The Diversity Visa Program interview process and preparation are important parts of the U.S. immigrant visa application. It requires strict due process and preparation. Applicants must pay careful attention to every step before, during, and after the diversity visa process.

After reviewing your DS-260 application, the Kentucky Consular Center (KCC) will scheduled up an interview for you. You will receive an email from them informing you of the time and date of your interview at the U.S embassy or consulate.

You must follow the instructions in the email and use your DV entry confirmation number to log into the Entrant Status Check on the Electronic Diversity Visa (EDV) website. You can check the time, day, and location of your interview on the E-DV website.

This information must be printed out and brought to your interview, including your partner and kids who are seeking to immigrate on a diversity visa.

Diversity Visa Program Interview Preparation

It’s time to get ready for the interview at the U.S embassy or consulate. You must carefully and thoroughly prepare for your interview. Your visa application may be delayed or denied if you don’t prepare adequately for your interview.

However, there are important actions to make before your interview. These actions are a crucial component of your interview preparation.

Review Your Scheduling Information

To make sure you don’t forget anything, you must do this. But what exactly are these crucial particulars that you must review?

• The first is the information, which is the entry status check’s scheduling data. You need to carefully review all of the scheduling information on the Entrant Status Check page of the E-DV website. Verify the location, time, and date of the interview.
• The Consulate Instruction is the second. Extra instructions about your interview will be provided by the American embassy or consulate where it will be conducted. Therefore, it is advisable that you review the consulate instructions on the List of U.S. Embassies and Consulates page.

Note: Before the interview day, candidates should confirm the U.S. Embassy or Consulate’s preparation guidelines.

Schedule and complete a Medical Examination

• This is a crucial exercise that you must perform. You must make an appointment for a medical exam with a licensed doctor in the nation of your interview with you and each family member applying for the diversity visa. You need to make an appointment with a doctor for your medical care.
• Additionally, you must finish any necessary vaccinations and a medical exam prior to your scheduled visa interview date.
• Bring your sealed, unopened medical examination report to your visa interview. Some doctors will send the embassy’s or consulate’s medical exam results directly.

Gather Photographs and All Required Documents Together

• Photographs: You will need to bring two (2) identical photos to the interview for each applicant. So, ensure you review photos and information to meet the photo requirements. This will help you avoid them rejecting your photo passport.
• Documentation Requirements: Each applicant must present the following:
  • Appointment information. You can access your appointment information page from the Entrant Status Check section of the E-DV website.
  • DS-260 confirmation page. You can print this from the Consular Electronic Application Center. The DS-260 confirmation page is ready after you complete your DS-260 application.
  • Passport(s) valid for six months beyond the intended date of entry into the U.S. for you and each family member applying for a visa
  • Original documents or copies of civil documents submitted to KCC Also, bring with you one photocopy of any document that you did not submit to KCC as part of the interview qualification process. You are also required to present the following:
    • Evidence of Required DV Qualifying Education or Work Experience.
    • Deportation Documentation
    • Marriage Certificate;
    • Marriage Termination Documentation
    • Custody Documentation

Review Additional Information

Payment fees are additional information that should be reviewed. Before the scheduled interview date, each applicant is required to pay a nonrefundable visa fee.

Different U.S. embassies and consulates may have different fees. So, before the date and time of your interview, we advise that you pay your fees. Although some U.S. embassies and consulates charge fees during your interview in the consular section, others might not.

Other fees, like those for a medical exam or local government fees to get certified copies of records, might be necessary for other steps in the procedure.

In order to follow the proper steps, make sure to check for any specific instructions for the American Embassy or Consulate. For more information, go to the website of the embassy or consulate.

Applicant Interview Day

It is currently believed that all interview materials are prepared. After carefully going over your interview materials, you should proceed to the U.S. Embassy or Consulate on the scheduled interview date and time.

A consular officer will be available to interview you and decide whether you qualify for an immigrant visa on the date and time of your appointment. As part of the interview process, the consular officer will take digital fingerprint scans without using ink.

Who are to Attend the Diversity Visa Interview?

