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 14, 2018 at 14:09
Interview Experience
Dear Simon and his followers, I come here from Addis Ababa, Ethiopiato narrate my and my wife’s interview experience as I promised a bit earlier. Hadn’t been the follower of Simon’s blog, we couldn’t have succeeded. Embassy and embassy requirements are something different from the real world experience.
My wife applied for initial DV entry as single on November 1, 2016
Me and my wife get married on April 6, 2017
We noticed that she (my wife) was selected on May 22.2017
We registered DS-260 as married on May 29, 2017
We unlocked once in the midst of July to add our high school background
Let’s make clear that we had some concerns:
A) She applied as MSc degree holder in the initial entry anticipating that she could finish her MSc during interview so that we also responded DS-260 as MSc holder.
B) While creating DS-260 account for spouse(me), I misplaced the surname and given name in the initial summary part which is not editable once the account is created. But, I fed the correct information inside.
C) The marriage issue: initial entry as single and second entry as married
With such concerns, we were expecting the 2nd NL each month following monthly visa bulleting release. Later on, we got 2nd notification letter on December 22, 2017 for February 9 interview. And, I found my correct name as beneficiaries. Even though all the above issues didn’t hold water in front of the consular if we provide justifiable documents, we still keep worrying.
We started compiling the necessary documents and get authenticated on Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Marriage proof: shared bank account and statement which was active as of August, 2016
Official marriage certificate
Separate pictures before, on and after marriage
Pregnancy documents (she was 38 weeks of pregnant while having interview)
Screenshot Facebook and email chat and communication
MSc Proof: grade reports, registration slips andadmission letter
As the time flew, we decided to have medical on January 11, 2018. However, my pregnant wives get worried whether to have x-ray or not. There was no other option to replace the x-ray at IOM, Ethiopia. Finally, she decided to take it on making cost-benefit analysis.
On February 9, we went to the embassy and reached there at 6:30 in the morning. We found very long queue. We were waiting till 2 o’clock, get the folder with the checklist and submit all necessary documents such as appointment letter, medical result, passport with copy, education certificates of my wife(from 9-12 ), birth certificate for both of us, police clearance, marriage certificate and work experience.
Then, we passed the first and second security check up, paid 18,080 birr for both of us. After that, we were told to take seat. After 20 minutes, four windows were opened and the consular started their work. People are called at different windows. Some qualified and some are not. For People their status is single and qualified for minimum education criteria, the interview seems for procedural purpose. We saw the couple who failed to convince the consular and get denied.
After 1:30 minutes, my wife’s name was called in window 6 and we found a guy. He was asking to give him finger print and language preference. We did and returned back to our seat.
After a while, we were called to window 9 where there were lady and translator
The Co: Were u married before
We: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The Co: can u swear that all the information given are true
We: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The Co: How many years of dating
We: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The Co: How did u find each other?
We: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The Co: Why did u choose April 6 for marriage(before DV result announcement)?
We: xxxxxxxxxxxxxx It seems easy but she needs very concrete and justifiable reasons. Finally, she get convinced.
The Co: How do you describe your wife’s father?
Me: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The Co: Any concern about you?
Me:xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The Co: Do u have pictures?
We: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxShe immediately returned back
The Co: How many children do u plan to have?
We: Not discussed and decided.
The Co: why
The Co: What is your work?
We:xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The Co: Sponsor name and address
We: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The Co: can you give me your DS-260 confirmation page
Me:xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Finally, the Co said congratulations and thank you for your honest answers. And, she approved our Visa. She gave us both white and red papers that describe how to collect the visa within 7 days and how to pay 220 USD for green card.
On Friday, February 9 (on interview day), our status is changed in to Administrative Processing in CEAC
On Monday, February 12, out status is again updated to Administrative Processing
On Tuesday afyernoon, our status is changed in to “issued” ohhhh what rejoice and happiness.
Final remark, there is no fast and hard rule questions to be asked. You have to expect different but unexpected form of questions and they need you reliable answers.
Confidence, trustworthiness, accuracy and manner are very important for the interview.
February 14, 2018 at 15:09
I’m very happy for you!
February 15, 2018 at 11:19
DO screen shots of messages and email chats which are in foreign language need translation when presented to the embassy as proof of relationship.
Thank you.
February 15, 2018 at 15:18
No
March 30, 2018 at 21:24
Hi Britsimon God bless you for the great work, am from Ghana our interview date is in early may my husband is the winner and am his beneficiary. * I wanna know if the day of the interview I would be ask of my certificate (am a degree holder) since I haven’t still gone for it in sch? * I’ve made up my mind to go for it when the interview is over pls is it ok? *pls what are the questions asked by the CO on the day of interview ?
March 30, 2018 at 21:29
A derivative doesn’t need to prove education – but being over prepared is always best. Read the interview stories to see what people are asked.
February 15, 2018 at 13:16
Hello britsimon this Dr.from Africa really sorry for taking your precious time for the second time. Am a bit worried about my son he is born after our visa issued and we are decided to process his visa after we have job in usa but my friend said it takes long time up to 2 years to take my son ,so is it true Brit? We where plan live with our son after 6 months up to 1yr.
February 15, 2018 at 15:42
Yes it takes 2 years. If you want it faster, include him in the DV case.
February 16, 2018 at 19:25
Dear Brit and All
I would like to share my interview experience with prospective interviewees.
First of all, I must thank for Mr Brit who has helped thousands of peoples to realize the American Dream.
Location of the interview: Colombo, Sri Lanka
Before go to the interview make sure that following documents are with you:
• Comprehensive detailed instruction sheet of required documents is given in the US embassy Colombo website.
• In the instruction sheet they have mentioned how to send the A/L certificates to embassy.
• Make sure that Police clearance report, other local certificates, translations, medical certificates and photo copies are ready with you when you are going to the interview.
• To success in the interview, you must have affidavit support document (I-134 form) with other supporting documents. Otherwise (most probably) they will keep you in AP status until submit the affidavit support documents.
• Don’t forget to have a photo copy of sponsor’s passport copy to present if they requested. (This requirement is not mentioned in the instruction sheet. this is to check the status of citizenship of the Sponsor.)
• If you are going to pay interview fee in SL Rupees make sure that all notes are super clean because cashier rejects the marked notes. (because he has no choice due to central bank regulations). It is good to have some extra money with you if cashier is rejected bad notes.
Interview experience:
We were there half an hour before the interview time and already couple of people at the queue in front of the embassy. All the interviewers have to follow the queue until security allow to get in to the embassy. Only interviewers are allowed to enter the embassy.
We had to go through two security check points, one at the entrance and second one at interview location. (foods and water are not allowed to bring interview place. Everything has to keep at entrance security luggage)
Then the ticket was given and we were waiting until our number is called, there were other interviewers also waiting with us.
Our number is called and then the lady at first counter collected our photos and informed us to pay interview processing fee to cashier.
After paying fees, again we were called and lady at the counter collected all the necessary documents.
After some time, CO called us to separate counter and informed me to swear that I was telling the truth. Then he asked about my educational qualifications. I answered them.
That’s all, He typed some time and then he congratulated us and gave the yellow paper informing the day to come collect visa packet.
Total interview process took about 2 hours.
Now we got our visa package. 🙂
Thanks you very much Brit for keeping this site live and sharing invaluable information about DV program. Without this blog we would not able to get our visa this much easily.
And also thanks to other interview experience sharers.
February 16, 2018 at 20:25
Congratulations!
February 23, 2018 at 14:06
If I get married after approval does that make my spouse to get a visa also
February 23, 2018 at 14:26
Not through DV. You would then have to go through a 2 year family based sponsorship.
February 23, 2018 at 14:13
If u heard of this kind of case pls
February 23, 2018 at 19:09
Dear BritSimon and all,
I am from Nepal. Its been a week me and my husband are here in USA after being selected for DV lottery. First and foremost I would like to thank BritSimon for his continuous help and selfless efforts. We had so many queries during the process but Brit was there to help. We could fully rely on him and whatever he suggested would be the best decision for us. Hats off to u Brit. I wish you all the best, wish for your success and prosperity.
So, now I would like to share my interview experience. Here it goes:
On 3rd of May, 2017, my husband randomly checked if we got the DV lottery. Surprisingly, I was there to receive the first letter. I wondered how could I? When in my entire life, I could never win the smallest lottery and there was first letter with me. We both were happy. Thank god, we had filled forms of both of us. I would suggest others to fill forms of your whole family so that there won’t be problems later on.
Then we waited for the second letter. On 20th September we got a link on email. (My case number 13xx).There we got our second letter.
We had our interview fixed on 13th November, 2017 at Kathmandu, Nepal.
We fixed our medical check up in IOM, Baluwatar on 3rd November. (Starting with this date, within 6 months you need to check into America, not from the date of interview).
On 13th November, at 10 am sharp was our interview time. We were allowed to enter embassy at that time. First, we showed our interview letter to the security. We were allowed to sit and make fees ready to pay.
Then we entered the embassy room. First they we went through security check. They then give us a token for our bags. We can keep our bags over there safely. We took the required documents only. SLC, 10+2 marksheet and character certificate, police report (of Nepal and any place u had gone for more than a year), birth certificate, marriage certificate, passport, medical check up package. This is what we need. They don’t need our bachelor or masters degree certificate. If you are married, take your wedding pics and video.
Secondly, we entered main room.
1. Officers then checked the required documents. Make sure you have all photocopies otherwise it creates chaos to go outside and make copies of your documents.
2. We were given token. We paid fees. This is non- refundable. No option. Have to do. I remember we paid Rs. 70000 total for two of us.
3. They call our token numbers. We went to first window. Consular officer (CO) interviewed us. He asked who got the lottery. I said its me. I was interviewed first.
CO: What is your name?
Me:….
CO: What is your father’s name?
Me:….
CO: Where were you born?
Me:……
CO: Put your hands on scanner for fingerprints.
Me: did it
Then CO asked my husband.
CO: What’s your name?
Spouse:….
CO: Are you married?
Spouse: Yes
CO: When you got married?
Spouse: ….
CO: Have you been to other country except Nepal? Where?
Spouse…yes…..
We thought that was the end of the interview. But we were wrong. We were asked to sit and wait for next interview. I sort of had palpitations and restlessness.
4. We were called in next window. He was a foreigner Consular officer. He asked if we needed a translator. We said yes. Consular Officer and translator asked us few questions.
CO: our name
Me and spouse:….
CO: Why did you go to ( foreign country)?
Me:……,
CO: How long you stayed?
Me…..
CO: What visa type you had over there?
Me:……
CO: When you guys married?
Me…..
I gave my fingerprint. Then it was my husband’s turn.
CO: Name
Spouse:….
CO: Why did you go to (foreign country)?
Spouse:….
CO: How long you stayed?
Spouse:…
CO: What kind of job you did over there?
Spouse:….
He then gave his fingerprints.
CO: Your visa has been approved. Congratulations.
Wow!!!!!That was the happiest moment.
5. They collected our passport. Before interview,Make sure you fill a form going to US embassy in Nepal site stating where you want to collect your passport. We had writted NIBL bank of A place.
6. We returned the token, took our bags, left the embassy.
Our happiness knew no bounds. We hugged each other.
This is how the whole process went through. Sorry, I was about to write the interview experience but wrote a seven month long story.
All you need in interview is honesty. Never lie. Fill DS 260 form honestly.
Once again, thank you so much Brit.
Regards,
Samie.
February 23, 2018 at 19:20
Nice and simple interview. Great!
February 23, 2018 at 19:13
One thing I forgot:
For us residing in Nepal, we do not need Affidavit of Support form. We need welcome letter from our relative or where you are going to stay in USA.
They ask: a.Who is inviting you?
b. Where you are gonna stay in US?
Thanks
March 8, 2018 at 08:24
Hello Sam,
Thank you for posting your interview experience. I would like to know if welcome letter from relative or friend has to be sent through DHL or scanned copy is fine?
March 8, 2018 at 15:01
If there is time mail is better, but recent changes mean that scanned/emailed *should* also be OK.
March 31, 2018 at 02:15
Welcome letter was emailed and we just printed it.
U r always right Brit
February 24, 2018 at 05:14
Interview date : 8 Feb 2018
Interview Location : Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Case No.10XXX
Unlocked DS260 once in August after first submittal in May.
CO: Are these your biological children
ME: Yes
CO:You are gonna have to do finger scanning for them
ME: Ok……((I did))
CO:How long has it been since you got married
ME: We legalized our marriage in YYYY
((Since our daughter is born before our legal marriage….I knew CO may want to explore further))
CO: Any marriage photos
ME: Presented some photos
CO: Where are the guests?
ME: It wasn’t a big ceremony but here the guests are….. I showed a pic with some guest……
((also I have presented a photo of the marriage legalization signature ceremony at a gov. agency and that satisfied Him))
CO: Why did you access “the application” multiple time?…….(( this Question caught me by surprise!!))
ME: “which application?
CO: edv application
ME: I’m not aware I did but it may be due to poor internet connection.
