Suggest new FAQ entry
If you would like to suggest a new FAQ entry, please add a comment below. If I can I will oblige
PLEASE don’t clutter this page with other questions!
Donate & Support BritSimonSays.com
Recent Blog Posts
- FAQ updated with lawsuit specific questions
- Update from the AILA team and clarification of where we stand now.
- October 1 update – please read
- Court judgement released.
- DV2022 dates changed and announced
- Lawsuit hearing notes for Monday 28th
- Very important video about documents
- DV 2021 entry numbers and analysis
- Visa Bulletin for November released
- Update about the Kennedy case (Curtis 3.0)
Like my Facebook Page please!
Heath Insurance for immigrants
August 26, 2019 at 11:40 am
Advise or experiences of people who do not have friends or family in USA or know anyone,
1. Where do i get the address to fill in my DS260 where my GC will be mailed.
2. Can i add a hotel or rental address?
August 26, 2019 at 7:36 pm
1. Family, Friend, friend of a friend.
2. No
September 5, 2019 at 6:30 pm
1. Can a dv-lottery winner, once obtaining the green card, still own a company outside the U.S?
2. Can you still work outside the U.S once you are a permanent resident?
September 6, 2019 at 1:57 pm
1. Yes
2. Yes
September 22, 2019 at 7:38 am
Thanks!
But basically that would mean that you could say to the CO that you’ll be keeping your job in your home country (as a main income..) and that can’t be right..?
1. So to be safe, just have an sponsor as proof at the interview and then just keep commuting/work on remote once settled in the US?
2. How would one do their taxes if the income comes from another country…?
We haven’t even been selected (yet!) but we are in the middle of starting a business (that is quite lucrative) and we’re planning a bit ahead.
September 22, 2019 at 7:21 pm
1. You are supposed to live in the USA, but that doesn’t mean you can’t own a business elsewhere or travel for work outside the USA for short periods.
2. You have to report foreign income to the USA.
September 22, 2019 at 7:31 pm
Thanks you! You are truly such a blessing for so many people out there.
October 21, 2019 at 1:14 pm
I got married on 18 October 2019 and have my husband’s last name. I now want to apply for the dv lottery, however my passport has my previous last name. Do I apply on my old name even though I am now married with a new name?
October 22, 2019 at 3:16 am
New name.
September 22, 2020 at 5:55 am
Hi Simon,
My wife is in the same boat as the lady above, she has a passport in her maiden name, do we have to get a passport in her new name or can the green card visa be used in her maiden name passport?
September 22, 2020 at 10:24 pm
Same boat, same answer.
December 25, 2019 at 7:55 am
Hello britsimon I changed my previous passport and I take for anew passpor since i completed Ds260 for the previus passpor so can i ask unlock my ds260 kcc as i change new previous passport thank you
December 26, 2019 at 7:05 pm
Yes.
December 31, 2019 at 12:05 pm
Please why is it necessary to continue checking your entrant status after checking it for the first time in may. Is it possible your entrant status may change?
December 31, 2019 at 5:40 pm
You only need to check it twice – once in May and once again in October. The reason is that in some years more winners are added around September. That does not happen every year – and did not happen in DV2020.
March 21, 2020 at 3:07 am
Hi BritSimon,
I’m just wondering about criminal convictions. I have a drink driving conviction from 2009 and I know that this will be sent to the Embassy when I do a police check through the New Zealand Police. Obviously, I would raise it where asked also. I just haven’t seen anything on the forums or your FAQ about the likelihood of denial due to criminal convictions?
Thanks,
Kelly
March 21, 2020 at 5:20 am
One incident from over 10 years ago is unlikely to cause a problem.
March 21, 2020 at 7:28 pm
I thought the same, thanks very much for confirming!
June 10, 2020 at 9:02 pm
hello brit, really thanks a lot for your prompt reply and helpful information for my request about case numbers. it really helped me a lot to clear out the confusions i had. Earlier, i was just reviewing the printed copies of my DS 260 application and i suddenly found out about the error i made in the middle name section. In my passport, in the given name section, it says Samuel Dibabu. however, i just filled in Samuel in the given name section of the DS260. however i filled my sur name right. and fortunately, i filled in my given name correctly in my native language in the section where it asks “full name in native language”. so what is better for me to do? can i unlock my ds260 and edit it or is it not a big deal or anyother advice you could give me. i really don’t know what to do. thanks in advance for the helpful information you will offer!
June 11, 2020 at 1:02 am
Always quote the case number with year and region.
