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2014 DV winners from Tanzania-Karibuni

Okies is there a validity period for the Tanzania police certificate i.e. if I were to obtain it during the first week of June would it be valid or is it time-barred?

Another issue is that I lived in the UK as a student some 10 years ago, however I was not present in the UK for 12 months straight i.e. I left the country in between every year to come back to Tanzania.

The 12 month period is a little unclear because I'm not sure if it means 12 months straight or an accumulated period of 12 months or over. Would I need a police certificate from the UK as well?


Case No - DV2013AF0007XXXX (applied the first time and got it the first time - lucky me!)
Entry Checked - 1st May 2012
Forms Sent To KCC - 10th May 2012
Received By KCC - 12th May 2012
Confirmation From KCC - 25th May 2012 after I sent them an email
2nd NL - Not Yet
Police Clearance - Not Yet
Medicals - Not Yet
Interviews - Hopefully in mid-August
Visa Pick up - Hopefully in mid-August
Port of Entry - New York JFK or Washington Dulles

Read this part
When the Applicant Needs a Police Certificate
IF the applicant…
1. is living in their country of nationality at their current residence for more than 6 months-is 16 years old or older
2.lived in a different part of their country of nationality for more than 6 months-was 16 years or older at that time
3.lived in a different country for more than 12 months-was 16 years or older at that time
4. was arrested for any reason, regardless of how long they lived there-was any age at that time
http://www.travel.state.gov/visa/visa_4760.html
 
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Just thought I'd update my Tanzanian friends with my progress thus far:


Case No - DV2013AF0007XXXX (applied the first time and got it the first time - lucky me!)
Entry Checked - 1st May 2012
Forms Sent To KCC - 10th May 2012
Received By KCC - 12th May 2012
Confirmation From KCC - 25th May 2012 after I sent them an email
2nd NL - 14th June 2013
Police Clearance (TZ) - 13th June 2013
Police Clearance (UK) - 21st June 2013
Medicals - Scheduled for the week of 24th June 2013
Interview - Wednesday, August 7th 2013 @ 8am - US Embassy Tanzania
Visa Pick up - Hopefully August 11th
Departure Date - August 17th 2013
Port of Entry - Washington Dulles
 
Just thought I'd update my Tanzanian friends with my progress thus far:


Case No - DV2013AF0007XXXX (applied the first time and got it the first time - lucky me!)
Entry Checked - 1st May 2012
Forms Sent To KCC - 10th May 2012
Received By KCC - 12th May 2012
Confirmation From KCC - 25th May 2012 after I sent them an email
2nd NL - 14th June 2013
Police Clearance (TZ) - 13th June 2013
Police Clearance (UK) - 21st June 2013
Medicals - Scheduled for the week of 24th June 2013
Interview - Wednesday, August 7th 2013 @ 8am - US Embassy Tanzania
Visa Pick up - Hopefully August 11th
Departure Date - August 17th 2013
Port of Entry - Washington Dulles
momo1980
all the best,we do hope that tutapata uzoefu toka kwako,
Please updates us with every thing you do, especially for all documents required kwa usahili,the difficulties you will face and other things,since we will also collect our interview documents in Tanzania and do our interview in Tanzania.
 
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momo1980
all the best,we do hope that tutapata uzoefu toka kwako,
Please updates us with every thing you do, especially for all documents required kwa usahili,the difficulties you will face and other things,since we will also collect our interview documents in Tanzania and do our interview in Tanzania.

Ahsante bro. I will do my best to guide you as the process goes along.

Here's an update on my medical procedure this morning:


I had my medical done this morning at Premier Clinic which took a good chunk out of my day as I was there at 8:30am.

The process was completely straightforward. I was called into the lab to take a blood sample and then asked to wait for some time. The receptionist will tell you to meet either of the following:

- A French doctor (I think Dr Pierre) if memory serves me correctly.
- Dr Carlos (Spanish I believe)
- Dr Awadh (who's office is behind the main building)

I was guided to Dr Awadh's office where he asked me some simple questions e.g. do I have a history of illness or previous medical conditions (touch wood I have always been healthy), do I smoke, do I drink etc, do I have any STDs that I am aware of (touch wood I was safe here).

