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For a U.S. Diversity Visa (DV) interview, bring your Entrant Status Check appointment notice, DS-260 confirmation page, an unexpired passport, two identical color photographs, and original or certified civil documents for every family member applying. Complete the required medical examination before the interview, carry a sealed results envelope if the physician gives you one, and add records triggered by your education or work qualification, marriages, births, police history, court cases, military service, adoption, custody, or prior immigration history.
The exact list depends on your interview embassy or consulate and your personal history. Use the federal checklist below, then follow the post’s current instructions and the Department of State reciprocity guidance for each country where you lived or obtained records.
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Documents every DV applicant should bring
The following items form the baseline file for the principal applicant and each derivative applicant. Keep originals or certified copies in a logical order, with a photocopy of documents when the post requests one. The Department of State warns that missing documents can delay a case, require another visit, or result in a refusal or denial.
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|---|---|---|
| Appointment information | Print the appointment information shown in Entrant Status Check on the Electronic Diversity Visa (E-DV) website. | Bring the notice for the specific interview appointment. |
| DS-260 confirmation | Print the confirmation page for every completed immigrant-visa application. | Make sure the barcode and personal details are readable. |
| Passport | Each applicant’s original, unexpired passport plus one photocopy of the biographic-data page. | The passport should be valid for at least six months beyond the intended date of entry into the United States. A post may request additional copies. |
| Photographs | Two identical color photographs for each applicant. | Use the current U.S. visa photo specifications; do not substitute casual or digitally altered pictures. |
| Civil documents | Originals or certified copies of every applicable civil record for the principal applicant and each family member applying. | Photocopies may be retained; originals are normally returned after the interview. |
| Translations | Certified English translations for documents that require translation. | Follow the interviewing post’s language, certification, and formatting rules. |
| Medical examination | Complete the exam and required vaccinations with a physician authorized by the embassy or consulate. | If the physician gives you a sealed results envelope, carry it unopened. Some physicians transmit results directly to the post. |
Prepare the appointment and application pages
Entrant Status Check appointment notice
Print the appointment information from Entrant Status Check on the E-DV website. Save a second paper copy and an offline digital copy in case the first is lost. Check the interview date, time, location, and the names of all applicants listed.
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DS-260 confirmation page
After submitting each online DS-260, print its confirmation page. A family case normally has a confirmation page for the principal applicant and each derivative who submitted a separate form. If a form was unlocked and resubmitted, use the confirmation page for the currently submitted version and follow the post’s instructions about any changed information.
Passport and photograph requirements
Passport validity and copies
Bring the original passport for every person applying. The general rule is validity for six months beyond the intended date of entry into the United States. Also bring a photocopy of each passport’s biographic-data page. If a passport is expired, damaged, missing pages, or has a name that does not match the case records, resolve the issue before the appointment or obtain written guidance from the post.
Two photographs per applicant
Provide two identical, recent color photographs for each applicant, including children. Use the official U.S. visa photo specifications for size, background, lighting, facial position, and glasses restrictions. A photo that was accepted for another purpose is not automatically acceptable for a visa interview.
Civil documents: originals, certified copies, and translations
Bring the original document or a certified copy issued by the competent authority. Ordinary photocopies do not replace originals or certified copies unless the interviewing post expressly says otherwise. Organize records separately for each applicant and include every document that applies to the person’s history.
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Birth certificates
The supporting-document guidance calls for an official long-form birth certificate showing the applicant’s date and place of birth and both parents’ names. If the authority cannot issue a birth certificate, obtain a certified statement explaining why it is unavailable and provide secondary evidence, such as an early baptism record, adoption decree, or a properly executed affidavit from a close relative. A short-form extract that omits required information may not satisfy the post.
Marriage and termination of prior marriages
A currently married applicant should bring an original marriage certificate or a certified copy bearing the issuing authority’s seal or stamp. Anyone who was previously married must document the legal end of every earlier marriage with the final divorce decree, death certificate, or annulment papers. Bring records for all prior marriages, not only the most recent one.