I assume 2021 – so there is time to unlock and correct. Do that, names are important.
June 10, 2020 at 9:14 pm
to clarify my previous message,
XXXXXXXXXXXX DELETED for your privacy XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
THANKS!
June 10, 2020 at 9:32 pm
Im Dosantos I have won the 2021 lottery but in 2018 I had a B1/B2 visa but I was denied entry and my visa was revoked in Chicago and I was deported back to kenya…will this bring any effect to my green card visa processing on the previous travel history?
June 11, 2020 at 1:06 am
Possibly – it depends why.
June 11, 2020 at 3:55 am
According to the charge sheet I had two visa denial in 2005 for an F1 student visa ..when I applied for the B1/B/2 I did no mention that I had visa denial since 10yrs were over from the date of denial..also they screened my phone and came out with some whatzup conversation that I made after getting the visa to friend of mine who asked me if I will return after my visit and I had replied….. ‘am not boarding’…a slogan that was common in Kenya when Miguna Miguna was deported from Kenya to Canada…will this situation affect my entry?
June 11, 2020 at 4:18 am
Possibly. Your record shows a continued lack of respect for the immigration laws of the USA, so it wouldn’t be a total shock if they now decide to show you how bad that thought process was.
The only way to know for sure is to go through the process, but for goodness sake tell the truth and take responsibility for your previous actions and demonstrate contrition.
June 11, 2020 at 5:28 am
From your experience advice briefly on how to go ahead about it.
June 11, 2020 at 5:51 pm
This isn’t something you can fix. Your previous behavior creates a risk. The only way to find out for sure is to proceed. If you don’t want to take a risk, don’t proceed.
June 11, 2020 at 9:40 am
Hello Brit, thanks a lot for your helpful information. But I have some questions:
1- how would I unlock my DS260 and correct my mistake?
2- how long would it take to make my DS260 unlocked, to edit it and to complete the whole correction process?
3- As my CN is 2021AF65xxx would unlocking and correcting my mistake lags back my DS260 processing, the rate it should have been going, would it lag back the day I should have been asked to submit my documents and the day I should have been scheduled for an interview when my visa bulletin is current?
4- if it lags it up, then would it be possible to not unlock and correct the mistake and just inform the officer at the embassy about the mistake in the day of my interview?
5- I submitted my DS260 immediately like in less than a day after the DV lottery results were released officially. So if I unlock and correct it, will they start to process my DS260 starting from the day I corrected it so that all the peoples who had submitted their DS260 after I had submitted my first DS260 but before I corrected it will be asked to submit their documents and scheduled for an interview before me? Thanks in advance for the helpful information you will offer!!
June 11, 2020 at 10:19 pm
1. In the FAQ.
2. Varies from a few days to a couple of weeks. Also covered in the FAQ.
3. You submitted far to early and have months to wait anyway. UNlocking will make no difference to that. Also covered in the FAQ.
4. see 3.
5. See 3 and the FAQ.
Please read the FAQ. Really.
June 12, 2020 at 12:27 pm
Hello Brit ..
On filling the day 260 form there is this question..
Have you ever been removed from usa for the last five years on the security section?
How do I answer now that I was denied entry at the port of entry?
June 12, 2020 at 1:17 pm
Removed implies you were in.
Denied entry implies you were not in.
June 12, 2020 at 7:54 pm
On the same case on filling D’s 260 on previous us travel…
Q.Have you ever been to u.s?
Since I was denied entry at the airport at Chicago do answer yet or no?
June 12, 2020 at 10:00 pm
Come on. What would you think?
June 12, 2020 at 7:58 pm
My case number is 2021FA000007++
When is my probable time for interview after I sign and submit my ds 260?
June 12, 2020 at 10:01 pm
I don’t know.
June 13, 2020 at 3:47 am
Yes will be okay since I landed in their territory?
June 13, 2020 at 3:53 am
DENIED, NO STAMP, IS NO ENTRY, SO NO.
June 12, 2020 at 10:00 pm
What is the reason for a VB to become current? And if it becomes so does it mean high CNs whose DS260 is processed will be scheduled for an interview despite their high CN?
June 12, 2020 at 10:12 pm
Current means there are enough visas to fill all remaining demand.