He then made me lay on my back and physically checked for any lumps on certain areas of the body and checked my breathing with his stethoscope (fishing for signs TB if I am not mistaken).

I saw the form that was going into the sealed envelope and that he had marked things off and stamped it and said based on what he could see of my blood results I was completely healthy and had nothing to worry about. The only diseases which are of concern to the consular officer are tuberculosis, syphilis and any other communicable diseases as defined by the CDC (Centre for Disease Communication) in the USA.

He then said that I didn't need vaccines for meningitis or Hepatitis A or B as I had had them already when I was younger and the only vaccines I needed were tetanus, measles/rubella and some VDR vaccine (whatever its called).

Pursuant to our pleasant discussion I went back to the reception and handed over my vaccination papers to them and went into accounts to pay $324 for both the examination and vaccines.

Once that was done I was made to wait again for a short while and then taken back into the lab where the lab worker popped open three boxes with syringes already in them along with the vaccines and jabbed me twice on the left arm and once on the right and there was no pain at all as they are very professional and friendly. They then asked me to bring my vaccination records (I rushed home and back to give this to them) which they will update. FOR ALL TANZANIANS THIS IS THE YELLOW VACCINATION BOOK WHICH YOU MUST TAKE WITH YOU TO/FOR THE MEDICAL.

Once all that was over I went off to The Aga Khan Hospital for my chest X-ray (this is to check for tuberculosis and the doctor said this was part of the formality but my lungs were fine) and the machine was down so the X-ray will be done this evening and the clinic will collect it themselves directly from the hospital.

I was told by the clinic that the docket/sealed envelope will be ready on Thursday for collection so once that's done I'm ready to walk into the US Embassy on August 7th for my interview as all my other documents are ready in a file meticulously prepared for the interview :)

Case No - DV2013AF0007XXXX (applied the first time and got it the first time - lucky me!)
Entry Checked - 1st May 2012
Forms Sent To KCC - 10th May 2012
Received By KCC - 12th May 2012
Confirmation From KCC - 25th May 2012 after I sent them an email
2nd NL - 14th June 2013
Police Clearance (TZ) - 13th June 2013
Police Clearance (UK) - 21st June 2013
Medicals - Completed 24th June 2013
Interview - Wednesday, August 7th 2013 @ 8am - US Embassy Tanzania
Visa Pick up - Hopefully August 11th
Departure Date - August 17th 2013
Port of Entry - Washington Dulles
 
Thanks mate :)

I haven't been paying attention to the European side too much, but have you had your interview or still waiting?

I'm DV2014 - so I'll be waiting a while yet! I'm also waiting on my H1B application - so with a bit of luck I should be in the States during October 2013 then I'll switch to aos in time for processing around May/June. Haven't decided where yet - I have some properties in Florida, but I am leaning more toward San Francisco. Time will tell....
 
I'm DV2014 - so I'll be waiting a while yet! I'm also waiting on my H1B application - so with a bit of luck I should be in the States during October 2013 then I'll switch to aos in time for processing around May/June. Haven't decided where yet - I have some properties in Florida, but I am leaning more toward San Francisco. Time will tell....

Well give us a shout once you're there :)

Once my brother's wedding in Maryland is over I want to move out ASAP to either Texas (VERY cheap at the moment there and booming), California or Florida depending on where I find work opportunities. Maryland is just way too expensive from what I'm seeing and Arlington VA is out of the question.
 
Well give us a shout once you're there :)

Once my brother's wedding in Maryland is over I want to move out ASAP to either Texas (VERY cheap at the moment there and booming), California or Florida depending on where I find work opportunities. Maryland is just way too expensive from what I'm seeing and Arlington VA is out of the question.

do you think life in Maryland is too expensive than other states?
 
Ahsante bro. I will do my best to guide you as the process goes along.

Here's an update on my medical procedure this morning:


I had my medical done this morning at Premier Clinic which took a good chunk out of my day as I was there at 8:30am.

The process was completely straightforward. I was called into the lab to take a blood sample and then asked to wait for some time. The receptionist will tell you to meet either of the following:

- A French doctor (I think Dr Pierre) if memory serves me correctly.
- Dr Carlos (Spanish I believe)
- Dr Awadh (who's office is behind the main building)

I was guided to Dr Awadh's office where he asked me some simple questions e.g. do I have a history of illness or previous medical conditions (touch wood I have always been healthy), do I smoke, do I drink etc, do I have any STDs that I am aware of (touch wood I was safe here).

