told us we were approved. He kept our passports and explained us the rest of the process (“we will mail you a parcel with all the docs inside, blablabla”).
Note: he hesitated when he didn’t see any police certificate from the US, I responded that the website specifies that we don’t need it and that I could show him the printed version of the website stating that; he said he trusted me and that we wasn’t just sure about this point but he didn’t argue against it and just said “ok ok”)
12:45pm: we were out of the embassy.
Sept 10th: CEAC case switched from “Ready” to “AP”
Sept 12th : CEAC case switched from “AP” to “Issued”
Sept 14th: Still no news from our package (we were supposed to receive a tracking number) so I contacted the embassy (via the online form), a lady called us at the end of the day and told us they needed my wife’s last name at birth before sending the parcel (…during the interview we brought her adoption papers but neither the 1st lady nor the IO asked for them, and embassy never warned us that something was missing until I reach out…), my wife answered and the lady told her it was only for their records and it will not appear on the visa (which was already issued according to the CEAC website). She told us we could come in person to pick up the passports and the package on Sept 17th.
Sept 17th: Showed up at the embassy around 9am and received passport + package
Sept 20th: we paid the 2×220$ for the USCIS
Sept 23: flight back to the US, IO at PoE knew the process and endorsed our temp i551 pretty quickly.
So all fine at the end !
Thank you so much Brit for your help, I will make a donation, you deserve it !!
Best of luck for all of you !
Fwf
September 24, 2018 at 14:10
THanks for the detailed account!
Best of luck!
September 24, 2018 at 05:26
Dear britsimin sir, Thank you for your help for everybody dv journey. i heartily thank you very much for your encourage to everybody to be wait and patience. After long AP finally i got visa dv2018. on september 23. i am little confused on my visa is written “Annotation * and SAO Clearance received 11sep2018” there is any meaning ? Thank you in advance.
September 24, 2018 at 14:14
This explains it well.
https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=22b13960-8c5f-49c2-aea0-fb2dfb1db44f
September 25, 2018 at 09:07
Hy mr simon!!!! Has there been any interview made for dv2019 so far????
September 25, 2018 at 11:58
Read the FAQ. You will fnd there most of your questions’ answers.
September 25, 2018 at 12:11
Not yet, interview for DV2019 will be started from the beginning of October
September 25, 2018 at 20:06
DV2019 interviews will start on October 1 – so yes – some are scheduled, but NONE have happened yet.
September 26, 2018 at 09:27
Hi Brit I just chack my visa status and it shows Issued after almost 45 days of AP I’ll post my whole story and experince soon
September 26, 2018 at 13:04
Cool.
September 26, 2018 at 10:19
Anyone here expecting to or wil be interviewed in Nairobi kenya ???
September 26, 2018 at 13:05
There are a number of interview stories from Nairobi – read.
December 6, 2018 at 19:14
Am expecting soon
September 27, 2018 at 04:11
First of all thank you Brit for all the effort you did and guiding us through the whole way in past year and half it was long journey, a lot of waiting but the end was perfect and totally worth the waiting.
Moreover I would like to share my experience help ppl after me.
Case number : 2018ASxxxxx
Interview place: U.S embassy Riyadh Saudi Arabia.
Date : 16th AUG
Time : 9 A.M
I arrive there before the interview by 2 hours 7 A.M the security of the embassy told me to wait until 8.30 to get in, so i waited until they called me to the entry window he asked me for my passport and the 2NL than he told me if you have any devices, CDs, USB or even a key I need to put it on a window next to hem and get it after the interview but my father was with me so i gave hem my phone and the CD of my medical examinations x-ray than I went through the security chack and entir to the embassy building.
When I walked in there was a gentelman ask me what kind of services I want and gave me a tecket labled as immigrate visa with number 1 than i took a seat until I have been called to window 5 and this is what the man ask me to provide :
My Passport
High school certificate (and a copy) it was writen by English and arabic
Birth certificate + translation (and a copy)
Police certificate + translation
Medical examinations envelop
My bank statment as Affidavit of Support
Than he took my fingerprints
And ask me couple questions:
-Wher does my parents live.
-how many siblings I have.
-the relationship with the person of the U.S
address I provid in ds260 and the address.
Than he ask me for two photos of me
And give me a paper I fill my phone Number and email
He tell me to go to window 1 and pay visa fees $330 and come with the receipt, I did pay in cash by saudi riyal than I gave him the receipt
All of this took me like 15 to 20 min
Than i waited for like 15 min until my name have been called at window 13 for the interview it was easy
Co: good morning
Me: good morning
Co:what language you want to interviewed with AR or EN?
Me: EN
Co:swear all information you gave and you will tell me is the truth
Me: i swear
Co: what is your plan in the U.S?
Me: ANSWERED
Co:who is this person you will stay with in the first?
Me: friend to my father
Co:have you see hem before?
Me:No
Co:ok your visa havs been approved and you will be conect by SMSA to receve your passport with the visa within a week
Me(so happy) : Thank you a lot have a good day
I walk out of the embassy by 9.40 A.M
BUT!
