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.
February 27, 2016 at 09:54
main interview at ktm embassy
-are all the doc true?
-yes
-are u married?
-no
-which state?
-california
-let me take your fingerprints
-ok sure
-please sign here
-ok
-ok, man i will issue a visa for u
-thank u sir
February 29, 2016 at 19:08
My interview exp. Yaounde ,Cameroon after de 2 security checks, we were asked to pay de visa fee after about an hour i was then called at counter 5
CO:do u swear all wat u filled in dis file is true?
Me:yes i do
CO:are u married?
ME:no
Co:do u have any child
Me:no
Co:who do u know in America
ME:my cousin
CO:u had your A LEVEL in 2015
CO:every thing is ok we’ll verify your A LEVEL and give u a call to tell u when u will come and pick your passport and your visa. She then gave me a pink paper and she kept all my documents both originals and copies. My fear is that they might too long and time is fast passing by i have just 3 months left. Sir plis do u think they might call me within dis time frame
March 1, 2016 at 14:41
hi all,
my interview was on 1-march-2016 in the US EMBASSY IN UAE ,ABU DHABI ,at 8:0 am
1- reached the embassy at 7 am i went through a security check
2- i went to the first window where i submitted all required DOCS
3- went to the second window and paid the fees 330 $
4-i went to the third window for finger printing
5- then we went to a small room and we had our interview whic lasted for 3 MIN ONLY
and the CO asked me 3 QS
1- FOR HOW LONG I HAVE BEEN IN UAE
2- WHERE DO I WORK
3- IF I HAVE A FRIEND OR RELATIVES IN THE US
AND HE ASKED MY WIFE 1 Q ABOUT HER JOB
THEN HE HANDED ME PINK PAPER AND TOLD ME THAT I CAN COLLECT THE PASSPORT ON SUNDAY
IF YOU HAVE ANY Q YOU CAN SEND ME AN EMAIL TO MY EMAIL [email protected]
March 5, 2016 at 18:41
Interview experience in Taipei, Taiwan
Consulate: American Institute in Taiwan(AIT)
Date: January 2016
Tips: Write an email inquiry to confirm your interview to [email protected] after you received 2NL from KCC. AIT will respond witting two days with reference of the documents you should prepare.
My interview time was arranged around 1pm. Arrived there couple minutes early and the security asked me to wait outside until 1pm since the office clerks are having a lunch break.
After entering the consulate, a clerk first checked my documents while typing some basic information to verify your identity. For my case, I am single and has no derivatives, documents are as below:
– Passport
– Photos x2
– Birth Certificate
– Household Registration
– Taiwan Police Certificate
– Foreign Police Certificate (if over age 16 with stays of 12 months or longer)(U.S. Police record not required as they already did this during background check)
– Certificate of highest education
– Visa fee US$330(or equivalent of NTD based on exclaimed currency by AIT)
– Financial evidences(They are pretty stringent on this subject matter, make sure you are well over announced amount based on Affidavit of Support requirement)
– Panel physician medical report( 4 hospitals are qualified as of 2016)( Remember to keep the package sealed till the interview)
– Register for document delivery(where you should pick up your passport or have them shipped to you, I have this link because I wrote to them in advance, see tips)
*Always remember to bring your original or certified copy, and have an extra if the original or copy is asked to be kept for reference.
After your identity being checked and all documents are qualified, the clerk would give you an invoice to pay for your visa fee. Take the invoice to the treasury section on second floor and pay the fee either in USD or NTD. After you paid the fee, give the note of receipt to the clear on first floor then wait for the CO to be interviewed..
Interview process:
1. Take an oath first.
2. Date of Birth being asked.
3. What is your current living place? Where are you planning to stay in the U.S.?
4. Have you got a job already? What kind of job are you looking?
It was a pretty short conversation and CO is kind, definitely not intimidating. Remember to relax, smile, and answer honestly.
At the end CO simply said, “Welcome to the United States, and your passport would be processed accordingly. Hopefully within 10 business days.”
Hope this sharing helps and good luck to everyone who’s on this journey!
March 8, 2016 at 09:57
Experience from Ethiopia
Hello There,
Dear Mr Simon, i thank you for your outstanding work. Please keep up the good job. You have paved my way to the visa. Thank you
I have my interview on March 7, 2016 in Addis Ababa,,Ethiopia.
My appointment was at 8:15. i, my wife and two kids reached at the embassy early but there way a long cue. At the get we were given a folder to put our documents in order and we entered in to the compound at around 8:35.A lady checked and took our doc and told as to come back at 12:00 for the interview and told as the amount we have to bring (local currency not dollars)
WE GET BACK AT 12:00 and sat and waited for about an hour for our name to be called. After an hour i was called to a window and an Ethiopian lady took my finger print and gave me some of my documents back. she gave me back both the ordinal and copies of my diploma, BA and Masters degree and the work experience papers i gave. i thought they are not necessary but latter on the CO asked me to show him. and then she asked me to pay. While she was going though my fill i saw a yellow paper which was not there when i first gave my doc and knew that i was approved.
i paid and gave her the receipt and was told to sit and wait. after few minute (5-9)
i was call to another window and there were two people, an interpreter and the CO.
he took my finger print again and asked me the following questions.
CO: What is your level of education
Me: masters
Co: I don’t see it in your fill
Me: They gave me back
CO: Let me see it please
…..
..
..
..
CO:Gave me back and asked me to call my wife
He Asked us to swear. We did.
He took my wife’s finger print.
No questions were forwarded to my wife.
CO: Do you have only two kids
Me: Yes
CO; When you first fill the DV form you wrote 08 April as your birth day and on Your DS 260 you wrote 09 April. Why
Me: it is just a hand slip(error).
CO: OK
CO: Congratulation your Visa is approve.
And he told me to collect my visa from DHL with in 10 days.
My Observation
There were more that 75 DV applicants.
I think after you summit your docs before you are called for interview it is already decided whether you should be given the visa or not based on the docs submitted. as i told you i saw the yellow page in my fill with the Ethiopian lady before going to the interview.And the CO was not that much focused with me rather he was filling sth in the computer and taking my finger print several times. Therefore, rather that worrying to much about the interview it is best to collect necessary docs and authenticate the educational certificates and other supportive docs.
March 10, 2016 at 12:24
Thanks to the Almighty, visa approved and received via SMSA (Saudi version of FedEX). Thank you very much Britsimon. I dont know how to thank you. Maybe we will meet some time in the land of dreams 🙂
My interview experience follows …
Arrived in US embassy in Saudi Arabia at about 12:30pm. We were called after some time and were asked for our documents by the most friendly person on earth :). Documents submitted were:
1. Birth certificates for all family members (Original and translated copies)
2. Educational certificates (Degree and School leaving certificate)
3. Two 2X2 pictures for each member
4. Medical examination results
5. Marriage certificate (original and translated)
6.Police Report (Original and translated if different from English)
He verified everything including birth, educational and marriage certificates. We had a small mistake in one of the dates in our initial DV application which he asked about in a friendly manner. We told him it was a mistake but told him the true date which was corrected in the DS-260. Anyways, he took every documents and asked us to pay around 5K Riyals. We were then told to wait again which lasted for about 30 minutes. Our names were called in another windows where a CO asked us two or three very simple questions. He was also very friendly and confirmed us that our visa was approved and should be available for pickup in about 2 weeks time.
The take from my experience is that don’t take everything for granted. Be over-prepared as the mighty Britsimon said once in a post. You don’t want the CO to ask for some document which you didn’t bring and suddenly find your application be put on AP till you submit the documents. Please be prepared with everything. Affidavit of support is required in Riyadh specially if you are a family (I have heard single applicants not being asked that but we were asked).
Thank you again Britsimon.
USA here I come 🙂 🙂 🙂
March 10, 2016 at 14:51
Tirana, Albania
Hello everyone. I had my interview today. Scheduled 8.45. I was there at 8.30.
TIA Embassy claim to have DV winners doc’s 2 weeks in advance. This is a good thing, because you can avoid unnecessary delays. I paid the fee ($330), gave fingerprints, and waited for interview. After 30 minutes, I was called from the CO.
Which high school did you attended and when have you finished?
Which University, and why this discipline?
Where do you work?
Have you ever lived abroad?
Have you ever been in USA?
You qualify for a visa, congrats.
And that’s all. It was very easy and people were all nice. If your documents are ok, you will qualify for sure.
Oh my God, I can’t believe. Thank you Simon for your help, and forgive us for all our questions, for been your “persecutors”… 🙂
March 18, 2016 at 00:11
Frankfurt, Germany in February 2015
We were in the US with a J1/2 already for 7 months and elected consular processing.
1st day in Germany – medical in Frankfurt. Payment, routine exam, x-rays, blood work and UA. We arrived at the practise about 20 minutes before they open, other people had the same idea but we were the first. Out after about 1 hour for the 2 of us.
2 days after the medical our interview was scheduled at 8.00am. We arrived there at 7.30, again, we were first in line. Could enter right away although it was a little to early. Inside the German officer checked our documents and everything was fine. Next stop finger prints, after that payment. We didn’t register with the traveldocs website but brought an envelope and stamps. A US officer checked our documents again and informed us that our medical is still missing, we told him we did it 2 days ago and he said they had issues with delivery lately.
Last thing the interview with the officer. Questions: “Why USA?” and “What are you planning on doing there?” We both had jobs there already and pointed that out to her. She said that everything looks great and we are approved. However, she needed to give us the paper with the note that our visa was denied until we turn in the medical, but this is just a formal thing she needs to do. She kept our passports and said she thinks the issue with receiving has been resolved and they should get it later in the day. We called the practise and they assured they sent it out. We were on administrative processing for a few days, then it jumped to ready and approved in 1 day. We received our passports with the visa exactly 7 days after the interview.
We were consulting an immigration attorney prior to the notification to sort out options to come to the US. Since we were in the process of getting a J1 we thought it might be a good idea to get help from someone who was experienced. Therefore, we had her filing our DS-260 and whatnot. My advise, do NOT make that mistake. She didn’t have a clue about the DV lottery and it is really easy to fill out everything on your own. We fired her half way through for bad advise and it’s just a waste of time and money.
March 26, 2016 at 17:24
DV interview experience
Santiago, Chile
We arrived at the Embassy at 10:45 and had to wait in line outdoors as there is limited capacity to hold arrivals at the security checkpoint. We were duly screened and welcomed to proceed to the inner hall. Not really a busy place; Chile’s entry to the Visa Waiver Program since 2014 has left much of this post clear, serving only expat American citizens, immigrant and a few cases of non-immigrant visas. Anyway, we sat down for about 10 minutes before hearing my name called to window 6. The officer was a very kind lady, Spanish-speaking with native local accent. Before anything, I was told to go to the cashier and pay the fees. When done, I went back to the lady who called us first and handed over the receipts.
Then I was requested to hand over all the usual documents: birth and marriage certs, police clearance for every country we had lived in (4 total in our case), passport and high school diploma. In addition, she requested copy of my University diploma and work references from my previous 3 jobs. We had every single document translated into English; it adds a bit more of a cost but the effort is truly worth at the end, believe me. We were asked the usual: When and where did you marry? For how long have you lived in country A, country B? Do you hold other citizenships?
At this point I must explain that my case involved cross-chargeability since I was born in Chile but charged to Venezuela (where I grew up and attended School and University). I brought both passports to the interview as well as a printed copy of the 9 FAM 502.6 (Foreign Affairs Manual) which covers the legal status of such applications. I was prepared to expect a lot of arguing about that but fortunately -as discussed many times in Simon’s blog and the immigration.com forum- this was nothing of an issue. I presume by both being countries within the same region -SA- the allocation of visas does not affect the chances within the region as a whole.
After a few more random questions regarding my work experience and life history I was requested to take a seat again and wait to be interviewed by the main consular officer. 15 minutes later all the family members were called to window 2. Another very kind lady and also Spanish-speaking with a bit of an American accent. We were requested to raise our right hands and swear and put our fingerprints. She then said “Congratulations!” and I was informed that our passports will be ready for pick up a week later. At this point I recalled our B visas (all stamped in already expired passports) were not cancelled. I asked about that and she said “Oh! of course! Please give me your old visas”. She proceeded with the cancellation and then we were done. Very smooth.
A week later I went back to the Embassy to get our passports. I noticed a couple of typos in my wife and son stamps, told the very same lady about that. She informed it would take one more week to fix it; and so it did. USCIS fees are already paid and now we are finishing our suitcases.
I would like to finish my testimony by expressing my gratitute towards Simon the Brit and his blog. His disposition and openness have been key not only to mine but to the cases of many around here. As he has pointed out many times, there is no need to get lawyers involved as this process is really straightforward once you have read and understood the directions given in first place at the official website travel.state.gov and also here and at the immigration.com DV forum.
I wish nothing but success to all people visiting this site. May your dreams come all true. Be patient, read a lot and try to understand as much as you can. If not, then ask. Most of the problems can be fixed if you are honest and sincere.
March 29, 2016 at 20:22
Interview experience
Yaoundé, Cameroon.
After the two security checks,I was called to counter 1 to pay my fee and give me original documents.
Then I sat for say 2 hrs then I was called to the next counter to give the photocopy of my documents and my medical results envelope. The laddy took my finger prints. Then after 15 mins I was called by the white laddy.
Documents I presented
.A level
.O level
.birth certificate
.transcript from the University.
Certificate of nonconviction.
Medical report.
Appointment letter
Confirmation page.
One photo
My passport
Laddy:so u r pregnant
Me:xxxx
Laddy:how old are you
Me: xxxx
Lady:so u just graduated from the University
Me:xxxxx
Lady :so if u r given a visa,that is if everything works out well will u marry?
