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DV 2016 Winners Meet Here

thirdtimelucky said:
hello @Britsimon and every else
please help me. I have written about this in the past so the story will sound familiar.
I am the DV winner. Have a husband and a child. Went for interview knowing that husband has a criminal record for being in possession of stolen goods 14 years ago. Interview went "well". Mine approved and childs approved. They said that they wanted to do some investigation to determine if husband knew at the time that goods were stolen ( ie trying to determine if crime was CMIT). They kept all passports and said they would contact me the next day or the following with feedback.
I knew at the time that there was almost no way to determine this as I myself had tried to get records - and couldn't.
well....2 weeks have passed and i have heard zero. Tried emailing - no reply. Tried calling - nothing. should i just rock up at the Embassy ?
any advise appreciated. Cant let the sept deadline pass.
ps at the time of the "pending" - interviewer indicated that waiver would assist but that in DV no waiver can be applied for due to time. Already contacted a USA attorney who said waiver would 90% be successful. Please help.
thank you very much
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I'm sorry to say, the US attorney who is giving hope regarding a successful waiver application in this case is basically interested in the fees they'll get from you. You've been reliably told at the embassy that a waiver, should your husband end being denied, isn't likely to help his case as a DV derivative.

However, if you were to sponsor him after you become a LPR, then he will have a chance at overcoming being found inadmissible by failing a waiver. Of course that's a couple of years down the road.

You may attempt going to the embassy, but I doubt they'll let you in without an appointment. I'm sure you and your daughter will eventually be approved, your husband's on the other hand is dicey.
 
hello @Sm1smom - firstly thank you for the reply.
sorry , I dont think i explained the situation well so just want to recap. The embassy man said that mine and childs was approved and that once i get over onto that side that i could file for a waiver ( like you have said above).
what i am concerned about now is what to do ? Do you think i should wait a while ? Look for evidence ( if any ) to support our claim that he didnt know at the time it was stolen ? I'm worried that we're in the "pending" file and that time is running out.
Many thanks
 
thirdtimelucky said:
hello @Sm1smom - firstly thank you for the reply.
sorry , I dont think i explained the situation well so just want to recap. The embassy man said that mine and childs was approved and that once i get over onto that side that i could file for a waiver ( like you have said above).
what i am concerned about now is what to do ? Do you think i should wait a while ? Look for evidence ( if any ) to support our claim that he didnt know at the time it was stolen ? I'm worried that we're in the "pending" file and that time is running out.
Many thanks
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Okay, so you mean you and your daughter already have your visas issued?

If that's the case, the only way your husband will be able to join you, if he's not cleared and approved by Sept 30th COB, will be via family sponsorship. You will be eligible to file a waiver based on hardship grounds. I'm certain that's what they were referring to at the embassy. Family sponsorship takes a couple of years like I stated earlier on.

If you're able to find anything documenting his lack of knowledge/awareness regarding the stolen goods, then do so and present them to the embassy.
 
@Sm1smom - hi again :)
Okay so the interviewer said that mine and child is approved but he wants to see if he can find out any more about my husbands case and if our story ties up with what we have told him then he will approve husbands otherwise we can file waiver ( he didnt say hardship specifically ...but did say we can apply for waiver once we move to the USA for hubby). He said he would "hold on" to all our passports and that he would call us in the next day. He said at worst ..it would be the following day. And now two weeks later ...havent heard a thing.
In South Africa court documents for old cases are hard to come by. So not sure how he will find out this info....
If i were to find anything or want to enquire the only way now is to go to embassy as they arent replying to emails and you cant call them either.
so in summary ..today...mine and child "approved verbally" and no one has passports - embassy has everything.
 
