Every year, the Department of State (DOS) holds its annual visa lottery registration (the "Diversity Visa Lottery" or DV), usually starting in October. There are 50,000 open slots. However, the DOS actually selects more than 50,000 “winners.” That’s because it knows there will always be selectees who either don’t meet the eligibility requirements, can’t obtain supporting documentation in time, or decide not to apply for the visa after all.
Unfortunately, that practice of approving more winners than can actually receive visas creates time pressure for everyone who is selected. To minimize the risk of missing out entirely even after you've "won," your focus at that point, assuming you live outside the United States, should be to take all required follow-up steps and get a visa interview scheduled as soon as possible at a U.S. consulate in your country.
Who Will Arrange Your Diversity Visa Interview?
Your visa interview will be arranged through the Kentucky Consular Center (KCC). However, it cannot be scheduled until KCC receives all your supporting documents and you have completed other steps in the process. If you don’t act quickly, all the visas for the year could be issued before you even get an appointment for an interview.
Gathering Evidence to Support Your DV Application
If you are among the registrants selected in the DV lottery, the KCC will not schedule your appointment until you provide copies of certain civil documents for you and your family members. In some countries, this task can take a long time.
Birth and marriage certificates. If you do not already have original birth certificates for everyone in your family and original marriage and divorce certificates for you and your spouse, work on getting these ahead of time.
These are the types of documents you should have anyway for your personal records, even if you don’t win the visa lottery, and they aren’t typically too expensive to obtain.
Military records. If you ever served in the military, you will also need to provide your service records. Again, these can also take a long time to get in some countries, so you could request these at any time. It might not even cost anything.
Criminal records. Although police certificates are usually required for applicants over age 16, they expire after a year, and can be expensive. If you get these too early, you might have to get new ones before your interview. You can find out how long these take to process in your country and decide when to get them. You should at least find out what you need to do to get them, so you are prepared. Check the Department of State Reciprocity Table for country-specific details. There are some countries where the DOS considers police certificates to be “unavailable,” and therefore applicants are not required to obtain them from there.
Also, if you have ever been arrested or convicted of a crime in any country, you will need a police certificate from that country, as well as court records. You should also definitely talk to an attorney in that situation, as you might be inadmissible to the United States.
Resident history. If you lived in other countries previously (more than 6 months consecutively or 12 months in total), you will also need a police certificate from that country. Since it can take a long time to obtain these when no longer living in a country, you might consider getting this document early. The DOS will accept it as long as you haven’t lived in that country since the date the certificate was issued.
Education. It is also a Diversity Visa eligibility requirement to have a high school education or qualifying work experience. Thus you should also locate or obtain documentation proving that you've achieved these.
Country-specific government records. There are also unique country-specific requirements, to plan for. In some countries, for example, visa applicants must provide a copy of the civil registry book where their birth certificate was logged. Check on these requirements carefully, to maximize your chances of getting a consular interview without delay. Some country-specific requirements can present logistical difficulties. While you might not want to go to the trouble to get these types of documents before you win, if you are at least aware of the requirements, you will know exactly what you need to do as soon as you are selected.
Additionally, look at the DS-260 immigrant visa electronic application form and make sure you have all the necessary information to complete it when the time comes. You will also need a passport with at least six months validity when it's time for your consular interview, so if yours is going to expire soon, plan ahead. This could be expensive, but if you and your family need and use passports anyway, it could save you time later.
It is certainly not required to do any of these things before you actually find out whether you've won a slot in the Diversity Visa lottery. If you foresee that any of these documents will take a long time to obtain, however, you might at least consider obtaining them ahead of time to maximize your chances of actually receiving the visa, should you win.
Start Preparing Immediately After Learning You're a DV Lottery Winner
If you are selected as a diversity visa lottery winner, you will not receive any notification besides the Entrant Status Check on the E-DV website. Check it frequently, so that you can start the process as soon you are selected.
Upon notification of selection, fill out the electronic Form DS-260 for you and each family member immigrating with you. After the KCC receives and processes the DS-260, it will send you instructions on how to upload copies all the civil documents mentioned in the section above into your electronic file. If you haven’t got these documents, you need to obtain them as expeditiously as possible.
You cannot get an appointment for a consular interview until you have completed these steps. If, however, you encounter difficulties obtaining a document, contact KCC as soon as possible. It can potentially waive some documentary requirements, depending on circumstances, in which case your appointment could be scheduled regardless.
Still, you will probably need that document for your interview, so continue diligently trying to obtain it. You should not wait to contact KCC in this situation.
Prepare for the U.S. Consular Interview
Your visa must actually be printed on or before September 30 of the relevant fiscal year and before all 50,000 visas are issued, which can happen at any time. If you show up for your interview without all the required documents, your case will be put on hold.
After you receive the appointment date, check the consulate website for country-specific requirements to make sure you complete all pre-interview tasks and that you have all the required documents ready. Also contact an approved medical provider to schedule your medical exam.
Sometimes, even if an applicant who is well prepared might be unlucky and not get an interview before the Diversity Visa lottery is finished for that year. Still, if you act expeditiously you can greatly increase your chances of being among the actual “winners.”