DV-2015 winners and 2016 applicants South america and the Caribbean
- Thread starter Spice28
- Start date
jas2200
Member
Yeap very. Lets hope they speed it up but its not only SA every one except OC are running behind as compared to historical figures so it may speed up
jas2200
Member
I was thinking so as well but the fact is the numbers are low in general
Hopefully I think the last weekend Summit of the Americas was no so bad. All the US diplomatic staff remain in the Caracas Embassy and in general it seems that the relation Venezuela-US will be better. Also Cuba will be out of the list of terrorists and will be opened the embassy in Havana. I hope all this improve SA for the next VB
Last edited:
flying_postman
New Member
Hi guys this basically a cut n paste of my post on another site. So for the benefit of other Trinis out there here's my experience at Marli Street on 17th April:
I arrived at exactly 7:15 am for my scheduled 7:30 am appointment. After the security personnel checked/verified my name and appointment letter, I joined the line and at around 7:40 was able to enter the embassy. After the security screening I got to reception and gave my appointment letter to the receptionist which she then numbered and provided a folder for my documents and I took a seat in the Immigrant Visa/US Citizens section.
And then I waited and waited......then at 10:45 am I heard my name called to go to window 3 and I went in to present my documents and she checked off all my documents (keeping originals and copies), took my fingerprints and gave me a slip to pay the fee to the cashier which I did and returned to window 3 with the receipt which she took and then told me to have a seat and wait until my name is called.
Mercifully this wasn't as long and approx 10 minutes later my name was called for the interview at window 2: Here's the rundown from this morning:
CO: Good Morning,
Me:Morning
Then I proceeded to take the oath and confirm my finger prints (just my right index)
CO: I see you're applying in the DV category just so we want you know that have a high bar for entry for this category
Me: Uhm... Ok.....
CO: What is the longest you stayed in the US?
Me:...............
CO: Are you married/have kids?
Me: No on both (She joked if that was a headache for my Mom..)
CO: What is the major of your degree?
Me:................
CO: What do you expect to do once you are in the US?
Me: Work and study...
All the while she was intensely looking over my high school certificates (CXC) which I have the bare minimum of 5 passes (She barely gave my Bachelor's and Masters a cursory glance) and
then went to verify with her colleague the grades for CXC. (Just a bit of background prior to 1998 a grade 3 in any CXC subject was considered a fail and I failed English A twice but got a grade 2 in 1998). I was starting to get nervous after 2 minutes passed and I could see them behind the glass but couldn't hear what was taking place.
Then she returned to the window and cheerfully said that I meet the educational requirements and was approved she passed a slip of paper to me indicating that I was indeed approved.
CO: Best of luck with your new life in the US
Me: Thank you.
So that was it roughly 5-10 minutes that the interview lasted with the CO and I'm so relived that it's over although I believe I was really,really close there with the educational requirements. She asked no questions about affidavit of support, I took my bank statements anyway (Note that they don't seem to recognize UTC and RBC US fund units they handed me back those during document collection but kept other statements). For other Trinis make sure you have at least 5 CXC passes and your paper work in order and you should be good to go.
Good luck out there everyone.....
I arrived at exactly 7:15 am for my scheduled 7:30 am appointment. After the security personnel checked/verified my name and appointment letter, I joined the line and at around 7:40 was able to enter the embassy. After the security screening I got to reception and gave my appointment letter to the receptionist which she then numbered and provided a folder for my documents and I took a seat in the Immigrant Visa/US Citizens section.
And then I waited and waited......then at 10:45 am I heard my name called to go to window 3 and I went in to present my documents and she checked off all my documents (keeping originals and copies), took my fingerprints and gave me a slip to pay the fee to the cashier which I did and returned to window 3 with the receipt which she took and then told me to have a seat and wait until my name is called.
Mercifully this wasn't as long and approx 10 minutes later my name was called for the interview at window 2: Here's the rundown from this morning:
CO: Good Morning,
Me:Morning
Then I proceeded to take the oath and confirm my finger prints (just my right index)
CO: I see you're applying in the DV category just so we want you know that have a high bar for entry for this category
Me: Uhm... Ok.....
CO: What is the longest you stayed in the US?
Me:...............
CO: Are you married/have kids?
Me: No on both (She joked if that was a headache for my Mom..)
CO: What is the major of your degree?
Me:................
CO: What do you expect to do once you are in the US?
Me: Work and study...
All the while she was intensely looking over my high school certificates (CXC) which I have the bare minimum of 5 passes (She barely gave my Bachelor's and Masters a cursory glance) and
then went to verify with her colleague the grades for CXC. (Just a bit of background prior to 1998 a grade 3 in any CXC subject was considered a fail and I failed English A twice but got a grade 2 in 1998). I was starting to get nervous after 2 minutes passed and I could see them behind the glass but couldn't hear what was taking place.
Then she returned to the window and cheerfully said that I meet the educational requirements and was approved she passed a slip of paper to me indicating that I was indeed approved.
CO: Best of luck with your new life in the US
Me: Thank you.
So that was it roughly 5-10 minutes that the interview lasted with the CO and I'm so relived that it's over although I believe I was really,really close there with the educational requirements. She asked no questions about affidavit of support, I took my bank statements anyway (Note that they don't seem to recognize UTC and RBC US fund units they handed me back those during document collection but kept other statements). For other Trinis make sure you have at least 5 CXC passes and your paper work in order and you should be good to go.
Good luck out there everyone.....
Did they not ask about your institutions school leaving certificates or diploma?
SusieQQQ
Well-Known Member
? He very explicitly talks about that...suggest you re-read.
Britsimon
Super Moderator
I think we are having a bit of a misunderstanding problem here. I do have the same CXC's to which he referred in his posts, but I was asking if he submitted both his elementary and high school certificates which are different from the CXC's.
SusieQQQ
Well-Known Member
Have you looked at any official website, such as the dv selectee one, the reciprocity by country page, or the embassy page to see what the official guidelines are?
I have looked and read the instructions carefully. My knowledge of the education system is what is creating a problem when you compare it to what is asked. Our government system does not issue diplomas at secondary level but school leaving certificates. My interpretation of high school is our secondary school. At the end of this level we write CXC's. When we graduate we get a school leaving certificate which is separate and apart from the CXC certificate. Also, the CXC passes is what gets you into local college if you meet the minimum requirements.
Now, what is acceptable in Trini may not be in Barbados, hence the reason for my questioning. Won't be asking anymore if I can help it. I will check to see what the Bajans are saying.
This is what I was asking all along!
SusieQQQ
Well-Known Member
But I asked if you had read all the relevant website pages, and you told me you had. So what britsimon posted shouldn't be a surprise.
Here is the exact extract:
Education: Submit to the U.S. Embassy or Consulate at your interview, a certificate of completion equivalent to a U.S. diploma, school transcripts, or other evidence issued by the person or organization responsible for maintaining records, which specifies the completed course of study. The diversity visa selectee must have completed a 12-year course of elementary and secondary education in the U.S. or a comparable course of study in another country, sufficient in itself to qualify a student to apply for college admission. The following are not acceptable:
- Equivalency certificates (such as the G.E.D.) are not acceptable.
- Vocational degrees that are not considered a basis for further academic study will not be considered equivalent to U.S. high school education.
And really, that will be my last post on the matter until you actually win and have subsequently read all the selectee information properly, though I'm sure others more patient than me will continue to answer your "what if I win" questions
