Woekes

Hi Shamus This is sadly a lottery and a graph is not going to be very accurate or informative. I have played the lottery 12 times already (13th time this year) and I am still in South Africa - never selected. My one friend played once and was selected. It would be interesting to see, but not very accurate.

I will definitely be trying again - maybe 12th time lucky!

Don't get to discouraged with the DV lottery. It is still possibly the quickest way to get a visa. We have applied 11 years ago for our immigration visa (F3) through official channels - and still waiting. Playing the DV Lottery is a "gamble", you might just be luckier than us ?. Good luck

Quick question on passports. We are getting closer to our priority date (F3 Immigration Visa) and I just want to start getting my ducks in a row. How long does our SA passports still have to be valid after we entered the US? A year or five? How long before we get US passports? Dual Citizenship is not a issue for me so my SA passport doesn't have to get renewed if it doesn't have to. Thanks for a great forum

This was my 12th time trying the lottery. I sadly was not selected. Good luck to anyone that was selected.

It is my mom that petitioned for my family and myself. She has been living in the USA for the past 16 years. There were no issues with the lottery that prevented consideration. It is a lottery and millions of people "play" the lottery every year. (Statistics at the link below of actual figures). They only have 50,000 visas available for all those applicants worldwide. So the change of winning the lottery is as easy as winning any lottery https://travel.state.gov/content/dam/visas/Diversity-Visa/DVStatistics/DVApplicantEntrantsbyCountry 2013-2015.pdf So when I say good luck, I mean it

My mom. living in the USA, is Family Sponsoring my wife, 2 kids and myself, on the F3 (Married Child) category. She has applied for this in 2007. 11 Years on and we are still waiting for this to become a reality. She has even hired a Immigration attorney to make sure we do everything by the book. The attorney has advised us that we will probably still have another 3 years of waiting if nothing drastically changes in the US. The DV Lottery is also a lottery and one should not put all your hope in that - it is the luck of the draw - we have played it for all 11 years and it can get pretty depressing if you do not get it. As JumpingJason said: Apply for the visa and get in line, while playing the DV Lottery every year (while it is still available) Good luck and all the best

This will be the 11th time I am getting excited for this draw. Lets hope this time will be the one. I have learnt not to get my hopes up too much as it is pretty disappointing if one do not get it. - it is afterall a lottery, but still hopefully this time I get it!!!

I agree with SJ272 - if you do not get your foot in the door you might never get the open door. Our F3 priority date is Nov 2007 - we have been waiting for the last 11 years. It looks very roughly like 2 years wait for 1 year's progress forward. So I think it will be another 4-5 years before we get to the front of the line

Then there are some of us who have entered the DV for 7 years in a row, willing to pack up and go now, and we do not get it. .

We are planning on traveling to Houston in September from Cape Town. I have seen the news about the electronics ban for devices no larger than a cell phone. At this stage it is for 8 countries and possibly Europe as well (see link)http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/video/us-expand-electronics-ban-flights-europe-47001803 . Of the 8 countries Dubai and Qatar is part of the list. My question is: If we fly from Cape Town with a 3 hour stop over in Dubai or Qatar, (not leaving the airport) - does this also apply to us or is it just for people that were allowed to leave the airport or resides in these countries?

For the 10th year in a row, my wife and I have once again not been selected. Hope others have better luck.

Holding thumbs that this year is "the one" for many more South Africans - including me!!

I agree this forum is a goldmine when it comes to info and advise. I am also hopeful that this is the year for us too. Thanks to everyone for their input.

I agree with BushbabyPTA. We have been in the queue, waiting since 2007 for a F3 family visa. Every year we play the lottery hoping that this year will be the year. My mother married a US gentleman in 2001 and immigrated. Both are aging quickly and my dream would be to "win" back some lost years looking after them in their old age. So the passing of this bill would really break my heart.