I might vaguely qualify. Should I even bother applying?

[mikhal 0]

Hi there.

So we're in the middle of the DV-2015 registration period right now and I'd like nothing more than to move to the United States. Problem is, I don't think I exactly qualify but there might be a chance. I was curious as to what you guys think.

I definitely don't qualify based on education. I dropped out of high school at 18, in the 11th grade. Although I've heard that the European 9th grade is closer to the US 12th grade, it doesn't matter. I know they require 12 actual years of school and I don't have that so forget it.

I've been working pretty much non-stop since I dropped out, mostly doing customer service stuff. A variety of occupations, really. I've had a single job for the past year now, assistant buyer/customer service rep for an online business. Not my own business, that is - I'm just a legal full-time employee.

Now, customer service reps don't qualify based on the Occupations site, they have an SVP range of 4 - 6.

However, I'm also a writer and performer and that category has an SVP range of 7 and would qualify. I have two releases thus far, a novel and a poetry album. I have received some positive reviews and have been doing this for quite a long time. But both of these releases have been self-released, I'm not signed to any publishing house or record label.

So I'm not and never have been fully employed in a creative job and am not making any real money off the art stuff right now.

So do you think there's a shot of being qualified as an artist since I do have things to show for it, or do you think this is a complete long shot and I shouldn't even bother since my customer service history wouldn't make me eligible?

Thanks for reading.

[SusieQQQ 11,586]

You might find this thread useful. It seems qualifying by work experience can be quite tricky.

http://forums.immigration.com/showthread.php?559396-Qualifying-for-DV-by-Work-Experience

[jaycali 415]

Hi there.

So we're in the middle of the DV-2015 registration period right now and I'd like nothing more than to move to the United States. Problem is, I don't think I exactly qualify but there might be a chance. I was curious as to what you guys think.

I definitely don't qualify based on education. I dropped out of high school at 18, in the 11th grade. Although I've heard that the European 9th grade is closer to the US 12th grade, it doesn't matter. I know they require 12 actual years of school and I don't have that so forget it.

I've been working pretty much non-stop since I dropped out, mostly doing customer service stuff. A variety of occupations, really. I've had a single job for the past year now, assistant buyer/customer service rep for an online business. Not my own business, that is - I'm just a legal full-time employee.

Now, customer service reps don't qualify based on the Occupations site, they have an SVP range of 4 - 6.

However, I'm also a writer and performer and that category has an SVP range of 7 and would qualify. I have two releases thus far, a novel and a poetry album. I have received some positive reviews and have been doing this for quite a long time. But both of these releases have been self-released, I'm not signed to any publishing house or record label.

So I'm not and never have been fully employed in a creative job and am not making any real money off the art stuff right now.

So do you think there's a shot of being qualified as an artist since I do have things to show for it, or do you think this is a complete long shot and I shouldn't even bother since my customer service history wouldn't make me eligible?

Thanks for reading.

I do believe it to be a long shot unfortunately, since you're self-employed and self-released. How many years would you have to take up to get a high school diploma equivalent?

[mikhal 0]

Hey, guys, thanks for the replies!

I do believe it to be a long shot unfortunately, since you're self-employed and self-released. How many years would you have to take up to get a high school diploma equivalent?

It would take 2 more years but the problem is, I don't live in my country of birth anymore. I'm in the UK now where the systems are quite different, they don't have one solid diploma.

I realize this may seem silly to some people but school in general was absolute torture for me. At the time, it made more sense to leave and start working and building towards a future. Instead of suffering another 2 years to take part in a lottery.

Plus -- if that immigration reform bill goes through, this will be the last lottery anyway.

I kind of still want to apply to see what would happen but then again, if I'm selected for further processing and then dropped because I'm not exactly eligible.. that would be pretty devastating. I just don't know.

Edited October 19, 2013 by mikhal

[jaycali 415]

That is true, even if the immigration reform bill does not pass, there will be some immigration reform of one form or another, and I would be very surprised if the DV lottery was not replaced by a merit based system.

You might as well try at this point - You've already registered. And the worst that could possibly happen is "no."

Best of luck!

[Boiler 45,519]

Its free

[SusieQQQ 11,586]

That is true, even if the immigration reform bill does not pass, there will be some immigration reform of one form or another, and I would be very surprised if the DV lottery was not replaced by a merit based system.

You might as well try at this point - You've already registered. And the worst that could possibly happen is "no."

Best of luck!

Its free

It's free to *enter*, but by the time you get refused at interview you've spent at least $500 in medicals and interview fees (which you pay before the interview and do not get refunded if you're refused a visa). Sometimes significantly more than that depending on where you have your medicals, what the cost of collecting your civil documents is, if you have to travel to get to your embassy appointment, etc. For our family of 4 we had spent somewhere north of $2000 by the time we were in our interview. So it can be expensive to do it just for the heck of it....

[Boiler 45,519]

You can worry about that IF you win.