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DV lottery FAQ

R

raevsky

Registered Users (C)
FAQ on DV lottery program

The purpose of this FAQ is not to give a final solution to a problem, rather than to give a hint to a solution to a problem, or even to a problem itself.
If you want to include a new question to the FAQ, send me a private message. Also, please inform me about orphographical errors and other disrcepancies.

1. Questions about DV lottery in general
1.1
Q: What is DV lottery program?
A: It is just one of immigration programs. It's purpose is to increase diversity among US population.

1.2
Q: Why do we talk about DV-2015 now, in 2013?
A: October 1st 2014 is the beginning of 2015 fiscal year. Visas in DV-2015 will be given between October 1st 2014 and September 30th 2015.

2. Why do we talk about the country we are playing from.
2.1
Q: Why do we talk about country? What does it have to do with DV lottery?
A: The unit of diversity is a country. Congress set up country quotas. In order to participate in DV littery, you need to be associated with one of the countries participating in DV lottery

2.2
Q: What countries are allowed to participate in DV lottery?
A: Counties with low level of immigration to US. Those countries from which the number of immigrants to US in selected categories was not more than 50,000 for the last 5 years total.

2.3
Q: How can I figure out what my country of participation is?
A: I can always participate from my country of birth if this country is participating. Also, I can participate from the country of my spouse, or in some cases from the country of birth of either parent. In rare cases (like birth in US) rules take into account citizenship and country of residence.

2.4
Q: Could I participate from several countries at once?
A: No, one person can send only one entry

2.5
Q: If I could participate from several countries, how do I select which one is the best for me?
Myth: If my country of birth is eligible, I have to participate from it.
A: I need to take into account several circumstances. The world is divided into 6 regions, the probability to win is different from those regions. If you could participate from different regions, take that into account. Taking country of spouse means you will have to get visas together and enter US together as well. If your marriage is not very strong, take that into account. Taking a country from a parent means you will need to provide a lot of additional proofs you are eligible, take that into account.

2.6
Q: I could participate from Uzbekistan (my spouse was born there) or from Russia (I was born there). What is better?
Myth: It is better to participate from Uzbekistan because it has more winners according to DOS report.
A: Because more people applyied from Uzbekistan, it has more winners. And per country quota could be easily exceeded from Uzbekistan, what happened in the past. So, a limit could be set up on the stage of getting visas. Russia could go under the limit but Uzbekistan will not. Resume: participate from Russia. Second consideration. Russia is your country, and Uzbekistan - your spouse's. You begin depending on your spouse if you participate from his or her country. Resume: participate from Russia.

2.7
Q: I was born in Crimea when it was part of Russia under the Soviet Union times. Now Crimea is a part of Ukraine. What is my country of participation?
A: The country is defined by the date when you send final forms to KCC/USCIS. You are participating from Ukraine, because your birth certificate clearly states Crimea, and Crimea is currently part of Ukraine.

3. PLace of birth
3.1
Q: I was born in Leningrad. There is no place with that name on the current map of the world. What should I state as my place of birth?
A: Put both names. The name from birth certificate and the current name of the place. Leningrad - Saint Petersburgh

3.2
Q: I was born in Moscow (cyrillic spelling mapped to Roman alphabet is Moskva). What should I write as place of birth? Moscow? Moskva? Any other spelling?
A: Use the name most commonly mentioned by DOS. DOS uses the name Moscow. In case of rare names and questions google the name in domain state.gov or .gov

3.3
Q: My passport states I was born in Leningrad, but my birth certificate states I was born in Moscow. What should I write in the entry?
A: The birth certificate version.

3.4
Q: I was born in a Jewish settlement in Gaza Strip ans I hold Israely citizenship. Gaza Strip is not a part of any country. What is my country of participation?
A: For the purpose of participation in DV lottery Gaza Strip is Egypt, Africa, even though geographically it is in Asia.

3.5
Q: I was born in Germany when my father served in the Soviet Army on a military base in Germany. Could I participate from Germany?
A: It depends on details. A very important thing is who issued your birth certificate. It could be the Soviet consulate in Germany, German authorities or the military base itself.

3.6
Q: I was born in Germany when my father served in the Soviet Army on a military base in Germany. Could I take the country of participation by my mother or my father?
A: That depends on details. It is important if parents were married to each other, where the mother lived before father's assignment, where mother was born.