((IT WAS MY HONEST ANSWER THAT SATISFIED THE CO – to my relief))
CO: What is your highest level of Education
ME: Answer
CO:where did you study
ME: Answer
CO:what subject did you study
ME:Answer
CO: who is your sponsor
ME: Answer
CO:what is your relationship with your sponsor
ME: A very close friend
CO:where does your sponsor live
ME: Answer
CO: what is his job
ME: Answer ……… ((I guess this question was asked based on my answer to my relationship with my sponsor – i guess sort of to check our relationship))
CO: Are you going to stay with you sponsor
ME: Only for a little while
CO: I have approved your visa! Congratulations.
ME: Thank you and God Bless you.
That was it.
No questions about Affidavit of support or Financial standing. My wife is not asked any question at all. She just swore and stood there the whole time.
I was 100% truthful and my documents 100% legit.
I was a bit afraid during the three hours I waited for the interview after making payment and submitting our doc. But deep inside, I trusted the Lord Jesus to guide me through it. And He did.
Thank you dear Simon. This website has helped me immensly. God bless you and your family. May He fill your life with joy and all you need.
February 24, 2018 at 06:25
Congratulations!
February 28, 2018 at 00:13
Dear Brit Simon,
My interview experience in Accra, Ghana on 5th Feb. 2018.
1. U pass thru all security checks.
2. Ur appointment letter /2NL received.
3. They briefly explain the DV process.
4. Asked to pay for the 330 dollars visa fee.
5. Finger prints taken and all documents both set of original and set of photocopies.
After abt 25 mins I was called for the interview. These were the questions by the CO:
After swearing,
1. What do u do for living now?
2. What do u actually do?
3. What do u want to do in the USA?
4. Which state and city are u going to?
5. What is the relationship with ur sponsor?
6. Are you married?
7. Do you have children?
That was all, I just gave honest simple answers. My visa was approved.
Advice: educational certificates should be authentic and couples shld prepare very well.
February 28, 2018 at 00:22
Congrats!
March 1, 2018 at 02:44
Cobby, am also due for interview this month at the Accra Embassy. Just a quick on docs. Do I need any other endorsements from say Ministry of Foreign affairs on say my SSCE Certificate as well as marriage certificate
And I guess do not require affidavits of support right?
Thanks
February 28, 2018 at 08:33
Hi Britt,
What happens if you go for interview and the consular officer takes the required copies of your documents and gives you back your passport and asks you to go and bring additional requirements and when sending back you should return with your passport too.does it mean you are denied the visa or what happens? please advice
February 28, 2018 at 14:51
It doesn’t mean you are denied for sure.
March 1, 2018 at 01:09
Hi brit
I had my interview in the embassy of yaounde cameroon at 8 30am.Early that morning we were not many n formed two lines,dv applicants and immigrants.We all pass through the security check room where unwanted materials like phones were retained.In a small garden leading to the main embassy room we were given a piece of pink paper guidx us on how to arrange our docs.i notice here that not all the docs the embassy requested tro their website were required such as appointment letter n only a photo used,we arrange in the order of original doccs in a file n photocopies in another file startx wit a photo clippd o the front cover of ur passport wit a photocopy of the biographic page,birth certificate wt 2 photocopies,certificate of non conviction,A-level certificate wt 2 photoclpies,medical report in sealed enveloppe, ds260 confirmation page.
We then entered the embassy in groups of 5’s at a turn.in the main room we line up to pay 330 usd (185000frs cfa) n g our docs at widow1.i paid mine,gave my docs n was sat down in the interview open air room,interview started at about 8 00am.after 45mins my number was call up at widow 8 where my fingerprints were taken
Me:good morning sir
Officer:good morning. What is your name
Me:gave
Of:place ur left 4 fingers on the machine
Me:did
Of:place both thumbs
Me:did
Of:ok good.how old are u
Me:29yrs sir
Of:is this ur brth certificate
Me:yes sir,it has made my age.
Of:are u married
Me:no sir
Of:do u ve kids
Me:no sir
Of:will u maintain ur us adresse
Me:yes sir
Of:give the address
Me:8852 92nd saint south cottage grove
Of:is ok.ve u ever travel out of cameroon
Me:no sir
Of:ok wait for ur interview. I wish u good luck
Me’thank you sir
I went n sat down waited for about 30mins n was call up to widow5
Me:good morning sir
Co:good morning how are u
Me:fine sir thank you
Co:do u swear to speak the truth
Me:i swear
Co:Place ur left hand on the machine
Me:did
Co:how old are you
Me:29yrs sir
Co:are you married
Me:no sir
Co:do you have kids
Me :no sir
Co:ve u ever been married
Me :no sir
Co are you engage in a relationship
Me:yes sir i ve a grlfren
Co”brought out a green sheet of paper tellx me to write the name of my grlfren in case i will want to come back n marry her it will be easier and smiled
Me:wrote n gave
Co:pius sounds as a female name while smiling
Me :is a male name sir
Co:ya i know n laughed
Me:smiling
Co:where will you live in us
Me: minnesota
Co:hah is very cold out there now
Me:smiled
Co:what will u do in minnesota
Me:further my studies sir
Co:removed a short yellow sheet of paper wrote on it n wish me good life in minnesota
Me :thanks very much sir
The small yellow sheet was a congratulations notice.thanks very much sir brit you worth much more than the dollar currency. I checkd ceac today it says issued mean while my interview was yesterday am surprised n full of joy.the co told me to come tomorrow for my package. Thanks infinitely sir brit
March 1, 2018 at 01:15
Congratulations.
March 3, 2018 at 16:36
Congratulations pius.please contact me I am also from [email protected].
March 2, 2018 at 02:07
Dear britsimon,
Me and my husband had an interview on march 1, Addis Ababa Ethiopia.
As I won the DV lottery, they told me that I will be interviewed.
CO: good morning
Me: goodmorning with smile
CO: di you swear to speak the thruth
Me: we swear
CO: what’s your Higher education
Me: forignen language and Litreature
CO: what language does the course have
Me: I answer
CO: what are you working now
Me: I told her that we are the owner of the company (license on import and software design work) including the establishment date.
CO: what is the relationship between the job and your higher level education ?
Me: my husband is a software engineer, he hold BSc on computer science.
CO: do you have children?
Me: No
CO: where do you plan to go? What is the relationship between you and the host?
Me: I Answer.
CO: congratulations you grant the Visa. You will receive your visa from DHL
Me: thank you.
Thank you britsimon your blog were very helping…God bless you!!!
March 2, 2018 at 03:53
Congratulations!
March 2, 2018 at 02:11
CO: what’s your Higher education
Me: BA in Foriegn language and Litreature.
March 2, 2018 at 12:59
Finally, I get to write my experience here, I am so happy!
Interview at the US embassy in Paris, France. 10 days ago.
We arrived 30 minutes before the time on the letter
There was already a queue outside for the 1st security check, in a big tent.
They scanned us and checked our bags, and made us turn off our phones.
Then a lady, still outside, asked for our DS260, police records and convocation letter, then she gave them back to us.
She let us enter and told us to go through the 2nd security check inside the building.
It was like at the airport, we had to empty our pockets and walk through a security portal.
They kept almost all our belongings (keys, cellphones, lighter, hand cream, etc) and gave us a ticket to collect everything back when exiting.
They let us enter and sent us to a specific counter to pay the 330$ fees for each applicant, which was very quick and with a nice American lady. We were allowed to pay cash with euros.
Then we were sent to a long queue in which we waited for like 40 minutes.
When it was our turn, a French man called us at his counter and asked for documents (DS260, police records, confirmation of registering the appointment online, degrees (just for the principal applicant), birth certificates, wedding certificate, passeports).
He took our fingerprints and even made a joke to my husband (“First hand please, done, second hand, done, third hand please!” and then had a big loud laugh when seeing our confused look).
He said he is happy when everything is well prepared like we did and then sent us seat and wait for the consular officer to call us on the speaker.
We waited seated this time for about 20 minutes and then heard our names and counter to go on the speaker.
The consular officer was a young and very smilly American man. Actually, we noticed him when queuing and hoped he would be the one interviewing us.
CO : Hi guys! First I will ask you to take an aoth. Please both raise your right hand and swear all you mentionned in your file is true and correct.
Us : Done
CO : What are you plans when moving to the US?
Us : Answered
CO : Please both tell me more about your current occupation
Us : Answered
CO : Mam, what kind of degree do you have?
Me : Answered
CO : Oh, you guys come from XXXXXXX (Champagne region in France), do you like Champagne?
Us : We love it!!
CO : What is your favourite one? (Yes, he did ask that ahah)
Us : Answered
CO : Well, everything seems just perfect, your visas have been approuved, I keep your passeport, you will receive them with your visa inside in 10 days.
We thanked him very much and left the embassy very happy and reliefed after 10 long months of waiting.
Nobody asked us about a proof of financial capacity nor proof of our wedding (we got married after the results).
We received an envelopp delivered by UPS exactly 9 days after the interview.
Inside : Our passeports with the visa on one page, two sealed envelopps to give to the immigration when entering the US for the first time, a guide for new immigrants, a paper inviting us to pay the immigrant fee (220$ for each person) and a paper explaining when the SSN will be issued to us.
Now we can finally start making plans and move! We are very happy.
Thank you very much Simon for this blog which was a precious help for us during our DV process, you are doing a good job.
Good luck everybody!
March 2, 2018 at 13:04
Sooo lucky. Enjoy !
March 2, 2018 at 13:09
Fingers crossed for you Lionel!
March 2, 2018 at 13:06
I forgot: they asked us also 2 pictures and the medical results in the sealed envelopp of course.
March 2, 2018 at 13:21
0 question about wedding or old pictures of both ?
March 2, 2018 at 16:52
That was an easy interview! Congratulations.
March 23, 2018 at 14:15
Hi Marion,
So happy to hear such Frenchy stories 🙂
My interview in Paris is planned in April, but I have some questions.
Did you bring only French documentation to the embassy? I know that both French & English papers are supposed to be okay but on several blogs I can see that some official paper may be needed in English.
When you say “DS260”, do you mean you printed the whole folder on just the confirmation page?
When you say “police record”, it is the “extrait de casier judiciaire” right?
How many 5 x 5 cm pictures did you need for the embassy?
Thanks so much for your great help!
Camille
March 5, 2018 at 19:24
Glory be to Jehova Almighty and secondly to our dear Britsimon !!!!!!!!!.
apart from God who orchestrated this entire process, Brits was always there to provide invaluable assistance and education just to make sure that we smile in the end.
I love and appreciate you very much Brits.
i will donate handsomely to support your charity work just as i arrive in America.
its such an exquisite delight to be sharing my successful interview experience story with the community.
ds260 submitted: 3rd may, 2017
2nl: 23 january 2018
Embassy: Accra Ghana
Time: 8:30 am
got to the embassy around 7: 10 am
allowed just as i arrived
was a bit confused bcos i realised much attention wasnt being paid to appointment time and so everybody joined the queue and was allowed in.
a lady checked our appointment letters and asked as to sit upon arrival in the hall
infact today was a bit unusual cos there were a lot of dv applicants. close to about 150 of us interviewing the same day.
this made the process a bit stressful
main process is as usual so no need talking about that
i will go straight to the interview
was sitting and feeling really anxious when i was called to window 10
me: goodafternoon sir
co: smiled ,goodafternoon
co; raise ur hand and swear blah blah blah blah
co: how many times did you enter the lottery
me :just once
co: smiled, the smile i think came from how much i stressed on the ”just once” that i said, then asked again, where do u want to go in the usa?
me :newyork
co: why newyork
me: cos thats where my host is
co: i can see you are a health professional
me: yea
co: and you did very well in your senior high school exams as well, that made some difference as well,
me: smiled
co: so am issuing your visa, welcome to America
me: thank you, with smiles all over.
co: took out a papper, circled some stuff, create an account blah blah blah blah , do not come to the embassy again but to the DHL office for your passport with your visa.
and that was that. after all this months of thinking and disturbing Brits here and there.
NOTE: I TOLD HIM I WANTED TO CHANGE MY ADDRESS BUT IT APPEARED HE DID NOT HAVE TIME TO TYPE SO HE JUST SAID, ” LOOK WE DONT NEED THIS, JUST GO ANYWHERE YOU WANT IN AMERICA, PROCESS YOUR GREEN CARD WHEN YOU GET THERE.
SO MY ADVISE IS THAT IF ONLY YOU HAVE ENOUGH TIME TO UNLOCK, IT IS ALWAYS BETTER TO UNLOCK AND EFFECT ANY CHANGES YOU WANT WHICH WONT HARM YOUR CASE IN ANYWAY, JUST AS BRITS ALWAYS SAY.
BECAUSE NOW I HAVE TO DO THAT AT THE POINT OF ENTRY WHICH MIGHT CAUSE SOME DELAYS.
Thank you soooooooo much Britsimon and may God give you and your family peace from within and outwardly
all the best to those yet to have thier interviews, its my prayer you all do well
March 5, 2018 at 20:07
Congratulations. Not many people make it in Accra – so well done!
