Maju,
Thanks a lot for the info; though the info is conflicting. Because there are people who say the cut-off is D+ while some say its D plain. I just hope they won't be very strict on KCSE grades when our time comes.
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Maju,
Thanks a lot for the info; though the info is conflicting. Because there are people who say the cut-off is D+ while some say its D plain. I just hope they won't be very strict on KCSE grades when our time comes.
Mamaizoo,
Thanks a lot for the breakdown; I managed to find the info on the Dept. of State website. The figures are quite high, especially if a whole family is applying and if you factor in medical check-up cost. No wonder some selectees fail to continue with the process.
Hey forumites?am follower of ths forum bt i hd not yet registered.I Hve sme QUESTION:1.For ths who hve gone to the interview,did u pay in KSH or us dolars @ the cashier? 2. since i filled
ds 230 as a student(occupation) do u thnk i need an affdvt of support or a letter frm sponsor?thnks members.lov u all.
ds 230 as a student(occupation) do u thnk i need an affdvt of support or a letter frm sponsor?thnks members.lov u all.
Welcome jones22, if you have been following the forum, then just go little bit behind, all your questions have been answered.
You can either pay in Kshs. or dollars,
Occupation -student. does it mean you are taking DV to go study or....
The qualification is clear ,either by work experience or Education ( to what level )
So be a bit specific, . Other forumers, what do you say.
You can either pay in Kshs. or dollars,
Occupation -student. does it mean you are taking DV to go study or....
The qualification is clear ,either by work experience or Education ( to what level )
So be a bit specific, . Other forumers, what do you say.
Mamaizoo, njugunut, lil'angel, magkin, menjo, my2011, my2011dv, kamauz, scarnman, greetings,.
Silent, no questions means things are moving on smoothly.
But lets burry our heads down in prayers, trusting that everything will continue smoothly.
Kamauz, have you had anything yet? I pray all will be well.
I have a question,, we either qualify thro' education or work, right. if one qualify thro work, does it mean you have to carry prove? lets say a letter from your company stating that you work there.
Silent, no questions means things are moving on smoothly.
But lets burry our heads down in prayers, trusting that everything will continue smoothly.
Kamauz, have you had anything yet? I pray all will be well.
I have a question,, we either qualify thro' education or work, right. if one qualify thro work, does it mean you have to carry prove? lets say a letter from your company stating that you work there.
Scarnam,
Its true the figures are so high. I will be going with my hubby and son. By the time we are thru with the visas we will have spent Kshs. 250,000/= on the minimum. Add the air tickets and some little pocket money, that's half a million Kshs. But then, God will not lead where He has not made provision. I believe he will make a way for us, He is well able to provide the half million we need and even more. Trust and faith is all we need. All the best.
Olyn, on what basis do you wish to qualify? I understand the education basis is the most convinient coz one only need a high school (KCSE) Cert. If on work basis one will need to qualify by the American standard which many of us Africans barely meet.
This is what they say on the state govt website on qualifying by work.
"If you are qualifying with work experience, you must have two years of experience in the last five years, in an occupation which, by U.S. Department of Labor definitions, requires at least two years of training or experience that is designated as Job Zone 4 or 5, classified in a Specific Vocational Preparation (SVP) rating of 7.0 or higher. The U.S. Department of Labor provides information on job duties, knowledge and skills, education and training, and other occupational characteristics at their website http://online.onetcenter.org/. The O*Net online database groups work experience into five "job zones." While many occupations are listed, only certain specified occupations qualify for the Diversity Visa Program. "
Jones22,
Welcome to the forum. Those who hav gone for interviews recommend that you carry your cash in Kshs. They have the best exchange rates at the embassy. TSo far no one has been asked to give an affidavit of support at the interviews but to be on the safer side you can ask your sponsor to provide you with a letter stating he/she will receive and host you in the US till the time you are financially stable to live on your own.From your signature i see you will be current in April, that gives you ample time to put your docs in order. All the best.
The $819 visa fee
Welcome Jones22; you will realize very quickly that joining the forum is one of the best decisions you've made. Karibu sana; hopefully by the time you become current you will have known everything you need to know and have all your docs in order. Dear forum people, I have another question about the $819 fee that applicants pay. I know that the fee is non-refundable, but at what point of the interview day do applicants supposed to pay the fee? Is it before the actual interview (when you're not completely certain that you'll be issued with a visa) or after the interview (when you're given the blue slip and told to come pick your visa later). Basically, as a family man with multiple applicants, my concern is parting with about Ksh250,000 for something that is not guaranteed.
Second question, I have been to the US before and before my interview I paid an application fee for a visiting visa (non-immigrant) at the Commercial Bank of Africa here in Nairobi. To my understanding that amount was supposed to be paid by all visa applicants regardless of the type of visa you are applying to (whether immigrant or non-immigrant visa). The question is, is that really true? that in addition to the $819 that DV selectees are required to pay, is their any other payment to be made (at the Commercial Bank of Africa) before the actual day of interview?
