• Hello Members, This forums is for DV lottery visas only. For other immigration related questions, please go to our forums home page, find the related forum and post it there.

FYI about Unlocking DS-260

zuroma999

zuroma999

Member
Since the online DS-260 is new this year for DV selectees, I thought I'd post this info here in case anyone was curious as to the procedure and timeframe.

Five days ago I emailed KCC to unlock my form (my email included my name, case number and date of birth, as per instructions).

I wanted it unlocked because I was able to get exact dates on a few places I've lived in -- I initially remembered the year/season but not the exact month -- and wanted to update those.

Today they sent the following response back:

Thank you for your inquiry.

In response to your request for KCC to unlock your Form DS-260 for updating, please be advised that we will be answering these requests according to the order in which they are submitted. It could take up to a few weeks before you hear from us that your DS-260 has been unlocked. We will send you an email once we have unlocked the form and you can update your information.

Please be assured that any delay in unlocking your form will not impact your appointment date, as appointment dates are set based upon your case number becoming current. (Further details about what this means are available in the Visa Bulletin on www.travel.state.gov .) The first appointments will not begin until October 2015, so there will be ample time for you to correct your information in time for a consular interview.

We will update you as soon as possible. Thank you for your patience.​
 
Last edited:
zuroma999 said:
Since the online DS-260 is new this year for DV selectees, I thought I'd post this info here in case anyone was curious as to the procedure and timeframe.

Five days ago I emailed KCC to unlock my form (my email included my name, case number and date of birth, as per instructions).

I wanted it unlocked because I was able to get exact dates on a few places I've lived in -- I initially remembered the year/season but not the exact month -- and wanted to update those.

Today they sent the following response back:

Thank you for your inquiry.

In response to your request for KCC to unlock your Form DS-260 for updating, please be advised that we will be answering these requests according to the order in which they are submitted. It could take up to a few weeks before you hear from us that your DS-260 has been unlocked. We will send you an email once we have unlocked the form and you can update your information.

Please be assured that any delay in unlocking your form will not impact your appointment date, as appointment dates are set based upon your case number becoming current. (Further details about what this means are available in the Visa Bulletin on www.travel.state.gov .) The first appointments will not begin until October 2015, so there will be ample time for you to correct your information in time for a consular interview.

We will update you as soon as possible. Thank you for your patience.​
Click to expand...

Thanks for thinking to post that.

I see they can't even get the date right....
 
zuroma999 said:
Since the online DS-260 is new this year for DV selectees, I thought I'd post this info here in case anyone was curious as to the procedure and timeframe.

Five days ago I emailed KCC to unlock my form (my email included my name, case number and date of birth, as per instructions).

I wanted it unlocked because I was able to get exact dates on a few places I've lived in -- I initially remembered the year/season but not the exact month -- and wanted to update those.

Today they sent the following response back:

Thank you for your inquiry.

In response to your request for KCC to unlock your Form DS-260 for updating, please be advised that we will be answering these requests according to the order in which they are submitted. It could take up to a few weeks before you hear from us that your DS-260 has been unlocked. We will send you an email once we have unlocked the form and you can update your information.

Please be assured that any delay in unlocking your form will not impact your appointment date, as appointment dates are set based upon your case number becoming current. (Further details about what this means are available in the Visa Bulletin on www.travel.state.gov .) The first appointments will not begin until October 2015, so there will be ample time for you to correct your information in time for a consular interview.

We will update you as soon as possible. Thank you for your patience.​
Click to expand...


what the ,,,,,
that is serious, october 2015. or october 2014....:)

this is what i got from dv2015 intruction

29. If I am selected, for how long am I entitled to apply for a Diversity Visa?
If you are selected in the DV-2015 program, you are entitled to apply for visa issuance only during U.S. Government Fiscal Year 2015, which spans from October 1, 2014, through September 30, 2015.
 
Last edited:
zuroma999 said:
Since the online DS-260 is new this year for DV selectees, I thought I'd post this info here in case anyone was curious as to the procedure and timeframe.