March 6, 2018 at 15:45
thank you Brits
March 5, 2018 at 20:30
@Akoto when did you have your interview?
March 6, 2018 at 15:46
@ xray
yesterday
March 6, 2018 at 16:36
@Akoto I will having my interview this week. Can I have your number to ask you one or two questions?
March 6, 2018 at 13:39
Consulate: Vienna, Austria
March 2018
DS260 submitted on May 3, 2018 then unlocked in June to update my passport (got a new one) and in November to update my recent trips to the US.
I got to the consulate about 20 minutes before my appointment and was sent away and asked to come back at 1PM. Was back at 1PM on the dot and at that point there was quite a line in front of me.
After passing security I was asked to go to Window 5 where a nice German lady asked me for all the required documents. She only wanted to see my HIGHEST degree, so I handed her my university diploma (my high school diploma was not needed). I had emailed the US consulate in Vienna before my interview asking about whether or not an affidavit of support was needed as I know some embassies want to see it and they got back to me saying that it wasn’t required and that savings of $10000 or more would suffice. Now, my bank had specifically written a letter to bring to the consulate listing all my bank accounts and savings, however it was in very poor English so I decided to print out my bank statements as well as a back up. The nice lady and I had a good laugh about the letter. She then handed it back to me and only took one of my bank statements (I have three different accounts and she only kept the one that listed the most amount of money and said it would be enough). She then confirmed that all my documents were in order, sent me to Window 3 to pay the $330 fee and then asked me to take a seat.
There was one person ahead of me whose interview took quite long – I’m assuming it was a more complicated case and not a DV case. I found it quite surprising that everyone’s interviews were happening right in front of you and you could hear everything! After about half an hour, I was called to Window 6 by the CO. He honestly could not have been any nicer. So positive, so kind. I did not have to raise my hand or anything like that, instead I was just asked to quickly confirm that everything I said was true and to the best of my knowledge. The entire interview lasted about two minutes.
Questions I was asked:
– How many times did you enter the lottery?
– Why would you like to move to the US?
– Where are you going to live?
And that was it. He made some really nice comments about my work experience, said that he thinks there’ll be lots of great opportunities for me in the States and then wished me all the best for my new life. 🙂
I was then sent back to Window 5 where the nice German lady asked me whether I wanted my passport and visa package mailed or to pick it up. She said it would take a few days, but literally the following day I already got an email from the consulate saying everything was ready for collection. When I went to pick up my passport and the infamous envelope, they also gave me a sheet of paper explaining how to pay the USCIS fee which I just paid today and a printed version of USCIS’ Guide for New Immigrants. I will be activating my permanent resident status two weeks from now and then moving for good at the end of April. 🙂
I am really over the moon and so happy. Simon, thank you SO MUCH for everything you do and for answering all my questions along the way. It’s crazy to think how much I was stressing about everything in the months leading up to the interview cause there really was no reason to stress about anything. But obviously not everyone has such a positive experience as I’ve had, so I do think it’s important to take everything very, very seriously and to make sure everything is up to date and correct cause you never know.
Once again, thank you so much Simon and all the best to all of you who still have their interviews ahead of you! You can do it!
March 6, 2018 at 14:30
Easy is how it is supposed to be! Congratulations!
March 7, 2018 at 13:53
Hello Brit and all other applicants.
I would like to share mine and my wife’s interview experience.
We are from Albania, my wife was selected for the dv visa 2018 with cn EU12***.
We had our interview yesterday (Tuesday, 6march 2018.
Arrived at embassy 1h in advance (appointment 7.30am) after we passed security check we were immediately called on the speaker to go and give fingerprints.
A nice albanian girl asked us some questions after we gave fingerprints:
# Whom of you is the winner?(wife said Me)
She then check a big pile of our documents to find the confirmation that in fact my wife was the winner, than said that her school documents were all ok (masters degree).
Than asked to my wife:
#Have you ever lived in another country before? (Wife said No)
# And you sir? (I said yes, grecce for 6/7months)
# How old were you when you lived there? (Answered ,20)
# Did you make the police certificate application in athens? ( Yes, i made it on the 30 of January)
She kindly confirmed to me that they had received it and that i should not worry about that(i looked concerned since many albanian winners had the problem).
She instructed us to go and make the 660$ payment and bring back the receipt. After we did that she asked us to wait on the waiting room to be again called for the final interview.
After 1h of waiting we were finally called.
Co: good morning
We: good morning
Co: You swear to tell the truth about your answers today?
Both: I swear
Co: Whom is the winner of you two?
Wife: I am
Co: when did you finish you masters degree?
Wife: *gave date*
Co: Have you ever lived in another country before ( asking both)?
Wife: No
Me: Yes, greece.
Co: When and for how much?
Me: 6/7 month, *gave months and years*
Co: When did you guys meet?
Wife: We meet in year **** , we worked together and still are working together
Co: What kind of work do you do?
Wife: Gave job position for both
At this point the consular officer was writing on his terminal for about 2 minutes without saying/asking anything esle to us.
He then goes: Everything here looks ok, you both visas are approved, we will keep your passports and send them back to you with DHL.
We exploded in thanking him ( and burst in joy tears). He gave us the photos (relationship proof) and my wife’s diploma wishing us a good day.
That’s it, i mean we wept in joy and hugged each other when we were out of the embassy, cant explain how happy we felt, kept saying to each other : We are going to the us!!!!! Is this real!?
We are waiting for out passports (ceac says ISSUED, updated 6 march, same interview day).
We plan on flying to usa on mid/end of april.
Thank you brit for your helpful posts and infos given to us and all applicants.
We learned a lot here, a lot.
Little advice: try to stay calm, everything will go smooth as long as you are honest and have all required documents in order.
There is no reason you shouldn’t get your visa approved if all documents are in order and you are honest.
All the best to all!
March 7, 2018 at 14:35
Case numb: 2018AF16xxx
Interview Post: Accra
So interview appointment was 10.30am on Mon 5 Mar. We (family of 5) arrived at about 10am, waited for 15mins in the car and then set off towards the security clearance. Went through all as usual, got inside, filled the Fee forms, paid the fee, got called to Window 5 to sort biometrics and docs. There I got a bit panicked when I realized I didn’t have the weighing cards of my kids. The lady sorting the docs said that was the authentic proof of relationship – well I forgot them at home so I prayed about it there and then and left the rest with God. (Apart from over preparing I also prayed extensively about this whole DV process).
Finally we got called to Window 8,
CO: Hellooo, let get started and get this done with as quickly as possible. Can all of you raise your hands ans swear that……….
US all: Yes we swear
CO: I see you’ve traveled extensively to the States, when was the last time you went to the States?
Me: I answered
CO: What is your longest duration of stay in the States?
Me: 3 weeks
CO: So not even 1 month or 2 months
Me: Yeap
CO: Where in the States are you going?
Me: Georgia
CO: I guess you’re going to family (of course he saw from my Dad’s address on my DS260)
Me: Yeap
CO (to my wife): M’am, you’ve also been to the States before right?
My wife: Yes please
CO (to my wife): What do you do here (referring to Ghana)
My wife: Answers
CO: Well that’s all I wanna know
He picks the white sheet, circles the web address to create account and that was it! All these took less than 5mins.
Simple questions with simple straight forward answers….a million thanks to BritSimon for all the support we received here during preparation – you are God-sent, Brit.
All the best to those who are yet to attend their interviews. Prepare well, tell the truth at interview (I witnessed quite a number of applicants refused because they contradicted themselves during their interviews), and above all PRAY HARD!! God answers prayers – when you get your part right.
March 7, 2018 at 14:52
Great!
March 7, 2018 at 15:22
@seth,
After creating the account and registering the profile, how do u ascertain that it was successful? Will u be called or an email will be sent?
March 7, 2018 at 18:43
When you create the account, it opens a signed in page with your user name (usually your email) at the top right corner of the page. You will then have to update your profile – select update profile from the list of items on the left of the screen. I was told at the interview that when my passports are ready, I will be sent a text message (cell phone number provided when updating profile) as well as email.
March 7, 2018 at 20:25
Dear Mr Britsimon I hope and pray you are well !
MY QUESTION
1.I stay in zimbabwe in Africa my dv lottery interview date is in April I need to k is if I need a affidavit of support from my family in USA.
I am a single guy and applying with no other family.
What documents from family in usa do I need to take with me to my interview ? Like bank statements etc or form I-864 ?
Thank you I advance.
Anybody else from Zimbabwe please share your story with me
March 7, 2018 at 20:29
First – you use the I-134 NOT the I-864.
Second you need to prepare properly. https://britsimonsays.com/prepare-dv-lottery-interview-2/
March 7, 2018 at 23:06
Thank you for the information…please also send me the link of the check list if you have one….I cannot seem to find it online and internet in zimbabwe is very slow so it takes a very long time to load pages.
And also for the I-134 sponsor form…I do have a off copy save on my pc in pdf format.
Does the embassy need a handwritten one or can my sponsor type it in and send it to me via email and I print it…Or must my sponsor hand write it then scan and send me what do the embassy need I am completely stuck on this one….Thank you so very much
March 7, 2018 at 23:11
You can generate your own checklist by reading the instructions.
I-134 can be filled in either way.
March 8, 2018 at 07:37
Deanelihle, I am from Zimbabwe but had my interview in Johannesburg. you can email me on [email protected].
April 4, 2018 at 00:44
Hi. Please tell us how it went. I’ll also be going to Johannesburg.
March 8, 2018 at 08:50
Interview Location: US Embassy Accra-Ghana
Interview Date: 7th March 2018
Time: 9:30am
Through All Of it you were with us_ I want to thank you Britsimon for such immerse support and the good work you doing to help us realize our American Dream_you have truly shown that_“Intelligence is not a privilege but a gift from Nature which is to Be used for the benefit of Mankind” Love you BritSimon?
Submitted DS260;* 31st July,2018
Waited patiently for KCC to release first VB for 2018 DV fiscal year_was not easy tho. Would always keep trails on Brit Simons blog the immigration.forum for the latest immigration news and interview experience.
Until January 15 , 2018 where the March VB was finally released and 2weeks followed by 2NL_Wasn’t bothered but kept the Faith high and Finally got the March Interview.
Got to the Embassy around *8:45am*, went for something to eat since the main interview or entry time was *9:30am* I also took the opportunity to get my US Passport Picture Size. *At Exactly *9:00am* we were called to form a line_where the lady check your appointment letter wit her list to see if u really bn scheduled. Same appointment letters were taken at the Reception when you enter.
At *10:17pm* we were *(DV PA’s )* called to Window 6 and briefed about the whole process and given the opportunity to ask question we got. Being exposed to lots of interview experience from Brit Simons blog I felt equipped so no questions asked ?. The Gentleman at Window 6 Gave each and every one a visa quotation sheet_printed on it was various visa fees for different Visa categories be it Family based, work etc. But DV visa fee was already ticked by the gentleman at window 6 We were instructed to write our names on it and directed to go make payment at the cashier….plz always carry smaller denominations with you, it gonna save u time and hustle_lolz.
In an hour and half we were called to *Window 2* msubmit documents *( ORIGINALS WITH PHOTOCOPY BENEATH)* and to take a seat after. It was in *”turns”* (one at a time ) the lady asked;
~ where I stay?
~ if am married?
~ got any kids?
After the little chat she instructed me to place my four fingers on the biometric laser machine for finger printing, she also gave me back documents not needed. Took about 3mins at *Window 6*
I sat for 45mins_later heard my name called to *Window 11*,he had a sunshine smile ?; I told him”you look gorgeous this afternoon” he laughed and said you flattering me. I smiled back.
CO: So you are Isaac, Right?
Me: Yep!
CO: alryt *Ike* he called me Ike…hahaha )_raise up your right hand day after me……( same old anthem) lol
Me: I swear to tell the truth
CO: ok, which year did you complete High School?
Me: I answered.
CO: Where did you complete High School?
Me: I answered.
CO: Who is your host?
Me: My Brother
CO: wow! he also won the lottery? (I was shocked tho_how come he knew my brother also won the lottery) lol_background checks I guessed…hmm
Me: I said, yes he won in 2008_
she laughed and said then it runs through the family. We laughed together.?
CO: last one Ike what do you intend to do in the USA?
Me: Join the US Army Logistics Corps and take the opportunity to serve and get a degree in “Reverse Logistics”
CO: That’s good..can see you got big plans…( she was typing all the time and talking) The US Army got lot of logistics you know?
Me: I Smiled.
CO: Welcome to the United States Of America Ike( he hand me a white paper with yellow filter highlighted. She circled http://www.ustravledocs.com/gh
to create profile)
I was head over heels, I felt like the whole world was mine that very moment.
ME: God Bless the United States Of America ??
He laughed out loud. And said please don’t forget to create the profile and be a good soldier.
Me: knelt down before the CO and thanked God
Co: he laughed n smiled? and the people around were also surprised
First of All I want to thank Jehovah for making my imagination a reality, Brit Simon, sm1mom, sussie QQQ and my whatsapp DV family for the wonderful Support and encouragement
GOD INDEED BLESS THE UNITED STATE OF AMERICA
March 8, 2018 at 15:02
Awesome – congratulations!