To be continued
 
4. Education
4.1
Q: I have not graduated from High School yet. I am finishing it this summer, after the end of the period of submission. Can I participate?
Myth: Because I do not have secondary education on the date of entry, I cannot
A: You need to satisfy educational requirement on the date I submit forms to KCC/USCIS. Yes, you can. You indicate "Primary school only" on your entry form.

4.2
Q: I got a High School Diploma after passing tests for the course of High School, without attending classes. I do not have any other educatioon. Could I participate?
A: No, you cannot. Only formal course of education is counted. What you did is not a formal course.

4.3
Q: I finished vocational school remotely, by means of distant education. After that I graduated from a university remotely, by means of distant education. Could I participate?
A: Most likely, you got 2 years of qualifying work experience out of your last 4-5 years of university studies. So, even though your educational requirement is most likely not satisfied through education, it is most likely satisfied through work requirement.

4.4
Q: I graduated from high school, but lost my high school diploma. What should I do?
A: You need to get a duplicate or provide a proof of unobtainability of a duplicate, plus additional proof you had it in the past.

4.5
Q: I did not finish high school, but I have a university degree. I have never worked before. Do I satisfy educational requirement?
A: Adjustment of status is not possible. But you have decent chances if you choose consular processing.

5. Nonimmigrant visas.
5.1
Q: Could my participating in DV lottery problem influence my nonimmigrant visas?
Myth: You cannot get a nonimmigrant visa other than with dual intent
A: As any other event, participating in DV lottery could be considered by a consul. All circumsnatnce do matter, there is no automatic denial.

5.2
Q: Could my win in DV lottery program influence negatively my ability to get a non-immigrant visa.
A: A win could make it difficult, but not theoretically impossible

5.3
Q: Could my win in DV lottery program and further submitting forms to KCC/USCIS negatively influence me getting a non-immigrant visa?
A: It could make it extremely difficult, but though not theoretically impossible

6. Importance of different factors to win and get a visa.

6.1
Q: What is the importance of age to win and get a visa?
Myth: USA needs young people and the older you are, the worse your chances are
A: Chances to win do not depend on your age. However, at the interview you will need to satisfy public charge requirement. If you intend to work in the US, the consul would evaluate your age, work experience, education and age to figure out your chances for a well payed job. If you have other sources of income or assets, that does not matter.

6.2
Q: What is the importance of education to win?
Myth: USA needs educated people and the more educated you are, the more chances you have.
A: Chances to win do not depend on your education as long as you satisfy educational or work requirement. Recent High School graduate has the same chances to win as a PhD professional. However, at the interview you will need to satisfy public charge requirement. If you intend to work in the US, the consul would evaluate your age, work experience, education and age to figure out your chances for a well payed job. If you have other sources of income or assets, that does not matter.

To be continued
 
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7. Children
7.1
Q: My child is not 21 year old yet, but his age is close to that. My child is not married. Do I have to include my child into my entry? Will he get a visa if I win?
A: You have to include him. It depends on the details whether he gets the visa. Those details define the conditions under Child Status Protection Act.

7.2
Q: I have a wife and 3 kids, 2 years old, 16 years old (finishing High School) and 20 years old (graduationg from a university). All children are unmarried, my wife has no other children. How many entries could be sent from our family?
A: One entry from the husband (includes wife and all children), one entry from the wife (includes husband and all children), and one entry from each of two older children. If children win, parents could not come with them.

7.3
Q: As soon as we got visas, we gave a birth to a child. We have not entered US yet. What do we do with the child?
A: The child does not need a visa to enter US. He needs a passport (or he could be included into parent's passport), birth certificate with English translation, he needs to enter US together with a parent, and this entry of the parent should be the first since he got a visa. Some airlines could require a boarding authorization letter from the child, and you could get it in the US consulate. This letter is not needed for US immigration officials, onlt for an airline.

7.4
Q: My wife has a child that was an issue of her previous marriage. He is not my child and he was born before we married. He is 20 years old and he is unmarried. Do I include him into my entry?
A: Yes. If you do not include him, your entry will be disqualified during consular processing. In case of adjustment of status, the entry will not be disqualified though

7.5
Q: My child has a GC. Do I have to include him into my entry? He does not visa anyway.
A: You have a choice. You can include him into your entry or not. Those are the rules for children and spouses who have GC or US citizenship. In a number of cases it makes sense to include him. Resume: include him if you have no problems with getting his photo.