The interview is required of you, your spouse, and all of your eligible (unmarried) children who are visa recipients. But they are not required to attend the interview if your spouse and any eligible children will immigrate later and travel apart from you. To schedule a separate interview appointment for them, you should get in touch with the American Embassy or Consulate directly.

Documents to Bring to the Diversity Visa Interview

• Nomination Letter: The Entrant Status Check on the Electronic Diversity Visa (EDV) website contains information about your appointment.
• Confirmation Page for DS-260: After submitting your DS-260 application, print this from the Consular Electronic Application Center.
• Passport: Each applicant must have a passport that is current and valid for at least six months after the intended date of entry into the United States.
• Photographs: Each applicant must submit two sets of two identical color photos. Photos must adhere to the standards.
• Medical Exam Results: Bring the sealed envelopes containing each applicant’s medical exam results that the panel physician may have given you.
• Original and Supporting Documents: For you and each family member applying for a visa, bring original documents or certified copies of all the documents you submitted to KCC. This could involve custody records, marriage certificates, proof of work or educational requirements, and marriage licenses. After the interview, the embassy will give you your original documents back. while keeping the copies that were made.
• English Translations: If any documents need to be translated into English, you must get official translations and bring them with you to the interview.
• Visa fees: You must pay your visa fees before speaking with a consular officer if you did not do so before your interview.

Diversity Visa Program Instructions

The consular officer will inform you of the outcome of your visa application after your successful Diversity Visa interview at the U.S. Embassy or Consulate.

Visa Approval

They will let you know when to get your passport and visa once they have approved your Diversity Visa. The documents you will receive and what to do next after approval are listed below:

Passport with Visa: A page in your passport will be filled out with your diversity visa. You must check your data for any mistakes. Please get in touch with the embassy or consulate if there are any typos or other errors so that they can be quickly fixed.

Sealed Immigrant Packet: Upon arrival in the United States, you will also be given a sealed packet containing documents that you must present to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) at an entry point (an airport). You must not break the packet’s seal.

When Should You Travel? You must get to the US and submit an application for admission before the visa’s printed expiration date. Unless your medical examination expires earlier, which could result in your visa being valid for less time than six months, a diversity visa is typically valid for up to six months from the date of issuance.

USCIS Immigrant Fee: After receiving your immigrant visa and before departing for the US, you must pay the USCIS immigrant fee to US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). The only exceptions to this fee are kids who enter the country through the orphan or Hague adoption programs, special immigrants from Iraq and Afghanistan, returning residents (SB-1s), and people with K visas. For more information, go to the USCIS website and select Immigrant Fee.

Vaccination Records: Before enrolling in school in the United States, children must have certain vaccinations. It is advised that your child have a full set of vaccination records before traveling abroad. Learn about the need for vaccinations.

X-rays: You cannot pack your X-rays in your luggage; you must carry them with you at all times.

Visa Denial

If your Diversity Visa application is rejected, you will be told why you are not qualified for a visa. In some cases, the consular officer lacks the data necessary to fully process your application, or you might be in need of some supporting documentation. If information or documents are required, the consular officer will let you know and instruct you on how to provide them.

According to American law, not every applicant is qualified or eligible for a visa to enter the country. According to American law, a number of circumstances may disqualify a candidate for a visa. Examine Being Ineligible for a US Visa. The law may in some cases permit you to request a waiver of the ineligibility. The consular officer will provide you with guidance on what to do if you are eligible to apply for such a waiver.

Entering the United States

The primary applicant must enter the country before or at the same time as family members before the visa expires. And you need to bring your sealed package with you. You will travel to a port of entry in the United States and apply for entry. Entry into the United States is not guaranteed by a visa. The decision to admit or exclude a person is made by representatives of the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

If you are accepted, you will enter the country as a legitimate permanent resident (a “green card holder,” allowing you to live and work there indefinitely).

You should become more knowledgeable about your position as a lawful permanent resident once you become one. To review information on the USCIS website about living in the country, see Welcome to the United States: A Guide for New Immigrants.