If You Win the DV Lottery : Steps to Follow Based on My Experience

1st Installment

For those who applied for DV-2024 and are waiting for the first letter or have not received it yet, I say this: those who have received it are fortunate, and for those who haven’t, I hope you’ll receive it by August 2024, Inshallah.

For those who have received or will receive the first letter, you need to take several quick actions after receiving it. Based on my own experience and that of some close associates, I will try to explain these steps in detail.

First, for those who applied as single persons:
A couple of days before or just after you receive your first letter, some people will come to your address. These are either agents who have opened offices to fill out forms or their brokers. They will try to lure you with various promises, making the process seem very complicated to trap you into a scam. Be cautious! Do not listen to or be influenced by them. They will even promise to do everything for you for free. Eventually, there will come a time when you will have to hand over a large sum of money to them, either for going to America or for some other reason (I’ll explain how and in what ways later).

Anyway, you are firm in your decision to handle everything yourself (even if you do it through them, you will still have to do all the work yourself; they will just tell you where to go, and I am telling you that here). You can save around one to one and a half lakh takas initially without any hassle.

The first letter contains four forms. You must fill them out and ensure they reach the designated address provided by the American Embassy. These pages are:

1. Case Number Sheet:

This contains only your postal address and a barcode with a number. The number and barcode confirm that you are the owner of this letter and one of the DV-2024 winners.

2. Supplemental Registration Form:

In this form, you need to insert a few details, such as:
– a) Your name
– b) Case number
– c) Local American Embassy address
– d) Your country (from where you want to go to America)
– e) Educational qualifications (tick the specific qualification)
– f) Name of school/college/university, duration of study, and names of certificates earned
– g) Tick whether you have job qualifications/experience
– h) If you ticked yes for job qualifications/experience, describe it here. If no, write “not applicable.”
– i) If you ticked yes, provide the employer’s name, address, and duration of employment. If no, write “not applicable.”
– j) Sign and date here, which is very important for the final interview.

3. Part-1:

You must accurately fill out about 26 fields in this form, which is extremely important.

4. Part-2:

This form contains about 22 fields that need to be filled out correctly, which is also very important.

Now, for those who applied with family or children:

In your case, only the information of those you intend to take with you should be included in the Part-1 and Part-2 forms, just as the applicant wrote in their form.

Later, I will try to present a sample of a completed application form.

Should you fill out the forms with ink or pencil?

Definitely use a black ballpoint pen, writing neatly in American English without any corrections, in capital letters. However, it is best to type them. Using an electric typewriter is preferable. You only have one original copy of each form, so it is good to make several photocopies first.

To type using an electric typewriter, you can visit any nearby typewriter shop. They usually have ample experience in this matter. Some of them are very skilled, meaning they have a bit more expertise. The cost will be around 150-200 for single applicants and 200-250 for family applications.

Now, after filling out the form, you need photographs:

From any studio listed in your first letter (for family applications, everyone needs them), get DV-size – 4 copies, passport size – 4 copies, and stamp size – 2 copies each. Single applicants should attach one photo each to the top right corner of Part-1 and Part-2 with Scotch tape on both sides. Lightly write your name, birth date, and case number on the back of the photo without damaging it.

Double applicants (husband and wife) should place their photos side by side and attach them. Keep the remaining photos carefully as they will be needed soon (To be continued).

2nd Installment