March 29, 2018 at 17:13
@Mr.Harris please can I get your contact am also in GH due for interview in April.aniacquahrichard @gmail.com
March 8, 2018 at 09:26
First I would like to thank my God for this opportunity then Mr. Simon It will not be possible without your information, support and guidance. I just want to say thank you and keep it up!
My interview is held Today March 8, 2018 8:00AM at Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Here are the questions we have been asked
CO: can u swear that all the information given are true
We: swear
CO: What is your highest level of education?
Principal Applicant: Answered
CO: Which higher education?
Principal Applicant: Answered
CO: What field?
Principal Applicant: Answered
CO: Currently working in that field?
Principal Applicant: Answered
CO: Which company do you work?
Principal Applicant: Answered
CO: What is your profession?
Principal Applicant: Answered
CO: What is your specific title?
Principal Applicant: Answered
CO: Sponsor name and address
Principal Applicant: Answered
CO: Relationship of Sponsor
Principal Applicant: Answered
CO: How did he (sponsor) go USA?
Principal Applicant: Answered
CO: How many years he (sponsor) leaved in USA?
Principal Applicant: Answered
CO: Do u have pictures?
We: Submitted our photo album
Then the CO said congratulations and, he approved our Visa.
March 8, 2018 at 15:05
Great interview. Well done.
March 8, 2018 at 11:37
Hey Simon et al.
We recently had our interview in Sydney, Australia. My husband is the principle applicant. Our experience of it was very process driven and exactly as described.
However, there were many others interviewing at the same time who hadn’t done the right police checks and medical exams and didn’t get their answer on the day, so I’m even more grateful for this page and the stress it places on attention to detail in reading the questions!
We arrived at 8am for an 8.20am appointment. We were out by around 9.30am.
Go to the security screening level, line up to have paperwork checked.
Security screening, sign in anything but relevant paperwork and wallet.
Wait.
Go up to interview floor, take a ticket.
Wait.
Number called, handed over paperwork, sent to cashier window with passport.
Pay fee, return with receipt and passport, sent back to seats.
Wait.
Number called, interview questions:
1. When and where did you get married (we were married during the process)?
2. Where and how did you meet?
3. What’s your highest level of education?
4. What do you do for work?
There was a bit of general chit chat as well but they were the main things.
Then he told us we had been approved, that we would get paperwork in the mail in the next couple of weeks, and sent us back downstairs.
Passports and paperwork arrived 2 days later and now we’re planning our move to NYC!
Thanks to Simon and everyone who engages with this site. It’s been a great experience. Thank you again.
March 8, 2018 at 15:13
Easy when you know how, huh! 🙂
March 8, 2018 at 15:27
US EMBASSY ADDIS ABABA ETHIOPIA
-Case number 2018AF000161XX
-2NL Received on January 24 for March 8, 8:30AM(morning 2:30pm local time)
-Scheduled appointment and carrier service (DHL only in Ethiopia) following the instructions from the embassy and the provided link
Am only writing some of the problems have been worried that might help others;
First VB was delayed beyond the first 15 days which was due to Holiday and weekend coming consecutively… patience!
Second ,waited for almost 10 days to receive my 2NL…. patience!!
Third ,here in Ethiopian case you need to register(schedule) your appointment for interview and carrier service to receive passport and Visa related documents, accomplished through single link provided by the embassys, problem is the embassy commonly updates the link 7 to 10 days after 2NL released… patience!!!
Fourth, document authentication process which is redundant and should have to be started early. If possible try to authenticate all documents,makes things easier
Others,am qualified through education have a University degree which I listed on entry and DS 260, but couldn’t provide official or temporary Degree due to cost sharing problem so took every possible supporting documents plus work experience.
Before Interview
-u need to pass through three security check ups.
-Visa fee $330 or 9040 birr(local currency)
There are 16 counters/windows inside the interview room only window 7 to 11 are for DV/IV cases
Window 7 & 8 were pre-interview for all DV/IV cases asked about some documents and biometric data/finger print is given as well u choose language of interview
Then u need to wait for a while on other windows for interview, by the way the waiting area is in front of the interview windows u can clearly see who is approved and who is denied… “shocking”.
Window 11 was mine
Greetings,
CO. highest level of education and where?
ME. University degree ….
CO.working on same field
ME.yes
CO. Do u have a kid
ME. no
CO.do u have wife
ME.no
CO. do u have fiance
ME.yes and can see the deligh on his face
CO. Appreciate ur honesty, many people say no thinking it will affect their visa, actually it helps if u need to take petition her in the future, can u give me her name?
ME.yes xxxx
CO.Who is ur petitioner where is she residing? and what is her job
ME. her name is xxx, she is my cousin and her job, she lives in New York, Queens
CO.have u been there before
ME.no
CO. are u staying there?
ME. for a while
CO. Congratulation, gave me a my documents putting yellow paper on top which describes about USCIS fee payment and short notice paper about how to collect passport and other documents
ME. have a nice day.
…..just like that with in 3 minutes a whole process of 10 month, thank GOD!!!
Thank you SIMON and your family! and everyone who responded to my questions.
March 8, 2018 at 15:29
Nice!
March 8, 2018 at 17:10
Hi Britsimonsay
First of all I just want to tell the Almighty God thank u n secondly I want to thank u Britsimonsay for all the information, updates and always answering our questions
For me I can say it was a miracle because my affidavit was delayed the person who I was expecting it from said they won’t be able to do like 2 two days to our interview
On the ds form I put my other aunt there but she was assigned South Korea but we just left it there
It was late to unlock it
But God was still on our side
My husband had to beg his cousin to send it for him who went America through Dv 2014
So by Gods grace he send the affidavit on Wednesday night
I’m from Liberia
Interview date March 8, 2018
Case number: 17
My husband n I went at the embassay at 6:30am
Our interview time was 8am
By 8am we started forming two lines
Went inside
After a while I was called at the cashier because i was the principal applicant
He asked for passport, police clearance, waec chip, birth certificate , medical
And I paid the amount of 560 for my husband and I
I went n sit
Wait for a while my husband n I were called
They ask for my birthday, my husband birthday
That was all
I min we called by another consular for fingerprints
Finally we were waiting now for the final interview
After like 20 mins we we called by the consular
We raised our hands up and swear
Consular ; Are u married
Me: Yes
Consular: Your paper looks good
Me: smile
Consular : U got married on a Saturday
Me; No , on a Sunday
Consular; Do you have child; No
Me: No
Connsular: Your going to xxxxxxx
My husband n I :: Yes
Consular ; Welcome to America
That was all
She didn’t ask for Affidavit
But my aunty who’s name she called was the one I put on the ds form have got an assignment to South Korea she’s with the army
She sold her place
But we planned to go at my husband cousin place
What should we do
Wait until we go for our visa to inform them??
March 11, 2018 at 14:43
First I would like to thank God for this opportunity then Simon you are great. Everything you said always happen. I just want to say thank you and keep it up!
My interview is held on March 8, 2018 8:30AM at Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Send DS 260 on around end of may.
– 2NL Received on January 24 for March 8, 8:30AM(morning 2:30pm local time)
-Scheduled appointment and carrier service (DHL only in Ethiopia)
Pay 9040 Ethiopian birr cash. (330$) before the interview in the embassy.
Before going to the question i want to share some of the interview that i observe. The interview are very simple but most people fails because of educational requirements. Before we pay the payment they give us the paper to read and sign. it clearly and specifically describe the requirement but people did think the officer will do a favor for them.
I see two families denied because of they don’t full fill the minimum requirements. Imagine that they pay (4*330$) for each family member. The officer ask them that why did they pay even they read the requirements and they answered that they don’t have a choice. I see the officer face in the window and he really fill sad. he said i am sorry i can not approve you visa.
Vocational training in Ethiopia – known as TVET – cannot be considered a substitute for high school education and does not meet the education criteria for DV eligibility.. PLEASE DO NOT TRY TO CONVINCE THE OFFICER. RULE IS RULE. DO NOT WASTE YOU MONEY AND TIME. If you have a Bsc degree you don’t have to worry at all.
Here are the questions asked
Me: Good morning sir
CO: Smile and say hi
CO: Rise you right hand and swear that all the information given are true
We: I swear
CO: So you study…….?
Me: Yes sir
CO: It make sense you study…..and you are working in….?
Me: Yes sir
CO: Where did you study?
Me: Answerd
CO: Congratulation i approve your visa? and he gave me a yellow paper
Me: Thank you sir
then he start typing and start the question again
CO: Which state are you going?
Me: Answered
CO: Who is you sponsor?
Me: I answered a name of my host
CO: Relationship of Sponsor?
Me: He is my cousin
CO: What is you sponsor Job
Me: Answered
CO: How did he go to US
Me: DV
CO: Every body get there with DV. Ok I approve you visa
Me: thank you sir
CO: Gave me the yellow paper
Me: receive the paper
CO: Do you have a girl friend
Me: Yes
CO: Do you have plan to marry
Me: I am not going to merry soon
CO: Ok and he brief me the instructions…..and also tell me to inform the sponsor to pay the fee
Me: Thank you sir
Dear Brit: Based your previous posts it is not must to pay the fee before i travel.
March 11, 2018 at 15:12
Congratulations and thanks for the write up.
You can pay the fee after entering the USA.
March 12, 2018 at 15:25
Can anybody from Ghana with interview experience tell me how long it took for their status to change from AP to Issued?
March 12, 2018 at 16:01
That varies case to case.
March 12, 2018 at 16:54
Even when the consular congratulates you and tells you to create a profile?
I’m asking for a case where the consular was satisfied with all documents and conditions and told us that our Visa has been approved . I just want to know so I can calm my nerves.
March 12, 2018 at 17:06
Yes – as I have told you before – AP time varies.
March 12, 2018 at 17:59
Xray my case is same – had a wonderful interview of less than 5mins, was given the white paper to create account for passport collection and was told how i would receive our passports. I just checked and our status is AP but am not so worried as Brit said it is common for a couple of business days.
I can understand how you feel, sometimes I am tempted to feel same but I trust all is well, it is only a formality.
March 12, 2018 at 18:30
Seth,
Can I get your contact to ask you one or two questions?
March 12, 2018 at 18:38
I already told Xray that. Cases commonly show AP for a couple of days before turning to issued. That isn’t “real” AP. BUT if that hasn’t happened after a week – then that is most likely “real” AP – and that cannot be predicted.
March 12, 2018 at 18:43
Brits,
I guess I have to wait till end of this week since the interview was on the 7th
March 12, 2018 at 19:04
Hey guys, I want to share my experience with you. But first I would like to thank Simon for all the help and data that is being provided for all of us!
I received 2NL January 23rd and interview was scheduled March7.
Embassy: Prague, Czech Republic.
I had a mistake, because I was born in Armenia and as country of eligibility I applied from Russia.
So my interview was scheduled for 1:30 pm, and I left the embassy at 3:30 p.m.
So when I got pass all the security checks, and went upstairs to I realised I was the only person in the waiting room. Then I was asked to provide all the documents, the lady asked was in a hurry, because they had a staff meeting, apparently also scheduled for 1:30 p.m. So I was the only one on the floor for like 30 mins, then the lady returned, asked for photos, because, she forgot and asked me to pay to the lady in the next window. After it was all done, I was probably waiting for another hours or may be even more.
Regarding docs, no one asked me my DS confirmation page, or 2NL.Als the lady did not take my financial status documents and when I asked if I should give them, she said later you will be asked.
Finally I was called by the consular. He apologised for me waiting so much. He basically did not even ask me any questions, I was asked to give my finger prints and oath.
CO:
all your docs are ok, the only things is that your country of birth and country of eligibility are different, but honestly I don’t see that much of a difference between Armenia and Russia, I mean both of them are eligible to apply for the lottery. So we will keep the copies of all the documents and you will get all the originals.
ME:
do you need my financial status documents?
CO:
no , that’s id fine, this is university of New York in Prague diploma right?
ME: yes
CO :then decently we do not need to confirm your financial status, you have American degree and you speak English, so you will not be out of job so you will not be a public charge , plus you have a friend to help you out when you will be first there, right?
ME; yes, a long relative actually
CO: even better, so thank you very much, finger prints processing will take like 1-2 days and my colleagues will contact you.
ME: so my visa is approved
CO: yes, you will have to go to US in the period of 6 months, you are ready to go to US in this period right?
ME: yes,
CO, ok so wait for the call my colleague will contact you.
So the interview itself was very easy, The interview itself was less than 10 minutes, the whole process took 2 hours. I was extremely nervous , especially knowing that I might be rejected because of the wrong county of eligibility in my application, but all went good. I’m still waiting for my passport though, but I’m sure I will get it this week.
Good luck to all of you waiting for your interview and 2NLs and thank you Simon for the help.
March 12, 2018 at 20:11
Nicely done. Sounds like you had a great CO!