Case Number: 2011AF00089XXX
1st NL Dated 28th April 2010
1st NL Received May 2010
Forms sent to KCC July 2010
Confirmation from KCC Aug 2010
Current: Hopefully Sept 2011 (if I get a date it would probably be during the final week)
Welcome Jones22; you will realize very quickly that joining the forum is one of the best decisions you've made. Karibu sana; hopefully by the time you become current you will have known everything you need to know and have all your docs in order. Dear forum people, I have another question about the $819 fee that applicants pay. I know that the fee is non-refundable, but at what point of the interview day do applicants supposed to pay the fee? Is it before the actual interview (when you're not completely certain that you'll be issued with a visa) or after the interview (when you're given the blue slip and told to come pick your visa later). Basically, as a family man with multiple applicants, my concern is parting with about Ksh250,000 for something that is not guaranteed.
Second question, I have been to the US before and before my interview I paid an application fee for a visiting visa (non-immigrant) at the Commercial Bank of Africa here in Nairobi. To my understanding that amount was supposed to be paid by all visa applicants regardless of the type of visa you are applying to (whether immigrant or non-immigrant visa). The question is, is that really true? that in addition to the $819 that DV selectees are required to pay, is their any other payment to be made (at the Commercial Bank of Africa) before the actual day of interview?
Case Number: 2011AF00089XXX
1st NL Dated 28th April 2010
1st NL Received May 2010
Forms sent to KCC July 2010
Confirmation from KCC Aug 2010
Current: Hopefully Sept 2011 (if I get a date it would probably be during the final week)
Hi olyn,
Am very much here although its like am very anxious and tensed up about the coming interview...av done the police cert thingy now waitin to swear an affidavit for on my birth certificate i only have two names and my ID and school certs i abbriviated an extra name so al do that next week and wait to do the medicals sometime in March. I am so excited and anxious at the same time. please guys...lets pray for each one of us...we come out successfull, like Menjo who had no idea at all that he could go through that fast! I bless the Lord for that...congrats y'all who are thru and all the best to the rest of us....
Am very much here although its like am very anxious and tensed up about the coming interview...av done the police cert thingy now waitin to swear an affidavit for on my birth certificate i only have two names and my ID and school certs i abbriviated an extra name so al do that next week and wait to do the medicals sometime in March. I am so excited and anxious at the same time. please guys...lets pray for each one of us...we come out successfull, like Menjo who had no idea at all that he could go through that fast! I bless the Lord for that...congrats y'all who are thru and all the best to the rest of us....
SCARNAM,
Here are the answers to your questions-:
1. I have a question about the $819 fee that applicants pay. I know that the fee is non-refundable, but at what point of the interview day do applicants supposed to pay the fee? Before the Visa Interview
2. Is that really true? that in addition to the $819 that DV selectees are required to pay, is their any other payment to be made (at the Commercial Bank of Africa) before the actual day of interview? DV applicants pay ONLY $819 at the American Embassy Nairobi on the day of their interview. No other fees, no other points of payment.
1. You pay the visa fees BEFORE the interview,before you speak to the case officer, so it's up to you to make sure you have all the required documents,especially as you'll be current in the last month. This means you wont have enough time to bring additional documentation if needed. So,make sure you have complete documents. But the thing about life,you sometimes have to take risks especially when the rewards are great!
2. You pay ONLY 819 dollars AT THE EMBASSY before your interview. Period. No other embassy fees.
You don't need a letter from the sponsor, I had carried one and it wasn't asked for. I guess you could carry one for your own peace of mind if it's not very hard to get it.
Njugunuts,
Thanks a lot for this. Is it true that at some point during the medical check-up an applicant is required to strip naked? I have a friend already in the US (DV 2008); he says that both him and his wife were instructed by one of the docs to strip for some test!
Hereunder is my post in a separate forum thread, I thought some might find this useful or correct me if am wrong
Ndifon,
I'm Kenyan and as you can see from my signature, my CN is even higher than yours. I was once worried like you that I wouldn't get an interview date. But after thorough research (asking former DV applicants, present applicants, Dept. of State statistics and bulletins) and plain faith in God, I have no doubt that I will get an interview date.
First you have to know that in almost every year, in the final month (Sept) all CNs become current in Africa including Cameroon (except for DV 2008). Going by the cut-off numbers issued by KCC so far, all remaining CNs are HIGHLY likely to be current after August. Hereto I have attached a document titled 'Trends for DV cut-off'.