AFTER the interview by an hour i had a call from the embassy and the gentleman told me that they need more information on my case so i need to fill a from will be emailed to me and it will take a time to be processed
The form was the DS5535 I fill it and send it around 4.20 P.M
And my case goen under Administrative processing in 16th Augustus
Than the date of last update change with the next dates:
19 AUG
20 AUG
26 AUG
All of them between 8am to 5pm of KSA local time
12 SEP (this one was late in 1 A.M)
16 SEP
17 SEP
20 SEP
24 SEP
25 SEP
In 26 SEP the visa turned up to ISSUED
I got SMSA message after noon and i went to pay the shipping fees now i’m waiting for the passport to come and I’ll arrang my stuff to travel
Sorry if it write a lot but i didn’t want to forget mention anything can be helpfull for another person
Thank you again Brit and hope to meet you some day
And i would like to help anyone who want to contact me
[email protected]
September 27, 2018 at 16:02
🙂
September 27, 2018 at 05:28
Mr ilyas i have one question did your case first go ap then switch to ready then again went ap or then issued? Or it dircet issue after ap?
September 27, 2018 at 19:11
No it did not
it was AP than went to issued but i have seen some cases went from ap to ready to ap again and issued
September 27, 2018 at 19:22
U mean after interview ur case on ap and then issued. I am right?
September 27, 2018 at 21:36
Hello brit;you helped me alot throuhgout my procedure.I have a little problem
My interview was sheduled on wenesday the 22nd august 2018 in Yaoundé/Cameroon.
For some vague reasons the clinic did not give me my complete medical exam results before the interview so i went to the interview with an incomplete medical results
After my interview the lady gave me a pink paper asking me to complete as soon as possible my medical exams.I was called eight days after( on thusday the 30th) by the clinic to come and take the final part of my medical results and few hours after i got a call from the embassy asking me to compete my file latest on friday before 9am
I completed my file and gave my visa with 2 paspport size photos and they said they would call me and i should not call nor email them
I saw yesterday on my status its written issued lastest update waq the 31st august the day i completed my file.Til now they did not call nor email me
Am very worried because the end of the session is on the 30 september.What can i do now?Should i wait,should l call them or email them
Thanks again
September 27, 2018 at 22:23
Contact the embassy.
September 28, 2018 at 08:52
After the interview by 1 hour they asked for ds-5535 and my case go to AP
After tge interview by 45 days i got Issued
October 1, 2018 at 02:13
Hey Brits. Thank you so much for all your posts; they have helped me to understand the DV lottery process better and prepared me best for interview).
I was 2018AF48XXX from Cameroon; got my visa with my wife and two kids (Ages: 4 and 1). We’re now settled in the U.S.
1NL: May 03, 2017
2NL: June 21, 2018
Interview: August 21, 2018…postponed to August 23 (due to Muslim feast)
Visa issuance and picked up: August 24, 2018
Interview documents: All certificates and transcripts for all studies from High school and above, Certificates of non-conviction (adults only), Medical packages, Marriage certificate, birth certificates for all, Marriage/family pictures and 780,000frs interview fee for 4 pereons.
Interview questions:
– How long have you guys been married?
– How long have you guys known each other?
– How many children do you have? Are those the only children?
– So, what will you be doing in the U.S.?
– Ok, I’m issuing your visas, you should come pick them up tomorrow. Congratulations and welcome to America.
Hope that helps other Cameroonians.
Caution: No lies, no falsification of documents, no panic, couples should know their spouses very well (During document collection my wife was asked to give my phone number and my date of birth) and don’t forget your God (He is a miraculous God); no offense Bit.
I wish you all the best.
Hope to meet you someday Brit. Best regards to you and your family.
October 1, 2018 at 03:56
Best of luck in the USA!
October 1, 2018 at 05:10
Hello am Daniel from Ghana I would like to ask if I use my work experience for the diversity program since I have junior high school certificate I have 7 years working experience as security officer with reputable company. Please help me out thank you
October 1, 2018 at 05:16
https://britsimonsays.com/education-or-work-experience-qualifying-for-the-dv-lottery/
October 1, 2018 at 11:00
hi brit my wife played at the gren card dv2019 and she was selected, we decided to travel together in the optics of a wedding after selection what are the measures to take to be able to win the sesame without problem, I remind that before the selection we were married in a customary way, thank you kindly help us
October 1, 2018 at 14:02
You should get legally married.
October 1, 2018 at 14:11
we have already made the legal marriage since August 18, 2018, so I need your help to be well prepared for the interview
October 1, 2018 at 14:17
You just use common sense. Show documentation/information that shows your life together.
October 1, 2018 at 14:22
which document for example, apart from the photos, which other document you can offer us, I apologize for my multiple questions
October 1, 2018 at 15:57
Really – its common sense. No need to keep asking me. Think about it.