To be continued
 
8. Errors in electronic form
8.1
Q: I made an error and put a country from which I perticipate by mistake. I was born in Austria and stated so, but I mentioned that I participate from another country - Australia. What should I wait on the interview?
A: If you have a right to participate from Australia as well (via spouse or a parent), no problems. However, if you do not have a right to participate from Australia, your entry will be disqualified. Austria and Australia belong to different regions with different qoutas.

8.2
Q: I made an error and mentioned the country of participation by mistake. I was born in Russia and stated so, but I mentioned the country of participation as Belarus. What should I expect at the interview?
A: If you have a right to participate from Belarus as well (via spouse or a parent), no problems. However, if you cannot participate from Belarus, no problems as well. Both countries belong to the same region, and you do not win anything by choosing one country instead of another one.

8.3
Q: I made a mistake in my biographical data. I mentioned I was unmarried, though I am married and my wife is neither GC holder or US citizen. What should I expect at the interview?
A: In case of consular processing the entry will be disqualified.

8.4
Q: I did not include my husband's 12-year old sun from his fist marriage to my entry form. What to expect?
A: If you have a right to do adjustment of status in the US, do it. It is not disqualifying mistake for AOS. It is a disqualyifying event for Consular Processing though.

8.5
Q: Can an entry be disqualified in KCC after I saw on DOS website that I won?
A: KCC cannot adjudicate visa applications (that can only be done by a consul at the consulate) or adjustment of status (that can only be done at USCIS). KCC transfers all disqualifying information to consulate or USCIS for making decision by the appropriate authority after your interview.

8.6
Q: Is it true that I could explain any error on the electronic form to the consular official at the interview and consul would understand you and waive any error?
A: The instructions for DV lottery are simple and any tiny mistake could lead to a disqualification (for instance, a typo in the date of birth). If consul suspects this erroir was made on purpose to submit a duplicate entry, you have almost nothing to prove yourself. There is no real way to prove you did not made a duplicate entry. His suspicion is enough for denial.

To be continued
 
9. Place of interview
9.1
Q: I participate from Germany because I was born there when my father service on a Russian military base in Germany. I live in Moscow, I am a citizen of Ukraine. Where will I have an interview?
A: You apply for visa at the consulate where you live. In Moscow.

9.2
Q: I was born on Golan Heights. I live there permenently. I have Israely citizenship. As required by lottery instructions, I participated from Syria and won. Where will I have an interview?
A: Regularly, you apply for visa in the US consulate where you live. In this case that would de Damaskus, as Golan Heights are de-jure a part of Syria, even though administered by Israel. However, Israely citizens are not allowed in Syria. In cases like that you can have an interview in country of citizenship, which would be in Jerusalem.

To be continued
 
10. Consular Processing and adjustment of status in the US

10.1
Q: I am currently in the US, working on H-1. I am a lottery winner. Could I get GC without leaving US?
A: Yes, you can adjust your status in the US, as an alternative to consular processing. The process is very much different from consular processing and the differences start from the point of sending application forms. DS-230 form is not sent to KCC. Instead, form I-485 is sent to USCIS. It is not advisable to send DS-230 to KCC and at the same time to apply for adjustment of status - that could lead to unpredictable results. You could be denied both ways at once. If you already sent DS-230 to KCC, do not apply for adjustment of status. The main differences are the following. Adjustment of status requires you to be in the US in a valid status. For adjustment of status you do not have to have a valid passport, or passport at all. Adjustment of status takes more time, also adjustment of status is discretionary, so USCIS does not have to adjust your status even if you are perfectly eligible. You could be denied without a reason, and that is perfectly legal, however, I do not know cases like that. Also, I-485 could be sent only after October 1st of the fiscal year, and not earlier than you see your case number in visa bulletin in advance notification section. Sending documents too early would lead to denial.

10.2
Q: I am in the US out-of-status. I overstayed my B-2 status for 3 months already. What do I do next?
A: You cannot adjust your status in the US because you are out-of-status. Howeverm you could still get an immigrant visa via consular processing as long as you overstayed not more than 180 days. If you overstay more than 180 days, you will have a 3-year bar for immigrant visas. And if ou overstay one year or more, you will have a 10-year bar. Upon leaving the US surrender your I-94 to a representative of your airline (or if you enter Canada, to a canadian immigration official). The consulate will figure out the date of your departure by looking at this form later

10.3
Q: My wife has a GC. Can she submit her DV lottery entry?
Myth: She cannot because she cannot get a visa as she has a GC.
A: Yes she can. If her entry wins, the whole family could have an interview in the consulate, including her. She will have both GC and an immigrant visa, and she will enter US with both documents next time. However, adjustment of status is not possible, consular processing is the only way.