You need not worry that your country will be over-subscribed (that visas will no longer be available) before your turn, because according to Dept. of State statistics, they rarely over-subscribe. In fact, they have never over-subscribed in Cameroon. You know that the limit to the number of DV that can be issued to a particular country is 7% of available DV globally; because every year 50,000 visas are made available globally, that translates to 3,500 per country. The most number of DV Cameroon has received in a single year is 1,530 (DV 2009). See attachment titled "FY09 Annual Report"; even countries that traditionally have the highest numbers of selectees like Nigeria, Ghana, Bangladesh, Ethiopia, rarely do they reach the 3,500 ceiling (however Ethiopia has on a number of occasions gone slightly beyond the ceiling). In my country Kenya, visa issuance rates have been in the region of 50% (only one in 2 applicants gets). It all boils down more to better preparations and relatively less to how high or low your CN is. Though as you mentioned, applicants with low CNs have a comparative advantage - they have more time to have their docs in order in case they are put on admin processing, while you will have no margin for error.
Also note that between DV 2000 to DV 2009, only once did they surpass their global ceiling of 50,000, and that was for DV2003, when they issued 50,810 visas globally. These figures deeped as low as 40,076 globally in 2007; meaning that about 10,000 potential visas were not issued globally for one reason or another that year.
So my dear, your chances of getting an interview date are very high; what you need to concern yourself with is having all the required documents in order when the time comes, because it will come but more likely in the final week of Sept. The person who will host me in the US got his visa on the 30th Sept 2008 the final day!
I hope this helps.
Ndifon,
I'm Kenyan and as you can see from my signature, my CN is even higher than yours. I was once worried like you that I wouldn't get an interview date. But after thorough research (asking former DV applicants, present applicants, Dept. of State statistics and bulletins) and plain faith in God, I have no doubt that I will get an interview date.
First you have to know that in almost every year, in the final month (Sept) all CNs become current in Africa including Cameroon (except for DV 2008). Going by the cut-off numbers issued by KCC so far, all remaining CNs are HIGHLY likely to be current after August. Hereto I have attached a document titled 'Trends for DV cut-off'.
You need not worry that your country will be over-subscribed (that visas will no longer be available) before your turn, because according to Dept. of State statistics, they rarely over-subscribe. In fact, they have never over-subscribed in Cameroon. You know that the limit to the number of DV that can be issued to a particular country is 7% of available DV globally; because every year 50,000 visas are made available globally, that translates to 3,500 per country. The most number of DV Cameroon has received in a single year is 1,530 (DV 2009). See attachment titled "FY09 Annual Report"; even countries that traditionally have the highest numbers of selectees like Nigeria, Ghana, Bangladesh, Ethiopia, rarely do they reach the 3,500 ceiling (however Ethiopia has on a number of occasions gone slightly beyond the ceiling). In my country Kenya, visa issuance rates have been in the region of 50% (only one in 2 applicants gets). It all boils down more to better preparations and relatively less to how high or low your CN is. Though as you mentioned, applicants with low CNs have a comparative advantage - they have more time to have their docs in order in case they are put on admin processing, while you will have no margin for error.
Also note that between DV 2000 to DV 2009, only once did they surpass their global ceiling of 50,000, and that was for DV2003, when they issued 50,810 visas globally. These figures deeped as low as 40,076 globally in 2007; meaning that about 10,000 potential visas were not issued globally for one reason or another that year.
So my dear, your chances of getting an interview date are very high; what you need to concern yourself with is having all the required documents in order when the time comes, because it will come but more likely in the final week of Sept. The person who will host me in the US got his visa on the 30th Sept 2008 the final day!
I hope this helps.
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Yes,you are required to strip to your panties ONLY,for both male and female applicants,and then wear a hospital gown. The doctor then checks all over the body for scars,deformities,illnesses etc.
For more details,check my medicals experience.
Mamaizoo, I qualify thro education. I did my 'A' Level, after KCSE and passed very well, I got a good job and so did not proceed to campus, but have equally done several courses after then.
I just wanted someone to put the record striaght to some friends who may have problem on this. Thanks.
lil'angle, happy to hear from you, lam also a little bit tense,but lets trust all is well.
I also got an affidavit for my little girl, her name was misplelled on her birth certificate. its good to be extra careful lil'angel you know.
I just wanted someone to put the record striaght to some friends who may have problem on this. Thanks.
lil'angle, happy to hear from you, lam also a little bit tense,but lets trust all is well.
I also got an affidavit for my little girl, her name was misplelled on her birth certificate. its good to be extra careful lil'angel you know.
Finally met up with a member of the forum and made a new friend. Met with magkin for coffee in the middle of our hectic days,it was really nice. Caught up,shared our experiences so far and had a good time. All of you should make the effort to meet someone from this forum in person. Here's wishing him all the best as he winds up his stay in Kenya.
Met with magkin for coffee in the middle of our hectic days,it was really nice. Caught up,shared our experiences so far and had a good time. All of you should make the effort to meet someone from this forum in person. Here's wishing him all the best as he winds up his stay in Kenya.