October 1, 2018 at 16:22
thank you for the info you shared with me and thank you for all that you do for the devists
October 2, 2018 at 12:03
Our interview was in mid September in Sofia, Bulgaria. It went very smoothly, we had all the necessary documents prepared in advance by following the checklist from the local US embassy. The whole thing took no more than 1.5 hours and almost no questions were asked. It seemed they had all the necessary information to process our case way in advance and the interview itself was more of a formality rather than a real check, which I guess is normal and to be expected.
The only hiccup worth noting that will be valuable for the rest of the readers is that you must bring your ‘old passport’ that holds your current US Visa, if it’s not stamped on your current passport. Apparently they need it in order to cancel your current visa and stamp it with “Cancelled Without Prejudice”. I did not have mine with me during the interview, so the case was put in AP – I managed to bring the old passport with my US visa to the US Embassy on the very same day, so after 2-3 more days our case was approved and the visa were issued. We got our passports with the new IV visas and the rest of the documents with DHL after another 2-3 days.
The fact that you have to bring your current US visa, if you have one, was not on the checklist of the US embassy. Maybe it has been mentioned on this blog, but somehow I missed it. Anyways, it is not a big deal in case you can bring it alongside other documents, that might be needed, fast enough.
October 2, 2018 at 14:18
I haven’t geard anyone else with the old passport/visa issue before, but then that would be rare. But it makes sense. Congratulations.
October 6, 2018 at 22:43
Yes they ask if you have any actual visa, tourist or any other, if it’s in an older passport ( in my case) thy retain it and cancel it without prejudice
October 2, 2018 at 17:41
Thank you BritSimon for everything! Our visa is approved.
Interview location: Skopje, Macedonia
Date: September 19 2018
The interview was scheduled at 8.30 a.m, but we arrived earlier. First they sort your documents, then you pay the fee on another
counter. After that they call you again on another counter where they ask you a couple of questions. They asked for a prove
for relationship since we got married after winning the lottery. After that we had our interview with the CO who was very
kind and asked us where are we gonna go and what will we work? And how long have we been together? And also if we have
stayed in another country more than 1 year.
That was all. Nothing to worry about. Good luck to all.
October 2, 2018 at 18:46
Great!
November 7, 2018 at 07:45
Hello Mony,
We also got married after wining the lottery. We have a shared bank account and I have printed some pictures from our wedding and from our trips to Europe as well. Do you think that these are enough or do I need more?
I would really appreciate it if you could tell me how you did prove your relationship..
Thanks in Advance!
October 3, 2018 at 06:58
I would like to first thank Brit for his tolerance and for sharing his knowledge. And then, to share my dv journey experience with you guys. I hope this information could help some of you with their DV journey.
Me and my husband were the winners of 2018 dv lottery (with primary winner being me). And we were Iranian passport holders, so applicants from banned countries might find this post useful.
After not being able to find any help in online sources and asking many questions here, I have promised Brit in one of my comments that I will explain my waiver request process whenever I get any results. We had a very hard 17 month, with lots of news and decisions which affected our case (mostly disappointing). However, all this turn out to be a happy ending in our case.
Our case went current early 2018 and our embassy was Guangzhou, because we were living in China at the time.
I started my research and investigated the content of the executive order to find some clue on how to proceed with the interview. I also had one hour of consultation with an immigration lawyer as I could not find much useful information on the web by the time and there were lots of unknown terms and conditions in the executive order.
Everybody was pretty much pessimistic on our case and our only hope was the upcoming courts and their decisions, which all turned out to be against us.
The beginning of the interview went mostly the same as all other cases.
After the ordinary questions I was asked if I have any close family members as citizens or LPR in the US. I told the consular that my whole family including my parents and my brothers with their wives live in the USA and except my younger brother all are Citizen/LPRs. At this time the officer asked his supervisor to come to the window and they told me my parents being there is the most helpful part of my case and they asked for proof of Citizenship/ LRP and proof of relation for all family members.
I told the consular about my uncle, and my cousins living there, but they said what they already have is enough.
Then they asked my husband the same question and he said he has uncles and cousins which are LPR/Citizen, but not close family members as defined by the executive order. At this time consular stopped asking questions from my husband and started to gather more information on me.
They asked me about my education, and I told them that I am doing my second masters degree, this time in computer science and I gave them my transcripts, some proof of academic excellency awards, etc.. After that I provided two character reference letters from my supervisors in both my master’s degree (I though this might help with the social security part of the waiver) and although criminal records from Iran are not required we submit those along. Then the officers asked if I had any plans of working in China after my graduation. I told them, I had no intention of staying in China, and I did not apply for a job there, but I currently have an offer in the US. They asked me about how I got the offer and after answering the question, they asked if they could have a copy of the offer.
After that the interview finished and they told us to send our resumes (we gave them the copies but they sent us some specific form) along with DS5535 form. And we emailed the required documents the same date. They told us they will get back to us with more information later. The next week I received an email from the embassy containing a form showing that our case has been refused due to EO17 which later I found our was abbreviation for Executive Order 2017 and there was no marks in the waiver part. (The waiver part had two options, a waiver might be available, and no waiver is available)
The next 8 month, were just waiting, sending emails and receiving short and ambiguous answers. At last, we were contacted by the embassy in the final month… and after redoing the Medical Examination and delivering our passports, both our visa were issued late September.