He then made me lay on my back and physically checked for any lumps on certain areas of the body and checked my breathing with his stethoscope (fishing for signs TB if I am not mistaken).

I saw the form that was going into the sealed envelope and that he had marked things off and stamped it and said based on what he could see of my blood results I was completely healthy and had nothing to worry about. The only diseases which are of concern to the consular officer are tuberculosis, syphilis and any other communicable diseases as defined by the CDC (Centre for Disease Communication) in the USA.

He then said that I didn't need vaccines for meningitis or Hepatitis A or B as I had had them already when I was younger and the only vaccines I needed were tetanus, measles/rubella and some VDR vaccine (whatever its called).

Pursuant to our pleasant discussion I went back to the reception and handed over my vaccination papers to them and went into accounts to pay $324 for both the examination and vaccines.

Once that was done I was made to wait again for a short while and then taken back into the lab where the lab worker popped open three boxes with syringes already in them along with the vaccines and jabbed me twice on the left arm and once on the right and there was no pain at all as they are very professional and friendly. They then asked me to bring my vaccination records (I rushed home and back to give this to them) which they will update. FOR ALL TANZANIANS THIS IS THE YELLOW VACCINATION BOOK WHICH YOU MUST TAKE WITH YOU TO/FOR THE MEDICAL.

Once all that was over I went off to The Aga Khan Hospital for my chest X-ray (this is to check for tuberculosis and the doctor said this was part of the formality but my lungs were fine) and the machine was down so the X-ray will be done this evening and the clinic will collect it themselves directly from the hospital.

I was told by the clinic that the docket/sealed envelope will be ready on Thursday for collection so once that's done I'm ready to walk into the US Embassy on August 7th for my interview as all my other documents are ready in a file meticulously prepared for the interview :)

Case No - DV2013AF0007XXXX (applied the first time and got it the first time - lucky me!)
Entry Checked - 1st May 2012
Forms Sent To KCC - 10th May 2012
Received By KCC - 12th May 2012
Confirmation From KCC - 25th May 2012 after I sent them an email
2nd NL - 14th June 2013
Police Clearance (TZ) - 13th June 2013
Police Clearance (UK) - 21st June 2013
Medicals - Completed 24th June 2013
Interview - Wednesday, August 7th 2013 @ 8am - US Embassy Tanzania
Visa Pick up - Hopefully August 11th
Departure Date - August 17th 2013
Port of Entry - Washington Dulles

Congratulations Momo,tumepata dondoo,how about the police clearance did you face any difficulties during collection? what was the procedure for applying the police clearance
 
do you think life in Maryland is too expensive than other states?

Maryland is quite expensive in comparison to other states (with the exception of New York/New Jersey - places within the vicinity of Manhattan).

For example, my brother was paying $900 inclusive of utilities in Emmaus (Pennsylvania) and he is now paying $1,300 inclusive of utilities in Laurel (Maryland) and his landlord just informed him that the rent is increasing to $1,500 so he is now considering moving a bit further away to someplace cheaper.

It is purely because Washington DC is sitting in Maryland so it is the powerhouse of the USA and right next to Maryland is Virginia, specifically Arlington. All the major residential neighbourhoods are occupied by Senators, Congressmen/Congresswomen, Government workers, Pentagon staff etc. so the real estate prices are high.

A basic house (3 bedroom, 2 bathroom) in Maryland will go for over $500,000 and in Virginia it can go up to $1,200,000.

Alternatively look at other states:

A basic house in Florida (Orlando, Sanford, Lake Mary) will go for an average price of $250,000 depending on the neighbourhood (gets higher as the houses get bigger and better). Utility bills and mortgages are also on the lower side according to my homework.

Tampa (Florida) is way cheaper and you can walk out with a place for $200,000. I wouldn't bother with places like Miami because it is overpriced due to its tourist nature and celebs living there.

Houston (Texas) - an area like The Woodlands I saw beautiful homes going for $175,000.


