When to submit DS-260 to get interview as late as possible?

[bobconti]

Dear community,
I'm a DV2023 selectee (case number 2023EU00023xxx). I'll get my BSc degree next month and I was looking to continue my studies for a MSc degree, so basically the expected date when I'll finish my studies is May 2024. My intent is to delay the interview as much as possible to get my MSc degree without having to interrupt my studies. The Entrant Status Check website says "You have been randomly selected for further processing in the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program for the fiscal year 2023 (October 1, 2022 to September 30, 2023)". Does this mean I have until September 2023 to submit my DS-260? I saw in another thread in this forum that KCC takes 3-4 months to process DS-260, so if I understand correctly, the latest I can get my interview scheduled is 3-4 months after September 2023? Or September 2023 is the deadline of everything (interviews, visa issuance) so I'd have to submit my DS-260 earlier? I would be immensely grateful if you could clarify my doubts and help me adopt the best strategy/timeline to have my interview scheduled as late as possible.
Thank you in advance and have a nice day!

 

[SusieQQQ]

Some serious misunderstandings here. You need to be issued a visa by 30 September 2023 (this is clearly stated in both the instructions for entry and the instructions for selectees).
Interviews are usually scheduled two months in advance, so your entire document process needs to be completed latest, July 2023. (Probably early July.) Yes it can take 3-4 months to process documents (but it could be quicker or in some cases slower). This process just isn’t as exact as you’d like for your purposes. Careful you don’t end up delaying too long or you could miss out entirely. Bear in mind you have up to 6 months from the date of your medical (= visa expiry) to enter the US on your immigrant visa, and another year after that to make the move permanent. If you don’t want to lose your chance of a visa imo it makes more sense to process normally, and push the visa entry and your subsequent re-entry to close to the subsequent 6 month/one year limits (but don’t push exactly to the limits as travel disruptions could be an issue).

 

[bobconti]

Some serious misunderstandings here. You need to be issued a visa by 30 September 2023 (this is clearly stated in both the instructions for entry and the instructions for selectees).
Interviews are usually scheduled two months in advance, so your entire document process needs to be completed latest, July 2023. (Probably early July.) Yes it can take 3-4 months to process documents (but it could be quicker or in some cases slower). This process just isn’t as exact as you’d like for your purposes. Careful you don’t end up delaying too long or you could miss out entirely. Bear in mind you have up to 6 months from the date of your medical (= visa expiry) to enter the US on your immigrant visa, and another year after that to make the move permanent. If you don’t want to lose your chance of a visa imo it makes more sense to process normally, and push the visa entry and your subsequent re-entry to close to the subsequent 6 month/one year limits (but don’t push exactly to the limits as travel disruptions could be an issue).

Dear SusieQQQ,
first of all, I sincerely thank you for your precious explanation. So "October 1, 2022" (in the Entrant Status Check page) would be the start of the interview period?

If you don’t want to lose your chance of a visa imo it makes more sense to process normally, and push the visa entry and your subsequent re-entry to close to the subsequent 6 month/one year limits (but don’t push exactly to the limits as travel disruptions could be an issue).

By "process normally" do you mean that I can send my DS-260 right now and then expect an interview no earlier than October 2022? If yes, even if I was issued a visa in let's say November 2022, I would have plenty of time considering that I could enter the USA within 6 months (therefore before May 2023) and then come back to Italy and have another year to move permanently (therefore before May 2024). Can you confirm me if what I just said is correct? I didn't know about this "extra year", I just knew about the 6 months duration of the visa! This is a game-changer! Eventually, would I need to apply for a Re-entry Permit (Form I-327)?

 

[SusieQQQ]

Dear SusieQQQ,
first of all, I sincerely thank you for your precious explanation. So "October 1, 2022" (in the Entrant Status Check page) would be the start of the interview period?

By "process normally" do you mean that I can send my DS-260 right now and then expect an interview no earlier than October 2022? If yes, even if I was issued a visa in let's say November 2022, I would have plenty of time considering that I could enter the USA within 6 months (therefore before May 2023) and then come back to Italy and have another year to move permanently (therefore before May 2024). Can you confirm me if what I just said is correct? I didn't know about this "extra year", I just knew about the 6 months duration of the visa! This is a game-changer! Eventually, would I need to apply for a Re-entry Permit (Form I-327)?

There seems to be a fair bit about the process you don’t understand..yes the earliest anyone for DV23 can get a visa is October 2022, but the interviews are done in case number order, and yours is relatively high. Please take a look at britsimon’s site/youtube videos explaining the process, visa bulletin etc, so you can get a better understanding of what to expect.
sample videos

On the “mechanics”: Your visa has maximum 6 months to expiry. once you enter on it, you become a LPR. A LPR can stay out of the US up to a maximum of one year before they are presumed to have abandoned their green card. Your case number is relatively high so you are unlikely to get a visa interview before 2023, and probably not before the second quarter of 2023. So plenty of time to get your masters done and stay comfortably within the time period you want utilizing the 6 month window for visa + 12 month window for re-entry. (You only need an actual re-entry permit if you plan to stay out for longer than a year.) By the way, although you can stay out up to a year without losing your green card, ideally you don’t want an absence longer than 6 months if you intend to naturalize as soon as possible, but that’s not the immediate concern.

 

[bobconti]

There seems to be a fair bit about the process you don’t understand..yes the earliest anyone for DV23 can get a visa is October 2022, but the interviews are done in case number order, and yours is relatively high. Please take a look at britsimon’s site/youtube videos explaining the process, visa bulletin etc, so you can get a better understanding of what to expect.
sample videos

On the “mechanics”: Your visa has maximum 6 months to expiry. once you enter on it, you become a LPR. A LPR can stay out of the US up to a maximum of one year before they are presumed to have abandoned their green card. Your case number is relatively high so you are unlikely to get a visa interview before 2023, and probably not before the second quarter of 2023. So plenty of time to get your masters done and stay comfortably within the time period you want utilizing the 6 month window for visa + 12 month window for re-entry. (You only need an actual re-entry permit if you plan to stay out for longer than a year.) By the way, although you can stay out up to a year without losing your green card, ideally you don’t want an absence longer than 6 months if you intend to naturalize as soon as possible, but that’s not the immediate concern.

Dear SusieQQQ,
the important thing for me was to make sure that I could finish my studies, so that I could have as many qualifications as possible (in addition to work experience) to find a job in the USA and move permanently. I will proceed to carefully watch these two sample videos that you linked to me in addition to all the other videos related to the DVLottery, in order to inform me well and understand the process. I sincerely thank you again for the clarifications and above all for your availability and kindness. I wish you a good evening and all the good in the world!