March 13, 2018 at 09:15
The DV Lottery Process- Addis Ababa – Ethiopia
• Applying for the lottery
• Being randomly selected
• Filling out the DS-206
• Appointment
• Getting Documents Ready
• The Interview
The clever people of Ethiopia have many quotes that were transferred from generation to generation. One of the quotes says: Those who are the least enthusiastic for lotteries win them the most”. That is exactly what happened to me. I am a 28 years old guy. During my younger ages I was not focused and goal oriented, and I don’t often plan for the long future. I am skilled in computer programming, I have an outstanding work experience in a university and an average English skill. My brother is already in the USA and there are many close relatives and friends who live in the USA. The best place for me is clearly the USA. If you look my friends, many of them studied non-IT fields, guess what they are doing right now, they are completely shifting their career direction to an IT related area. Given all these opportunities I used not to think about my future in the USA. Whereas, my mother is my everything; she doesn’t live her own life, she has been always thinking about us, her family. Every year, she insists us to fill this lottery, but we (I, my sister, my father) were reluctant. She would collect our photos, email addresses, name spellings and go to an internet center and organize all information and fill it all by herself. This process continued for many years. No one had won the lottery till I did on the DV-2018.
We entered the DV-2018 lottery on November 5, 2016, just a few days before the closing. The result came on May 2, 2017. I completely forgot about the lottery and I was living my normal life; one day in the month of June, my mother remembered it. She opened her computer and browsed to the entrant status check website. Hurray!!! Somebody has been randomly selected for further processing and it was me. She called me immediately and told me that I won the lottery. I had mixed feelings about it. I had several questions which were not clear, does being randomly selected signify winning, will I go to the USA immediately? is it a better option than the Job I currently do? Later on, I found out that I was very lucky to be part of the 1% people who are one step closer to the American Dream.
I started browsing dvlottery.state.gov, travel.state.gov, ceac.state.gov and many more sites, I googled every possible ambiguity about the lottery and tried to look past histories, I also read the guide for new immigrants. I didn’t know I had to pass through a long process before actually going to America. I am an IT guy with an M.Sc. degree in Information Systems, I could understand the steps to follow and could start the process by myself. But my mother was strongly anxious thinking that I will ruin the chance, we had an unpleasant argument because she wants me to go to the people in front of the American Embassy and ask for assistance. Sometimes experience is better than Knowledge, she was absolutely right. Wanting to take the responsibility in my own hands is a good thing, but asking for help never hurts.
Have you ever heard about Helicopter mothers (credit for my father)? A typical helicopter mother never leaves her son alone, he is always a baby for her and she accompanies him always. It is god’s blessing to have such kind of mother, because too positivity is not too bad. We went to 6Killo – Shiro Meda, the place where the American Embassy is located and found a guy who had been working in front the embassy for long time, his main job is to resolve Visa issues or filling various forms, giving advices and printed instructions. We gave him the first notification letter where we obtained from the ESC website. He said: The first step is to fill the DS-206 form, consequently he started to fill my personal information, family information, passport number and when he reached on Educational Background, it became difficult for me to give an accurate information. Thus, I said to myself: he has already shown me how to enter the form and fill stuff, by now I can handle the rest. This time I was right, I needed time to collect the correct dates from my educational documents. The expiry date of my passport was also approaching. So, we left the place to clear out those things.
I went home and tried to check whether I was able to enter the form by myself. I entered my case number and birthdate, and I opened and tried to change some things and save back, all things I did successfully, so I was confident that I could complete the rest. In the next day, early morning, I went to Immigration at Tikor Ambessa and applied for passport renewal. The price for a new passport or expired passport renewal was ETB 600 but for changing a non-expired passport it was ETB 900. My brand-new passport became ready after 3 days. Later on, I collected all my educational and work experience documents and I made a logical timeline of all my education starting from Grade 9 up to M.Sc. After several days, I filled the whole DS-206 myself. I didn’t submit the form because I was afraid that it might have a mistake. Thus, me and my mother, we went to the same place in front of the Embassy to check and submit the form. All things were filled correctly except in one place, I didn’t select an Interview Location. He selected Addis Ababa, Ethiopia as my interview location and then I signed and submitted.
The lottery result came on May 2,2017, we saw it on late June and submitted the form on early July. I searched the effect of submitting late and the chances of getting called for interview. This was the time I found the most appreciated forum about the DV lottery i.e. Britsimonsays.com. In short, I understood that submitting late doesn’t create significant delay unless it is very late and also intentionally submitting late in order to get interviewed late doesn’t work. The DV lottery process has its own complexity in handling the scheduling which is seldom affected by the date of submission.
In October, the earliest case numbers started getting second notification letter (appointment letter). This time, I started to review my DS-206 submission line by line, I also gave my father to check the accuracy of the information on the form. One horrifying mistake was found. Though later I found out that it is not that worry some error. I mistakenly put 2010 instead of 2015 in the work experience I submitted. I heard many people saying that a single mistake can ruin your chances when it comes to the DS-206 form. But that was just pointless, thanks to Brit Simons. I asked him about the issue and he gave me a logical and convincing answer. He said: It is better to correct it now rather than taking the incorrect form to the interview because re-opening and submitting the form now doesn’t create that much delay. Therefore, I sent email to KCC to open the form and after one sleepless night they replied and I corrected the slight mistake and resubmitted. So, my new submission was on mid-October.
The Visa Bulletin is published in the middle of every month and it shows the case numbers which will be current on the next two months. For example, the October Bulletin shows cases that will be current on November and December. My case number is AF14***; after following the October, November and December visa bulletins, I was most certain that I will part of the January bulletin. That time it was unusually late and combined with trumps comments on immigration, it seemed like the embassy is tightening things. We waited for 7 days, then, on January 22, Brit Simon posted a message about the reason for the delay. One of the reasons was Martin Luter King’s birthday. After a day or two, the long-awaited January bulletin was finally released. As I guessed it, my case number was part of the March interviews. Then, I received an appointment letter which stated the exact interview data and time.
Now was the time to prepare documents. Since, I was busy in a work outside of Addis Ababa, and I was not able to come to Addis to start the preparation process. Thus, my father agreed to help me. I have to give him directions and for that I preferred to browse forums.immigration.com website and I found a thread for Ethiopian winners only. The DV2017 forum had a lot of information as well as miss-information and confusion. My father wasted some money because of outdated information posted there. The big misunderstanding was regarding document authentication. It is enough to authenticate original documents only, no need to authenticate copies but by mistake my father fought and argued in every office in order to authenticate original plus copies. He authenticated the following documents in 4 days.
Document Where? Location
Grade 9 – Grade 12 Transcript 1: The High School where I attended G9-G12 Megenagna
2: Education Relevancy and Quality Agency Fikre Plaza in Afncho Ber
Birth Certificate Vital Events Registraton Agency Addisu Gebeya
G10 Certificate, G12 Certificate National Organization for Examination (NOE) Amist Killo
B.Sc. Degree The University I Attended
While I was outside Addis, my father did the initial processes on behalf of me, but the it is not completed. Therefore, after a week, on early February, I came to Addis and tried to do the remaining tasks.
Document Where? Location
Police Certificate Federal Police Crime Investigation Bureau, Forensic Examination Directorate Behind Immigration in Tikor Ambessa
Medical Certificate Saint Yared Hospital Megenagna
M.Sc. Document The University I Attended
I obtained the police certificate in 2 days. In the first day, I went there in the morning (7:00 A.M). There were a lot of people waiting in a long queue. I didn’t expect to find such a long line of people after coming this early. After sometime, the police men did a security check on all of us, and they announced that they don’t give police certificate for those traveling to the Middle East (Arab Countries). One girl made a funny comment, she said: “Where one could possibly go if not to the Middle East?”. She didn’t know that people who are planning to go to Europe and America are in the queue. At 8:00 A.M, they gave us clipper to arrange our documents. For DV we need the appointment letter, one 3 x 4 photo and one passport copy. When my turn reached, I clipped my documents together and gave to the officer. Then I gave finger print. The police man who took my finger print was a humble guy and he wanted me not to move my hands. He wanted to do it himself, like he took my fingers one by one and stamps on a paper. I asked them to write my certificate in English and without any spelling mistake. Actually, they know their job, if you say it is for the American Embassy, they will prepare it in English and they would directly copy your personal information from the passport. When I finish, they told me to come the day after, in the afternoon in order to take the certificate. In the meantime, I went to Saint Yared Hospital. In there, they have a receptionist dedicated for American Embassy customers. I gave him 5 photos, passport copy and appointment letter, then he told me to go and pay at the cashier. I paid around 3900 birrs. Then they took urine and blood samples in two separate laboratories. Then, I went to an X-ray room where I removed my shirt and took an X-ray exam. Finally, I went back to the receptionist and he gave me a small paper which shows that my result will be ready after 14 days.
I took the police certificate on the appointed day and immediately went back to my usual work until the medical certificate is ready. In the small paper, I obtained earlier (from Saint Yared Hospital), I needed to fill the address of my sponsor in four separate fields: Street Address, City, State and Zip Code. After 14 days of waiting I came back to the hospital. I paid around 890 birrs for vaccination and I took the vaccine from the pharmacy and gave to the nurses. Then, the nurse applied the vaccination and had to wait to go to the doctor. Finally, I went to Dr. Abebe Alemayehu and he was going to write the medical certificate by collecting all my laboratory results. Unfortunately, he found a mistake on my sponsor’s address, it was missing a street number. I just wrote the street name, but there is a number in front of the street name; so, I called my father who was in home and he told me the missing street number. Then the doctor asked me a few questions whether I had serious health problems in the past and he carefully examined me using a stethoscope and did an eye test. Then he told me to wait in the 1st floor in order to receive the results. Finally, the nurse said your result is very good and gave me a sealed package and cautioned me not to open it by any means.
The final stamp in the document authentication process is done by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. As I learned now, sometimes those people may stamp every document you have. Because every document costs 150 birr and so you may spend money unnecessarily. Everyone should know that American Embassy requires MoFA stamp only on the educational certificates, birth certificate and work experience.
Documents Does it need MOFA Stamp?
Birth Certificate Yes
G10 and G12 Leaving Certificates Yes
B.Sc., M.Sc. Degree Certificate, Yes
G9-12 Transcript, Student Copy, No
Police Certificate, Medical Certificate No
I completed all the authentication before 3 weeks prior to my interview. I created an account on https://ais.usvisa-info.com/en-et/iv/signup/iv and registered my appointment. I also registered for DHL service using the same account. As I said earlier I often work outside Addis Ababa, therefore I went outside Addis as usual. I wanted to travel back to Addis two days before my interview i.e. on Monday, because I had urgent work up to Monday and I couldn’t finish earlier than that day. My travel was endangered by a political unrest in the country. Because some opposition leaders called for a 3-day strike in all regions of Ethiopia, specially Oromia against the state of emergency imposed by the government. In response to that, the government blocked all Internet trying to block any message from politicians and activists outside the country. The opposition warned citizens not to move on Monday and otherwise anyone who is not participating in the strike should take responsibility for any attacks he may encounter. That was a scary message because most shops were closing their doors in fear of an attack by some group of people. Despite all the risks, I successfully arrived in Addis Ababa on Monday afternoon. I did all the required preparation like making one copy of each document, copying passport, preparing 2 5 x 5 photographs, getting a haircut, preparing the clothes I wear on the interview day. As I wrote earlier it should be noted that authentication is done only on the original document and we copy the front and back side of the original documents, only once. The following is the check list and order of documents
Passport Copy (Color Copy is Recommended)
2, 5 x 5 photographs, white background, no glasses, ear should be visible
First Notification Letter(1NL), Appointment Letter(2NL)
Optional DS-206 Confirmation Page
Medical Certificate sealed in a post
Birth Certificate and one copy
Police Certificate original only
Educational Certificates: G10, G12, one copy each
Grade 9 up to 12 Transcript and one copy
Optional Additional Educational Certificates: B.Sc., M.Sc., one copy each
Optional Additional Transcripts: Student Copy of B.Sc. and M.Sc., one copy each
Optional Work Experience
I met one DV winner at Saint Yared, his interview was 2 days before my interview day. I read a lot of interview experiences on Immigration.com and on britsimonsays.com. My friends interview was on Monday and mine was on Wednesday. On Tuesday, I called him and asked about his interview experience. He had good news, his visa was approved, and he gave me advices not to overthink and just fulfilling all document requirements and being calm, honest and confident is enough to pass through the interview.
My interview was on Wednesday 7:30 A.M, and I couldn’t sleep the night before. I was continuously checking my clock every hour, 2 A.M, 3 A.M, 4 A.M. Then, at 4:30 A.M I wake up from my bed and started preparing myself. I had plenty of time to use the bath room, dress, adapt the cold air and to do the final checking of the documents. My mother waked up after 30 minutes. Both of us were ready at 6:00 A.M. We traveled to the embassy as she drove the car. We live in the outskirts of Addis, so it was quite a long way. We arrived at the embassy at 6:35 A.M. We thought we were the earliest, no, around 20 people had come earlier than us, so we joined the queue and waited until the embassy opens at 7:00 A.M.