I think what it comes down to is where one finds work and what kind of mortgage/expenses/taxes/insurance they want to take on.

Personally I'm not even bothering to buy a house for two years once I get there because I'd rather be solidly settled there and know where I have long-term work then go for a house. Renting works out cheaper as a new immigrant in my opinion and is less strain on cash flow.


Our friend britsimon has properties in America so he would most likely have a better idea than I would on this as what I have written above is purely from research and what people there have told me :)




Case No - DV2013AF0007XXXX (applied the first time and got it the first time - lucky me!)
Entry Checked - 1st May 2012
Forms Sent To KCC - 10th May 2012
Received By KCC - 12th May 2012
Confirmation From KCC - 25th May 2012 after I sent them an email
2nd NL - 14th June 2013
Police Clearance (TZ) - 13th June 2013
Police Clearance (UK) - 21st June 2013
Medicals - Completed 24th June 2013
Interview - Wednesday, August 7th 2013 @ 8am - US Embassy Tanzania
Visa Pick up - Hopefully August 11th
Departure Date - August 17th 2013
Port of Entry - Washington Dulles
 
Congratulations Momo,tumepata dondoo,how about the police clearance did you face any difficulties during collection? what was the procedure for applying the police clearance


Ahsante engmtolera, namshukuru mwenyezi Mungu sijapata usumbufu kabisa till now.

Police Certificate (Tanzania) - prepare a letter requesting a police clearance certificate for your DV Lottery interview (I will try to post my sample letter this weekend) and go to Wizara Ya Mambo Ya Ndani (Ministry of Home Affairs) to the 2nd or 3rd floor at the CID building (just ask the receptionist). Make sure you take your passport and two passport photographs with you.

Someone from reception (ask them to take you to the office), will guide you to an office where a nice police officer will be there and fill out you forms for you. You will then go to the accounts section (don't worry they'll tell you where to go) and pay 2,000/-.

Once that is done you will be taken to the fingerprint room where another very friendly police officer will take your fingerprints and paste them on your forms. Your forms will then be taken to the CID office for processing. The process normally takes one week however they can do this for you in 3 days if they don't have a workload.



Police Certificate (UK) - go to the ACRO website and click on the police certificates link and all the instructions are there. Make sure you follow the rules and I also sent you a private message on what is required. It is very straight forward if you provide the required documents and follow the guidelines.


Book your medical as soon as you get your 2nd NL as Premier Clinic does get VERY busy.



Case No - DV2013AF0007XXXX (applied the first time and got it the first time - lucky me!)
Entry Checked - 1st May 2012
Forms Sent To KCC - 10th May 2012
Received By KCC - 12th May 2012
Confirmation From KCC - 25th May 2012 after I sent them an email
2nd NL - 14th June 2013
Police Clearance (TZ) - 13th June 2013
Police Clearance (UK) - 21st June 2013
Medicals - Completed 24th June 2013
Interview - Wednesday, August 7th 2013 @ 8am - US Embassy Tanzania
Visa Pick up - Hopefully August 11th
Departure Date - August 17th 2013
Port of Entry - Washington Dulles
 
I agree with almost all Momo has said - although I do think buying as soon as possible is the smart move.

Property prices in the USA have been hit badly in some areas - which is good news for someone new to the States. However, the economy is picking up and home prices are rising again. In some areas housing will never be so affordable as it is right now. I picked up some properties in Sarasota/Bradenton area (near Tampa) that I got for one quarter of the price they had sold at a few years older. So I bought nice modern houses (I focused on 2 and 3 bedroom houses) less than 5 years old and have been able to rent them for around 18% of the purchase price (gross before servicing fees). In other words, the houses are paying for themselves in 5 years. That is a measure of how rental rates are quite high right now and property values are quite low. IF there is any way you can buy sooner rather than later - then BUY! Obviously that may depend on you ability to get a mortgage.

Not all areas suffered so badly with price crashes - those areas that had dramatic rises before the crash tended to crash harder than more stable areas (that didn't see high increases pre 2008 nor big crashes post 2008.
 
I agree with almost all Momo has said - although I do think buying as soon as possible is the smart move.