Me:xxxxx
Lady :who do u have in the US
Me:xxxxx
Lady:where will u leave
Me:xxxx
Then she came close to me and gave me a yellow paper and said.I HAVE approved UR VISA.U WILL COME BACK ON THE XXXXX AND COLLECT IT.
the kept all my documents.
Thank u Simon ,I guess what I have to do now is to go and collect
March 31, 2016 at 11:21
Stockholm, Sweden
We are a family of four, we got there well in time. As somebody already noted the queue location for immigration appointments is different from other Visa appointments (and also not covered by a roof). The immigration line starts from a random point on the sidewalk (there is a little sign), and we were the only ones there so it actually seemed that we were waiting for somebody inside. Since it was raining after a little while we asked the security guards (which were busy getting people from the non-immigration line in) about it and they immediately let us I even if it was 40 minutes before our appointment. I don’t know if this was because we had two small children, because it was raining or because we were there for the immigration appointment but what I can say is that the security guards were extremely nice and considerate. We were worried about what we would be able to take to the Embassy as the instructions were very strict, but we did see other people with lots more that we brought – strollers, backpacks, bags, all was discouraged but they did let it in (again we didn’t bring any of this).
Once we got in we paid our fees and then we were made to wait about 1.5 hours. There were people that arrived after us and had appointments after us but were seen before. The reason might be that they needed time to sort the paperwork for all four of us. Eventually I was called at a window and spoke to a young lady who took all my paperwork. All was going well but then she asked for police reports that we did not have because they were not required according to the requirements. When I pointed that out the lady just said that she was sorry but they were going to need those. So if I may give everybody a suggestion it is to get a police report for any country you have stayed for more than a couple of months, despite what the requirements said – needing a report last minute for us proved very costly.
They also required more information from my sponsor but they were willing to communicate with him by email. One thing about the Embassy in Stockholm, they have been extremely good in communicating via email. Even if they say that they would not respond to individual queries they actually did and sometimes you do need that extra insurance that everything is going smoothly. Once they had everything tit only took 3-4 days to send the passports back to me. I should say that they also kept all of my education originals and returned them with the passports.
Back tour appointment, after half an hour or so we got called for the actual interview which is run through a window with other people nearby, is not a private setting. It is in fact much less of a deal that I thought it would be. The gentleman was very kind, first he reminded me that they were going to need those police reports (and he left no room for discussion on why that was the case – so we still have no clue), then he asked a couple of questions such us what we were going to do there and why I wanted to move to the US. He asked my wife if she was excited about moving there and that was it. The longer part was getting the finger prints. We were then given a letter with the specifics about the needed documentation and how to present it and then we left.
It took a month and a half to sort out what was needed but we now finally received our passports and are on our way to the US next week for our activation trip.
Thank you once again Britsimon, you have been extremely helpful throughout this experience, I don’t know how many people would give their free time to deal with what has given me so many headaches – yet you do it on a daily basis! I am very grateful and in fact I hope I can learn about being a bit less cynical and more altruistic from you. I don’t know you but being brit having a cynical sense of humor is possibly part of you, yet all that you are doing is profoundly altruistic (even if in some way you do get your kicks from helping people with dumb questions like me) and I hope you see that.
Take care and good luck to us posters/readers all!
March 31, 2016 at 14:58
You are correct about the sense of humor.
Stockholm are interesting. They are obviously not seeing many DV cases – and normally that means an embassy will stick to the rules. Stockholm though seem to just make up their own procedures – the police report thing with you, a $75,000 savings requirement for another recent candidate that did not have an I-134. Really bizzare. About the police report, if someone has been in a country 9 or 10 months I can see that a CO might ask for a police report, but it is very unusual to ask for police reports for less time than that. BUT once they ask for it – you have to comply as you did.
Glad it worked out for you – and thanks for your kind comments.
April 1, 2016 at 10:36
Brussels, Belgium.
My situation:
– Unmarried + 1 child when applied (Oct ’14)
– Unmarried + 1 child + pregnant when we found out I won (May ’15)
– Married in August
– Filled DS 260 for my wife and me + child in August
– “Current” in December
– Invite received for 02/ feb/16 interview
– Second child expected for 04/ feb / 16 – So requested, by email to postpone interview – was called back a day after for explanations.
– Very helpful person from Brussels USA embassy called and explain they could only give me a new date in mid February as mid February they receive the slots for March.
– Sent email to embassy after baby was born. They called back 1 day later, congratulating and added a DS 260 for me to fill in for new born. Extremely helpful.
– Added DS 260 as soon as I had passport for baby and informed them and ask for interview as late as possible in march so we could do all paperwork and medical etc. without stress.
– Interview booked for 31st march. Confirmation via email – no new 2NL
– Medical done in Antwerp. (only 2 certified doctors in Belgium and the one in Brussels sounded a bit dodgy on the phone + no English, could be I spoke to the wrong assistent, I don’t know but it didn;t give me a good feeling). The one in Antwerp does not do Xrays so you need to go to the hospital for that after your first medical appointment. Don’t wait for the last days to arrange it. Very nice guy.
– Interview itself – They do inteviews between 14.00 and 18.00 PM. To avoid queues we arrived at 13.30 but were told they could only let us in at 13.45. We went back at 13.50 and were 3rd in line (only 4 cases that day in total actually, not busy at all)
I spend a lot of time and effort in getting all documentation in order. Made copies of everything etc. I was able to produce each document they requested in a couple of seconds. They seemed to appreciate this preparation a lot. After handing over the documentation (they only needed 1 photo btw) it took around 1 hour for them to come back to me. Hardest part was to keep an overtired (skipped nap) toddler entertained as his toys and our phones were not allowed in).
We (the whole family) had to go to another window for the actual interview. Very friendly guy, hardly asked any questions. I was arrested ones but he didn’t even ask about it. His only sort of question was where we were going to move. The rest was just distracting our toddler and fingerprints. All my preparation of proving our relationship before marriage and financial situation was not asked for.
When we were already back outside, my wife realized we didn’t even pay! So I went back (again through security) and the woman who did all the documentation apologized and said that because the documentation part went so smooth she completely forgot.
Overall very positive experience with Brussels USA embassy. Very helpful, quick feedback on emails I sent them with my questions and very friendly.
Next week I can pick them up. We will go to activate in September and then start looking for a job to hopefully move sometime before September 2017.
Thanks Simon for all the help.
April 9, 2016 at 12:08
GHANA-ACCRA
Received 1NL :October
Filled DS260 :9th January
Received 2NL :22nd February
Interview date :5th April
Case No AF000069XX
MY INTERVIEW EXPERIENCE
Was at the embassy as early as 6:30.There were a lot of people there,we were called to form queue immigrant and non immigrant.We went through security check and to the main interview hall. Pls NB:no bag is allowed at the security entrance.There a lot of people in there hall.We sat there for almost 2 hours before dv applicant were called.We were giving a slip to make our payment.We sat there after the payment till 12:30.We were to form a queue to present our document one after the other.We sat for about 10 minutes.We were 8 in numbers,4 single,2 different marriage couple.The first guy was called and was denied a visa.One married couple were also called and was told to bring enough proof.We were ask to go for break and be seated by 2:00.We return as told.We sat there for about 30 minutes.I could feel my heart beating fast because of the first guy visa refusal..One guy was also called and was denied.A lady was called and also denied as well.Then my name was mentioned.
CO: Good afternoon,sorry for the delay
ME; Good afternoon,no problem
CO; Do u swear to tell the truth
ME I swear to tell the truth
CO ;Are u married
ME: xxx
CO: do u av children
ME: xxx
CO; Which course did u perform most in SHS
ME: xxx
CO: What did u get in that course
ME: xxx
CO: Tell me about the course
ME; xxx
CO; Who taught u the course
ME: xxx
CO;Tll me about the teacher
ME: xxx
CO: How was your WASSCE examination
ME: xxx
CO; Tell me about your english course
ME: xxx
CO: Tell me about science
ME; xxx
CO: Have you joined any club in SHS
ME; xxx
CO; Which role did u play
ME: xxx
CO; Why were u giving that role
ME: xxx
CO: ok am going to issue you your …..,honestly i didnt hear the rest of what she said because i dint know where my mind was by then.She handled the blu sheet to me.I left the hall very happy.The next marriage couple were also called and were also denied.I was the first and only person approved for the morning batch.I learnt among those who came in the afternoon only two were approved.
I thank ALLAH for this gift,my family and all friends who prayed for me and this group as well also played a role to my success.All the best to those yet to have their interview
ASALAMU ALAIKUM
April 10, 2016 at 21:03
Doha, qatar
Interview date: 7.april.2016
My number is af240xx
2nl letter: 25.march.2016
Interview date:5.may.2016
I received call from embassy on 30.march.2016 to bring all my documents before interview and bring my medical exam. I told that all my papers are ready except medical. He told me as fast as you bring your papers, you will get interview in april instead of may. On 3.4.2016 i handeled my papers and medicals to the embassy. Man who received papers told me i am surprised for organized papers and fast medical.
Next day i recived call from embassy for interview on7.april.2016. At 10:00 am. I was very happy
Interview date
I went with all my family at 09:30 am. Told to wait till 10 am, then after security check, same kind man that he received my papers, he returned my papers except police clearane and medical envelops ” he even copied my copies” and returned back to me” then he gave me paper written on top 5 alien registeration numbers and DOS number ,and congratulations you are appoved to immigrate….., how to pay for green card, i didnt read paper at that time because i was stressed , he told if you are not travelling keep your passports till may because your interview suppose to be in may and visa should be allocated on may, then gave me paper to pay for 5 persons. Then interview
Interview
Co: please put your fingers for you and all your childs, then spouse
Me: fingerprinted
Co: what are u working?
Me : doctor
Co: all informations are true in papers
Me: yes
Co: your wife doctor also
Me : yes
Co typing for a minute then he said: every thing ok, we will call u after few days.
Me: thank you
For these align registeration numbers to pay now or waiting till may after receiving my passports and envelops, what do you recommend, britsimons?
It was nice and pleasure journey with you.
Do i need to call embassy to ask to pay now or later regarding green card fees.
April 13, 2016 at 20:09
Tirana, Albania
April 2016
We are a family of four with two small kids, went at the embassy approximately 40 min earlier.
They first called my husband to pay the fees and then he was asked 2 questions : Where have you traveled and when?
What is the relationship with the sponsor ?
Then he came back, we waited like 20 minutes which seemed like 20 years and then they called us all.
CO asked how many persons has our family ( fingertips for both of us) and when we met each-other .
Then he said ” OK, good luck in US”
Brit, I cannot describe with words how grateful I am for your advises, time, patience and I am sure that this interview would not been so easy without your help.
All these months of anxiety, unsafeness have finished.
God bless you , big man!
May you have a very happy life , I wish you from my heart!
Evi
April 15, 2016 at 09:32
Hello all
US Embassy Skopje
April 2016
We are family of four with two kids and we are from Kosovo.
My case number is 22xxx.
We have passed the same procedures as others in embassy.
I was the principal applicant and CO has made me only three questions.
CO: What is the relationship with the sponsor?
CO: When you have completed university education?
CO: Have you ever been arrested?
Then he said: Congratulations, your visas are approved.
It is worth mentioning that I had finished Vocational High School four year ( technical high school ).
And Univerity Bachelor Degree (three year program).
I can not describe with words how grateful I am for your help big man.
God bless you Brit.
Thank you for everything.
Regards,
Alban
April 19, 2016 at 21:13
My interview took place in Skopje, Macedonia. I was the primary and only applicant. Everything went great, the embassy personnel were very professional and helpful. First I was called to the cash register to pay the visa processing fee. Then, I had a short interview with an interviewer that spoke my native language. He asked me what is the highest degree of education I have obtained, where I’m planning to go and do once I have my visa approved. I was told to go back to my seat and wait for my name to be called. A young American lady greeted me, and scanned my finger prints. I was told to go back and wait for short once again. On the final call, another American lady (both were smiling and very kind) greeted me and congratulated me on winning the lottery. She asked what I do for living, what year I graduated from high school, what is the highest degree of education I have, and whether I have ever been arrested or convicted. Then she turned to me smiling and said ‘Congratulations! Your visa has been approved’. :)) I smiled back with joy and thanked her. All in all, it was a very interesting experience and couldn’t be any more satisfied with their work. I feel both happy and proud. It really is a life-changing opportunity. I am very grateful.
April 21, 2016 at 13:10
Interview experience
ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA
Interview Date April 07 2016
Time 07:00
Application status: Unmarried when filled the first form
Married and one son at a time of DS-260 form
Status: My wife and son will follow me at a later Date
I arrived at the embassy at around 06:30, 30 minutes earlier than the appointment Time-Better to be early than late. When I arrived there were many people who got there before me. At the time of the embassy opening I think we were like more than 70 people scheduled for the same day. Some with a changed appointment date.
The gate opened at about 06:55 but we had to make a line by the gate and there were two ladies checking our appointment latter, passport and currier papers before they let us in. once we passed the formal security check and went inside. Once inside there were also another two ladies arranging and collecting our documents and told me to come back in the afternoon at 01:00 with 330 USD and they also gave me a paper to read and sign stating that I read and understand and if denied a visa the money is nonrefundable.
In the afternoon they let us in to the main consular section and told me to wait for my name to be called. After about 30 min. my name was called to window 3. A local woman from inside asked me if my family are going to join me until September and I said no then she asked me to go to window 1 and make the payment. Once I did that and returned to the lady she my finger prints and asked me what language I prefer to be interviewed with and I said English then she said wait for your name.