The first queue was on the opposite side of the embassy (the blue boxes). At 7:00 A.M, the guard started calling cluster of people to come to the gate and start arranging their documents before getting inside the embassy. There were two tables in front of the embassy gate (grey boxes on the picture). They kept file cabinets and instructions on how to arrange documents, on the tables. So, people (the orange boxes) were standing on the left and right side of the table and arranging and keeping their documents in a file cabinet. Thus, I put all my documents, like photos, copy of my passport, educational documents, birth certificate, …etc. in a single file cabinet. Then I joined the second queue in front of the exit door. There were two ladies (the blue triangles) who check and take the arranged documents including passport. She rearranged my documents correctly and asked for my phone number and emergency contact person. She wrote the information on top of the 1NL that was kept on top of all documents. Then she asked me for the exact interview time, I said 7:30 A.M. Then she gave me an agreement paper and she wrote a number on it, later I found out that they use the number to order the cases easily. So, she took all my documents including my original passport then gave me a Brown plastic card and commanded me to go to the next queue which is inform of the Entry Door (the yellow boxes). This was the first security checkpoint, the security guards (the red triangles) gave a box for each person holding the brown plastic card. In the box we kept watches, mobile phones and other metallic equipment’s. After passing the first security check point I was allowed to enter the embassy. As this time, we could see the big compound of the American Embassy at Addis Ababa. It has a big grass field on the left and flowers surrounding the compound. Before getting to the hall where the Consular Officers are located, we needed to pass another security check point. In the second check, all mobile phones should be switched off and they will keep with them, they gave us a numbered card for each to be for later retrieval of the phones
Finally, I reached to the main room where the payment and the interview would be done. This time I confirmed the truthfulness of the documents by signing on the agreement paper. The sequence of steps is: signing the agreement paper, payment, scanning fingerprint and interview. There are 12 windows in the embassy where all conversation is done through the window. On the inside part and outside part, they have a mic to record the voices of the consular officers and the customer, and there are speakers on both sides as well.
The guards inside the main room call numbers loudly and we did the payment based the sequence numbers which were written on our papers. I waited for 20 minutes before my number was called. I paid ETB 9040 equivalent to USD 330 at window number one. The guard said: all of you who paid, get closer to the Windows 3,4,5,6. I waited for 40 minutes, finally my name was called on Window 6. They have a big speaker and they directly call names by voice. My finger print was scanned. First the four fingers of the left hand, then the four fingers of the right hand, then the two thumbs together. I was given a chance to choose interview language, I choose English.
The next call was the final call for interview, I was slightly nervous and every second seemed like an hour. I tried to calm down by engaging in a random conversation with my fellows sitting beside me. After waiting 40 minutes, my name was called on Window 6 where a women consular officer greeted me with a smile. She said, put your hands up and say all the documents are true and legitimate. Despite I requested the interview to be in English, the translator was talking to me in Amharic, for the first question and she was translating back to English. Then the C.O interrupted the conversation and directly asked me whether I am comfortable to speak in English. I said Yes. Then she asked a series of questions. Do you have a plan to marry before you leave the U.S? Do you have any Children? Who is your sponsor and what is the relationship with you? Those questions were way simpler than what I expected. I answered all the questions in English. Then the C.O gave back my original documents and an approval letter together with a yellow paper containing instructions on how to pay for green card. I came out of the embassy at 10:30 A.M.
March 13, 2018 at 16:21
Wow – that is the longest interview experience ever. Thanks! it was a good read!
Congratulations and good luck!
November 7, 2020 at 05:57
Hi Brit,
Long time before I wrote this comment. I guess it already served its purpose. Can you remove it?
March 13, 2018 at 09:53
Interview location: Ghana
Embassy: Accra
Date: 05/03/2018
Time: 09:30 GMT
Departure from Embassy: 11.20 GMT
We were there half an hour before the interview time and there were quite a number of people in a queue already in front of the embassy. All the interviewees had to follow the queue until security allows getting into the embassy. The security officials checked the names in the appointment letter (2NL) against the names in the passports.
We had to go through two security check points, one at the entrance and second one before the interview hall.
At the interview hall the receptionist rechecked the appointment letter.
We were asked to get seated and wait. At around 10am a nice Ghanaian gentleman stepped into the hallway to explain the processes involved and gave us forms to fill to pay the fees. He appealed that families with kids be attended first so we got fortunate there.
I was second in the queue to pay for myself and 3 derivatives (Wife and 2 daughters)
After about 20mins, we were called to Window 1 where the gentleman who had explained the processes earlier attended to us. He took our finger prints. He guided us through the documents in the required order for all 4 of us. He then requested for any proof of relationships which I provided photos of us (wife & I) taken at the University days whiles dating, traditional marriage, wedding, baby christening pictures for our two girls, birthday pics for the girls, family pics with all 4 and prints out of WhatsApp; text and E-mails. I also gave him some invoices of family vacations and weighing cards for the girls.
He asked if I did my undergrad also in China which I answered no. Only did the postgrad in China. Said hello to my girls (4 & 2) and they replied.
Required Docs: 2_5cm X 5cm; Passports; DS-260 Confirmation; Birth Certificates with copies; Appointment letter; Medical Reports; Marriage Certificate with copy; Police Reports; Educational Certificates with Copies
After all these were sorted out we went back to our seats to wait. Hmmmm!!! My girls were running all around the hallway singing and reciting their rhymes.
Finally, after about 10 mins we got called to Window 8
THE INTERVIEW
CO: So you speak Mandarin?
Me: Sure I do and read as well
CO: That’s pretty crazy ah?
Me: You can’t imagine but had no option
CO: Did you like the place, I mean China
Me: Was ok but liked the food better
CO: Yea it’s awesome
CO: So you are an Engineer
Me: Yeah Mechanical Engineer
CO: Where do you work?
Me: Blah Blah Blah
CO: Sorry your company is going to lose you
We both laughed
It was at this juncture he asked me to raise my hands to swear to speak the truth which we (wife & I) swore.
CO: Is that your first time for the lottery
Me: I believe it’s my second time
CO: Where would you be in the USA?
Me: Houston
CO: Texas. You have a family there?
Me: Might have but will be hosted by a very close friend
CO: Turning to my wife….. Is she the only wife?
Me: Sure, she is the only wife and the only two daughters I have
We all laughed
CO: Turning to my daughter, said Hello and she responded Hello
CO: Congratulations. Enjoy your stay. Your passports will be ready in two weeks and returned all original docs
He picks the white sheet, circles the web address to create account and that was it! All these took less than 3mins.
Me: Thank you
06/03/2018: Holiday in Ghana
07/03/2018: Checked Status-Issued
08/03/2018: Received mail that Docs were ready for collection
09/03/2018: Collected all visa packets
Thank you so much Brit. Had it not been your guidance, I believe we wouldn’t have come this far. It’s my conviction God is using you to help mankind and he will surely bless you for this good and wonderful things you are doing. I will surely donate before my first entry
Thank you God!!!!
Thank you Brit!!!!
God Bless America!!!!
God Bless Brit.!!!!
God bless Me!!!!
March 13, 2018 at 16:49
Hi Brit
Am waiting for your congratulations
LOL
March 13, 2018 at 16:52
LOL – congratulations!!
March 13, 2018 at 16:19
Interview Location: Germany
Date: 13.03.2018
Hey Simon and everyone else!
I am a single – student and have not graduated from university yet. While I was preparing for my interview, I couldn’t find many examples of single applicants so I really want to share mine for those like me out there somewhere!
I just want to mention first that I am not a German citizen. However since I have been residing here for the past year, I got to have my interview here.
I was there thirty minutes early, got a number went through the security and went inside. There weren’t many people in there and I didn’t have to wait in any queue at any point. (Just waited for my actual interview) And at each step, I was asked if I preferred speaking in English or in German.
I went to the first window, a very friendly guy asked for my passport, one picture, my delivery address information page and the visa fee. Then he asked me to wait until my number came on the screen.
15 minutes later I was called to the second window where I gave my fingerprints. She wanted to go through my application form with me (my parents’ name, the US address, my address etc.) I had changed my address in Germany so I gave her the current one, she updated it. Then she asked for my documents (original & copy):
– Birth Certificate
– University related Documents
– Police Records (both from my hometown and Germany)
– Bank Records
She asked if I was married and had children and if I was planning on getting married before my entry to the US. She also asked when I planned on traveling. Then she gave me an information paper on social security number and told me that I should expect my SSN within three weeks upon my entry to the US. She said if for any reason I don’t receive it within that timeframe, I should contact the authorities. (there was a telephone number on the paper) Then she showed me the package that I would receive later on, and told me to open the first envelope but not the one inside.
After this I had waited for more than two hours.
Finally it was my turn. I gave my fingerprints again. I swear that I would tell the truth.
The Questions:
– What is your highest level of education?
– Do you want to finish your studies in Germany?
– What were you studying?
– Do you have family in the US?
– Do you have family in Germany?
– You are not married?
– You don’t have any children?
“Your visa has been approved. Here are your original documents. You should expect your visa package within a week. Good Luck!”
Thank you Simon for the work you do. I checked the website almost everyday and read almost all of your answers. It honestly helped a lot with the understanding of the process and everything. I really appreciate your time and energy!!
March 13, 2018 at 16:24
Congratulations!
March 13, 2018 at 16:35
Thank you!
March 14, 2018 at 12:21
congratulations! this is helpful. I’m single, never married and no children.
March 13, 2018 at 16:40
After YEARS of waiting, my time has finally came and I’m the happiest person on earth.
Lived in the U.S. 9 years. Had to come back to Paris once my visa expired. Most depressing time of my life until I heard took a chance at the lottery. Applied in 2014, NOT SELECTED. Applied in 2015, NOT SELECTED. Applied in 2016, YOU HAVE BEEN SELECTED! Third time was the charm. Enough background story, past forward to the interview!
Interview location: PRE (Paris, FRANCE)
Interview date and time: March 7th, 2018. 10:45am
Case number: EU108XX
Arrived at the gate at 10:45. Had to go through a tent where there is a security checkpoint. We were asked to present ID and documents (DS260 confirmation, police record and convocation letter+courier information) Once everything was cleared, they gave me back my documents and we went through a second security checkpoint (very airport-like) where 75% of the content of my bag was checked-in. They took our belongings and gave us numbered tags to retrieve then when leaving (cell phones, keys, lotion, headphones, etc)
1st step: payment of the immigration Visa fees. I paid in US $ (330$) at the window where you’re handed a receipt.
2nd step: queue for the presentation and verification of required documents. Very friendly American lady asked for the documents: originals and copies. Then my fingerprints were taken. She said that everything seemed in order so she instructed me to head down to the downstairs waiting room until the C.O. called my name.
3rd step: after about 45 minutes waiting, I finally hear my name. Equally friendly male CO. First and foremost, you need to raise your right hand and take an oath to solely provide truthful information. He first asked when and where I got my degrees. Then when and where I got married. To finish, if I had ever lived in another country besides France and the U.S. AND THAT WAS IT! He then congratulated me and said my visa was approved, that it would be ready to be picked up at the courier location within 2-3 weeks as he kept all my documents and passport. Smiled and waved at me and that was it! INSTANT BLISS AND RELIEF. ??
Last step: exchange the ticket to get back your belongings and I was out of there, with my husband just as ecstatic as I was.
Being a faithful follower of this blog, I waited 48 hours before announcing the big news since your case can go through AP despite a positive interview! The 9th, the status went from AP to ISSUED so thank you for the precious advice and clarity of the information provided. Good luck to everyone else.
I should be heading back to the U.S. within the next 6 weeks and I am truly happy!!!! AGAIN : THANK YOU SIMON AND GOOD LUCK TO EVERYONE! ??????
March 13, 2018 at 16:54
Awesome story – welcome back!
March 13, 2018 at 19:11
Thanks a lot!!! Keep up the good work. It’s highly appreciated
March 16, 2018 at 21:33
Hi Aivilo86,
Felicitations!!
My interview is scheduled at the US Embassy in Paris in April, how long did it take to get back your passport after the interview? I already live in the US and I need to schedule my return. Thanks
March 16, 2018 at 23:47
Hi Boris! Thanks. Interview in March 7th, got an email on the 14th to let me know it was ready for pick up! Couldn’t be any happier, I went right away! Good luck to you
March 17, 2018 at 01:02
Thanks for your help!!! I appreciate.
March 13, 2018 at 20:57
Hey all!
Interview was yesterday in Sydney, Australia. We didn’t take mobiles as instructed and got a little lost but got there on time!
First stage: got to the consulate, lined up and they went through the paperwork for just what we needed.
Then through security and left anything extra there. Then they took us up another level.
Second stage: take a ticket and wait. Got up to the counter where they scanned our DS260 confirmations, checked passports, did fingerprints and then paid the cashier. They kept the documents at that stage.
Went back to waiting.
Third stage: called up. Took the oath. They asked:
Why did we apply for DV?
How many times did we apply?
What do we both do for work?
Do we plan to do the same work in USA?
Where do we plan to live?
Do I have other family there?
Visa approved.
