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DV 2018 All Selectees

I wonder, what's the issue with Ukraine or Uzbekistan? Thanks!
They have a massive number of entries, so their selectees are cutoff at some point in the draw so they don't have too many selectees. Therefor U2 countries selectees are all in the lower case number ranges.

- because part of the DV quota is that no country can get more than 7% of total visas.
 
I wonder, what's the issue with Ukraine or Uzbekistan? Thanks!
"U2" countries have a high number of entries in the lottery. Therefore, they are more frequently chosen (at random) than entrants from other European countries and at some point they are simply limited, i.e. if chosen the assigned case number is dismissed/concealed ("hole") and the "selectee" gets a not-selected message. So, usually U2 selectees have low case numbers. If the case in question were a U2 case, I would conclude that they messed up the selection and have way too many U2 selectees, which could result in a lower cut-off in September (country limit).
This scenario applies basically only to Uzbekistan. Ukraine has such a high refusal rate, due to fraudulent applications, that it can't possibly hit a country limit, even with, say, 10,000 selectees. Still, I always treat both separately. The rest of Europe is harmless. In AF it's (at least) Egypt, Ethiopia and Ghana, in AS Nepal and Iran. There are no special countries in SA, OC or NA (regional quota below 2,000).

The above mentioned scenario seems currently to play out in DV-2017. Reported Egyptian cases as high as AF42### are not compatible with the 3,850 country limit. "They", whoever that is, realized that AF region had too few selectees to use up the regional quota and decided to drop the limit for Egypt (at c. 32,000 in May), thereby increasing its selectees by an estimated 25-35% – which is completely crazy. They should have raised the number slightly, but massively for non-limited AF countries. Egypt will face a hurting September cut-off.

Lastly, to state for once the obvious: The last paragraph is my opinion only. Others will disagree (and are, hopefully, right).
The estimates are based on what information we have, which is in part circumstantial (reported Egyptian cases).
 
Does it matter which country you do the medical ? I been living in Canada for a few years but I am about to move to UK so I am wondering if it matters where I do my medical. thanks all :)
 
Does it matter which country you do the medical ? I been living in Canada for a few years but I am about to move to UK so I am wondering if it matters where I do my medical. thanks all :)

Yes it does, it has to be the same country as you interview in. Bear in mind medicals expire after 6 months and your visa expiry is linked to your medical expiry, so you don't want to do medicals too early. Most countries' panel doctors don't let you do the medical until you have the interview letter,but I've seen a couple of people reporting that at least one of the London doctors doesn't require that and a few people have been caught by not realizing medicals expire and having to redo them,,so be careful of that.
 
Does it matter which country you do the medical ? I been living in Canada for a few years but I am about to move to UK so I am wondering if it matters where I do my medical. thanks all :)

You have to do medical where the embassy you are interviewing from has designated. You can't do medical outside the country.
 
Not sure if this has been asked before. I'm busy with a degree via distance learning, but haven't completed it yet. Under Highest Level of Education Completed, do I select the option "University, No Degree"?
 
"U2" countries have a high number of entries in the lottery. Therefore, they are more frequently chosen (at random) than entrants from other European countries and at some point they are simply limited, i.e. if chosen the assigned case number is dismissed/concealed ("hole") and the "selectee" gets a not-selected message. So, usually U2 selectees have low case numbers. If the case in question were a U2 case, I would conclude that they messed up the selection and have way too many U2 selectees, which could result in a lower cut-off in September (country limit).
This scenario applies basically only to Uzbekistan. Ukraine has such a high refusal rate, due to fraudulent applications, that it can't possibly hit a country limit, even with, say, 10,000 selectees. Still, I always treat both separately. The rest of Europe is harmless. In AF it's (at least) Egypt, Ethiopia and Ghana, in AS Nepal and Iran. There are no special countries in SA, OC or NA (regional quota below 2,000).

The above mentioned scenario seems currently to play out in DV-2017. Reported Egyptian cases as high as AF42### are not compatible with the 3,850 country limit. "They", whoever that is, realized that AF region had too few selectees to use up the regional quota and decided to drop the limit for Egypt (at c. 32,000 in May), thereby increasing its selectees by an estimated 25-35% – which is completely crazy. They should have raised the number slightly, but massively for non-limited AF countries. Egypt will face a hurting September cut-off.

Lastly, to state for once the obvious: The last paragraph is my opinion only. Others will disagree (and are, hopefully, right).
The estimates are based on what information we have, which is in part circumstantial (reported Egyptian cases).
What about Ethiopia pls. Will there be a cut off number?
 
