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DV 2016 OC Selectees

Britsimon said:
If you have your interview in HK - you will need to be very clear about paperwork etc. Since they don't do many interviews they are quite strict. You have time to prepare over the coming months.
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Thank you.

I was wondering how does getting married after selection affect the process? My partner and I were planning to get married and have been living together for a few years. Would it matter if we got married after the visa was granted or is there some reason to expedite it due to being selected. Not trying to game the system just was wondering of the implications. Thanks.
 
You can marry but you need to be prepared to prove it's a bonafide marriage and not one of convenience. Photographs together, shared bills etc.... anything to prove that you have been in a relationship before you won the GC.

Once you marry, you will need to update your DS260 to include your wife, and she will need to fill in her own DS260. Or, as @SuicideBlonde did from OC2015, get married first and then fill in the DS260s at the same time.

If you don't marry before the visa is issued to you, then you're in a world of pain. You will have to sponsor her across and that takes YEARS.
 
I'm getting way ahead of myself with this question, but I changed my name after I finished high school so my completion certificate has a different surname on it to my current one. Did anyone else have any issues like this and did it end up being a problem for the interview? I can't imagine it would be since it must happen all the time - I suppose I would just bring my change of name certificate with me, but I just wouldn't want the consular officers to get confused.
 
@violetion, this won't make a difference. I've changed my name twice and the most that happened was the Consular Office confirmed 'You've changed your name twice' and I said 'Yes'.

For the interview, you will need to bring your birth certificate. Here in Victoria, our birth certificates have a record of name changes on the back. If yours don't, then bring the birth certificate AND the Change of Name certificate. Check out the dropbox link in my signature as it has the checklist Sydney Consulate use to organise your documents.

In the DS260, you have to include all names you have been known by so that they can do background checks. So, when you get to interview, they already know about aliases.

And, when you get your police checks done, make sure they are done in both names. :)
 
EmilyW said:
@violetion, this won't make a difference. I've changed my name twice and the most that happened was the Consular Office confirmed 'You've changed your name twice' and I said 'Yes'.

What you need to bring is either your birth certificate (here in Victoria, our birth certificates have a record of name changes on the back) or a Change of Name certificate.

In the DS260, you have to include all names you have been known by so that they can do background checks. So, when you get to interview, they already know about aliases.

And, when you get your police checks done, make sure they are done in both names. :)
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Terrific, thank you! Great tip at the end there as well - I wouldn't have thought of doing checks in both names.
 
s362596 said:
Thank you.

I was wondering how does getting married after selection affect the process? My partner and I were planning to get married and have been living together for a few years. Would it matter if we got married after the visa was granted or is there some reason to expedite it due to being selected. Not trying to game the system just was wondering of the implications. Thanks.
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Best bet is to get married before your interview - easiest way to get the GC for both of you. You shouldn't have any problem being able to prove that it's a bonafide relationship considering the fact that you've been living together for a couple of years now I'm assuming.
 
violetion said:
Anyone know if the DS-260 needs to be filled out all at once, or can we begin to fill it in, save it and then come back to it later? :)
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My DS-260 "evolved" over a number of months. You'll require information you don't have so you'll come back a few times.
 
Yep, we took two months to get the data right. Particularly all the addresses from age 16. That took some legwork.

We only submitted ours in July.
 
s362596 said:
Thank you.

I was wondering how does getting married after selection affect the process? My partner and I were planning to get married and have been living together for a few years. Would it matter if we got married after the visa was granted or is there some reason to expedite it due to being selected. Not trying to game the system just was wondering of the implications. Thanks.
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http://britsimonsays.com/marital-status-getting-married-dv-lottery-process/

Also check out the whole step by step here - http://britsimonsays.com/dv-lottery-guide/
 
violetion said:
Cheers, guys. If the processing time for these can be 4 months or so, I guess I'll try and start having a look at it soon.
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With such a low CN, I personally would get on it pretty soon ... if you're in a hurry to have your interview and get States-side that is.
 
Have a look at the history of Visa Bulletins (the link to our OC dropbox is below and has a history of VBs. @Britsimon's website also has past VBs).

If you're lower than 300, I'd get onto the DS260 pretty much straight away if you want an October interview. The biggest part of the DS260 is the addresses (well, it was for me, but I'm old and I've lived alot of places) you've lived. That can take a while to compile.
 
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