Education and work requirements?

[Sneg 0]

Hello,

We have not won anything yet, but wanted to be prepared in case we win;)

Question: how strict are embassy rules on education requirements?

My situation is that I never got my high school diploma and missing one course needed to get the diploma. What I have is 3 years of college education in Construction Management field, as well as 3 years of experience as a cost estimator. I have checked that my work experience falls withing limit of 7 < 8.

What if in some odd case they decide to scrap my work experience and use my education as a main qualifier would I pass?

Also what documentation do they need to see to confirm my work experience?

Thank you for your help.

Sneg

[NigeriaorBust 4,087]

If you are from Canada you can't enter, do you have connections to a country that can enter in the lottery ? They are very strict that you meet the requirement of education or work

[Sneg 0]

If you are from Canada you can't enter, do you have connections to a country that can enter in the lottery ? They are very strict that you meet the requirement of education or work

Yes im a Canadian citizen at the moment, but was born outside of Canada, and qualified based on my birth place, same as my wife. I guess I should really take that course just in case.

[SusieQQQ 11,587]

The education / work requirement is one of the two critical eligibility factors (the other being country chargeability). Just about the first thing you will see on the link for selectees is not to bother continuing if you don't meet it - you cannot be granted a diversity visa.

The work experience option requires *you* to *prove* that you have the correct level and years of experience - so you would need to show as much as you can that you meet this requirement eg your job offer letter or some other descriptor of your actual duties and how this compares to the equivalent job on o*net, etc. Payslips that are commensurate with a job expected to be at that level, etc. You won't get anywhere just walking in and saying "my job qualifies" without proof that it does. A number of embassies even warn that it is difficult to qualify on work experience. Not impossible of course and we know people who have done it, but difficult. I don't know your work details of course, but if you only have 3 years total experience it seems it would be difficult to show that 2 of those are already at SVP7+. Maybe you went into a job at this level straight from college but generally that would be unusual. Again, the onus is on you to prove you meet it.

I'm not clear what educational qualification you have. You say 3 years of college, but you don't mention actually having a degree or diploma? If you have no actual qualifications to show it doesn't matter how many years you spent at college, it won't count. If you have a college degree the new wording of the education requirement should mean it will compensate for not having a high school diploma. That said, some of the documentation such as the dvselectee page still focuses entirely on high school and there have in the past been people disqualified for not having a high school diploma even with a college degree - as odd as it seems.

Edited March 27, 2016 by SusieQQQ