Not sure if this has been asked before. I'm busy with a degree via distance learning, but haven't completed it yet. Under Highest Level of Education Completed, do I select the option "University, No Degree"?

You haven't completed the program yet, the question is asking for educational level "completed"
 
Hi everyone.
My husband has selected for Diversity Immigrant Visa Program for the fiscal year 2018. His case number is 2018EU000018**
I am pregnant and my due date is end of July. Shall we wait the birth of the baby for submitting DV260 forms? Would it jeopardize getting an interview date?
Thanks.
 
1) For the past 10+ years (with the exception of 2014/2015) the bulletin has gone 'Current' between June-September. Does this mean OC17XX would have a decent chance at securing an interview by September 2018? I've come to this after seeing multiple posts saying that 'Current' means all selectees get an interview.

2) Does this mean that I essentially will not receive any further correspondence until mid 2018? I've submitted DS260 and have received confirmation.
 
1) For the past 10+ years (with the exception of 2014/2015) the bulletin has gone 'Current' between June-September. Does this mean OC17XX would have a decent chance at securing an interview by September 2018? I've come to this after seeing multiple posts saying that 'Current' means all selectees get an interview.

2) Does this mean that I essentially will not receive any further correspondence until mid 2018? I've submitted DS260 and have received confirmation.

1. It is too soon to know about the chances for your number. Years go current where there are less selectees than needed. In 2014 and 2015 they increased the selectees to levels that meant there had to be a cutoff and 1490 was the final number in DV2015. For DV2018, it seems there are about the same number of selectees for OC region as were selected in DV2015 (although we have not seen the official numbers yet). So - there will most likely be a cutoff like DV2015 - where that cutoff will fall exactly - is hard to say at this point. So you will have to wait around 1 year to know for sure.

2. Yes - nothing until your case is current (current in this case meaning below the number announced on the VB).
 
Hi everyone.
My husband has selected for Diversity Immigrant Visa Program for the fiscal year 2018. His case number is 2018EU000018**
I am pregnant and my due date is end of July. Shall we wait the birth of the baby for submitting DV260 forms? Would it jeopardize getting an interview date?
Thanks.

You can submit your forms now and unlock to add your baby after the birth OR you can wait until the baby is born and submit all forms at one time. Because your number is low, there is a chance of getting an October interview if you submit immediately BUT that will increase your stress because you will have a short time to unlock and add the baby. Personally - I would submit later, and thereby delay the interview a few months. There is no risk in doing that.
 
Hi again,
I would have one more question. I have been selected in dv2018 lottery. In February, when I didnt even think I would be selected, I booked 2 week vacation in the USA for me and my family. I got ESTA waiver approval instead of visa. I paid for return plane tickets, hotels and car rentals, everything. Should I expect any problems at the border because now I submitted ds 260 form? Or should I expect any other problems?
 
Hi again,
I would have one more question. I have been selected in dv2018 lottery. In February, when I didnt even think I would be selected, I booked 2 week vacation in the USA for me and my family. I got ESTA waiver approval instead of visa. I paid for return plane tickets, hotels and car rentals, everything. Should I expect any problems at the border because now I submitted ds 260 form? Or should I expect any other problems?

You should be fine, they probably won't even question you but to be on the safe side ensure you can show you plan to return home after the vacation (job /home to go back to ).
 
So why do you think that selectee CNs are so high and then in the end people with super high CN get current and eventually their visas and their region totals end up being like less than half the CN? For example like Guriix, who has in the bottom message 2014AF41*** and Africa total number of visas issued in 2014 was 22,703 according to the FY16AnnualReport. The CN is almost twice the number of visas for that year. It doesn't seem to me that rejection rates are so high at embassies in general. Does it mean that most people in the world never find out they were even selected because hopes are low for a program like the DV? or maybe that many start the process too late even with low CN and lose their opportunity? something else?
 
So why do you think that selectee CNs are so high and then in the end people with super high CN get current and eventually their visas and their region totals end up being like less than half the CN? For example like Guriix, who has in the bottom message 2014AF41*** and Africa total number of visas issued in 2014 was 22,703 according to the FY16AnnualReport. The CN is almost twice the number of visas for that year. It doesn't seem to me that rejection rates are so high at embassies in general. Does it mean that most people in the world never find out they were even selected because hopes are low for a program like the DV? or maybe that many start the process too late even with low CN and lose their opportunity? something else?

