How far are you with your Diversity Visa 2020 application?

How close are you to achieving the American dream?

Another month has just ended, and the Diversity Visa 2020 application process continues. Those who had numbers below the cut-offs for the month of February already know their fate: some were successful in their interviews, while others obviously did not succeed.

For those already interviewed, nothing can be done to change their interview outcome. Those who have yet to be “served” are the ones to pay keen attention to the contents of this article.

According to your position in the “DV 2020 application queue”, there are things you must do to safeguard your application process. In other words, depending on your case number, there’re actions you must take – not randomly, but – at specific instances to ensure that you get the chance to be interviewed.

Let me separate the applicants yet to be interviewed into the following three categories, each with a different “alert level” and consequent logical response.

A. THOSE WITH CASE NUMBERS BELOW THE CUT-OFF FOR THEIR REGION FOR THE MONTH OF APRIL

By now, those in this first category must have received their NL2, meaning their interview has been scheduled for some time in March or April. If that is your case, then you have to get prepared for your interview by following the interview preparation guidelines:

1. Prepare relevant items

There are a number of items you are required to go to the interview with. They may or may not be requested for. But it’s always important to go with every one of them, as you never know which one(s) you will be required to present.

They include:

– 2 identical photos

– your NL2

– your DS 260 Confirmation page

– your Passport

– Documents you previously scanned and sent to KCC

– Other relevant documents that you did not send to KCC (see list in interview instructions on official DV website), with one photocopy each

2. Arrange for your medicals (if you haven’t done so)

You could find information about the appropriate medical facility used for DV cases in your country on the website of the US embassy where you are expected to be interviewed. It’s a good idea for your medicals to be done a couple of weeks to your interview date for convenience and to comply with the “less than 30 days” requirement.

3. Note the time (and date) of your interview, and do all to be several minutes earlier at the entrance of the embassy / consulate. Missing your interview or being late for it could cost you your visa.

4. Carefully read the instructions regarding the interview. If you have someone assisting you in your application process, make sure that person carefully reads the instructions (in case you can’t) and understands in order to let you fully do as required, as misunderstanding or failure on your part to strictly follow the instructions could lead to either your visa being delayed or denied.

The instructions are two-fold:

a. Interview instructions from the official DV website which contains the full details of the points listed above; and

b. Embassy or Consulate-specific instructions where you get to know the do-s and don’t-s of the embassy / consulate conducting your interview, as well as relevant interview fee payment method.

Now, if you are in this first category, and haven’t received your NL2, then the fault is either yours or KCC’s.

Either you did not successfully submit your DS-260 and / or required documents, in which case you have to promptly act by submitting them, to be considered for May interview; or KCC may have overlooked them, (in case you did submit them), in which case you have to resend them and check by means of an email to KCC to ascertain that your documents have well been received.

B. THOSE WITH CASE NUMBERS BEGINNING AT OR A BIT ABOVE THE CUT-OFF FOR APRIL

As the article on the DV application process shows, your interview is expected to be conducted in May or June, meaning you’ll receive your NL2 later this month or in the course of next month, respectively, provided you’ve met the two prerequisites to be notified.

If you’re sure you did, then simply be patient.

The April VB to be published in the middle of this month will determine your next line of action. Its second component will show case numbers to be interview in the month of May.

Upon its release, if your case number is observed to be below the cut-off to be applied in May, then you have to do a final waiting until the end of this month to receive your NL2.

Upon entering the month of April, in case you do not receive your NL2, that will be the appropriate time to immediately check with KCC to find out if your sent scanned documents were received.

For those whose case numbers do not fall below the cut-off to apply in May when the April VB is published, they will have to follow the above advice with a one-month delay. Meaning they would have to wait for the May VB (to be published in April), to see if the second component includes their case.

If so, they would have to wait till the end of April to receive their NL2. Upon stepping into the month of May without receiving their NL2, applicants concerned must immediately contact KCC to ascertain the presence of their documents at KCC.

C. THOSE WITH CUT-OFFS FAR BEYOND

These are the applicants with very high case numbers regionally. The “wait and see” advice also applies to you, but with different realities you must be conscious of:

1. You do not necessarily need to check with KCC the same time as those in the second category. Doing so will not make much difference as your case is not of immediate priority.

2. The VB to be of interest to you is the one to be published in mid May. Do as advised above with said VB as your focal point.

3. Depending on how high your CN is, you must bear in mind that there exists the possibility of you not being interviewed. This is something that very high CN applicants have already been aware of since the results were released last May.

Always remember

The DV process involves a very orderly progression of cases. Though there’s the possibility of human error, things generally happen as planned, and no amount of uneasiness or panicking on the part of applicants will change the process as laid out. The saying “there’s time for everything” perfectly applies to the DV process. There is time for applicants to wait and see. (And most times this approach plays out well); and there’s time for prompt action on their part.

So don’t just rush into action before the appropriate time. Most times you’ll come to realize that such abrupt action on your part was simply unnecessary. Not because someone else took a particular action so you have to follow suit. Each applicant has his / her unique case number which determines – in line with the relevant VB – when they will be served and at what junction they must react promptly.

A rule of thumb when it comes to reacting during the DV application process is this: only act at the sight of “red flags” in your process.  In the absence of “red flags”, simply wait; your turn in the “queue” will surely come.

In DV circles identifying “red flags”  and taking appropriate actions require a clear understanding of how the DV program works.

Hence, in case after reading this article, you have difficulty in determining when to act, and need guidance in your application process, fell free to drop me a line in the comment box below, and I’ll be more than happy to point you in the right direction.

Thanks for reading, and wish you all the best in your Diversity Visa 2020 application process.