Our status in the CEAC portal has always been Administrative Processing until it changed to Issued. (Even before our interview!!!)
Good luck to all, and thank you Brit again!
October 3, 2018 at 15:24
Thanks for the detailed write up – it will help some others….
November 23, 2018 at 05:18
Hi PandA,
Great to hear that after long wait you received the visa. Congratulation!!
I would like to ask you about how you proceeded for interview in Guangzhou? My wife is a principal dv winner and our case is current for January interview, as you know there are very few DV cases processes in China. we couldn’t get enough form there website how they proceed. Please add me on Wechat.
Wechat ID: mesay_kabew.
Thanks
October 3, 2018 at 11:25
Hy my status show on ceac website ready.and i know dv lotter 2018 has been ended now.but embassy didnt send any message about our psssoport.when they will give us our passport.or we should email to embassy about to return our passport ?tell me plz.
October 3, 2018 at 15:30
Contact the embassy.
October 4, 2018 at 10:05
thank God .thank u Mr britsimonsay i got all information from you.its along journy but at the end was perfect ….
case no 2019AF0000000x
interview 2/10/2018
time 7:00am
1nl 15 may 2018
2nl 30 sep 2018
medical 6 sep 2018
all went well
i have prepared well enough gathering all documents at 4:00 am
call taxfy by 5:20 am and arrived at the embassy at 5:50am from eastleigh. get open at 6:08am
security pass at 6:30am
got inside the embassy and produce my 2nl to the recption their are to lady at the reception they give me a ticket and a paper with instructions of lottery requirements.
7:30 am I was call at window 8
handsome poliet Somali guy was their he asked me about my passport
2 passport photo
kcse cert plus copy
birth cert plus copy
copy of police record (good conduct)
then ask me language I co.prefer to be interview I say English
co.have you ever convicted crime
I answer
co.hv u ever travel to other country
…….
then he give me a red recipt to pay 330$ to window 10. it took less than 10min
I go to window 10 and it was close I ask one of the security it a handsome lady about when will be open. the she told me to sit out side I will inform u when it’s open.
she call me at 8:20 and inform it was open .
I got there pay 330$ to a lady and she told me wait u will be call with the same ticket no.
after 30min I was call at window 7 a white tall lady .too kind
me. morning
co . morning too
co. swear..
xxx
co. when hv u finish high school.
me. xxxxx
co. hv go to university
me xxx
co. ask some question about my study .
me xxxxc
co. hv u ever convicted to crime.
me xxx
co. who is ur spornser
me. xxx
co. ask form 134 and letter from were he work well coming letter
me . I give her all documents I already hv
co. I will approve ur visa congratulation well come to United States. I will remain with ur pass passport and return in 5 day
she the give me green sheet and white sheet with instruction how to pay my A number fee 220$.
I was very happy and thank her 2 to 3 time
she did not ask my old passport .i got email this morning embassy at 8:00am and 10:00am from DHL ready to collect
I have my visa …thank you ….soo much Mr britsimonsay for all war I hv fine for me…wish u all success…i.a
October 4, 2018 at 12:13
congra Haji, good news for all of us
October 11, 2018 at 12:36
Hello Eyob,
It seems you are from Ethiopia, when is your interview Scheduled ?
October 4, 2018 at 17:23
Congratulations.
October 19, 2018 at 14:33
haji how much did you for the medical interviews
November 27, 2018 at 09:23
Asc Haji
My name is Ikran Abdinasir and am current for DV2019 January.
Please i would like to ask you what gradein KCSE was required at that time.
Thanks.
October 4, 2018 at 10:06
embassy Nairobi kenya
October 19, 2018 at 19:03
The amount of money you paid for medicals at the hospital is how much?
October 5, 2018 at 22:54
Hi brit
Im really thnkfull to allah that made it easy for me .
And i want to thank you so much .
Here my story:
The night before my interview i was sleeping at the hospital i had uknown virus in my body i dont know from where i got it.
The doctor released me the interview morning about 6am (mercy from god ).
I went home by taxi .it was 7:30am and my interview at 8:00.
I was sick tired looked pale but my sister she told we must go .
I changed and took all the paper already prepared and drove for 1hour,i was late.
I arrived at 9:30am late for sure.
I thought its finish because everthing was close .i want to forst gate window and the agent there she told u r late i said im sorry its the trafic.
And by allahs mercy she said hurry up ho enter the embassy
I went in the screen check security and fallowed to the main office where you have to pay yr fee and wait for them to call you .
Ihey called me first time snd i gave them everything and my mouth was so so dry because of the dickness .
The waomen when she saw that i have my HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA just in july 2018its equivalent to the GED said you got this because of dv i said yes. Then she said im so proud of you .
Then she tolm wait until co call you
20mn later .
He called me .
