• 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.

DV 2017 OC Selectees

I have interview next Tuesday in Sydney, just trying to get some last minute stuff together and have some questions:

1: it mentions in checklist work history or CV, i don't require this if i have education certificate do i?

2: it also makes mention of o*net, this is also not needed correct?

3: my wife's checklist mentions the same thing, i didn't believe she needed education or work history if she wasn't primary applicant?
 
1) CV is not required for Sydney ( I took mine, but it was not needed).
2) Onet is not required if you meet the education minimum (high school completion)
3) Derivative does not need to meet either work or educational requirements
 
1) If it's on the checklist, take it. You don't want to be caught without it, even if they don't look at it.

2) Correct, if you are qualifying via high school

3) Take it anyway. Just in case they ask. I'd always err on the side of having too much and not needing it, than having too little and getting thrown into AP.
 
EmilyW said:
1) If it's on the checklist, take it. You don't want to be caught without it, even if they don't look at it.

...

3) Take it anyway. Just in case they ask. I'd always err on the side of having too much and not needing it, than having too little and getting thrown into AP.
Click to expand...

^^ this.
 
Just wanted to say a huge thanks to everyone on this forum.

I had my interview today in Suva, Fiji.

I had all my documents as requested in the email they send two weeks before the interview.
(All the notification letters, Police Clearance, Medical, High School Certificate, Uni Transcripts and Degree)

Suva does not ask for financial documents generally but I took mine just in case but they never requested it. (Always better to be over prepared) :p:p:p

My interview was scheduled for 8am but by the time they finished taking the documents and payments it was already 9am. I was interviewed at around 9.10am and it only lasted less than 3 minutes.

Basic Questions.
1) If I was single?
2) If I had kids?
3) Did I complete my uni in Aus?
4) Why I decided to go to US instead of Aus? [unexpected but I stuttered some gibberish and the officer laughed]

The officer interviewing me was really nice. At the end she said, your visa has been approved and you will get your passport back in three working days.

Just a heads up.. I submitted my DS260 on March 1st. Got my 2nl on 25th April. Medicals was done a week prior to the interview. Case number was early 500's.

Thank you everyone once again!
 
Thanks for sharing your experience...wish you good luck
san92 said:
Just wanted to say a huge thanks to everyone on this forum.

I had my interview today in Suva, Fiji.

I had all my documents as requested in the email they send two weeks before the interview.
(All the notification letters, Police Clearance, Medical, High School Certificate, Uni Transcripts and Degree)

Suva does not ask for financial documents generally but I took mine just in case but they never requested it. (Always better to be over prepared) :p:p:p

My interview was scheduled for 8am but by the time they finished taking the documents and payments it was already 9am. I was interviewed at around 9.10am and it only lasted less than 3 minutes.

Basic Questions.
1) If I was single?
2) If I had kids?
3) Did I complete my uni in Aus?
4) Why I decided to go to US instead of Aus? [unexpected but I stuttered some gibberish and the officer laughed]

The officer interviewing me was really nice. At the end she said, your visa has been approved and you will get your passport back in three working days.

Just a heads up.. I submitted my DS260 on March 1st. Got my 2nl on 25th April. Medicals was done a week prior to the interview. Case number was early 500's.

Thank you everyone once again!
Click to expand...
 
Okay so I have my interview in two weeks in Sydney and just went back through my DS260 and realised I didn't include High School at all, just my undergrad and postgrad degrees. According to BritSimon it's too late to unlock the DS260 once you have an interview date scheduled. Can I just bring my high school completion certificate with me to interview or should I attempt to unlock the DS260 anyway?

Thanks guys, I'm reading through every page of this forum and simultaneously freaking out and feeling assured.
 
Hulacakes said:
Okay so I have my interview in two weeks in Sydney and just went back through my DS260 and realised I didn't include High School at all, just my undergrad and postgrad degrees. According to BritSimon it's too late to unlock the DS260 once you have an interview date scheduled. Can I just bring my high school completion certificate with me to interview or should I attempt to unlock the DS260 anyway?

Thanks guys, I'm reading through every page of this forum and simultaneously freaking out and feeling assured.
Click to expand...