After about 15 min I was called to window 6 and the actual interview started
CO: Good afternoon,
ME; Good afternoon,
CO; Do u swear to tell the truth
ME I swear to tell the truth
CO; So after your high school you get your first degree in XXX are you working now as XXX
ME: No I have continued my education and now I am working as XXX
CO: So Do you have photos of your wedding
ME: No I didn’t bring but I have my son’s birth certificate if you want
CO: Yes, Please
CO: So you got married on XXXX
ME: No we got married on XXXX
CO: tell me about your sponsor
ME: XXXXXX
CO: Ok I will have to give a visa you can collect it from the currier in 15 days.
And she also told me the procedures for my family how long it may take and what things I should do once I go to the state.
GLORY BE TO GOD and praise his Mother Saint Mary
Thank you BRITSIMON for everything you did to help me get my VISA approved.
April 24, 2016 at 08:17
Interview experience
Warsaw, Poland
Interview Date April 18, 2016
Time 8:00
Status: I am single, and am going alone to the States
I was second in line for immigrant visa.
First, they took my documents – birth certificate, university certificate, medical documents, police certificate, passports and photos. They didn’t ask for high school certificate, or job certificates, and they didn’t want any photocopies of anything 🙂
After that, they told me to pay, and then they took my fingerprints, did some short survey (why I want to go, have I ever been there, etc. – it was all in my native language till this point and the lady there said it’s just “for their own use”).
Only then I had the interview with the consule. She was a very nice and pretty lady. She greeted me with a big smile and said “Congratulations!” I was confused that woudl congratulate me at the beginning of our interview, but I just said Thank you.
She also asked me how I was, so I did the same for her, and then I took the oath that I was going to tell the truth, and she took my fingerprints again.
After that she asked me that I’d been in USA on a J1 visa, and I said “yes, it was the au-pair program”.
She did some paperwork/entered something in the computer, and then she said:
“Your visa is approved.”
I think I had a baffled expression on my face (which meant that it was so quick), but she probably thought I didn’t hear her, so she repeated “Your visa is approved.”
Then she gave me a paper explaining about my passport pick-up and basic information about immigration visa, and that’s it. She wished me a nice day, so I did the same. I said thank you and went away.
It all took a little less than two hours, but that’s mostly because there was a lot of waiting in between 🙂
The interview with the consule took less than 5 mintues.
I had proof of my own funds, but they didn’t ask for any financial status/situation at all.
I got the e-mail to pick up my passport already and am going to go on Monday!
Thank you, Britsimon for all the work you do for us, for answering questions and for your thourough articles.
God bless you!
Good luck to all!
May 10, 2016 at 20:42
Hi there.
Johannesburg, South Africa
Interview 1st week of May.
Husband main applicant, I am the dependent
We recently had our interview and are fortunate enough to have the visas in our passports.
The interview was pretty straight forward, very similar to the experiences mentioned above..
We first had to queue up outside until we were allowed to enter. We then obtained a ticket number, which was then called out when it was our turn.
The first time around, the lady asked for all our documents:
– Birth certificate and copy
– Marriage Certificate and copy
– High School diploma/ degrees and copies
– Police clearance
She then asked us whether we have any proof of finances or if we are going to be sponsored. We told her that we would be funding ourselves and provided a copy of our bank statements and title deed, this seemed to be sufficient. She then asked for all my documents, except for academic qualifications. We had a small hiccup with the police clearance. We applied for it way too early, so it was expiring in June. She mentioned that we have to arrive in the US before the police clearance expires but we are only planning on going in Aug. Luckily, I read somewhere on the blog that this might be the case and applied for new police clearances, which were already ready to be picked up (i received the notification on the day of the interview). I asked her if I could drop off the updated police clearance the next day and she said that was fine.
She took all our docs, including originals and asked us to pay at the cashier. Once we paid, we had to wait again to be called. Second time around, a different gentleman called us and took our fingerprints. He then asked us to sit down and wait for the final interview.
It’s really odd because it is all open plan and you can honestly hear everyone’s stories! Rather awkward actually.
Finally, we were called for our third interview. The guy asked when we applied for the lottery, my husband obviously forgot but I, luckily again, remembered the date. He then asked where we are going to stay and what we both plan on doing. After that he looked at our original documents again, gave them back and congratulated us. THAT WAS IT!
The next day I dropped off the updated police clearance, they gave me my old one back. Two days after that we got the email to say our visas were ready.
The only issue now is that on my Immigration Data Sheet, there is a typo under ‘issued to’. My surname is different. I have emailed them but I still haven’t heard from them. I am not sure how big a deal it is. All other information is correct.
Good luck to the rest of you and most importantly thank you to you BritSimon! I would have gone mad without this blog and your guidance. Thank you for answering all my questions, you are doing some great work here!
We are so very excited to go!
May 27, 2016 at 20:27
Hi Brit!
I’m sorry to post my interview experience today meanwhile I had my interview since the 3rd of May.
Before I come to it I would specially thank you sir, Mr Brit Simon for what have been and are doing through this site. Through you I learned how to unlock, to prepare well for the interview, to be patient and much more. I remembered once your advice to me was ‘react fast before your case become current’ which I followed and would have regretted if I had done otherwise. You actually held my hand as a father will do for his kid to go through a difficult situation.
My Interview experience, US Embassy Yaounde (Cameroon), May 3rd 2016
After paying the interview fee and submitting our documents on that 3rd May, I was called to a room where I met a man who asked me 2 questions:
1) when was I married? I give him the date and he asked that how come the married certificate format is a recent one which was not available by the time I claimed I married?
2) why are 3 of my children having birth certificate done almost the same period? Before I could say something he said I will explain to the CO.
I guess he suspected we’ve fake the docs
Our number appeared on a window for collection of photocopies, medical exams report and other docs. I was asked the same questions on the birth certificates which I explained that I recently established them I have supporting docs to prove they are my children.
The next window was the CO’s for interview. My finger prints and that of my wife were taken and she asked us to swear that all we were going to say is the truth and we did. She asked questions concerning our marriage, when and where did we met each other and I answered and she asked about the birth certificates. She was very tired as she told us and she said she needed time later to go through all we attached. She simply flip through the pictures and saw two of the children pictures at birth and she asked me for the 3rd one which was not. She fill out a pink colored paper and gave us. On the paper it is written that for the moment we cannot be issued visa until further administrative processing. We left the Embassy partly disappointed but thanking God for interventions.
While we return to the Pastor’s friend house where we lodged in hurry to book for a car back to Buea, I got a call from them calling me to come back to the Embassy. I reached there about 40 mins later and the man who had first confronted me came with the file of our docs and asked me about the same birth certificate but this this time gentle. I explained that I had never established birth certificate for them except now. They never knew birth certificate could be established some years after birth. I told them the process I took to get it and they said I need to present the court declarations of the three birth certificate as fast as possible.
We return home I was able to find pictures on the child who had no pics at birth and with the declarations, I left for Y’de the next day. While on my way, I received a call from them informing me that I should not border to come with the declaration but I inform them I’m already on my way and they said OK. I went there, presented the declarations. The told me if there is any thing they will need from me they will call.
I later on check my status and it was showing ready. the next time it was updated was AP and the next was issued. I went to the embassy yesterday and collected the six passports already visaed with sealed envelops inside.
Once again thanks Mr Brit Simon and good luck to those awaiting their interview. The last thank you to THE ALMIGHTY GOD.
June 1, 2016 at 17:22
Dear Britsimon,
Got our approval today! Really happy and a big load off our shoulders! Thanks for your tireless effort to help others. Hope this can bring some value:
Embassy: London
Interview Date 1 June 2016
We (husband, daughter and I) arrived an hour early and they let us in with no trouble at all (no line!). The London process has been well described, so I won’t repeat what is normal again, but will highlight some interesting bits.
After our queue number was pinged, a man at the counter started taking our finger prints and documents. He was quite organized. Then about 10 mins into this, he handed over to a lady who took over the administration when he went off for his break. In contrast to the guy, this lady was a bit of a mess – she started all over again, was not organized, kept asking us for documents she had already asked for and kept losing track of what she had already in her stack… so that was stressful – we had to keep an eye on our documents in the stack and tell her where SHE has placed them on her side of the counter when she asked for the same things again LOL… if not for the importance of the process, I would have said it was almost a comedy.
In our case, my husband is Brit (winner) but it’s charged to my country of birth (Singapore). We’ve lived in many places and so had a series of police reports. Everything was per expected, with the following exceptions/highlights:
ON POLICE REPORTS:
1. Police report from Abu Dhabi not needed (no reciprocity) – so that was easy and consistent.
2. They asked us for UK police reports for me and my daughter (non-brits) at the collection of documents, and then later at the interview counter. We explained we have never lived in the UK and had just flown into London from Amsterdam and LA for the interview, so that was ok.
3. They wanted Singapore police report for my daughter who is 20 years old, but have not lived in Singapore since she was 11 years old. Thankfully we had prepared for that – even though I believe this is probably technically not needed!!!
4. They did not want Police report from the Netherlands where we live now, because we were just under a year (even though we have them in hand)… BUT before she decided, the interviewing officer clarified “When are you leaving the Netherlands for USA?” We said as soon as we get the visa in our passports – she calculated that we would leave the Netherlands just before we hit a year there, and said she wouldn’t need the reports in that case. However, based on her line of questioning, I believe that if we had said we were leaving the for the USA after the 1 year mark, she would have wanted those police reports. NOTE that this means she is calculating the one year in advance of us actually being there for one year as of the date of the interview… interesting.
5. We had translations for police reports for China and Taiwan – so those were not questioned at all.
(I have to note here that the lady collection the documents (probably local staff) was very confused about the police reports and all of the clarifications were done by the interviewing officer (American).)
ON I134:
The lady collection the documents asked for the I134. We had an I134 package from a good friend in the USA, but we offered her our bank statement instead and asked if that was good enough (we wanted to be able to return he unopened I134 to our friend if possible) and she accepted that. No question on that at the interview.
ON WORK AND EDUCATION:
They only cared about my husband’s work and education papers, even though my husband charged to my country of birth. Did not want my education papers, even when we clarified. We figured maybe they can see both our long H1B histories in the system and know I have the right education level already??? not sure what is going on there. But we were prepared anyway.
On ACTUAL QUESTIONS:
– Who won the lottery?
– You’ve all lived in a lot of places, so can each of you go through where you have lived for more than a year and what police reports we need here? (she spoke to each of us directly for this question)
– Why do you want to live in the USA?
– What will you do there?
Then she had a chat with my daughter about attending school in UCLA where my daughter is a junior now, and she laughed about Bruins versus Broncos a few times when she realized we’ve lived in So-Cal before, asked us where we will live and if we still had our home in the states… She was smiling all along, so by that time, we were feeling comfortable…
Then she said “Congratulations, I am going to approve your application today!” and she made confetti movements with her hands and said “I sometimes wish I can throw confetti here!”
We laughed and had a group hug… went for afternoon tea to get over the shock… and I am still not quite sure how to feel right now 🙂 All in all – I thought the London process was smooth, but I think everyone should note what Britsimon always says – TO GO PREPARED WITH MORE THAN YOU THINK YOU NEED because sometimes they do go off from what we understand to be “technical”.
Best of luck to everyone else!
June 1, 2016 at 19:37
Awesome – some great points in there. You are correct – the Singapore certificate for your daughter was not technically required, but it’s good you had it. Your education etc WAS technically required, but I’ll bet they do not understand that nuance of the law. In theory you should both have to enter together, but that probably won’t be noted on your visa (so therefore not required).
June 1, 2016 at 23:25
Funnily enough, we were told twice that we had to enter together 🙂 they seem to have got that bit right… Anyway we had planned that in advance and will do a turnaround flight to Boston in 10 days or so to activate the status, mainly so that my daughter can get back to school. A bit disconcerting today for everyone because of the UCLA incident on campus… I guess we won’t forget this day in a hurry!
June 1, 2016 at 23:50
OK – so they simply misunderstood the rule. That rule (or at least the guideline) is this:-
“(c) A principal registrant born in a country, which is not among those for which Diversity Visas are available, and the spouse who was born in a qualifying country, may be issued DV visas, provided the relationship was established prior to submitting the entry. In such instances, however, both applicants are considered principal applicants for the purpose of cross-chargeability and must be issued visas and apply for admission to the United States simultaneously.”
So – they understood the latter part of the sentence (“… apply for admission to the United States simultaneously”) BUT they did not understand the import of “.. both applicants are considered principal applicants…”. This is clearer in other places, but they clearly don’t get the nuance.
No problem though – it won’t affect your activation.
June 1, 2016 at 23:59
Interview held in the Republic of Congo at the Embassy of the United States of America on June 1st in 2016 at 9:00 am, at Brazzaville City.
I got approval today for the visa on June 1st….
I am from CONGO-BRAZZAVILLE, and finding out that I been selected for further processing in the diversity Immigrant Visa program for the fiscal year of 2016, on 5th May 2016 has been a marvelous lifetime gift graced upon me by GOD. All started in China from the year of 2012 on a foreigner student status, when I heard about the lottery for the first time from my country mate.
And immediately after hearing that, I have tried to get filled in with some meticulous details of information regarding its benefits as a selectee for the USA DV Lottery Visa. And quite frankly I have been impressed positively by this lottery. After multiple researches, I came to a conclusion that immigrating to USA via this lottery program must be the most effective cheapest way to accomplish one of my dreams if I happened to win.
So in October 2012 I have decided to give it a shot for the first time by effectively playing it. During those three consecutively attempts regarding my own experience, it has panned out for me in my third attempt which I found out on May 5th 2015.