Property prices in the USA have been hit badly in some areas - which is good news for someone new to the States. However, the economy is picking up and home prices are rising again. In some areas housing will never be so affordable as it is right now. I picked up some properties in Sarasota/Bradenton area (near Tampa) that I got for one quarter of the price they had sold at a few years older. So I bought nice modern houses (I focused on 2 and 3 bedroom houses) less than 5 years old and have been able to rent them for around 18% of the purchase price (gross before servicing fees). In other words, the houses are paying for themselves in 5 years. That is a measure of how rental rates are quite high right now and property values are quite low. IF there is any way you can buy sooner rather than later - then BUY! Obviously that may depend on you ability to get a mortgage.

Not all areas suffered so badly with price crashes - those areas that had dramatic rises before the crash tended to crash harder than more stable areas (that didn't see high increases pre 2008 nor big crashes post 2008.


My father has been emphasising the same thing as you and that is for us to purchase our first home as quickly as possible i.e. within the first 8 months of me moving there which means quickly finding work opportunities instead of faffing around and wasting time and money for nothing as the prices are increasing.

We would also be looking to buy outright instead of having the headache of mortgages and the first home would be to solidify establishing our new lives there and future there and act as our "home base" in America where we could all stay together when my parents flew over from Africa to visit.

The old man even suggested that if we were to find work within the same area with a max one hour drive (we sit in traffic for 2 hours on a 20 minute road everyday) then we should go for two houses in one shot and get a better deal from the realtor.

We did initially plan on a mortgage but the old man said we're wasting extra money on a 30 year mortgage and the monthly amounts we would save could be used for other expenses or to put into savings.


So far (depending on work of course), I am looking at homes in Tampa, Orlando (Sanford), Fort Lauderdale (Weston), and Houston outskirts (The Woodlands and such places). I'm trying to avoid the north east because I don't fancy long winters.
 
My father has been emphasising the same thing as you and that is for us to purchase our first home as quickly as possible i.e. within the first 8 months of me moving there which means quickly finding work opportunities instead of faffing around and wasting time and money for nothing as the prices are increasing.

We would also be looking to buy outright instead of having the headache of mortgages and the first home would be to solidify establishing our new lives there and future there and act as our "home base" in America where we could all stay together when my parents flew over from Africa to visit.

The old man even suggested that if we were to find work within the same area with a max one hour drive (we sit in traffic for 2 hours on a 20 minute road everyday) then we should go for two houses in one shot and get a better deal from the realtor.

We did initially plan on a mortgage but the old man said we're wasting extra money on a 30 year mortgage and the monthly amounts we would save could be used for other expenses or to put into savings.


So far (depending on work of course), I am looking at homes in Tampa, Orlando (Sanford), Fort Lauderdale (Weston), and Houston outskirts (The Woodlands and such places). I'm trying to avoid the north east because I don't fancy long winters.


I'm actually a big fan of mortgages at the moment. If you can get a mortgage, get it because the money is VERY cheap. You can make more by leveraging the money in other investments. I know YOU already know this Momo - but for the benefit of others let's say you have $250k in cash to buy a house. You could put it all in one house, and if prices increase by 20% (which might take 2 or 3 years) your $250k asset is now worth $300K and you are happy. However, if you had bought 3 houses with $80k deposit on each (plus mortgages of $170k on each house) you would be sitting on 3 house worth $300k each with $510k on mortgage - so you now have increased your equity to $390k instead of $300k. The rent received from the two houses you don't live in will pay the monthly payments on the three mortgages.

Regarding buying two houses from the realtors and expecting a discount. Realtors in the States are simply agents for the owners. They generally don't have the ability to discount the house prices simply because you are buying multiple units. That can happen if you buy multiple units from a builder (new build houses) but builders tend to overprice their houses in the first place - so any discount is immediately eroded because the house isn't worth what you paid anyway. I tend to buy resale houses less than 5 years old (so still in great condition).

Realtors do make a healthy commission on property sales, usually a listing agent will get half a commission and a then the buying agent gets the other half. It is possible to get some "discount" based on their split of the fees - but rare in my experience. Realtors expect you to work exclusively with them within an area - which can be a good idea to build that relationship - but it is completely different to the UK system.
 
brtisimon and Momo1980
thanks for the constructive information,at least now we have some information which will help us during planning.
as we know kupanga ni kuchagua.
 