It was fairly simple just 2hrs in consulate waiting. Thanks so much Simon for all your help!
We did hear someone get denied because she put the wrong answer for foreign state of chargeability so make sure it’s correct!
March 14, 2018 at 13:50
At last, my status now shows ISSUED. Watch out for the interview story SOON.
March 14, 2018 at 18:24
Lolz…O so you were waiting to go issued before you tell your story. It was just a matter of time, once your interview went well. Congrats!
March 14, 2018 at 18:51
Sup Seth. How is yours? Issued?
March 14, 2018 at 23:40
Yes, by God’s grace ours are issued. I may pick them on Friday.
March 16, 2018 at 08:46
Hi Xray, have you received the mail to collect your docs yet?
March 14, 2018 at 20:12
Xray was wise to wait.
March 14, 2018 at 23:43
Lol…always good to be sure. I knew God had already done it right after the interview.
March 15, 2018 at 05:25
Hi Seth,
Do I need to get the mail before pickup of the passports or I can go and take them once the status shows ISSUED.
March 15, 2018 at 05:47
Seth please contact me 0560561387
Also from gh and want info about the collection of passport from dhl
April 4, 2018 at 14:44
Xray please were u asked of affidavit of support? Was that really needed at the Accra embassy?
I’m also from Ghana
April 11, 2018 at 10:02
It ain’t need vruh
April 11, 2018 at 10:06
I meant to say it isn’t needed. Nonetheless, my cousin took his along so he could be prepared for any scenario that took place
March 14, 2018 at 18:32
Seth Top Q and X-ray …adey beg am also from Ghana…can u pls whatsapp me 0560561387….want to ask something about the collection of passport n documents
Thank you guys
March 15, 2018 at 08:00
@ mr.harris
The collection of visa packets does not require any rigorous exercise
Just register an account and create a profile as directed by the CO
Wait for the email and you go with a valid ID and you take it
Thats all
Hope i have been helpful
March 15, 2018 at 01:18
Hello Brit,
I have received 2NL and my interview has been scheduled for April 24 in America Embassy in Liberia.
My question is I obtained my SSCE certificate from Ghana with credit 6
But I didn’t pass core Mathematic will this affect my interview.
Thanks
Foster A. M. Wilson from Liberia
March 15, 2018 at 02:14
I don’t know the education required in Liberia.
March 16, 2018 at 14:12
Hi Brit, I just noticed something quite strange and wants your opinion or if you have heard of any such case. My interview was successful, my status changed to “Issued” since wednesday or so but I just checked my status and it now reads “Ready”. Do you know of such experience in the past? Thanks.
March 16, 2018 at 14:36
No – but it might be to do with visa printing – just be patient.
March 25, 2018 at 07:02
INTERVIEW EXPERIENCE
Date: 13th March 2018
Time: 8:30A.M
Location: Yaoundé Embassy
Woke up at about 4:30 in the morning. I arrived the embassy at 6:23 n I was the 6th in line for dv applicants. There were IV applicants too who were prioritized to dvians in entryx the embassy.
first at abt 7:30, we the dvians started entering in 5’s. At the security check room, phones were taken from us n kept..after they let us pass n were led to an open spot were we sat and one security agent sat us down on the loon desk and gave us a pink paper wch guides us on hw to arrange our docs.so we were to separate originals from deir copies in this order
-Passport wit a photo on the front cover clipped in de original file and a photocopy of the biographic page of passport in the other file
-brth certi wit 2 photocopies
-non cnviction no photocopy
-all academic certificates
-medical report.
The security agent startd sendx groups of 5 in the main room n I was in the second group. We lined up as we enterd to pay 185000 n gv our required docs.i payd n gve my docs n was asked a few questions as follows
-do u have kids
-are u married
-highest level of education which I answered and was asked to sit. This one was done by a black lady and man. It’s not part of the interview they just want to get u prepared.i sat for like an hour since they gave higher priority to people with kiss then I was called to window 4 were I still met a black lady. She just checked my docs, took my finger prints and asked my age and then gave me a white piece of paper which talks about registering for selective service in the US since I’m between 18 and 25. I went back and sat then finally I was called at window 5 were I met a white man and he was the CO
Co: hello how are u doing
Me: I’m fine thank u sir
Co: place ur right hand up and swear that that everything u say here is the truth
Me: I did
Co: place ur left 4 fingers on the screen I want to take ur finger print.
Me: I did
Co:do u ve kids
Me: no sir
Co: ar u married.
Me: no sir
Co:ve u ever been married
Me ; no sir
Co: are u engaged or in a relationship
Me: just a girlfriend
Co : her name please
Me :I gave it.
Co: where will u live in the US
Me: Virginia
Co:took a short piece of yellow paper wrote on it. Congratulations ur visa has been approved
Me : thank you v much sir.
the small piece of paper is a cngratulatory notice wit ur name written by co n contents sayx u ve approoved n to cme fo ur visa on a date wrtten by co.mine is tmrw the 15th at 3:00pm.
My advice for u is there is no reason to be scared since we all know the rules and have followed appropriate procedures. Be relaxed cos the atmosphere there is not even tensed. I saw about 7 other guys who were also dvians and they were all approved. The interview is only part of the procedure the probability of getting approved is very very high
March 25, 2018 at 11:19
congrats and thanks for sharing …..
March 25, 2018 at 16:21
hello steph iam from Cameroon. and I congratulate you. I am guessing to be interviewed also in june . glory be to God .. 284xxxxxxxx
March 26, 2018 at 06:38
Hi here,
you can join our whatsapp group https://chat.whatsapp.com/1m4bjQftxep6KszSYO4RBG
March 26, 2018 at 17:50
Thanks there. U can join our WhatsApp group https://chat.whatsapp.com/KY6vTEwdLoUBa4o0bSn2VU
March 26, 2018 at 14:33
I would like to share my experience because I read here many interviews experience and to be honest I did not find one that was similar to mine case. So it maybe be helpful to others.
My interview took place in Frankfurt, Germany March 7th 2018. I am from Brazil and my wife is German we have two children. So I was charge with my wife’s country Germany.
It was the first time I played the Green Card Lottery and I was selected in May 2017. We filled in our DS260 on June and in August we unlocked to do some updates.
We received our interview letter on January for March 22nd and shortly after that we got an email from the embassy telling us that they had to change our interview date to the 7th. It was bit shorter than we expected but we thought we could manage.
So I had to translate all my documents from Portuguese into English (even though I had them already in German translated). We had doctor appointment on the 5th of March. So we knew that even if we had our visa approved we would still have to wait for the examination results to be officially approved and issued.
So on March 7th we made a trip from our city to Frankfurt about 2 hours and half by car. We got there half-hour early and we went straight in.
I have to say this, everybody from the guards at the entrance all the way to the CO were extremely nice, very polite and helpful. Inside they sent us to the first window where a German lady took all our paperwork copies and original we had the following documents.
Birth certificate
Police report (Germany and Brazil)
Marriage certificate
School diploma (high school, Associate degree and Bachelor degree)
Passports
Finance Statement
We had other paperwork but they did not ask. While I was going through the documentation with the German lady my wife went to pay the fee. It took about 40 minutes to go over all the documents.
We had pretty much everything except for the doctor examination and the online passport delivery sign up. I actually totally missed that out. The lady told us it was no problem we had just to signed up and send the confirmation to consulate, which we did in the same day.
PS: Simon she did not ask for prove of school from my wife, which by the rules we should both prove high school graduation to be qualified right?
After that she explained us about the next step and that we would get an envelope seal that we should not open it. Then she told us that we were done that the next would be the interview with the CO. We waited another 15 minutes and we were called in a different window. At this point the Consulate was almost empty. My older son (3 years old) refused to go to the window and my wife said to the CO “sorry but somebody is on strike” the CO replied “its okay he can stay sitting” with a smile.
Then she said that the interview would be quick and in no time we would be leaving. So she asked us to raise our hands to take the oath. Then the 2 questions were dressed to me:
When did you guys get married?
When did you graduate from university?
Then she said that I was more than qualified for the visa and everything was good we just need to wait for the doctor examination arrive and our passports would be send in 2 weeks time max. In the end she said “Welcome to United States”.
But the reason I said my case is different in the beginning and I wanted to shared this is because I was F1 student and I lived in USA for few years.
During my studies life got too expensive in there and my parents couldn’t keep up with the bills, so I decided to work, which was not authorized by my visa. I know it was wrong and I regret because I broke the law.
So When I was filling the DS-260 there was a question related to that. So my wife and I debated whether we should disclosure that in there or not. And our decision was that is better having a visa refuse with the truth than have a visa approve with a lie. Because we know that the truth always catches up eventually.
So I wrote in the detailed what I did and I even filled the company that I worked. At the interview I was sure they would ask me about. But they did not. So my advice is pretty much what everybody say in here, included Simon, be honest no matter what and everything should be okay 🙂
Simon thanks a lot for your help you are the best.
March 26, 2018 at 17:41
So interesting experience there. Yes they should have treated your wife as a principal selectee too – but I often see the COs make that mistake. You were right to tell the truth – part of that means that you didn’t get your visa through a lie – and that means they have no grounds to complain later. Honesty pays off.
Congratulations!
March 26, 2018 at 14:33
Interview Location:
Kathmandu (KDU), Nepal
March 19, 2018
Time: 10:00 AM
Case No. : AS34**
On the day of the interview we arrived at US embassy at about 9:50 AM. The guards, after seeing the appointment letter (2nd letter) lets me in. There were some other people for the interview too; everyone for the diversity visa. One of the guard tells us to open the envelop of the medical report (you know the one we protected like a new born baby, the one we felt like it was a sin to touch improperly- yeah that one) and tells us to get the fees ready with change and all (remember to bring the change because they won’t take if it is not exactly what the fees is – no less no more). One by one we entered inside the first block; physical security checking. Everyone was so polite; they then kept my bag and gave me a token number. The buildings are made such that there is a small garden area after the first block with some waiting chairs. There was a line (you sit and wait) and we were being called inside the second block as a group of five people. So, I waited there feeling nervous and praying to god that everything goes ok. We could see people coming back from the interview with happy faces. After around 15 minutes of waiting, me and other four were called inside.
In the second block, after I entered I could see that there is a reception almost attached to the door, and there are interview counters (maybe around 10). There was a male and a female employee (both Nepalese) who gave us each a token number in a piece of paper hand written, mine was H-21. They then tell us to pay the visa fees (the last counter) and return back to them. There was a line. I paid the visa fees and returned with the receipt. The female employee told me to get my documents out and ready with the photocopies of each and every docs and 2 photos. I gave her all she asked for. She then told me to get in line in front of counter 4. There is again, a Nepalese person at the counter who asks me some basic questions in Nepali; (in my mind this is the actual interview, Spoiler Alert: it was not)
Him: how old are you?
Me: (guess what? I forgot my own age, so I start counting like an idiot) ummmm I am 23 sir
Him: ok, here is a doc (He hands me a paper). This is for US selective service. If you are given a visa to USA you have to be registered within 30 days or you will be fined and/or jailed.
I panicked because the girl in front of me did not receive any doc like that and now he tells me I may be jailed, what the hell, what did I do wrong. I tried to control my fear and be calm as possible.
Him: your name?
Me: answered
Him: your father’s name?
Me: answered
Him: where your you born?
Me: Arghakhanchi, Nepal
Him: have you been to any other country?
Me: no sir
Him: do you have children?
Me: No sir I am not married.
Him: are you married?
Me: (wtf I just told you I am not married). No sir
He then told me to put my hands one after the other for my finger prints ( I think that’s the biometric they referred to ? I don’t know). I did as he said. He proceeded to ask some more:
Him: ok, is there any change in the location where you GC is meant to be sent?
Me: No sir.
Him: ok go sit there, relax and wait for you name to be called.
Me: (still in fear) is everything all right sir?
Him: (smiling) Till now.
I went and sat in one of the waiting chairs. I thought I messed up because he did not tell me my visa has been approved and I know from the experiences I read in this blog that you are immediately informed of approval but soon enough I figured out it wasn’t my actual interview. The thing is they had like 10 counters and only 3 counters i.e. counter 7, 8 & 9 were the ones where the actual interview took place( I am wrong again but hear me out) I knew because Americans were taking the interview there. Also, about the legal paper he handed me, I read it and it was given to all the male interviewee aged 18 to 25.
During the wait, I could hear what the interviewers were asking and what the interviewees replied. It was happening just in front of me like when you are cashing out a cheque from a bank and you can hear the people and the cashier in front of you; the difference at the embassy being you wait in a chair and not in a line (Nepalese will understand). Some people were recalled at the counters 3/4/5 because the documents were not clear or they needed some extra docs. I saw a family being really troubled and panicking because their daughter had two date of births; different in school registration and birth certificate. I don’t know what happened to them but the mother and the children left early without being approved and the father sat their counseling & worried. I could see that almost every family cases were interviewed very thoroughly; couples took a little less time and singles were being approved within 5/6 minutes. My advice to you all is that; please observe nicely how the interviewers are taking the interview. For ex. There was a guy, when asked ‘what kind of job do you intend to do when you reach US?’; constantly replied ‘any suitable job’. The interviewer was really irritated by the answer; “don’t keep saying that sir, I need a definite answer”. So be sure what you want to do; you can work in any suitable job but you need to define what a suitable job is for you (waiter, clerk, storekeeper etc. if you are unsure).