10.4
Q: I forgot to enter into me DV entry my son and my wife. They both currently live in the US with me, and we want to do adjustment of status in the US. Could we do adjustment of status even though I forgot to enter them into my entry?
A: Yes. The entry is going to be disqualified (for not including child or spouse) in case of consular processing, but not in case of adjustment of status.

11. Generl questions about immigration to US (more broad than DV lottery)

11.1
Q: Our daughter is 19 years old, she was married and has a child. Now she is divorced and lives with her son. Could we include her in our entries? Will our grandchild be able to immigrate with us?
A: Yes, you have to include her into your entries. She is younger than 21 and unmarried. So, her eligibility for visa does not depend on the fact that she was married before, and on the fact that she has a child. However, her child will not be able to get a visa with you and her. If she chooses to immigrate with you, she will submit an alien relative petition to her child, and the process will take several years.

To be continued
 
12. Miscellaneous
12.1
Q: This FAQ has a lot of things that are absent from DV lottery instructions. Also, there are a number of things that directly contradicts instructions. How could that be?
A: DV lottery is regulated by the law, that has several thousand pages. It is not possible to include the whole law into DV instructions. Instructions are and mapped to the law directly and have mistakes.

12.2
Q: Is it possible to use translations of instructions to foregign languages?
A: That is not recommended. Translations are not accurate and have a lot of mistakes. Translations are made just for brief introduction to the program. Only English version is official, and even that one contains discrepancies.

12.3
Q: I was born in Lithuania, my birth certificate is in Roman alphabet, and my marriage certificate as well is issued in Roman alphabet. However, my passport has different spelling. How do I write my name in the electronic entry? As in my passport?
A: Starting DV-2014, new rules are in effect. You must include your passport spelling in the electronic entry if you have a passport when preparing the entry.

12.4
Q: I used a middleman to submit my entry. Now the middleman extorts money from me for giving me the confirmation number. What should I do?
A: Fill out forms without confirmation number. DOS is familiar with this situation and it is not a problem.

12.5
Q: Could I use a photo in my electronic entry, the same I used last year in my electronic entry? I have not really changed since then.
A: No you cannot. You must have a recent photo, not older than 6 months old.

12.6
Q: I live in a country that has patronymics. Do I have to include it in my entry? Where? First page of my passport does not have it included.
A: Spelling of your name has to be the same as in your passport if you have it at the moment you submit the entry. You do not include patronymics in your situation

12.7
Q: I live in a draft country. I did not serve in the Army. I do not have a military record that I need to bring to the consulate. What should I do? Will the consulate deny my visa because I am a suspect in draft violation?
A: The consulate needs to make sure you do not have military crimes (established by military tribunal). Military crimes are not listed in police report, but a consul is able to see whether you had military crimes just by looking at your military record. If you did not serve and do not have a military record, it is clear you do not have military crimes. If local authorities suspect you of a draft violation, you will be subject to criminal court proceedings. Before the court you do not have obstacles for visa, and after you fulfill the court order, you do not have obstacles for visa. The consulate will not suspect you in draft violation just because you did not serve, you need to have a police/court record/conviction for that.

To be continued
 
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13. Conducting the draw and notification of winners.

13.1
Q: How is the drawing conducted?
A: First, all entries are entered into the database. They are assigned internal numbers practically going in chronological order of the entries submitted, with a very small percentage of exceptions, about 2%. Second stage is randomization. During this stage entries within any particular region are assigned numbers like EU00001, EU00002 e t.c. staring 1 step 1 in increasing order. Those are the rank numbers winners see on their entries. The third stage is selection. All junk entries are eliminated during this stage. For instance, junk entries include entries with invalid photos. As an example, photos with other than human face are eliminated. Also, photos having exact duplicates (as file; there are about 7% of those) are eliminated. All those entries leave empty wholes in the serier of numbers. Duplicates detected with facial recognition technology, that are not exact as files, and marked as potentially disqualifying factor, but they are not removed at this stage. Consul or USCIS officer gets the marking and makes final decision during the interview. Entries are being slected upon the point when the number of entries selected reaches certain point, calculated by a complex formula. Junk is eliminated only until that point. Entries with numbers higher than that point, are not checked for junkness because, on the one hand, the final result does not depend on those entries, and on the other hand, is expensive. Here the drawing ends.