You can't unlock. Just take your HS certs. It will be fine.
 
Approved at Sydney this morning! DV2017 was the first time I entered the Green Card Lottery, and I didn't win initially, but was selected in the second draw in September. What a ride it's been!

I didn't post much on here but was an avid reader, and as many expressed before me, this forum has been so incredibly helpful the past 12+ months! Thank you all!
 
Last edited:
Happy Tuesday OCers!

I had my interview this morning in Sydney and was approved on the spot! Thanks a million to this little online community for being a source of information (and often reassurance) throughout the process! Like many people have pointed out, the interview is not much of an interview at all as long as you've got your paperwork in order. I went with more than was necessary: my CV, examples of my work, a letter from my accountant, and all kinds of other things I didn't need. But it felt good to be over prepared and know it rather than worry I might have not quite done enough.

After an oath and a fingerprint scan, all I was asked was:

- Whether I was or had ever been married?
- Whether I had any children?
- If I had lived overseas before and for how long?

That's it. I wasn't asked about my work, why I wanted to move to the US, or what my plans were. Nothing! It was so simple and the man who interviewed me was very friendly. I'd be surprised if I was at the window for more than two or three minutes.

I will say that I did witness another applicant being put on AP and it was gut-wrenching. Hopefully they get it sorted out and are approved soon enough. My advice? Just be prepared and have your paperwork and photocopies ready to go. Know whether you qualify based on schooling or work experience. Check your checklist. Be over prepared if necessary, and it'll be quick and painless.

I was told I was approved, and to allow 1-2 weeks for it to arrive back in the Express Post satchel. FYI I was one of the "second round" selectees.

Best of luck to everyone else!
 
Congratulations @andrewDV17! Man, I love Tuesdays in OC-land.

Everything you said is spot on: be organized, have more than you need, and remember that it's an administrative page turn versus an 'interview'.
 
Received my passport and documents in the mail today - impressively quick turnaround considering my interview was only on Tuesday! Now time for some apartment/job hunting...
 
Highman said:
Share your interview experience
Click to expand...
From the beginning!

As I've said before, I was initially revealed not to be a winner in the 2017DV Lottery. Then received the email regarding the second draw in September/October revealing me in fact that I had been selected as was OC13**. Expected it to be a fair wait with this case number, but was shocked to see OC go current for May. I didn't receive an interview until June though as I understand the Sydney consulate had limited spots, so my interview was set for June 13.

Received an email from the consulate asking me to confirm my interview and I responded. They replied that the interview was booked (tried to do ustraveldocs but it turns out it didn't matter at all).

Booked in the moment I received my 2NL for my medical in Sydney. I was scheduled for the medical exactly 2 weeks before my interview. It was all fairly straight forward, but pretty tiring running between x-rays, blood tests, flu shots etc. Received my medical results copy in the mail a couple of days later (not that I needed them for the interview) and I was all set.

Morning of the interview I got into the city early as I'd forgotten to purchase an envelope. I went and picked up the 3kg envelope and took it to the counter to ask if they had a "platinum" version like the instructions stipulated. They did and I bought it and made my way over to the MLC Building just before 9 (my appointment was set for 10 45). I sat in the lobby for about half an hour and decided to make my way up to the consulate on level 10 an hour and a bit before my interview and see if I could just go in. I went into the first desk that checks documents and everything was in order - except my envelope was only for 1kg!!! I hadn't even paid proper attention to what I was given at the post office and stupidly didn't notice they gave me the wrong size. Not to worry - they directed me around the corner on the same level of the building to a shop that sells the envelopes, I purchased it and made my way back not 2 minutes later. They put all my documents in order and into a plastic sleeve (they only wanted my bachelors degree and didn't need my high school certificate as they only wanted the highest completed education). I should add that I was really over-prepared, and had bank statements, transcripts from high school and university, the medical results copy and cd, spare photos etc, but none of these were required at any stage. I went through security and I made my way up to the actual consulate floor in the elevator and was directed inside to get a ticket and take a seat.

Maybe 5 minutes later I was called over to a counter. The lady working there sorted through my documents, scanned my photo that I brought along and asked a couple of questions about where I worked, what I wanted to do in the US. More of a general conversation than anything too formal though. She directed me to go to another counter to pay the fee and come straight back. After I took my receipt back to her she directed me to take a seat.