In the mean time in my mind I am thinking like; I will greet my interviewer with Namaste with a happy face, I will be cool and calm. If I get approved, I will thank him, bless his family wipe out my tears say a lots of thanks to god almighty and walk out professionally.
People near me said that they have waited for like an hour and still their names were not called. After waiting for 30-40 minutes, I hear h-21 to window 6 please; h-21 to window 6. I thought I had some problems with my docs. So I am being called. With documents ready on my hand I approach window/counter 6. There is an American standing there;
HIM: Namaste
ME: Abbb abab aarrrrr aaaaaaaaaaaaa (those are not real words).
I was waiting for him to ask about the documents that I may have missed out.
HIM: Do you swear to tell the truth, and swear not to lie (something)
ME: Arrrrrr aaaaaaaaaa (those aren’t real words either)
HIM: Sir Do you understand that you cannot lie and any lie you tell is punishable in the court of law?
(I now realize that it is my interview. Remember the Namaste I was going to say-nope too late.)
Me: yes sir I do!
Co: Do you need a translator or can we just do it in English?
Me: English is fine sir!
Co: English is good for you?
(I have always been good in English, always the best of the class; grew up watching almost every Hollywood movie, This Was My Moment.)
Me: yes sir! English is fine
CO: so Ganez, you are staying in Maryland right? Who are you staying with?
(I was going to stay with my sibling in law. Sister in law of my sister.)
Me: Brrrrrrrrrrrrr aaaaaaaaaaaaaaa (I forget what the relation was called- God damnnnnn it)
Co: (stares at me)
(Birds are chirping in my mind)
Me: She is my sibling….. sibling…..ummmm sibling sister (yeah! that’s not it)
Co: She is you sister?
Me: (finally I remembered) siblings in law
Co: Is *sponsor’s name* man or a woman?
Me: it’s a woman sir….. SHE is a woman (coz grammar)
Co: (still confused)
Me: We are siblings in law —My sister is married to her brother. And we are long time family friend.
Co: oww oww (laughs)
(Now I Enter Rapid Fire Mode)
Co: So, Ganez what do you do?
Me: I am a student sir. I study BBA and it’s my 7th semester.
Co: Wow you are near completion. What’s your major?
Me: It’s Finance
Co: When did you complete your +2 (High School Diploma)?
Me: 2012 sir.
Co: Good. What do you intend to do in the US?
Me: I am thinking of working a year or so and then I will pursue my MBA.
(He looks at my certificates; SLC-Distinction, High School – First Division)
Co: What kind of work are you thinking?
Me: You know any suitable job like a clerk or a storekeeper.
Co: How long are you going to stay with your sponsor?
Me: Just around a month
Co: And then? (Surprised)
Me: I will find a job and handle myself on my own.
(Believe me I sounded so confident)
Co: Who will bear the expense of your travel?
Me: I have asked my Mom for some loan and promised her that I will pay her later.
(I realized that I should not have said that because that sounded like I am an idiot, who asks money from his parents and brags that he would pay later)
But he smiled and was actually impressed.
Co: Ok! Ganez, you are qualified for a US visa, please gather the details from the reception.
Me: Aaaa brrrrrrrr abbbabaaaaaa
Remember, I was going to thank the CO if I received a visa? ; Yeah- I forgot about that. Remember I was going to walk professionally to the reception? Yeah- I walked with a BIG freaking smirk on my face. Trust me no one could wipe that off. And you won’t believe the whole interview lasted around two minutes. Yes this all happened in 2 minutes. It was like rapid fire round, he asked and I answered.
The thing is, truth is always easier, truth sounds more confident, and even when you stumble or are afraid, remember that the CO there is not trying to trick you, they are just cross checking the information you filled in your DS-260; Sponsor letter (Nepal still uses sponsor letter), and your Academic qualifications. As long as you have met all the requirements, you should be fine. And remember over preparing is GOOD; just in case. And it makes sense that you are afraid or nervous or panicking, we are all humans after all, just try your best, try to be sincere and honest. You won the lottery, the god is on your side; don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.
I have been following this blog for 8 months now. Never had to actually ask any question because everything is already in the FAQ section, you just need to have the patience to study it all; and don’t tell me you don’t have time to read all that because you have a job or you have exams nearing or other bullshit, everyone has something lined up so don’t make up an excuse. And if you have any question that you don’t find in FAQ, just wait and read all the answers of ‘Ask questions here’; someone else usually have a similar problem as you do and you will find your answers there.
Finally, good luck all Nepalese brothers and sisters; If you need help with anything I am always here for you. If you are confused with the procedures of US embassy Kathmandu, feel free to ask me.
March 26, 2018 at 17:37
Thanks for the detailed story – you write well – it made me chuckle! Best of luck for the move!
March 27, 2018 at 02:57
Thanks. And thank you for everything you have done for us all. May god bless you and your family.
March 27, 2018 at 11:50
Bro! you can mail me at [email protected] (just don’t spam me lol).
April 1, 2018 at 15:35
Hello bro
I want just to ask you, how long it takes to get back your passport from the umbacy with the visa in it?
Thanks
April 1, 2018 at 15:36
1 to 2 weeks.
March 27, 2018 at 01:53
Maame Anita
What should answer should I gave when asked abt my status as being single and having kids and can there be questions on why u my with that man or not ,and why the kids don’t have their fathers name because I have removed his name from them
March 27, 2018 at 05:20
Always just tell the truth.
March 29, 2018 at 14:55
Maame i guess u r from Ghana, whatsapp me 0202051757.
March 29, 2018 at 07:15
Hello y’all!
I’m from Guayaquil, Ecuador!
It was the first year in a while that we have the chance!
I’m 24 years old, single, haven’t finish college and I had like 2 previous J1s visas and my tourist visa active too.
It was as everybody else said. Just follow instructions, double check every document
Tip for Ecuadorians: YOU NEED YOUR “TÍTULO DE BACHILLER” not your “ACTA DE GRADO”
As a couple of guys didn’t have that document, they put them on administrative processing.
My interview was scheduled for 12 pm. I went to the consulate 11 am and they let me in.
So everything finished at 12:20pm
After paying and giving all the documents and it’s COPIES in one window.
I had the interview with the consul!
*He started speaking in Spanish*
Questions:
1. Married? Children? Divorce?
2. What’s my highest degree.
I said I’m still a student
3. Where do you study? What do you study? And who pay for your expenses?
Xxxx, xxxxx, my parents.
4. Where are you going to live and whats your relationship with the sponsor?
5. I see you went as a J1 a couple times.
*and then speaking in English*
6. Where did you work at? Did you like it?
Then another Consul interrupt us for like 5 min.
He came back to me and said “great your visa was approved, good luck”
End.
I hope this can help any Ecuadorian looking for information!
Thank you Britsimon for your blog! It’s honestly a great source for so many people! Looking forward to do my donation because I’ve seen so many people who pay for all of these advices!! And you deserve it!
March 29, 2018 at 16:27
Congratulations/Felicidades! 😉
March 30, 2018 at 10:53
Hi,
I would like to share my experience with my interview, but first a big thank you to BritSimon for excellent hard work in helping all of us. my interview was in Amman, Jordan early Dec. in Jordan you have to submit all your documents orig and copies 10 days in advance, and I did that but they only accepted documents that are in the check list and they returned all other docs.( I had copies of emails, past work ,, etc).
Now I collected all my papers and I had couple of questions for the embassy before my interview time, first if I have a UNIV degree do I need my High school diploma or grades, I emailed the embassy and they are professional that they reply to all queries and questions within 2 days. So the answer was no I do not need it, then I asked them if I-134 for sponsorship is necessary and they replied that yes it is and they require it.
Now I failed to get anyone to fill out the I-134 for me, even though I sent them links and statements that this form is not legally or financially binding, it is merely a form of endorsement for me and my son, so 2 weeks before the interview I emailed the embassy again and told them that I can not get an I-134 what can I do?
Then they replied saying it is ok if you have financial proof, so for me and my son I included bank statements to close to 20K USD.
So on the day of the interview we were (me and my son) let in and then within minutes we were called to the window for finger printing only, then asked us to pay for the interview fees, then waited less than 5 minutes went to the interview window, the CO was said hello and he was typing on his screen while looking at my file with all the documents I have submitted 10 days ago, after couple of minutes asked me:
CO: what did you graduate in?
Me: Electronic Engineering
CO to my SON: How old are you?
Son: 14
then asked me to raise my hand and to swear that everything I wrote was true to the best of my knowledge, I said “I do”. then he told me ok wait few minutes then you will be called to another window to tell you about the outcome of this interview.
we sat for 10 minutes watching CNN on TV inside the embassy waiting area, then it was our turn, she said congratulations your visa is approved BUT.. the stamping machine is not working so I will give you your passports back and wait for us to call you to courier your passports to the embassy for stamping once the machine is fixed. I was surprised I asked her why don’t you keep the passports and how long does it take? she said we don’t know that is why we giving them back to you, and she said do not worry you are approved there will be no second interview for you and no more actions on your part.
after 10 days they called me and I sent my passports then I got it with the DV1 stamped on it. I travelled to the US and my POE was LAX los angels, and the officer there looked at me and told me do you know that you are very lucky, we were notified that this program MIGHT not continue beyond 2019, I said well its good to be lucky at something. He asked me you are immigrating to the US why do you have a hotel address? I told him its my first time I do not think you provide apartments and I need a place to stay, so to cut the story short after 2 months from my point of entry and a 20-day delay by filing my application in error by UCIS I got my GC in my hand,
Just be honest and be prepared and relax. that is my advice here.
March 30, 2018 at 14:56
Congratulations!
March 30, 2018 at 19:14
hello brit . howmuch time does it take for Green card to be giving after you enter USA ?
March 30, 2018 at 19:21
Sometimes as much as 3 or 4 months.
April 5, 2018 at 14:35
FYI.
I my case, it took 2 months to receive it. Same for a friend who also have been selected through the DV process.
We had interview in Paris.
April 1, 2018 at 00:45
Hello Britsimon hope u having a wonderful easter weekend what do u suggest to a 25year old male working as a manager.
What do u suggest i wear to the interview a nice smart shirt amd trousers and look formal or a just a golf tshirt and jeans.being formal is it being too much ?
Thank you in advance ?
April 1, 2018 at 01:36
shirt/trousers
April 1, 2018 at 05:34
Dear sir Brit and All….
I would like to thank Brit for maintaining this LIFE CHANGING blog for people all around the world.
Appreciate your patience on SILLY questions asked by people (including ME) sometimes………
Now we have our visa package on hand thanks to you….
Location : Colombo , Sri Lanka
Interview : Document Check + couple of friendly questions by the CO only
Please refer SLguy s experience story published on 16th February which was ALMOST EXACTLY to me and it has many local information. Kindly request from Brit not to remove that SLguy s story at least until DV2018 over.
– Prepare ALL documents 100% cottect
– No need to be afraid as far as well prepared and honest
– The embassy environment is not RUDE (as per some people) but very serious (they have to be)
– FAQs in this blog has many solutions for our doubts
– Britsimon is the BEST LAWYER on DV
All the best for others…..
April 1, 2018 at 12:42
Thank you Mr Brit i have my interview on Thursday.i will let you know how it goes…
April 5, 2018 at 13:14
For those who will have their interview soon should always have to read interview experience first b/c it helped me so much
Interview location -Addis ababa Ethiopia
Case no -2018AF186xx
interview date -April 02/2018 7:30 am
2NL received 27th of March
First security check and entered to then embassy payed 330$ or 9040 birr then after short waiting my name was called to window 6 and asked some question and choose English for interview then after 15 minutes my name was called on window no 9.
Co ….greeted
Me….greeted
Co….do u swear all info zat u give is true
Me…i swear
Co….u’r highest level of education.
Me…BSC degree in …….
Co…do u have any previous spouse or children’s have u ever been out of a country?
Me…no
Co….do u have a boy friend
Me…yes
Co….oh a beautiful girl like u not having a boy friend is not believable so i like u’r beeng honest
Me…10q
Co….how many yrs have u been together
Me….6 yrs
Co……6 yrs is long time why don’t u Guy’s get married
Me…we r planning to get married before i go to US if that’s legal.
Co….of course u can
Co…so who is u’r sponser and where does he live
Me….answered
Co….is he married
Me ….yes and have 2 kids
Co….who paid for all of the process
Me ….my family
Co….how much did you earn per month
Me…..answered
Co…..congratulations u’r visa is approved and gave me yellow paper
Me…thank u very much
And every thing goes well thanks to britsimon next to GOD.
On April 02 afternoon my status changed to administrative processing and April o4 changed to issued.
” ያሰብክልኝን ሳውቀው ያሰብኩት አስጠላኝ”
ክብር ለ መድሀኒ አለም