13.2
Q: How is notification of winners done?
A: A number of winning entries, with rank numbers starting 1 until some intermediate number for each region, goes to the website that is open for winners to see. Winning entries with larger numbers are not marked as winning entries at this point. They could be marked as winning entries later on. So entrants have to frequently check their status. Those additional selections happen frequently, almost every year. In some years they were huge (2003, 2007). It is very important to understand that those entries that change their status to winning status are still the results of one single selection which happens once a year. The total amount of winning entries per country is determined immediately, but hidden winners are not seen on the website. DOS needs gradual notification of winners to better plan the interview schedule.

13.3
Q: Is it true that if there are 33,000 winners from Europe, that means their rank numbers are numbers EU00001 through EU033000?
A: No, that is incorrect. 33,000 entries, with wholes included, will take much more numbers than 33,000 total.

13.4
Q: Where are the DV lottery results published?
A: Once a year DOS publishes Visa Bulletin with DV lottery results. For instance, DV-2013 results have been published at the site http://travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants/types/types_5715.html The table has number of winners per country

13.5
Q: What do those numbers mean? Is that the number of entries or winners with family members?
A: Those are the number of winning entries, without family memmbers. Both open winners and hidden winners are included into those numbers.

13.6
Q: Where is the statistics available about entries submitted?
A: Site http://travel.state.gov/pdf/DV_Applicant_Entrants_by_Country_2007-2013.pdf has the statistics about the number of entries submitted per country, as well as the number of family members included.

13.7
Q: DV instructions say that the probability of win is the same within a region, same for all countries in the region. However, if I divide data about the number of winners (13.5) by the data with the number of submission (13.6) from two previous sources, I see that the results of division differ more than 10 times for different countries in the same region. How is that possible?
A: The probability of win is the same at the randomization stage, before eliminating junk what is done at selection stage. Because the amount of junk is different in different countries, after eliminating junk frequencies for different countries are no longer the same. It is well know that, for instance, in Bangladesh some agents enter all white pages into the system in order to extort money from winners later. Of course, all those junk entries are eliminated, so the frequency of wins from Bangladesh after junk elimination is much lower than for other countries, even though the probability to win is the same for all countries within a region.

13.8
Q: Does it mean if I am eligible to play form either country of the same region, there is some difference for me which country to use as a country of participation?
A: No, your entry will be either eliminated if it is junk, or not eliminated if it is not, regardless on the country from what it was submitted. It does not matter from what country it is.

13.9
Q: Is it possible to estimate the maximum possible rank number for a specific region?
A: That could be done by taking into account data for all countries of this particular region (13.7). For Europe in recent years the maximum possible rank number for a winning entry is about 1.5-2 higher than published number of winning entries. It is difficult to make a precise calculation.

13.10
Q: Let's assume I submitted an entry without errors and I am sure it is not junk. What is the way to determine the probability to win for my entry?
A: That ould be done taking into account frequencies of wins for different countries of the same region (13.7). For Europe the probability to get into wins published by DOS in Visa Bulletin is about 4%-5% for recent years. However, not only open wins get into their, closed wins too. Of course, you are interested in probability to get an open win, not a hidden win, because you could not be aware about a hidden win. The probability to get an open win for Europe is about 2%-3%.

13.11
Q: Why did it take so long for us to figure out how dv lottery is conducted?
A: DOS does not fully disclose all details. A lot of things were published before. However, a lot of things were clarified in DV-2012, because of the lawsuit and published materials of the lawsuit, as well as extreme statistics of DV-2012 compared to other lotteries.

13.12
Q: What would you ask DOS representative about DV lottery if an opportunity is provided, for instance on an annual chat with DOS?
A: I would ask why quota for Uzbekistan in DV-2012 was underfilled even though DOS made a lot of efforts to limit visas for Uzbekistan it even though it was easy to fill all possible quota for Uzbekistan without any problems.
 
I would like to keep the thread totally mine, if possible. Please remove your post from the thread. If you want to add something to the FAQ, please send me a private message. I will not include all questions into the FAQ, only some of them. Of course, you can also organize a new thread for your specific questions only.
 
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