After I have been selected for further processing in the diversity Immigrant Visa program, I was kind of a fish out of water and I did not know from where to start gathering information for the next step leading up to my interview at the USA embassy. For such a stressed man I looked at that time and I started browsing the internet in a quest for a kind of Blog that can provide guidance and advices towards selectees for the USA DV Lottery Visa. After undertaking some researches, I had bumped into Brit Simon’s website (www.britsimonsays.com) where I found substantial information regarding the overall process from the moment you get selected all the way up to what someone needs at the time for the interview. Brit’s website has been my remedy and played a dictionary role as well for me if I may express myself in this perspective.
Every time when I was in trouble, lacking sensitive information that may cost my interview, I was then going through Brit’s website to get satisfaction via consultation to the almighty Brit.
I would like to seize this opportunity to urge people who had a chance to get acquainted onto Brit’s website to spread the news worldwide to those people in need of information. From my own experience with this USA DV Lottery VISA, there is one thing I came to realize that USA DV Lottery VISA teaches patience. I have been asking Simon questions after questions and at the end I can confirm Simon was right, patience is the best remedy by following our Brit’s advices, being an ace in this field and holds multiple years of experiences in this area. When one follows Simon advices things must be simply fine.
I am here in person to give a testimonial about that because over the past months, I have presented a situation to Brit that had me chickened out and got me panicked. My concerns lied on my birth certificate and my High School Diploma. In a nutshell, there was a problem of conformity of my full name with those two documents. There was a slight difference between those two documents. On my High School Diploma there was missing a hyphen between two of my name but meanwhile on my birth certificate there was a hyphen between two of my name. Brit told me at that time it would not be a problem at the day of my interview and he stated that this situation was trivial. But despite of Brit statement on my case, I have opted to bother myself a little bit more by voting for a plan “B” to request a personality certificate from an accredited institution in my country that provides such kind of document when needed.
For me the personality certificate was a force to be reckoned with (just in case), and that was undoubtedly the way I saw it. The personality certificate plays a prominent role in this kind of situation by stating those two names written in different manner was still designating the same person to prevent unwelcomed situation that may put me in a scary situation. And at the day of my interview, the interviewer did not at all point out this problem and my personality certificate remained useless and I was obliged to keep it in silent in my computer bag. So I am elucidating this example to testify one of manner on how good is Simon when it comes to giving people advices and guiding them.
Okay I have talked enough about the outside site of my interview story, and it is about time to get right away to the business and tell my story regarding my visa interview. My interview was similar to the former ones and did not last at all and it was something pretty straight forward less than two minutes to be specific.
At the day of my interview, I woke up earlier in the morning than usual due to my interview that carried a lot of weight for me. And i was obliged to make some sacrifices for that right sole day. Knowing that i lived within an area with a churning traffic especially in the morning when people rush out to make it on time at their offices, so I had to wake up earlier than usual. So the interview was scheduled at 9:00 am and I got up at 5:00 am and made myself ready then I took a cab and reached the USA embassy at 7:00 am.
Upon my arrival at the embassy, I was the first one who got earlier. I waited along with others until the Virgil let us in when it was time to make our way down inside.
The daily routine checks have been done from the entrance, and then I saw a woman from my country who asked me to hand over her my documents, which I did immediately.
Each document has been submitted at the following manner (ORIGINAL +COPY OF ORIGINAL +ENGLISH TRANSLATION).Since I come from a country where French language is our official administrative language, and then I had to translate documents in English to meet the rules set by the USA embassy for the interview.
Here is the list of documents that I have furnished to the official
1) Master degree (my highest degree,)
2) High school diploma
3) 3 Police Certificates from (Benin ,China ,Republic of Congo)
4) Birth Certificate
5) Passport (just the original)
6) Sealed envelope for the Medical exam
7) 3 photos
In my country, the USA embassy does not demand to the interviewees willing to immigrate to the United States of America to provide the bank statement either the affidavit of support form. With that said, the bank statement or the affidavit of support form remains optional and it is up to the interviewee to provide it or not.
After handing those documents over the official, then she had glanced over the aforementioned documents that were listed with an undivided attention. And my worries were on my High School Degree due to the missing of the hyphen within my two names and thank GOD the official did not at all care about that and told me everything was okay. But until that right moment nothing was screwed up in beforehand and there was still some hope left upon me. Because if things had gotten out of control due to the missing of the hyphen on my High School Diploma at that time, then I would have brought up my ace in the hole which was my personality certificate to readjust the situation. Thank GOD and things exactly worked out as Brit told me over 3 months ago (meaning that I was worrying for nothing regarding the missing of the hyphen between my two names on my high school diploma and it did not matter at all). Then I have been told to go and pay 330 USD to the cashier which I did immediately.
I have then been attributed a number and all I had to do was to sit tight and wait for my number to be called up.
15 minutes later it was my turn and my number got called for the genuine interview.
CO: Hello
ME: hello
CO: Do you want to be interviewed in English or in French?
Me: I chose English (I could have chosen French because it is our official administrative language, but I did not vote for that to gain some marks and let him know I can speak both)
CO: please rise up your right hand and swear that everything you are going to say, is the truth
Me: I swear everything that I am about to say will be the truth.
CO: how many times have you played the lottery?
ME: Three times
CO: Can you give me those years when you played during three times?
Me: First time in 2012; second time in 2013; third time in 2014
CO: can you cite me the names of those countries you lived in?
Me: Benin, China
CO: have you committed a crime over the past?
Me: No
CO: are you married
Me: No
CO: do you have kids?
Me: I don’t
CO: are you traveling alone?
Me: yes, I am
CO: do you have some family members in the US?
Me: I don’t have..
CO: so if you don’t have, so why are you willing to immigrate or live in the US?
Me: I will live with my elder’s sister friend as for the beginning
CO: Alright, So why did you leave china?
Me: I left because I had already graduated and I was done with my studies
CO: Congratulation your visa is approved, we will call you after some days or at most 7 days later to inform you to come and take back your passport with your visa sealed inside.
Me: thanks, I felt so ecstatic and blessed at that right moment and I thanked GOD.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank Brit who was like my bedrock during the overall process, and I could have gone mad without his blog that really helped me. May GOD bless you more. For other selectees still waiting to be current and those who are already current, I am wishing you all success for your upcoming interviews. MAY GOD ASSIST YOU and of course MAY GOD PROTECT BRIT as well because if he is unhealthy how can we be guided, and indeed he is our center piece during this overall process.
Thanks one more time Brit for Everything!
June 7, 2016 at 21:45
Nice write up – thank you for that – it helps others. Being well prepared made the interview simple and short. That is the ideal outcome – so well done!
June 10, 2016 at 00:05
our interview took place in Yde Cameroon. My spouse, two kids and I had our medical done one month before. We collected the our medical results on the eve of the interview. On the day of the interview, we left the house at 7am and by 7:10am we were at embassy. We passed through the first security post where our bags were search and we when through the second security post and we emptied all that was on us. Here, numbers given. We sat down and was called at the cashier’s post. Our original documents were checked, taken and we paid the interview fee in local currency. We sat down and were called again in window 2 to take finger print and summit photocopies of of documents with photos. After closed to 15 minutes, a consular officer called us. She was very welcoming congratulated us for winning the DV. She took my wife’s and my left finger prints asked a few questions:
which state are you going?
Who lives there?
Where and when did you meet your spouse?
my wife’s occupation was also asked.
Take an oath that all you have said is true. Your visas have been approved. She then gave us a yellow paper with a number and date to come back and pick our visas. Thanks so much
June 11, 2016 at 05:13
Thank you.
I presented my birth certificate, O and A-level certificates, professional certificate, and certificate of non conviction.
for my family, they presented only their birth certificate but for my wife who presented the the certificate of non conviction
No affidavit of support is needed but it’s good to take one there
June 28, 2016 at 19:02
I believe am gona miss this outstanding blog, because today i had my interview. my case number is 2016AS75xx (single) interview location Riyadh (ksa). i drove yesterday for 5 hours to a hotel close to the embassay. my appointment timing was 12:30 and i was the first guy to be called to the counter. I was more than confident with all my supporting documents. i was asked to present them and in parallel i was asked couple of questions about my self. after that i was told to wait for the consular interview which took place after 3 hrs of waiting. the consular validated some info (what am gona do there and what am currently working in ksa) and finally he said congratulations your visa is approved.
i feel very thankful to this unique blog headed by Mr. Simon. i lie if say i dont open the blog daily, i memorized even the comments number and even the nick names of some people who used to comment much. i have the same feeling of the graduation whereby your happy for what has happened but internally your gona miss the daily routin. at the beggining i had no clue about how things goes in the DV but a year plus of the daily surfing in britsimonsays.com enriched my knowlage.
Thank you again for the suspence that you created specailly with your forcasts for the bulletin and when we will be current,this is the best feeling in the wold.
May Jesus bless you and your family.
June 28, 2016 at 23:05
Congratulations and best of luck!!
June 29, 2016 at 18:01
Case: 2016AF31114
Interview Venue: Freetown, Sierra Leone
Date: 28 June
We had our interview yesterday, I and my wife arrived at the embassy by 7am, and spent about 15mins outside waiting to go through the security check, later we then went and took the DV interview slot number, we were No. 18, After 2-3 hours waiting we were called to the 1st ate to submit our documents and they took our thumb print, and after 30 min we were called to the second gate to pay our fee $660, and after another 40min we were called for the interview, it was just for 2min, she asked us to take thumb print
1. When did you get married?
2. Where did you meet?
3. What did you studied (I and my wife)
She said my degree original result was not present, and they cannot make decision on our case until they cross check with my university since i only brought statement.
Q1. Now my question is what can i do, since the lady said it will take time to process it, and am hurried that the visas will may be finish before September 30.
Q2. Can i aske my University to email the embacy with my Transcript and a cover note, since at the moment my result cannot be available.
July 4, 2016 at 14:52
Sri Lanka – DV Asia
Reposted from https://britsimonsays.com/ask-questions/comment-page-20/#comment-41908
Hai Everybody , I would like to share my interview experience in Sri Lanka embassy.
I am the principal applicant and add my wife in the case after i got married. We can request KCC to unlock the ds 260 form and add derivatives after the submission only for spouse and new infant. as usual , My spouse name is missing in interview letter (2NL). That is Normal . you request embassy to add her name and then they mail me a letter . After only , we did the medical examination.
During interview ,
It s quite simple. But we were in tension at the gate until 1 pm. The letter says time for interview and is not a accurate fixed time . the process starts from 1 pm and need to pass the security blocks.
then after we need to inside of office with token number they provided at the entrance. The entrance Security office has name list of people who attending the interview and visa collection.
At the office , The office clerk collect the documents one by one with originals and 01 photocopies and took finger prints. The printed DS 260 forms are essential. Next we pay the cash at counter. Please bring the cash not bank draft which makes clarifications some times. The token number displaying at the front and direct you to counters and consular interview.
After documents submission and payment done , we have to go consular room after the token number displayed to consular room. There is a narrow room . we were standing one side and other side consular , glass between us. The first , we have to take oath by raising one hand next finger print again. The consular kindly talked with us regarding education , work and our marriage. The final part talked regarding affidavit of support which is not enough to cover us and provided a yellow paper with indicating needed document from new sponsor. Asked us to mail as soon as possible. Says Congratulations both of us.
I gave a bank balance but they did not consider our bank statement ( 20,000 USD ) at the interview and need only affidavit of support with 1040 , w2 , payment slips , ID and photo. I have sent new sponsor after a week. AP leads only 10 days after interview and Now changed to issued.
Thank you Brit simon.
Every things done by your blogs and answers.
July 5, 2016 at 17:50
Thks so much Mr Birt, for the great help toward our program. Today we had our interview i am from Monrovia Liberia. Our interview when on Successfully but the co ask me one questions, why i am using my Mother in – law email address n i told her that I was not having email address at that time. She said it was ok. N them give us a white paper saying that she need to carry on some back ground check on the email. she said, She will call us but it won’t be long. Because i ask her when she will call. MR SIMON, as for my case how long will it take. On AP? ON the paper it say too weeks or nine months before calling. But she said, she will call us soon. We only have 3 months left.
July 6, 2016 at 00:24
Hi ,,,, any one had detailed experience in Abu Dhabi – UAE ?, my case is AF201XXX, ,,
I received my 1st interview on 10 April ,,,, earlier April i was not having school degree ,,final exam was in June 2016,, which I send them email and asked them to give me some more time as I don’t have degree ,,,,,,
I called Abu Dhabi embassy ,,, they really tried to help,,,, at first they did not found my case number in their system,,,, after calling 3 to 4 times ,,, we come to know that I have to register my case online http://www.usvisa-info.com,,,,, than only they can view my case ,,,,, I register with said Web, ,,,according to my country of residence (UAE-English version ),,,,,
I put same details as we’re entered in DS260,,,, info required was only for few question, name,,,, passport ,,,, case number ,,, date of birth ,,,,,, once register ,,,,, I called again ,,,, and explain I don’t have my degree or any proof as I am expecting my exam in June 2016 and will have degree in mid July ,,,,,
she lisented carefully and told me to cancel interview date (10th April ),,,, and then send email to contact center explain every thing clear ,,,,, may be if possible they can give you next date,,,,, I did it,,,,, here the original text I have sent, she told me to cancel appointment and select any new date available in calender ,,,,, I found on 18th may was available ,,,,,
,, I told her ,,, I don’t want this date,,,, she told me just select the date ,,,, once you select an option ”expedite request ””’ will appear in your case,,,,,, then write whatever true problem is ,,,, she told me explain as much as you can,,,,, CO will read and if approved will reset date to any appropriate date,,,, I did as following
””’
Expedite Request
Dear Sir/Madam, Hope you are doing well ! , I had been scheduled for an interview of DV-Visa by 10th April 2016 8:00 am, which I had canceled previous month , Sir as principal applicant I would like to request you if possiblpossible, ,I can get the reschedule date in August 2016 or after mid July 2016 , the problem is my education certificate ( high school degree ) in Morocco will be ready by 1st week of July and I would not be able to present complete documents if appeared for an interview in May. I know the consequences that once rescheduled there is no guarantee to get possible date of DV visa interview , but I am just requesting you on a possible hope. I have selected interview date 18 May 2016 , to get link of following request page only, kindly accept my request to have it in august 2016 .Please……. I have no idea what to do at this point, just I don’t want to present uncomfortable documents in interview to waste time value of money for embassy and officers, with due respect kindly help me out, to get august 2016 date so I can present my all documents together. Than you very much for your time. Regards
Status
Approved and Scheduled for 2nd August 2016
Processed on 24 April, 2016, 13:54:09 “”””””””
One more thing I passeD:) and degree in my hand ,,,, preparing for interview, ,,, need suggestion if any one had interview in Abu Dhabi embassy ,,,, plus do I need affidavit from sponsor ???