Another 5 minutes later and I got called up for my interview at another counter. Scanned fingerprints, swore to tell the truth, confirmed name. The consulate officer asked me where I worked and what I wanted to do in the US. He also asked me what I studied at university as well. Waited for about two minutes just looking out the window while he typed and moved documents around. Then he said congratulations your visa has been approved - just like that! Informed me it would arrive in the mail in a few days! I expected the interview to be straight forward (although was a little concerned as my entry photo wasn't professional, but good enough apparently) but it was really a walk in the park! Walked out, got the elevator down, collected my phone and keys from security and made my way out of the building. Was out in the street at 10 30 - an hour after I entered the consulate and 15 minutes before my interview was even scheduled for.

My CEAC status was at AP for the next 24 hours (didn't panic as I was an avid reader of BritSimon's site and knew this was normal), then the next day it changed to "issued" and I received an email from the consulate confirming it had been issued. It arrived in the mail today!
 
Last edited:
Hi all! Thought I'd pop back in to let you all know that I made my activation trip today, and I'm now an LPR. :)

So I'm from Perth, and to upgrade to a better cabin at a price I wanted to pay, I flew PER to AKL, then had a 14 hour layover there, then flew AKL to LAX. The travel itself was fine (and the 14 hours in Auckland were amazing, I packed so much sightseeing in) but I had a nervous 5 minutes at check-in in Perth when the check-in lady didn't know what to make of the visa sticker in my passport and kept asking me for my ESTA. I kept explaining that I wasn't travelling on a tourist visa, and that I was activating the new immigrant visa in my passport. After she double-checked with her supervisor it was fine - she had just personally never encountered this situation before.

The whole activation thing itself was a bit of a non-event.

After being told by LAX staff to go into the Citizens/Permanent Residents line, I waited patiently and then got called up for processing as you would normally as a tourist. The officer took my passport and activation pack, did the biometrics, asked where I was staying and with whom, for how long, and how much money I had on me, and then told me to wait to the side while someone came to collect me for secondary processing. I stood there for 5 minutes before another officer came to get me - during which time I'm sure others in the line were thinking that I'd been denied entry!

Once the officer came to collect myself and a mexican couple also activating their GCs, he walked us to secondary processing and sat us down again in a waiting area. After 5 minutes he walked out, handed me my passport with a new stamp in it and said "Welcome to America!" Everyone I encountered was lovely but in usual DHS fashion, very restrained and professional.

Then I just had to go collect my baggage and went through customs as normal. Easy - they didn't even ask for my chest xrays (I guess I can turf them, then?)

Sooooo... that's that! I'm here for a week and then will make the decision about when to move in the next few months.

I had gone through a period just before this trip where I was very unsure about if I truly wanted to make this move, but as soon as I stepped off the plane I got the sense of being "home" that I always do when entering the US and knew that this is the right decision for me.
 
JessicaElle said:
I had gone through a period just before this trip where I was very unsure about if I truly wanted to make this move, but as soon as I stepped off the plane I got the sense of being "home" that I always do when entering the US and knew that this is the right decision for me.
Click to expand...
This is so good to read :) congrats on making the first big step. Some exciting months ahead of you planning the big move!
 
My partner and I will be making our activation trip in early August, and plan to make the permanent move in July 2018. So we have been starting to think about practical matters, especially health insurance. From what I have read so far, American health insurance seems obscenely expensive. Does anyone (particularly those Aussies who have already made the move over) have any advice or suggestions about possible insurers or plans?
 
rg_2017 said:
My partner and I will be making our activation trip in early August, and plan to make the permanent move in July 2018. So we have been starting to think about practical matters, especially health insurance. From what I have read so far, American health insurance seems obscenely expensive. Does anyone (particularly those Aussies who have already made the move over) have any advice or suggestions about possible insurers or plans?
Click to expand...

Unless you're planning on being self employed you're likely to be insured via your employer, which will work out much cheaper than any plan you're probably currently researching.

Although who knows what will happen if Trumpcare gets passed...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top