DV 2023: “When will I be interviewed?”

In this article, I provided what I referred to as signposts indicating the time of the year when Diversity Visa cases in different case number ranges could expect to have their interview conducted during the fiscal year. The method presented in the post tells how scheduling of interviews was designed to be carried out in the Diversity Visa Program: by means of a gradual progression of cut-off numbers throughout the fiscal year. That is how things should be!

However, that procedure seems not to be applied currently – as it should – in the DV 2023 Program. Quite recently, the Visa Bulletin cut-off numbers were far extended. That caused many case numbers to become current and many cases eligible for interview.

With such a situation, answering the question “When will I be interviewed” becomes quite a challenge. Not only does scheduling of interviews no longer depend on the two original conditions, the ‘new’ factors to take into consideration could change unexpectedly.

Most of such factors are related to the conditions of the embassy or consulate where the interview is to be held. For example:

– whether the post concerned is currently operating (or not);

– whether they are interviewing immigrant/Diversity Visa cases (or not);

– the number of cases to be interviewed (i.e. the embassy queue) and consequently the wait time;

– etc.

So, it’s no longer just about submitting your DS-260 and following the Visa Bulletin to ascertain that your case number has become current. Prevailing circumstances at the post where your interview will be held is something that requires much consideration when it comes to determining when DV 2023 cases will actually be scheduled for interview. Some applicants who expect to receive their interview notification at a certain time will not receive it because of the current reality.

. . . which means that the answer to the question “When will I be scheduled for interview” or “What are my chances . . .” is no longer a direct one. In the current context of the Diversity Visa program (DV-2023), “It depends” is a more reasonable answer. It depends on this, or that, or the other – which are not straight-forward in many cases.

With the current experience, after applicants submit their DS-260 and have observed their case number to have become current, they should continue to check their email and Entrant Status Check regularly for their interview notification – for whenever it shows up.

A “reasonable” action on their part in addition to the above could be to regularly contact KCC and ask them concerning the status of their case. Not only does that reveal the different stages of their application – which is reassuring; it has been observed to have resulted in cases getting scheduled for interview on many occasions. However, it is worth noting that contacting KCC regularly will still not ensure an interview for all DV-2023 cases.