,,, I’m getting around 2500 US $ each month as salary
July 7, 2016 at 18:48
From Congo, live in London with a congolaise and Uk passport. i am the main applicant with my husband and 3 kids. I was worried because you just do. Had a copy of all my documents. The 1st CO who collected our documents only wanted one id picture. He then asked if I had two copies of marriage certificate and I did not as he wanted to attach 1 to my file and 1 to my husband’s. He wanted passport, police certificate, birth certificate, marriage certificate and my high school diploma whch was translated in English as it is from Congo. For police certificate me and my husband had to provide one from Congo too. He asked for the affidavit of support but I gave a joint bank statement with a balance of 39000 us dollars for a family of 5 and that was accepted .He Asked us to sit back. We were called after 15 min and interviewed by an american lady who had worked in Congo. She asked us a 1st question about a politician in Congo who want to become president. If we did not know him, she would have doubted our origin as my husband is mixed races. She asked more questions about our country and kind of went into a hot short debate which confirmed where we are from. She asked why we want to move and my daughter said she will have her own room and buy lot of cheap make up. She said we are approved. Today, a day after our interview, it is showing on ceac as issued. I told her I had 2 passports she said she will put the visa in my Uk passport. Thanks Britsimon for your blog which has guided me since my selection. Any one who want to ask me more, I will be more than happy to help. Good luck to you all. My advice is to just over prepare. You want to go for your interview and close everything the same day, not go on AP.
July 14, 2016 at 02:16
Embassy: Islamabad, Pakistan
Country of charge-ability: Saudi Arabia
Hi all,
I’d like to share my DV interview experience.
I am a Pakistani nationality holder, who was born in Saudi Arabia. So my country of chargeability was naturally Saud Arabia.
Pakistan is not eligible for the DV, so when I got selected I was very worried that the US embassy in Islamabad might be too harsh or even reject me, as I had not found a single case online where the applicant got interviewed in Pakistan.
So I tried to gather all documents I could think of…
I want to help other Pakistani passport holders who get selected and will get interviewed in Pakistan…
So firstly, The following is the list of documents I gathered:
First news letter
Second news letter
Change of interview date email
DS 260 forms with there confirmations
Birth certificates ( with translations where applicable)
Under 18 children in the family form (B-form)
Family registration Certificate (number of family members registered in the country)
Marriage Certificate (nikkah Nama with translation and marriage certificate by nadra)
Education documents (secondary, higher secondary, bachelors and masters degrees)
My IELTS result and WES equivalency of my degree (not required anywhere but I still took them as I had them)
Police certificates ( from Saudi Arabia and the different cities of Pakistan I lived in)
Work experience ( all experience letters of jobs)
Our Bank statement (savings info)
I-134 form (along with w2, 1040, pay stubs, passport and drivers license copies)
Photo copies of every document
Medical ( sealed envelope given by the medical Centre after our Medicals.)
Family photographs
All old passports
National Identity card
(I got most of the government issued documents attested by the foreign office.)
I booked my medical a week after I received my 2NL. I realised I had been allotted an interview date on a public holiday (6th July at 7am). I panicked and tried contacting the embassy. But the embassy did not entertain any requests for immigrant visas on the phone, they asked me to email them through a specific link on their website, which I did immediately. I requested an interview date change. During this waiting time I got my medical completed for me, my husband and my two year old daughter. Thankfully after one whole week they replied back and gave me a new interview date (11th of July at 7am).
On the day of the interview I arrived at the shuttle service, at 5:45 am, that would then take me to the embassy… It was so crowded that I didn’t get a seat on the bus till 7:20.
I arrived at the embassy at 7:30 where I found out that everyone who has an appointment at the embassy is called at 7am. And it’s first come first serve. I had been given a token, and had been asked to wait. There were multiple windows and they would call out token numbers accordingly and get them processed.
The first window I got called to was for my visa appointment letter submission which basically told them that I was a DV applicant. They did mine and my husbands biometric. And then asked us to wait.
The second window they called us to was for document submission. One by one they asked me to submit my documents with there photocopies. They didn’t need a lot of the documents I took and the police certificates of Pakistan was one of them…. which I was amazed at as they were the hardest things for me to acquire. They asked us to wait again.
They called us at a third window for Visa Fee submission. They said I could pay in USD or PKR, whichever I had. I had taken both. So I paid with USD. They again asked us to wait till our token was called.
Not long after we were called to the final window, where a man had our file in his hand. He asked us to swear that whatever we say is true, then he took our biometrics again. He kept looking at my file and typing on the keyboard in front of him. He was very serious and quiet. He asked me only 3 questions….
Q1) when I moved to Pakistan
Q2) when I got married
Q3) how I figured to apply for the DV
After quite a long pause and stern looks at the computer screen and my file… He smiled at us and said your visa has been approved, we will keep your passports and now you will be contacted by the courier service to receive your stamped passports within 10 days. He wished us a nice day and gave me back all my original documents.
After my interview my status had changed from Ready to Administrative processing. And Two days after my interview my status changed to Issued on CEAC site.
I received a call from the embassy right before stamping my visa asking whether I would travel with in the deadline….as the principal applicant I must travel within the deadline of the visa. Which is 6 months from the date of my medical exam. The derivatives can come upto two months after. I replied with yes, they thanked me and hung up.
So, after this long story of my interview, I just want to say that the people at the consular centre have been well informed. Just because a country is not eligible, it doesn’t mean they don’t know how to process a DV case…. there might be people who get interviewed there who are eligible for the DV. You just have to be confident, have a smile on your face and be honest, be prepared. It’s better to be extra prepared. I took 40% extra documentation and I think that is why they knew my case was genuine. Don’t talk unnecessarily, just answer precisely. They are there to give you the visa. It’s not at all like an interrogation. They aren’t trying to find faults in your application. They genuinely want to give you good news. So just be true.
I wish everyone best of luck! And a very happy and bright future. 🙂
May God bless you all!
xoxox
July 15, 2016 at 10:02
Mr. Simon,
I highly appreciare your support given to me and all dv applicants. Today status were changed to issued.
According to your advises I prepared the all my documents very clearly.
Actually I was over prepared.Our marriage certificate and birth birthcertificates translations and A/L certificates were certified by the foreign ministry, Sri Lanka. All the photcopies of those important certificates were certified as true copies. I brought my registration album, wedding album and a big folder of marriage evidences before and after the marraige. I separately prepared all sponsor documents and my husbands documents.
We were interviewed at the Sydney Embassy. I am a Sri Lankan. I am the principal applicant.
At the document checking counter, they only took my degree certificate, degree transcript, birth certificate, marriage certificate and husband’s master certificate, birth certificate, police records and my employment records and Onet qualifications as an engineer and the copies . That is all.
They didn’t even look at the sponsor documents and marriage evidences, other education certificates. I was little unhappy that we spent more days to prepare those documents. My documents were weighted 10 kgs.However we were very confident at the interview due to our over preparation.
After the security check we submitted the documents to the document submission counter and gave our finger prints. Next paid our visa fee to the cashier. They gave us a number and we waited there about 10 minutes. A lady called us and gave back my employment records,onet qualifications, my degree transcript and husband’s Master certificate saying that those were extra documents.
We saw a pleasant gentleman was looking at our file carefully standing at a counter. He called our number and we both went there.
Without asking single question he told us that
” Congratulations! you are selected”.
He asked us us to swear that we are saying the truth.
He asked me “why the Australian police clearance was not there?”
I replied “I was not here for more than 6 months.”
He asked my husband that whether he lived in any country except Sri Lanka and Australia.
Husband replied States.
While looking at the computer he said he is checking the details with our documents. He gave us original documents and said that they will send our passport and visa packets within 2 weeks. That was all. we didn’t spend there at least 5 minutes.
Officer asked us to ask any question. Actually I was unable to believe dv interview was such a smooth and simple thing and asked my husband in my mother languge whether our visas are actually approved. Officer asked what was problem with me. My husband smiled and translated my silly question “she asked whether we received our visas? ” The officer smiled and said us ” yes. your visas are approved.”
Again,thanks a lot Mr. Simon. A special credit of our victory goes to you.
July 22, 2016 at 16:58
Hello Brit and ALL;
Here is my interview Experience at the US EMBASSY in YAOUNDE Cameroon
I will not start this experience without an epiloque intentionally to Thank God Almighty for his strenght and guidiance throught this though,enduring, and patience learning experience.Secondly, to You BRITSIMON for your wisdom in creating this blog which stood intrumental in preparing me to some target and to succeed. The dream of going to the US dates far back, but an attempt to play the dv i for an individual did that just three time( 2012,2013,2014), and God through luck accepted a breakthrough the last time.If there is something i learned about so far is that in LIFE YOU NEED TO BE PATIENT FOR GODS TIME IS THE BEST!!!!!. Here i go with my experience,
Interview location: US Embassy YAOUNDE
Interview date:19th July,
Interview time:7:30am
2NL Recieved date:19th may 2016.
I was the only one to attend because am not married neither do i have a child. On that date i woke up as early as 5am to check if all my documents were inorder and to make sure my dresses and shoes were ioned and polished;i considered good look part of the credencials,(LOL) at 5:30 i went down on my knees to pray and ask God for his final blessings,then at 6:00am i went in to the bath which took me some 30mins to do that and dress up. I board a car for the embassy at 7am and arrived at the embassy at 7:45, some five minutes earlier. There serious things were to begin;
I saw people standing in some two lines, joint them with my documents in had to go through the first security check where we presented our appiontment letter to tick our names on an already printed list then presented all we had including phones.Once through with the check we are guided to the interview hall where again we are given individual numbers according to arrival, then asked to seat and wait. After waiting for about an hour and a half am call up to join another line to pay the 330usd and there i presented all my documents as follows:
An appiontmen letter
Ds 260 Confirmation( all two,since i did reopen once)
Birth cerfiticate with copy
Passport with copy
Two Pasport size photo ( 5×5)
Ordinary level certificate with copy
Advance level certificate with copy
University transcrips( level 1,2 3) with copies
A Testimonial of success at the University with copies
A medical report(did that 3 weeks before interview) . collected two days before interview.
No Affidavit of support needed. ( Host system)
After recieving a receipt of payment i am asked to take a seat, after more than two hour waiting am call to another window where finger prints are taken, the lady asked if am married
ME……Blah blah blah ok
do i have a son? ME….OK , DO you need to change your address? ME….OK then asked to take me seat to wait for the final interview. after 30mins my number is called for the final interview!!!
CO: Good Afternoon ME : Good Afternoon sir, he was very wellcoming an smilling giving me hope
CO: Where do you want to leave in the US ME:….OK
CO: Who do you have there ME: A relative….ok
CO:SO you had your advance level in 2012 ME: YES…OK
CO: What are you going there to do? ME: …. OK
CO: So you have been waiting all day for an interview of less than a minute? ME: Its a Pleasure.
CO: CONGRATULATIONS YOUR VISA WAS APPROVED. ME : THANKS with a smile .then he gave me a yellow piece of paper indicating time and when to pick up my VISA. I will like to indicate the woman who took my figer print gave back some of my documents. IT was a pleasure and that scene has not left my forehead since i left the embassy. GOOD LUCK to all waiting for interview and I thank GOD FOR HIS BLESSINGS.
July 22, 2016 at 21:17
One Important document i forgot to mention as part of my credential is the CERTIFICATE OF NON CONVICTION
July 25, 2016 at 12:54
Hello Brit!!!!
Its barely a week since i had my interview, but my status shows AP. Pls is this a prob since i was asked to pass after two weeks and collect my visa????? OR there is nothing to worry about?? thanks for anwering. God bless u
July 25, 2016 at 14:36
Some people see AP for a short period of time (a couple of days) before the case shows issued. It might be that, or it might be true AP. Wait a few days.
July 25, 2016 at 18:46
BRIT!!
thanks for your reply, am very proud and happy to tell you that just as am writing, my status has changed from AP to ISSUED!!!!! God is really Great!!!! and Many thanks goes to you and your family, God bless you in abundance!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Good Luck To ALL
July 25, 2016 at 19:05
Great news indeed.
July 26, 2016 at 12:56
Dear Simon
At top of anything I would like to thank you a lot for the wonderful blog your running it was a great help.
My interview date was July 17, 2016
Interview location: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Case Number: 2016AS8xxx
My wife is the principal applicant and we have 4 kids, the interview time was 12:30 pm we arrive at the embassy around 30 min earlier so we waited until time comes I fall 2nd online there was a single guy before us after the security check we got inside and we have been given a number so we sat for about 20 min then they called us by the name not by the number we went to the window and the he was a great person and he was talking in our language ( Arabic ) so he started asking my wife about her place of birth, date of birth and asked for the birth certificate – in general he was asking for the document related of the question in the same time – then he looked at me and asked me about the marriage date with the document then kept collecting every document and asking about it at the end he asked me about how much I have in the bank so I told him a small amount (giving the number) then he said do u have a sponsor I said yes so he asked for the I-134 at the end he took my finger print and my wife and my daughter as she is over 14 years old then he gave me a paper to go and pay for the visas so I went to the cashier and paid in my local currency.