Five days ago I emailed KCC to unlock my form (my email included my name, case number and date of birth, as per instructions).

I wanted it unlocked because I was able to get exact dates on a few places I've lived in -- I initially remembered the year/season but not the exact month -- and wanted to update those.

Today they sent the following resp
Click to expand...
Please tell me the email where did you write to kcc
 
Hello,

My wife is winner of DV 2015 with CN 2015AS7xxx and we're from Iran. Our post is Ankara, Turkey. We submitted DS-260 in early June 2014.

Due to expiration of my wife's passport she got a new passport. So that seemed I should update passport number in the DS-260. I consulted with a lawyer and he told you should request to unlock the DS-260 and update it there.

I did so and asked KCC to unlock the forms last week and they did it immediately (same day), But immediately after KCC unlocked my form, I read some forums and noticed that any changes may require the case to be processed again by KCC and so our interview may be delayed. So I did some more search and asked a few other guys and all of them stressed that I should re-submit the DS-260 without any changes or KCC will process it again (which they told would take about 4-5 months and no chance for Visa)

Finally, I submitted the DS-260 again without any changes and replied to KCC email and mentioned that I have made no changes to the form.

Now, Due to unlocking the form (and locking it without any changes) and possible AP for our case (as we're from Iran) I'm worry about our interview being delayed (or even we don't get interview time at all).

I would appreciate if you can advice and share your ideas as I'm so worry about that.

Regards,
Hamid
 
hamidrkh said:
Hello,

My wife is winner of DV 2015 with CN 2015AS7xxx and we're from Iran. Our post is Ankara, Turkey. We submitted DS-260 in early June 2014.

Due to expiration of my wife's passport she got a new passport. So that seemed I should update passport number in the DS-260. I consulted with a lawyer and he told you should request to unlock the DS-260 and update it there.

I did so and asked KCC to unlock the forms last week and they did it immediately (same day), But immediately after KCC unlocked my form, I read some forums and noticed that any changes may require the case to be processed again by KCC and so our interview may be delayed. So I did some more search and asked a few other guys and all of them stressed that I should re-submit the DS-260 without any changes or KCC will process it again (which they told would take about 4-5 months and no chance for Visa)

Finally, I submitted the DS-260 again without any changes and replied to KCC email and mentioned that I have made no changes to the form.

Now, Due to unlocking the form (and locking it without any changes) and possible AP for our case (as we're from Iran) I'm worry about our interview being delayed (or even we don't get interview time at all).

I would appreciate if you can advice and share your ideas as I'm so worry about that.

Regards,
Hamid
Click to expand...

Oh dear, what a lot of stress over nothing :( You didn't need to unlock the DS for a new passport, but unlocking it and changing the passport number would not have resulted in any delay anyway. Bring both of your wife's old and new passports to the interview if possible (some countries insist you hand the old ones back, if Iran is one of those then don't worry about this )- USCIS is well aware that passports expire!!! And relax, and good luck for the interview.
 
hamidrkh said:
Hello,

My wife is winner of DV 2015 with CN 2015AS7xxx and we're from Iran. Our post is Ankara, Turkey. We submitted DS-260 in early June 2014.

Due to expiration of my wife's passport she got a new passport. So that seemed I should update passport number in the DS-260. I consulted with a lawyer and he told you should request to unlock the DS-260 and update it there.

I did so and asked KCC to unlock the forms last week and they did it immediately (same day), But immediately after KCC unlocked my form, I read some forums and noticed that any changes may require the case to be processed again by KCC and so our interview may be delayed. So I did some more search and asked a few other guys and all of them stressed that I should re-submit the DS-260 without any changes or KCC will process it again (which they told would take about 4-5 months and no chance for Visa)

Finally, I submitted the DS-260 again without any changes and replied to KCC email and mentioned that I have made no changes to the form.

Now, Due to unlocking the form (and locking it without any changes) and possible AP for our case (as we're from Iran) I'm worry about our interview being delayed (or even we don't get interview time at all).