Got my medical report/sealed envelope this morning :)



Case No - DV2013AF0007XXXX (applied the first time and got it the first time - lucky me!)
Entry Checked - 1st May 2012
Forms Sent To KCC - 10th May 2012
Received By KCC - 12th May 2012
Confirmation From KCC - 25th May 2012 after I sent them an email
2nd NL - 14th June 2013
Police Clearance (TZ) - 13th June 2013
Police Clearance (UK) - 21st June 2013
Medicals - Completed 24th June 2013
Interview - Wednesday, August 7th 2013 @ 8am - US Embassy Tanzania
Visa Pick up - Hopefully August 11th
Departure Date - August 17th 2013
Port of Entry - Washington Dulles
 
Got my medical report/sealed envelope this morning :)



Case No - DV2013AF0007XXXX (applied the first time and got it the first time - lucky me!)
Entry Checked - 1st May 2012
Forms Sent To KCC - 10th May 2012
Received By KCC - 12th May 2012
Confirmation From KCC - 25th May 2012 after I sent them an email
2nd NL - 14th June 2013
Police Clearance (TZ) - 13th June 2013
Police Clearance (UK) - 21st June 2013
Medicals - Completed 24th June 2013
Interview - Wednesday, August 7th 2013 @ 8am - US Embassy Tanzania
Visa Pick up - Hopefully August 11th
Departure Date - August 17th 2013
Port of Entry - Washington Dulles

Thanks momo1980 for the updates and we wish you all the best for the interview.
Wednesday, August 7th 2013 @ 8am - US Embassy Tanzania this is the good day since president Obama will not be there hahahahahaha.
 
Hello Guys.....hongereni kwa kua selectd for dv2013/2014...it fils extreeeeemly nice seeing fellow Tanzanian in forumlike ths 1...(cuz am also in nairaland forum which is dominated by nigerians)....and was looking fo Tanzanian thread in here...but cudnt find it...wueva started ths thread...KUDDOS fo ya!!


my concern....

as the intaview date is approaching,is it mandatory to go with bank statement/affidavity of support??..cuz v noticd that our west african friends..(NGR/GHANA) are exemptd...i mean..it ein mandatory.....dunno in tanzania....sum1 to shade mo light on this????!!!!!!

thanks
 
Hello Guys.....hongereni kwa kua selectd for dv2013/2014...it fils extreeeeemly nice seeing fellow Tanzanian in forumlike ths 1...(cuz am also in nairaland forum which is dominated by nigerians)....and was looking fo Tanzanian thread in here...but cudnt find it...wueva started ths thread...KUDDOS fo ya!!


my concern....

as the intaview date is approaching,is it mandatory to go with bank statement/affidavity of support??..cuz v noticd that our west african friends..(NGR/GHANA) are exemptd...i mean..it ein mandatory.....dunno in tanzania....sum1 to shade mo light on this????!!!!!!

thanks


You need to show evidence of some kind. If you have someone who is a sponsor in the USA then you require an I-134 Affidavit of Support from that person.

If you are intending to pay your own way through you need sufficient funds in terms of savings (between $10,000 to $20,000) and evidence of assets e.g. a title deed to a house (original) or documentation (original) of assets which you can dispose of for liquid cash.

It is not a matter of whether or not it is mandatory but more so that it is safe to have both. For example in my case I'm going in with both an I-134 and my bank statements for the last six months. They might not even ask to see either but if they do then you do not want to be in a situation where you are caught with your pants down so to speak :)

When is your interview?


Case No - DV2013AF0007XXXX (applied the first time and got it the first time - lucky me!)
Entry Checked - 1st May 2012
Forms Sent To KCC - 10th May 2012
Received By KCC - 12th May 2012
Confirmation From KCC - 25th May 2012 after I sent them an email
2nd NL - 14th June 2013
Police Clearance (TZ) - 13th June 2013
Police Clearance (UK) - 21st June 2013
Medicals - Completed 24th June 2013
Interview - Wednesday, August 7th 2013 @ 8am - US Embassy Tanzania
Visa Pick up - Hopefully August 11th
Departure Date - August 17th 2013
Port of Entry - Washington Dulles
 
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