There are "holes" in the case numbers - so not all case numbers are consecutive. First round of entrants selected - then a bunch are immediately disqualified due to fraudulent activity the computers can pick up: these numbers then become invalid (or "holes" in the series ) and the entrant is simply notified "not selected". Historically these immediate disqualifications are when they detect duplicate entries. And from what USCIS has published in the past, a LOT of entries are disqualified for this. We are thinking - but do not know for sure - that this year the holes may also include those who used duplicate photos from last year, if they are now using the photo software for this. So the case numbers may go up to (say) 40k, but there may actually only be 20k valid case numbers within that.

Also: Rejection rates for DV are actually fairly low. For reasons not always immediately clear, around half of selectees never pursue their cases - life changes, plans change, some people never realized when entering that they had to pay fees later on, some realize they had problems with their entries that would disqualify them, etc.
 
There are "holes" in the case numbers - so not all case numbers are consecutive. First round of entrants selected - then a bunch are immediately disqualified due to fraudulent activity the computers can pick up: these numbers then become invalid (or "holes" in the series ) and the entrant is simply notified "not selected". Historically these immediate disqualifications are when they detect duplicate entries. And from what USCIS has published in the past, a LOT of entries are disqualified for this. We are thinking - but do not know for sure - that this year the holes may also include those who used duplicate photos from last year, if they are now using the photo software for this. So the case numbers may go up to (say) 40k, but there may actually only be 20k valid case numbers within that.

Also: Rejection rates for DV are actually fairly low. For reasons not always immediately clear, around half of selectees never pursue their cases - life changes, plans change, some people never realized when entering that they had to pay fees later on, some realize they had problems with their entries that would disqualify them, etc.

I have at least three distinct cases of people being selected with DV2017 photos. So - it doesn't seem they used that option.
 
I have at least three distinct cases of people being selected with DV2017 photos. So - it doesn't seem they used that option.

Ah - ok. Will they be taking a chance and proceeding to interview? Will be very interesting to see if the COs pick it up or if it was an 'empty threat'. I know they run some sort of facial recognition at interview - I could see our CO doing it, though exactly what there were comparing to I don't know of course.

So - there goes that theory as a reason for higher CNs this year.
 
Ah - ok. Will they be taking a chance and proceeding to interview? Will be very interesting to see if the COs pick it up or if it was an 'empty threat'. I know they run some sort of facial recognition at interview - I could see our CO doing it, though exactly what there were comparing to I don't know of course.

So - there goes that theory as a reason for higher CNs this year.
Quote from the attached document.


Consular Screening Procedures

Foreign nationals seeking visas must undergo admissibility reviews performed by DOS consular officers abroad. The visa applicant is required to submit his or her photograph and fingerprints, as well as full name (and any other name used or by which he or she has been known), age, gender, and the date and place of birth. Depending on the visa category, certain documents must be certified by the proper government authorities (e.g., birth certificates and marriage licenses). All prospective LPRs must submit to physical and mental examinations, and prospective nonimmigrants also may be required to have physical and mental examinations. These reviews are intended to ensure that aliens are not ineligible for visas or admission under the INA §212(a) grounds for inadmissibility.

Consular officers use the Consular Consolidated Database (CCD), a biometric and biographic database, to screen all visa applicants. Over 143 million records of visa applications are now automated in the CCD, with some records dating back to the mid-1990s. Since February 2001, the CCD has stored photographs of all visa applicants in electronic form; since 2007, the CCD has begun storing 10-finger scans. The number of visa cases in the CCD surpassed 100 million in 2009, including 75 million photographs.

In addition to indicating the outcome of any prior visa application of the alien in the CCD and comments by consular officers, the system links with other databases to flag problems that may have an impact on the issuance of the visa. These databases linked with the CCD include DHS’s Automated Biometric Identification System (IDENT) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS) results, and supporting documents. In addition to performing biometric checks of the fingerprints for all visa applicants, DOS uses facial recognition technology to screen visa applicants against a watchlist of photos of known and suspected terrorists obtained from the Terrorist Screening Center (TSC), as well as the entire gallery of visa applicant photos contained in the CCD.

The CCD also links to the DHS’s Traveler Enforcement Compliance System (TECS), a substantial database of law enforcement and border inspection information that enables CBP officers at ports of entry to have access to CCD. A limited number of consular officers have been granted access to DHS’Arrival Departure Information System (ADIS). ADIS tracks foreign nationals’ entries into and most exits out of the United States. DOS credits access to ADIS with its ability to identify previously undetected cases of illegal overstays in the United States.
 

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