DV 2012 winner - a few questions

[Penguin_ie 5,996]

Yep, College is better than highschool

Don;t forget the financial requirements....

I know Irish DV winners who used the VWP to travel (look for houses etc) before their interview and got in no problem, but yes you may get some hassle at the border. Suggest you get a flight with pre-clearance in Dublin, they tend to understand the problems and if you should get denied (unlikely but not impossible), you don;t have to fly all the way home on an expensive flight.

[Rearviewmirror 397]

Penguin, what are the financial requirements? I didn't think there were any for the DV? I thought that was only for the family sponsored visas. The documents needed for the DV don't list anything about financial docs - http://www.travel.state.gov/visa/visa_4760.html

Thanks again for the help - good to hear I could still possibly travel on VWP

[littlesunbee 0]

Yeah I know, it sucks. But here's the thing. Once KCC gets your stuff, they're going to forward it to the embassy you listed on your form and you will have an interview. By having sent them your picture and the forms, it means "I plan on immigrating to the US". When you go as a tourist, you have to technically assure that you have no intentions of staying in the country and that you have no plans of immigrating. I am really not sure. I don't want to tell you yes you can go and have your visa cancelled or whatever or the other way around So the best thing to do is to google "US immigration lawyer free question" or something like that and ask them the question right away. Don't rely too much on what people say on here, since it's not always accurate Lots of people say things they heard. I am just telling you what I know after having had long appointments with immigration lawyers (which is why I knew, among other things, about the medical), but since I am not sure about your specific case, you should ask a lawyer

[littlesunbee 0]

My lawyer told me that DV selectees do NOT need an affidavit of support !

PS: FYI, If you get rejected at the border, you will be sent back as "non-admissible", which might give you problems when you have your interview.

[Rearviewmirror 397]

I did a bit of googling and it seems like you have to prove that you won't become a public charge - I'm not exactly sure what you need to do to prove that though, whether there's a specific amount of money you need to show that you've got or what the criteria is. I'll have to look and see if I can find somewhere I can ask questions for free.

Thanks sunbee

Edited May 5, 2011 by Rearviewmirror

[Penguin_ie 5,996]

Littlesunbee: DV lottery winners can visit the USA the same as beneficiaries of a CR-1 or K1 visa can. They cannot immigrate via the VWP, but they can visit.

While it is correct that no I-134 is strictly needed, you do need to prove you can support yourself upon arival, and the I-134 is the easiest way to do this. From travel.state.gov/pdf/T1026V-DV-2010bulletin(3).pdf:

"If you are selected to apply for a DV visa, you will be required, before you are issued a visa, to provide evidence that you will not become a public charge in the United States. This evidence may be in the form of a combination of your personal assets, an Affidavit of Support (Form I-134) from a relative or friend residing in the United States, and/or an offer of employment from an employer in the United States."

[Rearviewmirror 397]

Any idea exactly what do we have to show to prove we won't become a public charge? There seems to be a distinct lack of facts and figures. i.e. if you only need to support yourself for a month or two and are staying with friends before finding work that's not going to be that much money.

Edited May 6, 2011 by Rearviewmirror

[Superkruz 6]

Any idea exactly what do we have to show to prove we won't become a public charge? There seems to be a distinct lack of facts and figures. i.e. if you only need to support yourself for a month or two and are staying with friends before finding work that's not going to be that much money.

The need for an Assurance of support or proof of funds is consulate specific and varies from one consulate to the next. Very few require an AOS, while some require proof of funds. I know that the Sydney consulate requires neither but I don't know whether it is required in the UK. Ii suggest you check out this forum for Brits - maybe someone there can help you.

As far as the amount goes... those consulates that do require proof of funds generally need you to have 125% of the poverty guidelines for you family size.

I hope that helps.

[Rearviewmirror 397]

Thanks Superkruz - that forum looks absolutely spot on and has a lot of Brit-specific info that will be really useful. From a bit of searching it seems like $10,000 in the bank is the magic number for self support, and an affidavit of support might well be the best route to go to ensure eligibility.

I'll do my best to keep updating this thread as I go along, as there doesn't seem to be a heap of DV-1 visa journey info on this board from people who've completed the whole process

[kiara_lyn 1]

Attention all the DV 2012 winners- attention - please sign this petition, we do NOT have to go down in flames, we can fight them back - http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/dv2012/