A funny thing happens that while he is looking at the medicals he notices that my daughter is not wearing her eye glasses so by a smile he asked her why you are not wearing them she said I forgot them at home as we went in a hurry.
Then he told us to wait for the Councilor to call us, we waited around one hour and ten min then we were called, the CO he told my wife that you will be giving finger print for yourself and all the kids who is under 14 years’ old so she did and me and my daughter then he looked at me and said I can see you got a Job offer in your documents I said yes he asked me where in the USA I answered.
Then he said your visa is approved and asked me to go the window where I was interviewed for the next step which was giving me another paper to go and pay for the courier so I did and came back handing him the receipt.
By today we received our passports and now we are preparing to move, sorry if I took long but as you said all details can matter.
All the best for all the DV winners 🙂
July 27, 2016 at 11:27
Dear DV applicants,
here is my experience
Casablanca, Morocco
Everyone knows about security procedures so we dont need to go into the details.
the first officer I met asked only for a my photo and high school diploma. then told me to wait to be called.
the second call was from the cashier to pas visa fees.
After a long wait, my name was called to one of the windows.
after he had all my documents he asked:
– have you been married?
– have you travelled abroad?
then he handed me two papers: one has info about social security number and the other one has info on the steps I should follow so that I can be contacted by a mailing agency to collect my passeport and the sealed parcel. the paper indicated logging into ustraveldocs website and to follow the steps.
what we conclude from this is that im already judged whether I receive a visa immediately after submission of documents.
another long wait …….then my name was called to the window where the consul was awaiting for me
I entered
he smiled and greeted
he asked me to take the oath
he took my fingerprints
– where are you intending to go in usa
– do you know someone
– how do you come to know him
– what does he do there
while asking me questions he was busy typing on computer
then he said: everything is alright. your visa will be processed within a week
he told me the to follow the steps on how to collect my passport.
I benefitted from the stories I read here, thanks everyone but big thanks to brit.
August 2, 2016 at 16:49
Hello Everyone,
I have only seen one interview story here for Sweden, Stockholm so I figure that I would write down my interview story to help others since Stockholm can be a bit tricky.
Interview Date: Today, August 2nd
Place: Sweden, Stockholm
I was extremely nervous to go to the embassy. I have been to the US embassy twice before but I was not sure if I had the right papers so I think that added to my nervousness.
I got there 30 mins before my interview time and went straight to the immigrant line outside the embassy (it is located on the same sidewalk as where and close to where you would enter to go inside the embassy). It was pretty obvious where you should go since the non-immigrant line was very very long and there was 0 people in my line for immigrants.
The officer called me in instantly and then you have to go through security check. They will ask you to turn off your phone and you will leave your phone there in a little pocket (they give you a paper with a number that you will bring back to get your phone back. Kind of like coat check).
I went inside to the office part and went straight to window 7. Over there I showed all my papers. The papers I showed were the following:
* Birth certificate with parents names included, signed and stamped by official
* Police Record (you will have to order it and it takes at least 2 weeks to get it. Order the one called “utlandsändamål”)
* Bank Statement in english from my Swedish bank, stamped and signed
* High School certificate in english, stamped and signed by principal
* I-134 with 1040, copies of ID, two recent payslips, W2 and job confirmation letter
Showing the papers were pretty simple. They are very strict so be sure to be well prepared. I brought 40 documents and ended up showing only 4. The lady told me that she could not use my bachelor education as proof because my transcript was not official so note that you will need to have official transcripts.
You will need to show proof of financial strength so I suggest you make sure you have both I-134 AND bank statements. I did not show my I-134 right away even though the lady asked for it. I showed my bank statements first and she said that I should be fine with them. I ended up giving her the I-134 anyways because I did not want to take a risk.
Be sure to have official documents preferably stamped and signed by an official and make copies. Also, do not forget to bring the delivery document that you need to show to get your documents sent to you (only for the people living in Sweden and not for other nordic countries).
Before I tell you about my interview I would like to point out to next years applicants that it is very hard to get a medical examination time in July/August. There are only 2 doctors and they both go on vacation right before midsummer up until August 8th. I had to go to Gothenburg last minute the day before midsummer because there were absolutely no other times before my interview. BTW, the Gothenburg doctor was awesome and nice. I ended up paying 2800kr and 900kr for my SJ ticket from Stockholm to Gothenburg. The medical in Stockholm costs 3500 plus 500. So it was actually cheaper to go to Gothenburg.
After I provided my papers I was sent to pay the Visa fee of $330 and then come back to window 7. I did this in 5 minutes. When I showed my proof of purchase to the lady with the papers she told me to sit and wait for my name to be called.
I waited for maybe 20 minutes before I got called to window 3 where a nice man interviewed me. NOTE, there are no clocks in the waiting area and the AC was super super cold. I would bring a watch and a sweater.
My interviewer was very nice and made me feel very comfortable. First he asked me to read two paragraphs and hold my right hand up. The paragraphs is about not giving out wrong information or lying and the wording is a bit tricky (especially when you are nervous). Just read slowly and try to be calm. After I read the paragraph the interviewer said: “Is that true?” and I answered “Yes”.
The conversation was very short. I have been in the US for 5 years so I did not really have to convince him that I wanted to move there. He asked about my education, where I intend to live, what I plan to do in the US. I answered truthfully and that’s all you really can do. They are nice and they do not try to trick you into saying something wrong.
The interviewer clicked a little on his computer keyboard and he said that my visa will get processed and that it was approved.
I had a good experience and I hope everyone else will as well!
Good Luck!
August 2, 2016 at 20:48
Hello ,,,, Would like to share my interview experience ,,,,,
ABU DHABI – UAE
8:AM 2nd August 2016
We were three in numbers , reached about 5 mints earlier ,,,,
Security gate 1st : handed over our passports along with DS260 confirmation page, which lady at window returned along with bar code sticker on it ,,,, took three mints Max,,,,
Security gate 2nd : handed over mobiles , car keys ,,, only they let us go with baby pampers and 2 set of cloths for my 1.5 year old daughter ,,,,,passed from scanning and moved to inside building ,
Counselor section gate : showeD our passport and got tokens, took around 02 mints,,,, lady asked us to wait for counter 07 or 08 ( only for immigration visa ) ,,,, once called for our turn,,,,
Waited around 45 mints and proceeded to counter 08 ,,, where lady was sitting ,,, ,,,,, we have all documents translated ,,,, so have a lot of papers ,, she took only following docs and returned rest ,,,, 90% of docs ,,
Original + copies
1.police certificate
2.birth certificate
3. Marriage certificate
4. High school degree
5.bank statement
6.i-134
Than she asked us to have finger prints ,,,, which took around 03 mints for all of us ,,,,once we returned to her she gave invoice to pay $ 330*03 person visa fee,,,
Took about 03 mints to pay visa fee and advised to wait for interview, ,,,,,,
Here begins the real story ,,,,,
There were 04 people ahead of us ,,,, and I feel happy all got dv visa approval along with families 🙂
Than our number called ,,,, there is privacy room ,,, for interview of immigration visa ,,,, quite nice,,,, the guy sitting there told us ,,,our file is not ready ,,, will call you again by senior CO
Once called by a nice lady holding all our papers along with passports and white paper( which is for visa denial ) ,,, asked following questions,
Your age is 30 now and last month you passed you High school ,,,, ?
She was clear that degree is not valid ,,,, because the lady took papers earlier ,, she did not take many important papers ,,,, which clearly defines the delay of education, ,,,
Because I completed high school in 2006 and did not pass the national exam and go for vocational study ,,,,,
Our half docs were in french and half docs in Arabic ,,,,,I m from morocco ,,,,
I explained her that I did not complete high school but just last year when we won the lottery as it has requirement of high school degree ,,,,
Than we explained her step by step from school 01 to 12 grade ,,,,, she was calm and try to help us and try undestand our educational system ,,,,
It was mistake of that indian lady who did not took our school papers which CO asked again ,,,, she called that lindisn ady and ask for explanation ,,, why she did not add in files ,,,,, she said something which I don’t know ,,,
Later CO ask my husband what work He do ,,,,, which company ,,,,, than she ask me do you have family or friend in us ,,,,,, we answered yes,,,,,
CO told us, as you know high school degree is key factor of DV visa ,,,, and I m still confuse about this degree ,,,,, I need 07 days ,,,, I will send this email to Us embassy morocco and will wait for there confirmation, as I really don’t know your educational sysm,,,,,and I can not make decision right now ,,,, even it’s seems to be valid ,,,and you explained well,,,
Important point ,,,,, she took back all those docs which ,,,,,that indisn lady did not,,,
She told us , you will be in AP for 01 week,,,,, than she remove white paper ( which was for denial )
And gave us blue paper in return ,,,
She told us she will try to close within two days but ,,,, at least one week,,,,,
Than she smile and told us best of luck, ,,,,
Senior CO was tried her level best to help us ,,,,,,
She gave us our passport back and told us ,,,, we will contact you with 01 week by max,,,,,,
So herd we are in AP ,,,, hamdulilah, ,,,, we still have chance ,,,,,,,
About degree,,,, so it’s original ,,,,,, only thing I completed in 2016,,,,
Hi brit ,,,,, you may add you professional comments for us ,,, plus do pray for us,,,,,
Thank you
August 2, 2016 at 22:38
I think you will be OK. You were wise to complete the education – AND the education standard is “arguably” met by higher degrees. So – they would find it hard to deny based on what you have said. All you can do now is wait.
Thanks for the detailed account – it will help others. Please let us know the outcome.
October 7, 2016 at 20:00
Hi brit ,,,, would like to complete the experience ,,,,, as above ,,,, we were on AP till after noon of 30th September 2016,,,,,, by 30th 10:20 pm status was changed to issued ,,,,
I started sending email almost each day to us abu Dhabi embassy after 15th September 2016 ,,, and they are really professional by replying each email,,,, CAEC status updated 18,19,20,21,22 but same with AP ,,,which was held for high school verification ,,,,, in short 26th received call from embassy that ,,,they need high school degree copy as they did not find in our file ,,,, that was strange ,,,,as I gave already ,,,,anyway within mints I send and received email confirmation that they will reply ASAP ,,,, 27,28,29 ,passed by no news ,,,, near mid night of 29 sep 2016 received call from us immigration section ,,,they want to speak with my husband ,,,, it was quite long interview they took from my husband ,,,,, 15 mints call,,, asking from age 18 till current date activities ,,,,, officer said ,,,, I’m sorry to call you that late but I have to finish this today before 12:00 ,,,, He said embassy will call you tomorrow , I guarantee you,,,,, 30th sep,,,Friday was not working day here in UAE ,,,He said yes we are working ,,,,you will get call, ,,, that really gave us hope ,,,!,,we waited whole day ,,,,, but nothing happended ,,,,,I was checking every hour till 10 pm ,,,,, than I said may be we are not cleaRd and chance is gone ,,,,we went to bed and ,,,,, suddenly my husband screemed ,,,issued ,,,,issued ,,,, issued ,,,,,, you my understand the joy of us ,,,,, in the end ,,,,,we should not loose hope till last mints,,,,, embassy called yesterday and asked to deliver the passports !,,,,
I delivered ,,,, and they told me they will send document via post ,,,,,, ☺,,,,,very happy ,,,an waking for visas,, inshallah, ,,,would like to extend my thank to brit boss,,, helping and guiding every one ,,,,,,,last thing ,,,,,any one hour have interview make sure to have affidavit of supports ,,,, they ask every one ,,,,who ever dv interviewed that 2nd yugust I asked ,,,, thank you,,,,,,
October 7, 2016 at 22:35
Congratulations!!
April 7, 2018 at 11:44
Hi Sabeel,
congratulations and many thanks for sharing your experience, can you please let me know the reason you prepared the I-134 form ? was just a precaution or you did not have sufficient funds in the bank statement ? or was specifically requested for by the embassy at some point, I was not able to find any reference to it but I have bank statement with more than enough fund for my family.
April 7, 2018 at 16:27
https://britsimonsays.com/all-about-public-charge-affidavit-of-support-i-134/
August 3, 2016 at 19:33
Good day Brit,
Interview: 02 August
2NL: 21 June
Location: Yaounde
I went for my interview with my husband and two years old son. When we arrived we saw so many people and we joined them.
We then went through the first security check, through the second and only then we had a number given to us.
We were called up to the first post where we handed in our original documents in this order ;
Appointment letter,
DS 260 confirmation page,
Passports
Passport photos,
Birth certificates,
Marriage certificate,
Certificate of non conviction,
Advanced Levels certificate,
Medical results in a sealed envelope and,
Our photo album.
We were also told to pay for our interview fee which we did. After that we were told to sit.
After a long wait for over four hours plus, we were called to window 2 were we handed photocopies our our documents. Also our finger prints were taken and then we were told to wait for our interview.
After about 10 minutes, our number was called for the final interview which did not last up to five minutes. The man was quite welcoming.
We raised our right hands and took an oath. The the CO said I have just some few questions for u which I know h will answer them rightly.
Then the CO asked us these questions:
Where did you meet ?
How long have u been together ?
How long have u been married ?
How old is your child ?
When did u have your High School degree ?
How old are you ?
Where do u want to go to ?
Do u have someone there ?
What do u want to do there ?
He later asked if my husband is a lawyer ?
