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US DV Lottery Educational Qualification Eligibility

Madhawa

New Member
Hi, I'm new to this forum.

I'm from sri lanka , in our country there is no high school or secondary school graduation system.
Instead of that we have O/L exam & A/L exam.
We do O/L after 11 years of school studying and A/L after 13 years of school studying.

I have completed my O/L exams well but I failed A/L, so I followed a certificate level course by private institute and after its completion, I obtained eligibility to joined with a degree program of a well-known europe university and successfully completed a Bsc honers degree.

So the question I have is, even though i have a degree, am I not qualified for apply for DV lottery since i haven't completed A/L?

Any advice is appreciated, thank you.
 
We have the same system in my country, you're qualified. It doesn't matter how you got your degree as long as you have it!
 
It doesn't matter where you finished your A Levels - private institute is fine. Important question is did you finish your A Levels? If you finished, you are fine.
 
Hi,
I am a sri lankan, i applied five times alone without help from anyone. But one of my friend told me, it is better to apply through a agent or communication of sri lanka.

If our photo is match to the requirements of the site, is it ok.........
Who is the qualified agent to fill the form in sri lanka?

Is there any qualified communication in sri lanka?


please comment...
 
Last edited:
Hi,
I am a sri lankan, i applied five times alone without help from anyone. But one of my friend told me, it is better to apply through a agent or communication of sri lanka.

If our photo is match to the requirements of the site, is it ok.........
Who is the qualified agent to fill the form in sri lanka?

Is there any qualified communication in sri lanka?


please comment...
What does this have to do with the topic of this sub-forum on 'educational qualification'? Not good form to hijack a thread. Find an appropriate place to post or create a new thread if your question is unique.
 
Last edited:
Hi,
I am a sri lankan, i applied five times alone without help from anyone. But one of my friend told me, it is better to apply through a agent or communication of sri lanka.

If our photo is match to the requirements of the site, is it ok.........
Who is the qualified agent to fill the form in sri lanka?

Is there any qualified communication in sri lanka?


please comment...

Don't duplicate the same post on several Threads in the forum. Post once and wait for a response.
 
Hi, I'm new to this forum.

I'm from sri lanka , in our country there is no high school or secondary school graduation system.
Instead of that we have O/L exam & A/L exam.
We do O/L after 11 years of school studying and A/L after 13 years of school studying.

I have completed my O/L exams well but I failed A/L, so I followed a certificate level course by private institute and after its completion, I obtained eligibility to joined with a degree program of a well-known europe university and successfully completed a Bsc honers degree.

So the question I have is, even though i have a degree, am I not qualified for apply for DV lottery since i haven't completed A/L?

Any advice is appreciated, thank you.

This is kind of tricky. Technically you need the high school diploma, and an equivalency certficate such as it seems you have, is not acceptable. However some COs in the past, but not all, have been known to overlook this if there is a university degree nevertheless obtained (assuming it is from a properly accredited university). The changing of the terminology to "at least" high school may support this latter interpretation. It's hard to be 100% certain one way or the other though.
 
Then how did you get into college (Bsc) without finishing A Levels or any sort of school?

I checked the US Embassy in Sri Lanka's website here:

It seems like you will need a A Level certificate. Read that link^

You are right about the fact that A Levels are necessary in order to enter university. A BEng/BSc and any other degree is considered to be a Level 6 qualification and A/Levels being Level 3 is the minimum requirement to proceed onto a three (minimum, can be more depending on degree like MBBS etc) year course that culiminates in a Level 6 qualification. Sadly it is all about money these days and so they brought what is considered as a foundation course (supposed to be equivalent to A/Levels but is not of the same standard).

I have also heard of some colleges sweeping the A/level requirement under the carpet to drive up recruitment. The way I see it is that if you are unable to pass a Level 3 qualification, what is the purpose of going further up (Level 4 and so on will obviously be a whole lot harder).

Anyways the A/L requirement is specifically mentioned in the checklist for SL so it can be a 50-50 option. This is also one occasion where cutting corners can cost you at a later date.
 
Actually, even Oxford and Cambridge in England accept people with foundation ("access") courses if they have done the correct subjects and got the required grades. Many universities accept equivalency courses - even if DV does not as a standalone. The point here is not to criticize how the poster got into university but to figure out if that is sufficient to compensate for A levels. In this sense it is indeed 50-50 though.
 
Actually, even Oxford and Cambridge in England accept people with foundation ("access") courses if they have done the correct subjects and got the required grades. Many universities accept equivalency courses - even if DV does not as a standalone. The point here is not to criticize how the poster got into university but to figure out if that is sufficient to compensate for A levels. In this sense it is indeed 50-50 though.

I didn't mean to criticize him and if he had done a foundation course then that is fine as well. End of the day it's the CO's call and its a lot easier to give them what they ask for. I apologize if my point has been misconstrued.
 
I think (guessing) the official State Dept requirement is to AT LEAST have a high school diploma and above -- means if you didn't finish A Levels/IB/12th grade - but did some of equivalency program and somehow attained in an accredited BA/BSc degree -- - you should be fine.