I would appreciate if you can advice and share your ideas as I'm so worry about that.

Regards,
Hamid
Click to expand...

So you listened to a few other guys and ignored the advice of the lawyer. I normally don't think lawyers know the DV process but in this case your lawyer was right and your friends don't know what they are talking about.

So - let me explain my perspective (just one more guy on the internet).

First of all, your case won't be current until August interviews. So - the deadline for the DS260 being processed is June 1.

Now - it is ridiculous to say that a change like adding a new passport number takes 4 to 5 months processing. Ridiculous. At the height of the DS260 delays I know of cases where a newly obtained spouse has been added and the reprocessing lasted 1 month. At the height of the backlog. Full processing now takes around 2 to 3 months, possibly less - so adding a new passport will take much less that that - probably just a few weeks.

Now - what causes AP - well for Iran there are some specific risk factors for AP (working for the government or military are two of those factors). If you have those factors you can't do much about that.

However, in common with all DV cases a background search is performed. One of the key pieces of identification that enables the background search is the passport number. So - KCC having the passport number(s) is very important. If you attend an interview with a new passport that you have had for a while but have not updated in your form, they might feel you are trying to hide some travel history either on the old or the new passport. IN that case a suspicious CO might be MORE inclined to place you on AP to have a check run on the new passport information. So - if it were me I would want that check to be done BEFORE the interview - and I would therefore want to update my DS260 with the new passport. It isn't mandatory - but if I had the time (as you do) I would opt to add the passport rather than not.

So again - I am just one guy on the internet. You must do what you think is right.
 
Britsimon said:
So you listened to a few other guys and ignored the advice of the lawyer. I normally don't think lawyers know the DV process but in this case your lawyer was right and your friends don't know what they are talking about.

So - let me explain my perspective (just one more guy on the internet).

First of all, your case won't be current until August interviews. So - the deadline for the DS260 being processed is June 1.

Now - it is ridiculous to say that a change like adding a new passport number takes 4 to 5 months processing. Ridiculous. At the height of the DS260 delays I know of cases where a newly obtained spouse has been added and the reprocessing lasted 1 month. At the height of the backlog. Full processing now takes around 2 to 3 months, possibly less - so adding a new passport will take much less that that - probably just a few weeks.

Now - what causes AP - well for Iran there are some specific risk factors for AP (working for the government or military are two of those factors). If you have those factors you can't do much about that.

However, in common with all DV cases a background search is performed. One of the key pieces of identification that enables the background search is the passport number. So - KCC having the passport number(s) is very important. If you attend an interview with a new passport that you have had for a while but have not updated in your form, they might feel you are trying to hide some travel history either on the old or the new passport. IN that case a suspicious CO might be MORE inclined to place you on AP to have a check run on the new passport information. So - if it were me I would want that check to be done BEFORE the interview - and I would therefore want to update my DS260 with the new passport. It isn't mandatory - but if I had the time (as you do) I would opt to add the passport rather than not.

So again - I am just one guy on the internet. You must do what you think is right.
Click to expand...

This is one of the rare instances I'm going to disagree with you. Two of us had new passports between DS submission and interview. We didn't send any updates, just brought both passports along, and it was no problem whatsoever. So I'm also just one gal on the Internet, but I don't think that updating the passport number is necessary if a new one is acquired ...
 
SusieQQQ said:
This is one of the rare instances I'm going to disagree with you. Two of us had new passports between DS submission and interview. We didn't send any updates, just brought both passports along, and it was no problem whatsoever. So I'm also just one gal on the Internet, but I don't think that updating the passport number is necessary if a new one is acquired ...
Click to expand...
Undoubtedly, you are right SusieQQQ, yet if it were me and my family - from Iran waiting to be processed in Turkey - I would make 120% sure that KCC and the US Consulate have a n y and a l l information well in advance, in order to keep the unavoidable AP process for our family as short as possibly feasible. Just saying... :)
 
SusieQQQ, Britsimon, I do much appreciate your help. Thank you.