June 12, 2020 at 10:43 pm
Ok thanks for the answer! Now I get it. But I have another question: I missed on my middle name on my DS260 and I sent an email to KCCDV@state.gov. My email format was as follows:
Subject- CN-xxxxx(DS260 minor correction)
To whom it may concern,
CN-2021AFxxxxx(2021AF000xxxxxx)
Applicant name- my last name, my first name my middle name
Date of birth- month by letter, date by number, year
Body of letter- When I submitted my DS260 form, I forgot to include my middle name in the given name option. I would like to receive specific instruction on how to include that on my DS260.
Thank you
Sincerely
First name, middle name, last name
Is there anything wrong with my email? I wrote my correct name including my middle name under the applicant name, not the incorrect one which I filled in Ds 260.
June 12, 2020 at 11:58 pm
All you need to do is complete the DS260 with accurate info.
June 13, 2020 at 3:45 am
Please sir I need a yes or no answer…
June 13, 2020 at 10:28 am
Ok Brit, I will do that once they unlock my DS260. But now it has been 2 days since I emailed them and they still didn’t reply except for a machine auto reply. Is that okay and if so, when should I expect their reply?
And one more question, why does some times a VB becomes current in one month it becomes a number in the next month?
June 13, 2020 at 5:35 pm
1. Their times to respond vary.
2. Retrogression can happen when they realize there are more people that want the interview than they can accommodate by number of visas or by capacity of embassies.
June 13, 2020 at 3:59 am
Thanks Walt I appreciate your reply.
August 29, 2020 at 9:04 pm
I am a spouse of A1 visa holder (my husband(diplomat)), living in the U.S. since June, 2016. My passport is a diplomatic passport with A-1 visa. I got selected in this June for the 2021 diversity visa program. My two kids have a US citizenship. When I applied for the lottery, I lived in New York. We moved to Washington DC and I am now in the process of getting a new A-1 visa (for my husband and me). While I was in New York, I had a A-1 visa too but my husband moved to the Embassy from the Consulate office, he and I have to geta new A-1 visa on the new diplomatic passport.
Now I am putting my info in DS-260. Several questions.
1) Interview Place: Should I go back to my country and take an interview at the US Embassy there? It seems that the adjustment of status applications do not anticipate A-1 visa holders.
2) When I applied for the Lottery, I put my old passport and my old A-1 visa Number. Now I am putting my info in DS-260 but I do not have my new A-1 visa yet. The State Department holds my old diplomatic passport with the old A-1 visa and they are issuing a new A-1 visa on my new diplomatic passport.
Having said that, to answer the question “have you been issued a visa from the US?”, should I wait until I get a new A-1 visa on my new diplomatic passport? I could write my old diplomatic passport number and old A-1 visa number but I thought I should write a updated info. What do you think?
3) When I applied for the Lottery, I put my husband and kids info even thought my kids are a US citizen. Now in the DS-260, I have to put their info too. Is it right that I put No in the area that my kids have no intention to getting a immigration visa because they are a US citizen?
My husband is also not seeking a permanent visa for the time being because he is a diplomat. Or can he get a green card even though he is a diplomat?
4) If my kids and my husband have no intention to get an immigration visa, is it right that I do not have to submit their related documents such as criminal records in my country for my DS-260? It is almost impossible for them to go back to my country to obtain those document because of this pandemic and becuase the elder one goes to college and the younger one goes to the boarding school.
Thank you!
August 30, 2020 at 1:53 pm
Your A1 status is a special case. There are aspects of that status that cause special treatment, and there are some odd nuances for diplomats (such as children of diplomats NOT gaining citizenship through birth in the USA). So – I suggest you consult with a lawyer to make sure you don’t make a mistake.
October 10, 2020 at 6:43 am
Dear Mr Brit
Hi, my name is Yasamin, i am from Iran and i have been selected for dv2021 lottery.
I had complete the ds260 form and i had sign and submit it and also i had receive the letter for required documents and i sent them correctly.
But it has been 6 weeks from the time i sent the documents and i haven’t heard from kentuky center since . I had sent them an Email to inform them and confirm that i have sent all the required d document and i am ready to be scheduled for an interview, but they didn’t respond to my Email ether(i received an auto reply). I checked my draft and the Email dress and i am sure that i have done every thing right.
Please let me know if you know what should i do next and why don’t they answer me.
best Regards,
Yasamin
October 10, 2020 at 7:21 pm
You should wait patiently. Nothing is going to happen for a while.
October 21, 2020 at 7:21 am
Hi Simon,
are there specific questions asked to a couple who applied as married but they are separated though not legally? If so how should one go about the whole situation during the interview?
October 21, 2020 at 3:46 pm
Just answer questions honestly.
October 21, 2020 at 7:54 pm
ok,thank for the reply