Co:gm
Me:gm
Co:ur name
Me:bla bla
Co:r i single
Me:bla bla
Co:high school fibloma 2018
Me;yes
Co:great
Me :blushing
Co:what do you want to do in the usa
Me:blaaaaaaaablaaaaaaaaaablaaaaaa
Co:wow
Me:smilling
Co;where u going
Me:bla
Co :im going to improve ur visa wish you all the best in the usa.xx
This my story hhhhhhgod brought me from the grave the interview day.
I want to say just believe
SALAM
October 9, 2018 at 16:57
Hi bro i got my 2NL today iam dv2019 winner but the problem is that i dont have high school certificate i will be finishing my high school 29/11/2019 my age is 22 years old so please tell me what i can do simply?
October 9, 2018 at 18:12
Typically people meet the HS requirement at around age 18. It is (in the USA) the point at which someone can enter “college” (which is known as a university in most countries). So – do you mean you were very late in completing HS, or are you actually talking about completing a degree course at University?
October 9, 2018 at 18:19
Iam very late in completing HS
October 9, 2018 at 18:21
Please tell me what i can do in this situation thanks
October 9, 2018 at 19:22
Hmmm, well assuming you cannot meet the education requirement at this time (nor by 30 SEPTEMBER 2019), and further assuming you don’t have qualifying work experience, then you cannot be approved.
October 9, 2018 at 19:27
But i have work exprience letter for 3yrs is it ok
October 9, 2018 at 20:15
It depends what job your experience is in.
https://britsimonsays.com/education-or-work-experience-qualifying-for-the-dv-lottery/
October 9, 2018 at 20:00
Thank you for your story dear Ben tell me what country are you from?
October 9, 2018 at 23:54
Hi brit, i have msc in chemical engineering. Based on my field of study is ap a must after interview?
October 10, 2018 at 02:42
That depends on your country and travel history.
October 10, 2018 at 05:29
You always answer my questions, Thank You dear
October 19, 2018 at 19:40
Brit may God bless you. All your response has been helpful to me.
October 19, 2018 at 19:58
1-Brit if someone was terminated on his first job which he has spent 4 years on but later had another job which he has been for 7 years now with credible recommendations and promotions. Will that have effect on his Visa interview?
October 19, 2018 at 20:29
Of course not.
October 19, 2018 at 20:00
Hi simon how are you….what i want ask is my sister has won the 2019 visa lottery and she mises the interview day so is there second chance for her to be appointed second time….????
October 19, 2018 at 20:29
That would be up to the embassy.
October 29, 2018 at 23:57
Brits…it has been quiet here, I think for some of us waiting it will be very nice n helpful if we do get Interview Experiences of Dv2019 here. It will go a long way to keep us calmer as the process itself requires a lot of patience n guidance. One single success story can ignite a lot more … Professor Brit has created the platform so let’s use it people. Good Luck everyone!
October 30, 2018 at 01:04
Interviews in DV2019 will be exactly the same as interviews in DV2018 and before.
October 31, 2018 at 17:33
Sorry for the late post.
To God be the glory.
Thanks to you Mr Simon for your guidance through out the process.
God bless you and your family.
Case number 2018AF125×××××××××
Interview Date : January 4th 2018.
Embasy location : Dakar
Time: 8:00am
My husband and I arrived at the embassy at 7am. Registered with the security and did all the security checks.
At 7:45 we entered the embassy, submitted our documents and pay the required visa fees each.
At 12:30 we went to the CO and did our fingers prints.
Co asked us to swear that all information will be true which we did.
Co: Asked me (main Applicant) when did I enter the DV lottery.
Reply…..October 2016
Where do you work?…………….
When did you graduate as an RN?…..
What did you do after that?…….
What job do you intend to do in the US ?
Co. You have a beautiful family.
How old are your kids?……
.who are you leaving them with? ………..
To my Husban Co asked
Where did you met your wife?
What type of wedding did you do and was there a party after the wedding? ……
What job do you do and do you intend to continue with the same job?
Did you study in the US? ..
Co.. congrats your visas are approved.
remember to take along heavy clothing cos it’s very cold in the state you are travelling to.
She gave us a small paper to collect our passports on the 18 January 2018.
We went to collect our passports and we were told to return after a week.
We returned to collect it and our passports were returned without visas. When I checked the online status update, my Husband was on AP and myself and the kids remained ready.
In mid August I received an email from the embassy to summit a new medical and police reports with our passports which we did .
2 weeks after submission,our visas were issue.
The long wait was not fun but we finally traveled to the US mid October.
October 31, 2018 at 17:39
Am from The Gambia . West Africa
November 2, 2018 at 12:28
congratulations Faith from Dakar
November 5, 2018 at 06:44
Faith your interview experience is really encouraging. Enjoyed reading the rest as well. Will keep my head and hope for the best and share my interview experience when it comes. Cheers!