So the thing in common between your ideas is that I will not face any issues due to unlocking and locking the form after a week without any changes. Am I right? May that cause AP? How about unlocking it again for passport number update?

I should add that my own passport will be also expired within next 10 months and I believe I must get a new one because of 6-months validity requirement (To allow me have a trip to Turkey for interview).

Do you believe sending an email to Ankara post when my CN is current and informing them of the new passports (along with scan of both) will help?

And do you believe KCC processing for Iranian cases take same time as others? (because lack of US embassy here)

As I have not served in military nor had any relation to the government, I'm going to prevent anything causing AP.

Thanks again for your help.

Sincerely,
Hamid
 
hamidrkh said:
SusieQQQ, Britsimon, I do much appreciate your help. Thank you.

So the thing in common between your ideas is that I will not face any issues due to unlocking and locking the form after a week without any changes. Am I right? May that cause AP? How about unlocking it again for passport number update?

I should add that my own passport will be also expired within next 10 months and I believe I must get a new one because of 6-months validity requirement (To allow me have a trip to Turkey for interview).

Do you believe sending an email to Ankara post when my CN is current and informing them of the new passports (along with scan of both) will help?

And do you believe KCC processing for Iranian cases take same time as others? (because lack of US embassy here)

As I have not served in military nor had any relation to the government, I'm going to prevent anything causing AP.

Thanks again for your help.

Sincerely,
Hamid
Click to expand...

Didn't we just cover all this??? Your actions thus far have not made AP more likely - and I explained what I would do to reduce the chance of AP. Ankara has the highest AP rate among the 3 embassies that handle Iranian cases, but as you describe you may have low risk factors.
 
hamidrkh said:
SusieQQQ, Britsimon, I do much appreciate your help. Thank you.

So the thing in common between your ideas is that I will not face any issues due to unlocking and locking the form after a week without any changes. Am I right? May that cause AP? How about unlocking it again for passport number update?

I should add that my own passport will be also expired within next 10 months and I believe I must get a new one because of 6-months validity requirement (To allow me have a trip to Turkey for interview).

Do you believe sending an email to Ankara post when my CN is current and informing them of the new passports (along with scan of both) will help?

And do you believe KCC processing for Iranian cases take same time as others? (because lack of US embassy here)

As I have not served in military nor had any relation to the government, I'm going to prevent anything causing AP.

Thanks again for your help.

Sincerely,
Hamid
Click to expand...

Britsimon said:
Didn't we just cover all this??? Your actions thus far have not made AP more likely - and I explained what I would do to reduce the chance of AP. Ankara has the highest AP rate among the 3 embassies that handle Iranian cases, but as you describe you may have low risk factors.
Click to expand...

@Britsimon - just 3 embassies? I know that Frankfurt processes a lot of Iranian IV's, for example, and they therefore issued specific notices for Iranian applicants, seeking IV interview appointments. Yet it is well possible, of course, that those are not DV interviews but for other IV classes...

http://travel.state.gov/content/dam/visas/pk 3 supplements/FRN - Frankfurt
 
EURO2014 said:
@Britsimon - just 3 embassies? I know that Frankfurt processes a lot of Iranian IV's, for example, and they therefore issued specific notices for Iranian applicants, seeking IV interview appointments. Yet it is well possible, of course, that those are not DV interviews but for other IV classes...

http://travel.state.gov/content/dam/visas/pk 3 supplements/FRN - Frankfurt
Click to expand...

Obviously, Iranians can be living anywhere and there are some areas where there are large Iranian communities (such as Hamburg). So those Iranians resident abroad would interview at their local embassy. However, for Iranian residents there are 3 embassies that handle the visa interviews given the lack of a local embassy.

I have helpfully pointed out the 3 embassies on a map with an extra arrow for Frankfurt - just to illustrate the point. :p:cool::)

Iranmap.jpg
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top