sumalille said:
I will attend my interview next week and it will take place in another country rather than my native country. For this reason I notarized all my papers from The Foreign Ministry of my country except high school certificate which I couldn't manage to do.
I have my bachelor degree certificate notarized, what are my chances???
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Hi @Sm1smom and @Britsimon plsase reply to my question
 
thirdtimelucky said:
@Sm1smom - hi again :)
Okay so the interviewer said that mine and child is approved but he wants to see if he can find out any more about my husbands case and if our story ties up with what we have told him then he will approve husbands otherwise we can file waiver ( he didnt say hardship specifically ...but did say we can apply for waiver once we move to the USA for hubby). He said he would "hold on" to all our passports and that he would call us in the next day. He said at worst ..it would be the following day. And now two weeks later ...havent heard a thing.
In South Africa court documents for old cases are hard to come by. So not sure how he will find out this info....
If i were to find anything or want to enquire the only way now is to go to embassy as they arent replying to emails and you cant call them either.
so in summary ..today...mine and child "approved verbally" and no one has passports - embassy has everything.
Click to expand...

Have you checked your case status on CEAC?
I found the DV /IV people at the Johannesburg consulate open to phone calls (a few years ago), so I'd suggest trying to call them. I agree with mom that they are unlikely to let you inside physically without an appointment.
 
SusieQQQ said:
Have you checked your case status on CEAC?
I found the DV /IV people at the Johannesburg consulate open to phone calls (a few years ago), so I'd suggest trying to call them. I agree with mom that they are unlikely to let you inside physically without an appointment.
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i actually just tried checking ...it keeps saying that I am entering an invalid case number ( i am not ) ..........hope this isnt a bad sign ....surely if they told me mine was approved etc ....theres a part 2 to this process...they have my passports after all.
any idea why its saying wrong case number ? i promise you number is correct. i tried going out..coming back etc
 
SusieQQQ said:
Have you got translations if they are needed? More important than whether or not they are notarized, unless notarization is a specific country requirement for you.
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Regarding translation I can finish it in one day. No problem. But regarding notarization how does my case look??
 
thirdtimelucky said:
@Sm1smom - hi again :)
Okay so the interviewer said that mine and child is approved but he wants to see if he can find out any more about my husbands case and if our story ties up with what we have told him then he will approve husbands otherwise we can file waiver ( he didnt say hardship specifically ...but did say we can apply for waiver once we move to the USA for hubby). He said he would "hold on" to all our passports and that he would call us in the next day. He said at worst ..it would be the following day. And now two weeks later ...havent heard a thing.
In South Africa court documents for old cases are hard to come by. So not sure how he will find out this info....
If i were to find anything or want to enquire the only way now is to go to embassy as they arent replying to emails and you cant call them either.
so in summary ..today...mine and child "approved verbally" and no one has passports - embassy has everything.
Click to expand...

Again the o
 
sumalille said:
Regarding translation I can finish it in one day. No problem. But regarding notarization how does my case look??
Click to expand...

The translation needs to be done by a translator, not by you. I already answered about the notarization, you didn't respond as to whether or not it is required for your country.
 
thirdtimelucky said:
@Sm1smom apologies to trouble - but your sentence got cut off. Please retype. Thank you
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Yeah, sorry about that. Had no idea the post was cut off. Anyway I was saying:

Again the only way you can file a waiver for your husband, if he doesn't get a visa by the end of Sept via your DV selection will be through family sponsorship. The hardship part I spoke about was simply going a step further to explain the basis under which such a waiver of inadmissibility could be filed in your case. And I'm sure that's the waiver process they were referring to at the embassy, they're definitely not trying to say you can immediately file the waiver once you enter the US based on your DV selection. You'll need to sponsor him, and the F2A family GC petition is currently taking about 2 years.
 
SusieQQQ said:
The translation needs to be done by a translator, not by you. I already answered about the notarization, you didn't respond as to whether or not it is required for your country.
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It is not a specific requirement for my country, but it is needed if the interview will take place in another country rather than the native one. By translation I meant doing it in a qualified office and it will not take much time. Thank you very much for your time
 
sumalille said:
It is not a specific requirement for my country, but it is needed if the interview will take place in another country rather than the native one. By translation I meant doing it in a qualified office and it will not take much time. Thank you very much for your time
Click to expand...