After all these question, he now flipped through our photos and asked us where we got married ? He then handed our photo album to us. He started working on his computer and after a while be said its OK, your visas are approved. He then gave us a white sheet of paper with our visa collection date on it. It was a very simple interview. We were. We were barely chatting and laughing with the CO till we got our approval.
I also want to advise people not to take fraudulent documents to the embassy, because somebody was locked during the interview for presenting fraudulent documents. Once u meet the Dv lottery requirements do not panic, u will have your visas and do not tell lies to try to impress the CO. Be as pure as white and u will receive your approval.
GOD IS GOOD ALL THE TIMEA.
I want to thank you for all what u have been doing in this forum and that God should bless you immensely.
Today our case is now on AP.
August 11, 2016 at 20:48
Hi brit!! Thank u so much for everything!!!
I want to share my interview story.Nepal,Kathmandu.
My interview was held on may 25 2015 at morning 9 am.
I and my wife dressed well ,we went yo embassy at 8.30 am ,there is no point of going too early there because the guard will only let you in 5 mins before your interview time.
We enter inside,i give my high school certificate ,medical report,passport,photos ,policereport to the lady before the interview ,i submit only mine because i was the main applicant,i ask the lady if she want my bachelor’s certificate she said no need of that they only need my high school certificate.after waiting for 30 mins we were called to window nymber H1,we were the 1st dv applicant to face the interview that day.
CO:how are today?
Me:good how are you?
CO:good good ,so do u have child?
Me:………
CO:have u visit any other country?
Me:……
CO:what is ur marriage date?
Me:……….
CO:………..us ur sponsor in usa
Me:yes
CO: OK everything looks good,ur visa has been approved,make a portfolio so that u can receive ur passport in ur address.
Me: thank u so much madam.
Today im in usa living my american life ,thank u so much brit for all ur effort ,really appreciate!!
Roshan.
August 13, 2016 at 22:44
I would like to share my interview experience and hope that it helps someone. Below are the details of my interview:
Location: London
Date: 10 August 2016, 1pm (I arrived at 12.10pm and they let me in)
Applicant: Single 34 year old male only, no derivatives or spouse
Highest Education: Master’s degree
Country of Chargeability: Malaysia
Prepared documents for interview:
1. All new and old Malaysian Passport. Your new passport must have at least 8 months of validity from the date the visa was issued. Mine was about to expire when I want to travel to do my initial entry into the United Stated so I had to renew mine. Most of my police report etc has my old passport number on them but it is OK. Just bring the old passports.
2. 2 Passport Photos
3. Original Birth Certificate (In English so no translation needed)
4. All Original Education certificates from Primary School to Master’s Degree (Any original certificates not in English were translated by a Malaysian friend and signed to say that she is competent in both English and Malay Language)
5. 6 months Original Bank Statements with about £11,000 in balance
6. Affidavit of Support, I-134 from a friend in the United States. My plan was to reveal this only if asked. I have assured my sponsor of this. For question 11 in the form, your sponsor MUST ‘intend’ to make contributions and that the contributions must be non-restricted. If they have ticked ‘do not intend’, the form is basically useless. I did this stupid mistake initially asking my sponsor to just tick ‘do not intend’ as I actually have enough money (>$10k) and genuinely thought that the form was just a back up for the them to see that I have someone to help me in case I run out of money. That was obviously not the case until I asked Britsimon. My form also said that my Sponsor will provide free lodging, food and USD 500 per month for as long as I needed it. This must be physically signed and posted to you. Scanned copy of the form is not accepted. However, all other supporting documents can be photocopied or emailed from your sponsor as indicated in Britsimon’s article at https://britsimonsays.com/all-about-public-charge-affidavit-of-support-i-134/.
7. United Kingdom Police Report obtained from https://www.acro.police.uk/police_certificates.aspx. Remember that if your report says anything other than ‘No Trace’, you need to obtain more details. For example, if your report says ‘No Live Trace’ you will need to obtain Subject Access Request from https://www.acro.police.uk/subject_access.aspx which can take up to 40 days. Have a look at the https://uk.usembassy.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/16/2015/11/iv_and_k_interview_checklist2014.pdf for London Immigration Visa Checklist.
8. Malaysia Police Report obtained from https://travel.state.gov/content/visas/en/fees/reciprocity-by-country.html. Put your home country at the website, hit go and click on the vertical menu on the left on ‘Police, Court, Prison Records’. It will tell you how to obtain the Police Record for the country you want. Malaysia may take about 2 months to get it completed so you must prepare this in advance. The documents were prepared quickly by my government but I had my family in the country to pay, collect it in my hometown and sent it by mail to me.
9. Medical records – This is not really needed but I brought it along anyway. This is because the physician will send all medical report to the embassy before your interview. I just brought along all my vaccination record & some documents that the doctors gave me for my initial entry to the United States. I did my medical check up at an approved physician from https://travel.state.gov/content/visas/en/immigrate/immigrant-process/interview/prepare/medical-examination.html. I did mine 1 month before my interview but like what Britsimon advised me before, 2 weeks before interview is enough. I knew I was healthy so I didn’t need too much time. But for those who know they have an issue with their health ie STD / TB, you should get yourself healthy off them first before you visit the approved physician or else you will be paying more and waste more time to get it sorted. It will delay your visa. You should also time the visit to the doctor well. Don’t do it too early if you can because the date of your first Entry to the United States must be 6 months after you have been cleared from your medical examination, not your interview. So I dragged it as far as I could so I have time to get into the States later. If you need to do your first entry to the States more than 6 months after your medical check up, you will need to re-do your medical again and waste another £250 in London. If you have extra time, look up the site on what vaccines you need as the one provided by Knightsbridge Doctor in London is extremely expensive. Get all the free / cheap vaccines you can from your local GP first and get all the printouts on what vaccines you have obtained so you can pass them to the approved physician later.
10. Paid Courier print out to have my Documents couriered to me once visa is issued. I had to register it here https://ais.usvisa-info.com/en-gb/iv. You can select any option as it wouldn’t matter on registration. However, I encountered an issue when I registered. When I input my case number, they did not recognise my case number. I had to email [email protected] as per instruction to find out why. A day later they emailed me and said that my case number has not been uploaded to the system yet and that is why I couldn’t register. They uploaded it and apologised. I managed to register but there was a section where I could not get past if I did not schedule an appointment. BritSimon said that I may have done something wrong but I don’t think I have. I hope some winners can shed some light on this if you have interviewed in London. I tried to schedule an appointment based on my 2NL appointment but nothing was available on 10 August. I had to schedule it to the next available one on 18 August.
11. Printout of 2NL. This is very important but I will explain it at the section below.
12. All photocopies of original documents if you want your Original copy to be returned to you on that day.
13. All other documents which I thought maybe useful in case they ask but they were more of an over preparation. Mortage statement, Flat Valuation, Pension details etc etc.
My interview was at 1pm as per my 2NL letter. But when I arrived to this receptionist who looked after the queue told me she has no record of my appointment and my name was not on the list. She asked me what I was there for and I said I won the DV-Lottery and I was there to process my case. She looked at me confused, “DV what?” she asked. Don’t repeat what I have said to confuse them. You should tell them ‘I am here to apply for an Immigrant Visa’.
As they do not have a record of my appointment, she took my 2NL and asked me to follow her to the security section of the entrance so that she could get another officer to look at it. The other officer asked me what I was there for. I don’t know why I kept repeating DV lottery but I also accidentally said Non-Immigrant Visa. Don’t be stupid like me. I think I was too nervous and never think properly before I opened my mouth. You are there to apply for an Immigrant Visa. He said that he will sort it out and did something on his PC. Then, he came out and said it was all sorted and I could go in. If I didn’t bring 2NL appointment letter, I may have been rejected and asked to schedule an appointment again before I can see the officer.
I don’t know why they didn’t have my appointment as this must have been originally set up by KCC as it was stated in the 2NL but I believe I may have screwed it up from my Paid Courier print out in point 10 above. However, it might not be as well because if the officer have found out about my 18 August appointment via my case number, he would have said that I have come on the wrong day and asked me to come back. But he didn’t and he got me in somehow. I will never know what happened here but hope someone can shed some light on this. I wasted 10 – 15 minutes for this to be sorted. So, please print out your 2NL as this was very important in my situation.
I went into the reception area and they asked me what I was there for. After my first 2 mistakes, I told them correctly which Visa I was after. They gave me an I-XXX number and told me where to sit. You can use your phone and wi-fi is provided here for free. There are also reading materials for those who has no electronics. I brought magazines. It was quite quiet and I when counted there, were about 10 people before me. After about half an hour or so, my number was called up to the booth.
When I went to the booth, this guy already had my case on screen and a folder for my case. Firstly, he asked me for the document where my I-XXX number was stuck on and it was on my 2NL print out. Secondly, he asked me to pass him my current passport, old passport with old US visa if it was still valid, 2 photos and Birth certificate + photocopy. Then, he asked me if I have paid for my courier service and if I had any print outs. Next, he asked me for my police report so I passed him my UK and Malaysia Police report + photocopy. Finally he asked me for my Education certificates and asked me the highest level of education I have obtained. It was Masters Degree for me. At this point, he gave me back my Chest Xray in a DVD format from the approved physician and recorded my finger prints on the system.
Besides my Ids, he only took my police reports, education certificates and courier print outs. He didn’t even ask me for my proof of fund from my bank statements and I-134. However, I just want to say that as per Britsimon, this is on case by case basis, and I believe they would have asked me for it if I didn’t have a secure job based on my DS-260 data. Also, the fact that I was a single applicant with no derivatives and spouse made it even easier and perhaps the reason for not asking for my proof of fund. Please ensure you bring everything and over prepare like me. This first session took about 10 – 15 minutes then I am back out waiting again for another about 45 minutes.
On the second time I was called, I now face the Case Officer (CO) who is an American guy. He asked me the few questions below which I answered in short and truthfully:
1. How many times have you been to the States?
2. Where will you stay in the US when you arrive?
3. What are you doing in the UK now?
4. Will you do the same thing when you are there?
5. Have you applied for jobs yet? I answered that I will only start applying after I get the visa.
The CO was very polite and the questions were very straight forward. There was nothing hard about it and he didn’t even trick me into anything. He also asked me to raise my right hand to take an oath to confirm that whatever I have put in my DS-260 is true and correct. He then asked me to pay for my Visa $330 and return to the same booth. He also re-scanned my finger prints. After I have paid for my visa and passed him the receipt, he said “That’s it. All approved” and that I will get my passport and visa in 2 weeks.
Throughout my whole DV Lottery experience, it tells me that the preparation of documents is the key in this process as some documents may take a long time to obtain. And then you wait for your interview depending on your number. So be patient. The interview is just a short no stress interview and nothing to be worried about.
I wish everyone luck and hope you guys get into the US.
August 13, 2016 at 23:30
Wow – thanks for taking the time to write such a detailed account!
August 15, 2016 at 17:53
let me post my experience in the hope that it will help someone just like other people experiences helped me.
place of interview:nairobi embassy
date of appointment:15th aug,2016
applied as single in oct 2014 was heavily pregnant though i lost the baby and had a cs section,got married on july 2015 then added my husbands ds-260.
arrived exactly at 6am though my appointment was for 7:15am,went through security checks then waited for my number to be called..i submitted my documents,they took my finger prints and then was called to window 10 for the interview
her:can u lift ur hands and swear to tell nothing but the truth
us:yes we do
what year did u finish ur high school education
me :brrr
what was your overall grade
me:brr
her:do you have any evidence to prove ur marriage is genuine
me:i gave her email conversations dating from 2011 plus the few photos i had onli two of us together and two with his family members
(looks at the emails and the photos keenly)
her:(looking a bit angry)photos with his family doesn’t prove anything plus u have very few photos of you together
me:keeps quiet
her:referring to a photo of my hubby’s family…can u tell me who are in these photo
me:answers confidently
her:how and when did u meet
me:we met in the year brr dated through campus and started living together in the year brrr
her:and when did you start planning for this wedding
me:brrr
her:i can see u told the doctor at iom u had a baby n a cs scar,do u have the death certificate for the baby
me:no
her:that is very serious
me:keeps quiet
her:you visas are proved…didnt hear anything after that
All thanks to GOd almighty and to britsimon for this wonderful forum.May God bless u more abundantly.
August 16, 2016 at 03:46
Wow – you were very lucky to be approved without a death certificate for the baby – but realistically, if the CO was satisfied the marriage was genuine you would be unlikely to try and conceal a living child.
August 18, 2016 at 06:56
We would like to share our experience of the same.
First we thank God for the whole process and also grateful to Brit for this platform and the guidance given. We also thank everyone here for sharing their experience as we learn from them.
Straight to the interview- We had our interview on the 17th August in Nairobi, Kenya. We were three of us, my wife, our daughter and myself. We arrived at 6:30 am and our interview was at 6.45 am. It is however necessary to always be much early lucky for us our daughter was very young hence we were allowed straight to the security check. After a few minutes we passed through the first, second and third security checks to the main hall.
We handed in our passport and interview letter then told to wait. After some time we were called to counter 8.
On this counter it was basically handing in our documents and a few questions were asked.
CO: Is this your first marriage?
ME: Answered
CO: Do you have any other Child apart from this girl
ME: Answered
CO: (Same questions asked to my wife)
HER: She answered.
CO: Have you ever been denied Visa before ?
ME: Yes
CO: Which type of Visa?
ME: It was a student Visa.(Actually this happened several years back, in 2003- the reason behind it, was that the CO then didn’t see that my sponsor had enough finances to sustain me as a student).
CO: Kindly give me your Birth certificates (all the 3), marriage certificate, Police report and Secondary education certificate.
