Preparing for Your Interview – Four Things To Do!

As we go deep into the first month of interview scheduling for the DV 2023 Program, more and more applicants are receiving their interview notification. In case you’re one of those, what do you do upon receiving yours?

Many applicants do not know the answer to this very important question. And so in this article I explain four things you must do after receiving your Diversity Visa interview notification.

1. Arrange your medical examination

Like other forms of United States immigrant visa interviews, Diversity Visa interviews must be preceded by medical examination of each applicant. Most medical exams take up to a couple of weeks. To ensure that your medical examination process is completed BEFORE your scheduled date of interview, you must arrange it as soon as you receive your interview notification.

Not all health practitioners are allowed to perform Diversity Visa medical exams. Only U.S. embassy-approved physicians are authorized to. You therefore must contact one of such physicians in the country where you will be interviewed to arrange your medical exam.

Your medical exam will concern all family members who are immigrating along with you. Those who will follow to join you at a later date will have theirs arranged by you and conducted when it’s time for them to join you.

2. Research the embassy’s website

Once you’ve completed arranging your medical exam, your next duty will be to research the official website of the U.S. embassy where you will be interviewed in order to get acquainted with the process that applies there.

In effect, the interview process at each U.S. embassy is spelt out on their official website and may differ from what’s done at other embassies. By going through the website, you will get informed concerning all you need to do and things you need to take along to your interview. It is also on the website that you will find the details of physicians designated to perform your medical examination.

3. Follow ALL the instructions

The purpose of Step 2 (Research the embassy’s website) is to review all the information provided there and apply all the instructions given. There are instructions concerning the medical exam, including the details of designated physicians; what you need to do; as well as what you need to take to the interview.

Apply all the instructions provided on the embassy’s website to the letter. That is how you actually get prepared for your Diversity Visa interview.

4. Prepare pre-interview checklist items

The pre-interview checklist are items you must bring along with you to your interview. As indicated above, they are listed on the official website of the embassy where you will be interviewed.

Once you’ve reviewed the pre-interview checklist of your embassy, you must gather all the items mentioned. In addition to gathering them, arrange them to facilitate their “inspection” upon your arrival at the embassy on the day of your interview.

How to access your embassy’s website

A list of U.S. embassies and consulates is available on the State Department’s Bureau of Consular Affairs official website. To access the official website of the embassy where you will be interviewed, just search for the name of the city where the embassy is located and click it.

That is where your interview prep begins! Good luck!