November 5, 2018 at 06:53
This platform is very worth it and encouraging to some applicants as myself. i applied for the DV2019 but I wasn’t successful, yet this did not discourage me as I took another shot for DV2020 positively hoping for a great news this time around. Until then I have had my eyes and ears glued to this forum so as to keep the enthusiasm and determination moving. Just like you who are sharing the captivating interview stories might have been trying for years and still got the benefit, I am pretty sure this time around I will equally join the books of sharing my interview experience. Therefore, keep sharing to enliven us, I personally really thank Britsimon for this fora. And you fellow applicants, don’t lose the hope keep it there, we will get there! Cheers
November 5, 2018 at 14:53
Thk néo
Never give up
November 6, 2018 at 05:37
Interview Location: Montreal, Canada
Scheduled date: Nov 1st, 2018
Sept 28th: email notice for my interview date in Montreal for Nov 1, 2018
Oct 29th: flew to Montreal (with a couple days buffer because up here at this time of the year winter weather can wreak havoc on air travel)
Nov 1st: Bright and early interview at the consulate. For Montreal consulate – at the security check-in they will give you a checklist of items but the document check person will ask the order in which they want to anyway for DV lottery winners so I wouldn’t be overly concerned to arrange it in that manner. Just be sure to be able to pick out a document easily when asked so you’re not fumbling as you’re trying to provide it. No bags allowed so just bring a file or folder with the documents. There is no space to hold your bags. They will keep your phone while you’re there and give you a ticket to collect after but if you have a bag they will not let you in I believe. So don’t bring a bag!
I was I ne of only two people in the consulate at that time. I was called to document check window in 5 minutes and provided the documents as asked:
– Passport and a copy
– Interview appointment letter
– Birth certificate (and name change documents if any) and a copy
– Education diplomas degrees etc and a copy
– Police checks
– Asked to go to a different counter to pay the US$330 DV fee. Brought the receipt back to the original window and sat down to be called for the actual interview by a consular officer.
Five minutes later, got called to the interview window.
The consular officer was nice and friendly. Said to raise my right hand and vow to tell the truth about all questions.
She reviewed the file and just needed to confirm my name change since some documents were under the old name and some under the new name. We spent about 5 minutes talking about this.
And she also wanted to quickly confirm my current status in the US (since I’m currently on a dual-intent work visa there at the moment). All in all not longer than 10 mins in total. And literally only discussed those two items.
CO: ok we’re ready to approve your immigrant visa. Just FYI, there is an ongoing Canada post strike so your document delivery may be delayed beyond the standard 2 weeks.
She handed me a white form with instructions on how to collect my passport (I already registered for collection as instructed on the consulate website before the interview so this form was not new information). It did say ‘welcome to United States of America’ at the top which was kinda assuring and kept me cautiously optimistic. In and out in less than 40 minutes.
One thing of note – she did not ask for any financial information but it may be because I’m clearly already employed in the country so there is very little risk of being a financial burden maybe. I came prepared with all my bank accounts tho.
Nov 2nd: I get an email saying due to postal strike disruption, I have been offered the chance to pick up my documents in person on Monday if I so choose. Or do nothing and they’ll mail it when the strike is resolved.
Nov 5th: I jumped at the opportunity to pick it up and not deal with the postal strike – and so I got it this morning. Visa in passport and sealed envelope for the border agent.
I still can’t believe this has happened so fast. I was preparing for the long wait. It hasn’t hit me yet I think.
Thank you BritSimon for running this site and it provided tremendous help for us.
November 7, 2018 at 03:48
I am from Cameroon, I have 4 kids and only included 1 in the DV registration 2019 because the political situation in Cameroon did not give me the opportunity to add all of them. I was selected and I was too afraid to add them for fear of disqualifying myself, husband and 1 kid. I am a government teach and qualify in every aspect to get the visa. My only fear is what if they find out that I have other kids, I am in the stage of submitting supporting documents and am hoping we get our visas and will file for my 3 kids later, what is your advice for me?
November 7, 2018 at 04:08
Don’t bother continuing. You lied. Continuing would be fraud.
November 7, 2018 at 05:00
Thank you for your honest respond
November 9, 2018 at 04:10
Case: 2019EU27##
City: Tirana, Albania
Interview date: 1 November
(1 person, unmarried)
I sent the DS260, 2 weeks after I found out I had been selected. I became current on the second Visa Bulletin of this year.
I started preparing my documents after that, which I sent to the embassy by DHL. There were many documents to prepare and that took a lot of time, but I got all of them ready in 2-3 weeks. Then I scheduled my medical examination, which was 10 days before my interview date. The results of my examination would be sent to the embassy by the doctor. He gave me a cd of my chest xray to give to the border patrol if I would get the visa, and a letter which said that I had normal findings.
During this time I had lots of doubts, had I appled twice (FEAR!!!)? Uploaded the right picture?(OMG!!!) Accidentally might have written that I had kids in my original application? (Like seriously these fears were so unbased but I guess it is normal to have them. They were with me also during my interview date.)
In the day of my interview, I had brought with me my passport along with different documents that I knew weren’t needed because I had already sent the ones they asked for by post, but I had copies of them with me just in case.
