Documents required - variations between country?

[dazed'nconfused 14]

I know I'm putting the cart before the horse by planning for selection before the draw (but apparently the average Australian entrant to the DV has something like a 15% chance of selection so I'm really hopeful) but I'm looking into if I should arrange for obtaining my documents now as I am about to be travelling for nearly 8 weeks for work - I figure if I have the documents ready to go, if I'm selected I can apply right away, rather than wait until I get back from my work trip or try to do it all while I'm between meetings and flights.

Reading the list of required documents, I just want to clarify if there's a difference or acceptable substitution between countries, or am I overthinking it?

~ Police Clearance - easy to get and I know the code required for a federal check which meets DV requirements. 

~ High School certificate - in Australia we have multiple different certifications across states. Mine is from South Australia, and is issued by the Education Board and not the high school itself - I'm assuming this is OK or should I contact my old high school for some sort of confirmation of completion of education there? (I did pretty badly because I was lazy, but I did graduate).

Original Birth certificate & a notarized copy - I do have my original (it's in pretty bad shape but readable) and I've got an officially issued new certificate (in a vastly different format) from the Registry office - does this count as notarized or should I take it to someone who can verify that they're a BC for the same person? 

 

Hoping very much that I get selected this year, otherwise the Boy and I will marry when I visit him in July and apply for the CR-1, so DV is gonna be way faster!  

Thanks all!

[SusieQQQ 11,587]

No, it’s high compared to other countries and for a lottery but it’s not 15%. Latest full data for DV2014 & DV2015 have Australian entrants (including derivatives, because that’s how they publish the selectees) at around 21k each year, with around 1800-2000 selectees so more like 8-10% -but not all of those who wanted were able to proceed to interview because they selected too many (same thing likely to happen in the current DV program year) so the actual valid % is something less than that. High for a lottery, not anywhere near high enough to make it plan A.

 

If you get selected you get a link to a website that tells you exactly what you need, and you’ll have at least 4 months (DV2019 starts in the new fiscal year, in October) to around 16 months to sort out your documents. You don’t get to choose when you do your interview, it’s anywhere from Oct to the following September assigned to you according to your assigned case number, so you can’t “apply right away” if you win anyway.  

 

 

Edited to add: depending what you mean by “did pretty badly” at school, you may not actually qualify for DV on education.  The standard applied for equivalence to a US high school diploma means you must be able to have entered university based on your high school diploma. People have been refused before for not passing well enough to meet this requirement.

 

 

 

 

Edited April 28, 2018 by SusieQQQ

[Sukie 1,464]

Actually, I think it is even lower than 8-10%, SusieQQQ (HI!!!).  That total number includes derivatives.  We entered for 5 years in a row with no success.

 

You need to have completed 12 years of schooling.  I know that Australians can leave school after Year 10, but the DV requirement is that you have completed Year 12.  Not sure they care about your marks, but you do have to have that 12 years.

 

You'll either need an original birth certificate from the Department of Births, Deaths and Marriages (or whatever it is called in your state), or a certified copy.  It sounds like your "official" copy from the Registry office will do.

 

Honestly, we ended up going CR-1.  It took a year, but at least we were not counting our chickens and not even getting an egg.

 

Good luck to you!

 

Sukie in NY

 

 

[dazed'nconfused 14]

8 hours ago, SusieQQQ said:

No, it’s high compared to other countries and for a lottery but it’s not 15%. Latest full data for DV2014 & DV2015 have Australian entrants (including derivatives, because that’s how they publish the selectees) at around 21k each year, with around 1800-2000 selectees so more like 8-10% -but not all of those who wanted were able to proceed to interview because they selected too many (same thing likely to happen in the current DV program year) so the actual valid % is something less than that. High for a lottery, not anywhere near high enough to make it plan A.

 

If you get selected you get a link to a website that tells you exactly what you need, and you’ll have at least 4 months (DV2019 starts in the new fiscal year, in October) to around 16 months to sort out your documents. You don’t get to choose when you do your interview, it’s anywhere from Oct to the following September assigned to you according to your assigned case number, so you can’t “apply right away” if you win anyway.  

 

 

Edited to add: depending what you mean by “did pretty badly” at school, you may not actually qualify for DV on education.  The standard applied for equivalence to a US high school diploma means you must be able to have entered university based on your high school diploma. People have been refused before for not passing well enough to meet this requirement.

 

 

 

 

Ah, ok, I guess I didn't really do the math right, but I was looking at the published numbers from 2014 (the last year where all the numbers were available) and thats what I worked it out to be.  Ahhh, well. 

I was under the impression that doing the DS-160 form sooner rather than later was ideal, I guess depending on case number. But if selected with a lowish case number I'd not want to risk missing out by not following through until it's too late was what I meant.

Certainly not looking at this as Plan A, more like it's one of the pots on the stove and just wanting to make sure I've got all the right ingredients in the right place.  (It's midnight and I'm hungry, so I'm thinking about food with that analogy, clearly )

 

8 hours ago, Sukie said:

Actually, I think it is even lower than 8-10%, SusieQQQ (HI!!!).  That total number includes derivatives.  We entered for 5 years in a row with no success.

 

You need to have completed 12 years of schooling.  I know that Australians can leave school after Year 10, but the DV requirement is that you have completed Year 12.  Not sure they care about your marks, but you do have to have that 12 years.

 

You'll either need an original birth certificate from the Department of Births, Deaths and Marriages (or whatever it is called in your state), or a certified copy.  It sounds like your "official" copy from the Registry office will do.

 

Honestly, we ended up going CR-1.  It took a year, but at least we were not counting our chickens and not even getting an egg.

 

Good luck to you!

 

Sukie in NY

 

 

Definatley have the 12 years, plus approx. halfway through my uni degree now.  Marks weren't great in high school (yay for being young, stupid, lazy and sullen because I knew that we couldn't afford for me to go to university at the time). 

We've looked at the CR-1. Neither of us want to artificially fast-track our relationship by marrying earlier than we would have otherwise for immigration benefits (though I guess in fairness, it probably wouldn't even be a conversation if we were living in the same place) so I thought I'd give it a whirl this year.  Both being pretty private (no social media, pretty small group of close friends but don't really talk a whole lot about personal stuff) neither of us is particularly thrilled with the idea of having to open our relationship up to judgement by a bureaucrat to decide if it's authentic enough to warrant visa approval, so while I'm hopeful for this, I think we both know that we'll be more likely to be getting hitched at a courthouse this summer than me getting the DV-selection.   

[Wizzo 0]

Hi Everyone! 

My file is almost ready for the interview - since you are discussing documents, are these a requirement for DV?

 

If you are older than 16 years of age: The original police certificate from your country of current residence and countries
of previous residence. If these three items are all true, you must bring a more recent police certificate to the interview:
1. You are older than 16 years;
2. You obtained a police certificate and submitted it to NVC more than one year ago; and
3. You still live in the country that issued the police certificate.

 

What if I never lived outside my country?

 

Thanks!

[SusieQQQ 11,587]

17 minutes ago, Wizzo said:

Hi Everyone! 

My file is almost ready for the interview - since you are discussing documents, are these a requirement for DV?

 

If you are older than 16 years of age: The original police certificate from your country of current residence and countries
of previous residence. If these three items are all true, you must bring a more recent police certificate to the interview:
1. You are older than 16 years;
2. You obtained a police certificate and submitted it to NVC more than one year ago; and
3. You still live in the country that issued the police certificate.

 

What if I never lived outside my country?

 

Thanks!

Then obviously you only need from your country of residence.

Edited May 4, 2018 by SusieQQQ