Winning the Diversity Visa part 2

A simple guide to help you get there and set yourself up on arrival

On the day of your Diversity Visa interview you will spend several hours at the Embassy. The time they give you will usually be the time you can line up outside to enter the Embassy, but you should check your forms to be certain. Once you have passed through security, you will meet with your interviewer who will check that all your paperwork is in order. processing fee ($500 - $600 US dollars two years ago). This is a nonrefundable fee. You will then pay your Diversity Visa

If all the paperwork is in order and the visa fee is paid you will have successfully completed the process and you will be free to return home. Most of your documentation will be kept at the Embassy office for processing, including your passport. These items will be couriered back to you at home within a few days. Inside the package you will find a sealed envelope that is marked, “DO NOT OPEN”. This envelope will be surrendered to customs when you first arrive in the United States. This package will also seperately contain your passport, which will now contain a Diversity Visa for permanent residence in the United States of America!

Once you arrive in the United States your official permanent residency card will be mailed to the American address you provided during your visa interview. This will replace the permanent resident visa page placed inside your passport from the embassy office.

Your visa is valid for entry into the United States of America within six months of your visa interview, so you must be able to move to the USA within this time or you will forfeit your green card.

To continue reading about other visa options please visit our work and education visa pages, and also the visa waiver program for short term travel to the United States.

What happens when you win the Diversity Visa lottery?

The paperwork required will include (but is not limited to) a medical examination, x-rays of your chest, a blood test, a police certificate showing you are clear of any criminal convictions, a fingerprinting at your countries police station and proof that you have met the education or work skill requirements of the visa program (at least 12 years of schooling in your country completed). You will also have to provide an

American address for them to send documents to in the future, even if you know nobody in the United States. It is very important that you read the forms carefully and bring this paperwork, in the order they specify on the forms, to your Diversity Visa interview.