My time to enter the embassy was 8 am. I entered around 8:05. I gave the passport to the first officer to enter, he examined me for metals etc, gave me my passport back and was then told to wait in another area. A lot of people were also waiting in that other wainting area which was kinda big and had chairs, toys for kids to play, and tvs with instructions on them for us. It was written there that they would call us. They said my name after 10 minutes, I went to the wicket they told me and the woman on the other side asked me If I had ever lived on another country for more that 6 months, i said no, she then told me to pay the fee, 330$, on another wicket and bring to her the proof and my passport. I did as told. She took them both and told me to wait again on the waiting area.
I waited for 1 hour and 30 minutes or so, and they called my name again to get interviewed this time by the american consul.
I vowed to tell the truth and signed a paper he gave me.
He asked me these questions:
Have you ever lived outside the country for more than 6 months?
Have you had problems with the police?
Whats you education?- I said bachelors degree.
Name of your major? – I answered.
What do you do right now (What do you work as)? – I said I am a student.
What are you studying? – I said my masters degrees name.
What is the name of your sponsor?
Where does he live? (Or where are you going to live in the us?)
What is your relationship to him?
Your visa is approved! 🙂
Now I am dreaming lol
November 9, 2018 at 14:28
Easy huh.
November 9, 2018 at 17:09
Yeah. Thank you Brit!
November 21, 2018 at 16:52
You did the interview in albanian or english ? I am from shkodra and i will be current in march.
August 22, 2019 at 15:26
In albanian,
Hope you got your visa too!
November 16, 2018 at 16:26
INTERVIEW EXPERIENCE
EMBASSY;NAIROBI
CASE NUMBER: 201840XXX
DATE: EARLY AUGUST
I will go straight to the actual interview experience
At the 1st window,some beautiful lady collected my documents(birth cert, academic certs(KCSE cert had been verified and sent to the embassy by KNEC days prior, good conduct(for both us husband and wife, passports, passport photos, marriage certificate and copies of each except the photos of course. Since I was the principle applicant the lady told us my husband’s academic papers were not necessary but we handed the originals anyway.
Then sent to the 2nd window for payments.
We then waited outside for our number to be called out. It took so long until we got worried. Some guys had gone in,out, back in then done before us even if their interview appointments were later than ours hence the reason for worry.
We were finally called to another window where some courteous lady greeted us and started the interview after taking us through the usual oath with our hands lifted….to tell nothing but the truth..bla bla..
Co. So you are….(called by name)…
me: yes ma’am. am…..
CO: And he is….( don’t know she couldn’t read my husband’s name as much as it is as common as ‘Peter” or “John”).
Me and Husband: Interjected with his name in unison.
Co: So tell me how you met..
Me…back in…first as just friends then started dating in…then did a customary wedding in…
CO: Then did a civil wedding in..?
Me; Yes.
CO: do you have your wedding photos..
ME: yes(I had carried two albums full of our photos and family).
CO: Can i see those of your civil wedding?(I had a big album that she had to demonstrate for us the best way to slip it through the window).
CO: Oh beautiful photos!!
ME: Thanks.
CO: I can see you have been to the US a couple of times.
ME: Yes, like on four occasions.
CO: On what occasion did you stay longest?
ME: 3 weeks longest.
CO: What do you do for a living?.
ME: bla bla bla
CO: And you(looking at my husband)?.
Husband: Bla bla bla
CO: I can see you are going to be hosted by your sister. She also went on DV as you?.
ME: No….bla bla bla(of course she had the data in her system.
CO: Which state is she in?
ME: ……VA
CO: Oh that’s my home city,I went to.. bla bla….high school.
ME: Woow! That’s the same high school where my niece is a senior now. I also jog on the school field every evening whenever i visit them.
CO:Ah! I see….(continued typing for a few more seconds). Am approving your visa.
We at first didn’t take it like she said anything. Then after a few seconds of gasping and silence, we said “thanks so much” in unison.
That was it.
Fast forward, We arrived in the US after one month and changed address at POE(though i had long changed it on my USCIS account when paying for the green cards back at home).
We went to the social security office the following day to apply for the same only to realized nowadays you don’t have to if you ticked that you would like to be given SSN in your DS 260. The ladytold us that one can only go to the social security office 21 days after arriving in the US but the card hasn’t been delivered. Otherwise all was well coordinated.
We waited for a week and the SSNs were delivered to our mail box.
My husband has since traveled back home to put some stuff right before he flies back. The visa is clearly marked that upon endorsement the visa serves as a green card for 1 year(the the immigration officer confirmed the same at POE).
Special and distinct gratitude to Mr Britsimon. Thanks Sir for all the insights i gained on this blog page. Those who criticize your analysis can go drying somewhere near the capitol along Pennsylvania Ave coz that’s where such ill-minded people are seated now.
November 16, 2018 at 18:07
LOL. Thanks for the detailed account of your process. Best of luck!
November 20, 2018 at 19:32
Zahra,
This is great. Just a quick one, did they ask for I-134 or bank statements? I am Dv winner 2019 from Kenya expecting my interview mid next year.