Not sure where you got that information. There's no such requirement for one's documents to be notarized on the basis of the interview taking place in a foreign country. What is required is for the documents to be translated and accompanied by a signed certification from the translator if the original document is in a language other than English or the official language of the country where the interview will be taking place.
 
sumalille said:
It is not a specific requirement for my country, but it is needed if the interview will take place in another country rather than the native one. By translation I meant doing it in a qualified office and it will not take much time. Thank you very much for your time
Click to expand...

I had already answered you on my blog.
 
Sm1smom said:
Not sure where you got that information. There's no such requirement for one's documents to be notarized on the basis of the interview taking place in a foreign country. What is required is for the documents to be translated and accompanied by a signed certification from the translator if the original document is in a language other than English or the official language of the country where the interview will be taking place.
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I had two friends who passed the interview last year and they told me so. Actually I couldn't find this requirement in any official website and via google I found this forum. Now I am reassured. Thanks to all of you
 
hello ever one
i got my green card it was a long and stressful journey. but thanx to all your valuable information especially (Mr. Simon) it was done and i have arrived to the US in june.
i would like to share my interview in the US embassy in khartoum, Sudan.
i paid money in SDG not dollars and a Sudanese clerk collected the papers she noticed that my name in the passport was missing the final name (supposed to be four names) this was mistake by the passports authorities as i have one name consists of two words (unless your Sudanese u wont understand) at that moment i thought here goes my green card because i used the name in the passport for the lottery forms not the one in the birth certificate , then the councilor came he was cheerful young man which eased my worries he asked if i needed translator, i said no.
councilor: lets go she can speak English (thats made me smile he had a hint of southern accent)
when did u travel to ........( i grow up in another country)
Me: i traveled to ....... when i was 2 years and returned to Sudan when i was 19.
Councilor: where u want to live in America
Me: ................ City
councilor: why?
Me: my sponsor (the person filled the i-134) lives their and he is my cousin too.
Councilor (he looked worried, which made me worried too:(): what is his job?
Me:.........
Councilor: you have to change the sponsor
Me: why
Councilor: i cant tell you..............pause.............. look its about his net income........pause i cant tell you.
Me(afraid and confused just silent didnt say any think)
Councilor: now listen carefully ( he was stamping some papers that i coudnt see and writing ) you have to get new birth certificate English version, new passport with name changed and stamp them all from ministry of foreign affairs, then get a new sponsor.
Me: when do i have to do all that (it takes months to get done in Sudan:mad: already discouraged).
councilor: im not gonna give any date but being late is not in your favor.

when i went outside i noticed the paper that he gave saying that all the required docs need to be submitted by the end of the month which is less than 8 days:eek: i was angry why he said its open date then it was not.
anyway i went like crazy doing the requested docs i got them done in less than 5 days (mission impossible:cool:) then there was the sponsor part (i went with hint about the net income) and i got someone who has more than 40000 USD net income(this was very stressful for m family members in the US) it was done the night of the 31 of the month next day i dropped the papers and the passport in the embassy mail box(i cant believe i made it thank God).
after that my status for more than 2 months was administrative processing(the black hole :(), when i literally gave up on the visa and stopt checking my status. one day i checked saying to my self is the last time i will check then here it is the wonderful message(dated 3 days ago) that my visa was sent to my embassy.

i just wanna say dont give up and do ur best and if God willing it will happen. i wish everyone the best of luck.
warning: US embassy in Sudan was very tough and requested papers that were not stated in the DV lottery page, most of the ppl who interviewed with me that day were sent back too. so be prepared and check the embassy website.

thanx again Mr. Simon u were very helpful. :)
God bless you all
 
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