We handed them to her then she told us to go and pay.
We went and paid the expected amount, then had to wait to be called again for the interview. We had to wait for a long time the mistake being mine as I didn’t not return the payment receipt to her immediately after paying in counter 1, had we done that we would have been called much earlier. Anyway we were later called to counter 7 for the interview.
CO: Raise your right hand(to the both of us, then took the oath, basically saying all we shall say will be the truth).
After that our fingerprints were taken again, however our daughter wasn’t since she was a minor.
CO: How much did you pay for this Interview?
ME: stated the amount in our currency.
CO: Which high school did you go to?
ME: mentioned it.
CO: Which year did you complete high school?
ME: mentioned the year.
CO: What grade did you attain?
ME:mentioned it
CO: How many languages did you do in high school ?
ME: Mentioned
CO: What were the lowest grades and in which subjects ?
ME: I mentioned them.
CO:Have you done any other education program after high school?
ME: Yes, my Bachelors.
CO: How did you meet your wife?
ME: stated.
CO: When was that?
ME: 2005.
CO: When were you married?
ME: 2010
CO: Why did you stay for very long before marriage?
ME: Since we still in college we had to wait till we completed then think of wedding.
CO: Do you have proof for that?
ME: Yes- (We had carried photos of us on various occasions in university and also the wedding)
CO: Who are these in the photos?
ME: Colleagues from College( one of the photos while in College).
CO: Congratulation your visa is approved.
She gave us a green paper with instructions on how to receive the passports once they are ready and also a white paper that had our new number.
NB
While at the embassy there are somethings we learnt.
1. Be there much earlier
2. Always be over prepared in all aspects. In terms of the fee expected it is also good to carry excess while dealing with the local currency. This is because you may have worked on a particular exchange rate and when you get there they use a high exchange rate.
3. Always say the truth – its much safe and easier. (One couple got it tough when one of the couple was put to task to explain why he had a child outside their marriage while they were still together with her current wife).
4. Information given at the embassy will easily be retrieved on a different point when you will require their services.
We wish others all the best as they look forward for their interviews and new life ahead.
Thanks Brit.
August 18, 2016 at 09:16
Hi Brit
thank you very much for your help.
Had my interview on 19th May, 2016 in Nigeria…Nigeria because that where i work with with my husband tho a Ghanaian.
We were put on AP because they doubted my identity as a Ghanaian. I was the principal applicant
They requested for more prove of my identity which i sent them … my SSNIT card, Health Insurance card, Voters ID ans BECE certificate.
This site gave me hope as one word always pop up…WAIT(PATIENCE)
I waited for 3months with assurance from God and the words from people on this page.
We received our Passports with visa and the other package on 2nd August as our status changed to issued on 1st August.
AP doesnt necessary mean refusal…Get all your documents intact and be sure they are all authentic.
keep you fingers crossed and let this word sound in your ears..PATIENCE(FOR PATIENCE IS A VIRTUE)
thank you very much..all who contributed to this great joy, one way or the other.
BritSimon be reward accordingly.
See you in USA.
one love,
Akua Serwaa
August 18, 2016 at 14:02
Congratulations – your chances of approval were slim, but you proved patience and a genuine case can make it!!
August 20, 2016 at 14:15
This was my interview experience at Nairobi consulate section, Kenya.
My interview was on 4th of Aug, so since I am working in Afghanistan I decided to take my leave on the 15th of July so that I can make it to medicals and then next week my interview so I got ready with all my paper work at my work place (police certificate) .Time came I was on the flight back home to Uganda but remember while planning all that interview and medicals I had not or even didn’t book for medicals I only had it written down that I will do medicals on the 20th of July :p:p:)hahah while I was processing my police letter sitting down in the waiting area I stated reading thru the forum to see some new posts that’s when I read and remembered that I had to book so I rushed and called before I sent the email that was on 20th and guess what 25th was full so she gave me 28th thanked her and sent the email to with equipment’s Time was not on my side as I had planned left Ug for Kenya as my birth certificate was still in process so to make the story short finished up the medicals( two days) and my Birth certificate was sent on a bus on the 3rd so meaning I had to pick it first thing in the morning before heading to the embassy .
4 30am I was up 5 am at the bus got my paper work at 6am I was at the embassy at 630am went thru the security check up got my number and waited to be called all in all I was called 3 times to get to the CO
CO: Good morning
Me: morning
CO: raise your right hand and swear….
Me: yes ,I do
CO: what are yours names?
Me: X and Y
CO: What is your highest level of education school?
Me: X diploma
CO: Are you working?
Me: yes
CO: What are you doing (also what kind of work) and for how long have you been working?
Me: brrrrrrr
CO: Are you a supervise in you work area?
Me: yes
CO: How many people do you supervise?
Me: brrrrrr
CO: Can you explain again the duties you do at your work place?
Me: brrrrrr
CO: Wait 5 min I will be back
Me: OK, ……. “CO gets back after 2 min ……
CO: Do you have someone in the us ?
Me: yes, my sister
CO: How did she get to live in the state?
Me: lottery 2010
CO: Ok Sir your visa has been approved you will pick up your visa at your DHL brrrrrrrrrr
Me: Thank you mamu…….out I went
To all selectees that haven’t been interviewed yet this is what i noted please don’t be like me cause I was messing around with time please get ready as early as possible and also noticed that if your paper work is relay organized by the time you mite the CO the Visa is approved faster cause when the CO called me all she was doing was typing on the computer but when she told me your visa has been approved she just pulled out the blue recite with my case number written on with a red pen approved I didn’t see her write anything so meaning my interview was done all she needed was to hear how I defend my self-that’s all ,.. Interview took only 5mins if not the waiting 2mins.
I went back to work for two months I will be heading to California in Nov .Funny that some people are calling me crazy cause I came back to work not for getting that I need that pocket monieeee,,
I got the Green card visa cause of my working experience not cause of my high school yes I had one principal pass and the subsidiary pass but I didn’t not perform well so if you are like me don’t forget to fill and explain on DS-260 about your working …
As they all call themselves SUPER MODERATORS they are really super Susie, Mom and Britsimon, all other moderators God bless you and am still a member
August 26, 2016 at 08:38
Nairobi, Kenya
I arrived at the embassy at 5:50a.m.
The gate is still closed,so we had to wait outside in queues till the guards open the gates at around 6:45a.m.A security personnell instructs us to place our 2NL(interview appmnt letters) along with the ds-260 confirmation page, inside our passports.
Within no time,we start making the entrance at the main gate,one person at a time.
We undergo a further security check at the security office.Here,we leave our items & remain only with the document then proceed to the front desk at the embassy.At this stage,we are given a number,a sheet to fill in our names and a copy of dv instructions for us to read while chillaxing at the waiting bay outside.
Step 1;
After a couple of minutes am called to counter 10,whereby am asked to produce my Birthcert,KCSE,Police Cert and the Passport.After verification,am directed to go to the cashier’s counter to pay the Visa fee then come back with the receipt.
Step 2;
At this point,am called to another counter where i have my fingureprints taken, then i’m instructed to go once again to the waiting area and wait to be called to another counter for interview.
Step 3;
After a roughly 30 minutes,my number is called to the counter for interview.
CO:greets me
Me:I respond to the greetings
CO:asks me to swear that what am gonna say is true.
Me:I swear.
CO:tells me to place fingures of my right hand on a fingureprint machine.
CO:Asks if i’m married
Me:I say am single
CO:Asks the name of my host
Me:I answer back
CO:Asks how am related to my host
Me:blablabla
CO:The state my host lives in
Me:blablabla
CO:If i have any children
Me:I don’t have children.
CO:How much & in what currency i paid for the fee.
Me: I paid in USD,$330
CO:)Congratulations visa has been approved,then gives documents entailing the procedures to register with the dhl courier service through which my Visa will be channeled to me.I’m also given a white paper with instructions on how to pay the greencard processing fee.
Within 4 business days i had my Visa at hand.What i’d advice is-go prepared and with confidence and don’t give info. or produce a doc when not requested to do so.Goodluck.
August 29, 2016 at 16:36
Hi brit thanks for everything and for the guidance along the way from 2014 to present. I and my wife finally got our visas and we are grateful to the almighty God first and to you for all the information and guidance. My case involved cross charge-ability, as I was born in UK but claimed eligibility while playing the DV through Liberia.
My interview experience in Liberia, as Brit always says it is prudent to be overly prepared as you don’t lose anything for doing that but May lost everything for being under- prepared. We got to the embassy 20 minutes prior to our interview and were immediately ushered in. After security checks, our documents were arranged birth certificates for both of us, marriage certificate for both of us, passports for both of us, police certificates for both of us, WAEC Chip for me only as I was the principle applicant, Passports for both of us. We were called to the first window to submit our documents and make payment in USD 330 each and our documents were taken from us the guy taking the documents argue that my birth certificate was not original but I explain to him that it was an official copy from England which I paid for online in January 2015 you could tell by the seal in the sheet and the seal at the bottom of the sheet. He kept arguing but be confident of yourself by researching and familiarizing yourself with the entire process. I told him just pass it on I will justify to the CO if he a she has a problem with it. I also at that point decided to add the short copy of the birth certificate and an old photo copy of the one given to my parents two days after my birth and we were ask to take our seats.
After several minutes, we were called to another window we did our finger prints and the guy said why am I using three birth certificates and that the recent want issue was a scan copy, I explain to him that in UK the short certificate and the long one are issued, but I added the third which was a copy of the original issued at birth to further authenticate the most recent copy issued. When I understood that they were not familiar with such peculiar cases I just as him it past on and I would explain to the CO who I suspected would have more experience because the three of them were older persons.
After several minutes we got a call at window 6 and the Lady greeted us and ask if we would say the truth and we said yes. She ask me:
1. What was the purpose of my parents going to England……, and…… I answer her,
2. How long did they spend there…… I also answer and then figure out that she was trying to find out if my parents were there permanently or not so that she could charge me to them.
3. She ask where I work and what do you do and I answer.
4. She ask my wife you went to the states how long did you spend there……….. and my wife said three weeks
5. she said you came back and got married the same year right………. my wife said yes
She said congratulations you are going to the US because of your wife you should love, care for her and take good care of her there. I said thank you for charging me to her….. After she told me that she did so because she couldn’t prove if my parents were permanent residents or not at my time of birth.
Am so grateful to God and you Simon once again, I advise all others to be overly prepared I had my wedding photos, affidavit of support, school documents and so many other things but the CO did not ask for any. I think that confidence is the key during the interview and if you prepare well you will have it in abundant, and if your documents are legitimate and you fill out your DS260 am of the opinion that 65% of your approval is done before your interview. And meeting an experience CO for your interview simplifies it the most because they have been there and done that. In my case I didn’t have to explain much as I taught I would. Hats off Simon I will be donating in the coming keep it up the world will be a better place if we all show the compassion, patience and the helpful mind and taught that you’re showing every day I salute you and will continue to help others in the same vein.
August 29, 2016 at 16:46
Thanks for the detailed experience. It’s quite interesting to know whether they charged to Liberia because of the missionary exception OR whether they charged to Liberia because you were married to a Liberian wife. If it is the latter, both of you should have been treated as principal applicants (both proving education etc). In that case both your visas would be classed as “DV1”. If on the other hand yours is DV1 and hers is DV2, it means they charged to Liberia on the missionary exception (via your parents) because on the preponderance of evidence available they could not contradict your assertion that your parents were in the UK for a temporary period.
November 22, 2016 at 21:50
Hi brit. Here is our interview experience, as promised from the Dublin embassy Ireland .
Our interview was at 1pm. We arrived early as there are 6 of us, so lots of organising. Went through the usual security checks, and then into the embassy itself. We went prepared ( or so we taught ). Payed the fee and immediately an Irish girl started asking for our paperwork. We knew we had made a mistake on our country of chargeability. We put down Ireland but we should have put N Ireland. We printed of the hand book that says , as long as you haven’t done it for any gain and as long as it’s in the same geographical region, it can be forgiven. When we mentioned this to her and took out the hand book, she told us to put it away. She also had an issue with my husband’s birth certificate. His second name was changed by deed poll 34 years ago. We lost original deedpoll and couldn’t get a copy, anyway we did get a sworn affadavid. We had an l 134 form and 2 job offers. My husband is the main applicant. The girl taking our paperwork was so rude. She told us affadavid wouldn’t do. The l 134 for wasn’t for this type of visa. Job offers we not good enough, and that we needed contracts. We tried to explain but to no avail.
So we take a seat and about 20 minute’s later an American guy calls pat, myself and the 4 kids to another window. Finger prints taken and the kids were told to sit back down. He asked a few questions about why we wanted to move to America. He asked about the job offers. We explained all as honest as we could have. He then said that he was more than happy with our paperwork but my police certificate didn’t have my maiden name on it. He kept everyone’s passports but returned mine plus my police certificate to get it amended. Next morning of we went to the local Garda station, got a new one showing both names and returned it and my passport to the embassy via registered post. On the 17th of November we received an email from the the embassy to say documents relating to our visa application had been sent to the courior.
So after a night of no sleep, we arrived at the courier and picked up our visa.
So flights booked and we arrive in san fransico on December 15th.
We have to say thank you so much because if it wasn’t for all the information we were able to get of this site, we wouldn’t have been as educated as we were. So I suppose for anyone reading this the first person you see in the embassy is not always the person who makes the decisions. Luckily for us it wasn’t. I would also like to note that the consular officer was really nice and polite. A true Gentleman.
November 23, 2016 at 01:17
Sounds like the first person you dealt with was a piece of work – and doesn’t know the rules well.
November 23, 2016 at 12:14
She was, but common sense previled in the end.
Thanks once again ?