November 21, 2018 at 12:46
Sir,case no 2019af5***;i av some questions 1.I want to know d difference btw form i-134 and i-864,am a bit confused abt it,my embassy ask fori-864
2.av bin finffinit diff to get sum1 dat will hlp me fill d affidavit of support form, they r giving diff excuses day d form is asking for too much and dat they can’t leave their bank statement bcos it might be fruadulent
November 21, 2018 at 16:26
Write properly. Text speech is for children.
1. DV cases use the I-134
2. There is no question there.
November 21, 2018 at 13:37
Hello!
how may days took to receive a passport after interview date in Ethiopia?
November 21, 2018 at 16:30
Usually around 1 week.
November 25, 2018 at 04:18
What if it took morethan two weeks
November 25, 2018 at 05:13
Then you would need to be more patient.
November 21, 2018 at 14:18
Hello,
Please has anyone received their passport and immigration package after a successful interview at the Accra Embassy, Ghana? How long did you have to wait ?
November 21, 2018 at 16:30
Usually around 1 week.
November 21, 2018 at 17:45
Yes, when did you had your interview?
November 24, 2018 at 15:27
got mine after 8 working days.
November 24, 2018 at 18:00
Ghboi get in touch at [email protected] I am also from Ghana
November 30, 2018 at 14:44
Hello BritSimon and thank you so much for your amazing website, can you give me you opinion on my situation just below please??
I went to the interview with my wife in the U.S Embassy of PARIS on 7th November, 2018 CN : 2019EU3XXX.
Well, following your FAQ answers we were married during the process and handle a contact with the embassy succesfully thanks to your informations. (Thank you so much for that :-)).
All the interview went well, we were even not asked to show photos or shared bank account…to finally get a Congratulations, all seems to be in order, you will receive your passports within 10 days!
So happy we were!!!!! However, 3 weeks later we still have not received our passports and start to be afraid not receiving our visas…
Do you think this processing time is normal? What can it be? Should we contact the embassy, or gently wait ?
Even by checking the Status on C.E.A.C website we have “Invalid Immigration Case Number”….
Thank you so much for your answer 😉
November 30, 2018 at 15:08
Sometimes they need time. Relax and be patient.
December 6, 2018 at 16:54
Thanks to God Almighty and Brit, this morning me and my entire family got approved in Accra against all the odds. I will share my experience with everyone here to get others encouraged. But whatever you do please listen to BRIT SIMON, he knows what he’s about. If you believe in a God or some faith, stick to it and keep praying for that miracle.
We got that golden ticket and a “WELCOME TO THE UNITED STATES” remark from our CO.
Wish ya’ll the best especially my Ghanaian brothers and sisters, Cheers everyone!
December 6, 2018 at 17:13
@ny can’t wait for you to share your experience …very happy for you.Mine is very soon
December 7, 2018 at 17:42
You will do well @God is Great. I will share my experience soon but like some people have shared here below, please try and prepare well. Once you prepare well and you have more than enough proof of your eligibility, it will be a walk in the park by God’s Grace,
December 7, 2018 at 17:47
@ny thanks so much for the encouragement
December 6, 2018 at 19:13
Glad to hear some good news from Accra!
December 7, 2018 at 04:20
Yes sir
Accra was very cool yesterday
We were over prepared
It was jux a chat with the CO
We will post the full details soon too
God richly bless u
December 7, 2018 at 17:43
Were you there for the morning session @ Akua
December 7, 2018 at 09:15
I was also approved at Accra embassy yesterday. All i say is God bless you Mr Brit and everyone that shared their experiences on this blog.
December 7, 2018 at 14:44
It’s been a good week in Accra!!!
December 10, 2018 at 17:58
Accra was good that week.We were also approved that morning n thanks be to Mr Brit and Almighty God.
December 7, 2018 at 17:10
Hi everyone,
Yesterday, my wife and myself got approved our DV in Montreal, Canada, we are from South America.
Some tips, bring double copies and if possible originals for marriage certificate for the 2 applicants, proof of bank statements, if you don’t feel the I-134, bring the highest degree diplomas/certificates and copies. There was a family before us that had to leave the consulate to get their photocopies and then return.
We spent more time providing the documents than the interview itself.
Question during the interview weren’t tricky at all, like what we do for living, where we are planning to do in the US, or if we have ever been in any continent but America or Europe.
After that, the CO gave us a paper and said your visa is approved, welcome to the USA and good luck there.
I’d really like to thanks Simon for the amazing blog he has put together, it’s the best source for the DV information in the entire net, keep it up man!!!!!
December 7, 2018 at 18:36
Congratulations!
December 10, 2018 at 18:24
Hello Brit
My sister won the lottery of 2019 and her case number is AF 12xxx and she hasn’t submitted her DS260 form .if she submit by January will that be late for interview process?
Plse enlighten me sir
Thanks
December 10, 2018 at 22:30
No
December 10, 2018 at 19:04
Hi brit my visa had been approved thank’s for all you are doing for us may God bless you more and more!!!
December 10, 2018 at 22:30
Congratulations