But I also think the State Department gives the individual embassies/consulate considerable leeway in deciding on local matters like what qualifies for the DV educational requirement. And I think in Sri Lanka's case (based on the link I posted earlier) they do require the A Level diploma.
 
I think (guessing) the official State Dept requirement is to AT LEAST have a high school diploma and above -- means if you didn't finish A Levels/IB/12th grade - but did some of equivalency program and somehow attained in an accredited BA/BSc degree -- - you should be fine.

But I also think the State Department gives the individual embassies/consulate considerable leeway in deciding on local matters like what qualifies for the DV educational requirement. And I think in Sri Lanka's case (based on the link I posted earlier) they do require the A Level diploma.

The introduction of the words "at least" is fairly new and we believe it to mean that a degree would override it. But there have always been cases where embassies have allowed degrees to override lack of formal high school diploma anyway. It seems this has never been the most consistently applied criterion. All we know for certain is that an equivalency diploma in the absence of a tertiary degree is disqualification.
 
I think (guessing) the official State Dept requirement is to AT LEAST have a high school diploma and above -- means if you didn't finish A Levels/IB/12th grade - but did some of equivalency program and somehow attained in an accredited BA/BSc degree -- - you should be fine.

But I also think the State Department gives the individual embassies/consulate considerable leeway in deciding on local matters like what qualifies for the DV educational requirement. And I think in Sri Lanka's case (based on the link I posted earlier) they do require the A Level diploma.
The introduction of the words "at least" is fairly new and we believe it to mean that a degree would override it. But there have always been cases where embassies have allowed degrees to override lack of formal high school diploma anyway. It seems this has never been the most consistently applied criterion. All we know for certain is that an equivalency diploma in the absence of a tertiary degree is disqualification.

It's not a well implemented standard. Different embassies take a different line and there are some countries which are approving education that are well below the US standard required. The 12 years of study tends to mess things up - and whilst they should be standardizing to the point of University entry, they are not, in some countries.

However, I just want to point out that they are looking for formal courses of study and specifically exclude equivilency certificates that could allow someone to fail A levels but achieve a Bachelors.

"Only formal courses of study meet this requirement; correspondence programs or equivalency certificates (such as the General Equivalency Diploma G.E.D.) are not acceptable."
 
It's not a well implemented standard. Different embassies take a different line and there are some countries which are approving education that are well below the US standard required. The 12 years of study tends to mess things up - and whilst they should be standardizing to the point of University entry, they are not, in some countries.

However, I just want to point out that they are looking for formal courses of study and specifically exclude equivilency certificates that could allow someone to fail A levels but achieve a Bachelors.

"Only formal courses of study meet this requirement; correspondence programs or equivalency certificates (such as the General Equivalency Diploma G.E.D.) are not acceptable."

Agree
 
The introduction of the words "at least" is fairly new and we believe it to mean that a degree would override it. But there have always been cases where embassies have allowed degrees to override lack of formal high school diploma anyway. It seems this has never been the most consistently applied criterion. All we know for certain is that an equivalency diploma in the absence of a tertiary degree is disqualification.

I believe that at least here means a bare minimum of 12 years of education (equivalent being A Levels - which is actually 12 years from Grade 1). Having anything else would be a plus but that requirement cannot be overridden. Like Simon said, equivalency certificates are the ones in which foundation courses, vocational certificates and any other access courses would fit. It is the same with the I-134 document, which can be an added plus as far as some embassies are concerned (when you show the required funds in your posession), but a must as far as the embassy in SL is concerned. It used to be O Levels a couple of years back but the standard of the local O/L (not the London O/L) had fallen to such a great extent that now 3 A/Level subjects are required as the bare minimum.
 
Thanks to all your replies,
I should add something to this to clear some misunderstandings.

Having 3 passes for A/L( or simply saying pass A/L) is necessary for almost all of the government universities, not 100% because there are very few certificate level programs which are conducted by 1 or 2 government university as another path to obtained degree from government university without having A/Ls. That's about the government degree programs.

When it comes to private universities, things are a lot different.
Many private universities provide certificate level courses for most of the degree programs they have . So this opportunity provide ability to join with private degrees without A/L, that is very helpful for people who have failed A/L or don't want to do A/Ls.
But not all private universities or all private degree program offers this, that is strictly depend on the university/institute & program we follow.

And these private degrees aren't having any relationship with the government universities, 100% of those private degrees are offered from foreign universities( from UK,US,Australian universities).

So I did one of those degrees from private university, after a certificate course program.
 
I am from SL as well so I am aware of the scenario. Unfortunately in your case, you can try explaining to the CO during the time of the interview (if selected) but like mentioned above it is a 50/50 option. You will have to decide if the risk is worth taking. Worse case scenario you'll loose USD 330 + money for medicals etc and the best case scenario would land you a green card (as long as other requirements such as public charge etc are successfully overcome, of course). The choice is yours and I wish you the very best. (What's life without a few risks isn't it) :)
 
Thank you so much all of you guys. :)
Based on the facts, i think it's much safer to apply DV based on job experience for my scenario.
I already have 1 year work experience, so i'll try to apply in later year with more experience. ;)
 
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