Adoption and custody records
For an adopted child, prepare the certified adoption decree. If legal custody preceded adoption, include the prior custody decree. Also bring a statement showing the dates and places the child lived with the adoptive parents. When a child was adopted at age 16 or 17, the instructions call for evidence that the adoption occurred together with or after the adoption of a natural sibling under 16 by the same adoptive parents. The post may request additional proof of the family relationship.
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Certified translations
When a record is not in English and the post requires an English translation, bring the original or certified copy together with a certified translation. Translation rules differ: a post may specify who may certify, what statement must accompany the translation, or whether a local-language document is accepted without translation. Do not assume that a translation prepared for a school, court, or another embassy meets the visa post’s rule.
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Medical examination and vaccination records
Every family member applying for a visa must complete a medical examination before the interview with a physician authorized by the U.S. embassy or consulate. Schedule through the panel physician listed by the post; an exam from an ordinary clinic is not a substitute.
Bring the medical appointment documents, passport or identity documents requested by the physician, and vaccination records. The physician will determine which vaccinations or follow-up tests are required under U.S. immigration rules. If the clinic hands you a sealed results envelope, do not open it; take it to the interview exactly as received. Some panel physicians send the results electronically or directly to the embassy, so follow that clinic’s delivery instructions instead of requesting a duplicate envelope.
Prove the principal applicant’s DV qualification
The principal applicant must qualify through education or work experience. This is a specific eligibility requirement, not a request for a generic résumé, and derivative family members do not need to prove the principal applicant’s qualification independently.
Education evidence
Bring a diploma, completion certificate, transcripts, or other institutional records identifying the completed course of study. The education must represent a 12-year elementary and secondary course, or a comparable foreign course that qualifies the student to seek admission to college. A GED-style equivalency certificate and a vocational qualification that does not permit further academic study do not satisfy the high-school alternative under the Department of State guidance. If names differ across records, carry the official name-change or civil records that connect them.
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Work-experience evidence
If qualifying through employment, bring evidence of at least two years of qualifying work experience in the five years immediately before the DV application. The occupation must meet the Department of Labor standard of Job Zone 4 or 5 and Specific Vocational Preparation (SVP) 7.0 or higher. Useful evidence can include authoritative employment letters, contracts, payroll or tax records, licenses, and other records that establish duties, dates, and the employer; the post decides what it accepts. An occupation title alone does not establish that the work meets the required classification.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Police certificates, court records, and military service
When a police certificate is required
Applicants aged 16 or older must obtain police certificates when the country-specific reciprocity guidance requires them. The general triggers are:
- The applicant’s country of nationality, when the applicant lived there for more than six months.
- The current country of residence, if different, after more than six months of residence.
- Any previous country of residence where the applicant lived for more than 12 months.
- Any country where the applicant was arrested, regardless of how long the applicant lived there.
Prior U.S. residents do not need U.S. police certificates. Certificates generally expire after two years, except that a certificate from a former country of residence may remain usable when the applicant has not returned there since it was issued. At the interview, obtain a fresh certificate when all three conditions apply: the applicant is over 16, the certificate is more than two years old, and the applicant still lives in the issuing country.
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Criminal convictions and arrests
Anyone convicted of a crime must submit certified court records and prison records, even if a pardon, amnesty, expungement, or other later action removed the practical penalty. Court records should describe the circumstances and final disposition. If an arrest did not lead to conviction, ask the post or reciprocity guidance what evidence is required for that jurisdiction.
Military records
Anyone who served in a country’s military should bring a copy of the military record, subject to the country’s availability rules. If the authority cannot issue the record, obtain the official statement explaining its unavailability and follow the post’s alternative-evidence instructions.
Case-specific family and immigration history
Review every applicant’s history for documents that are easy to overlook: prior marriages, name changes, adoption or custody, children from earlier relationships, previous immigrant or nonimmigrant visas, removals, overstays, or other immigration proceedings. The post may ask for prior passports, court orders, waivers, or copies of earlier immigration decisions. Bring evidence that explains differences in names, dates, addresses, or family composition between the DV entry, DS-260, civil records, and passports.
How to assemble the file before the interview
- Print the appointment notice and every DS-260 confirmation page.
- Check passport validity for each applicant and make the required biographic-page copies.
- Collect long-form birth, marriage, divorce, death, adoption, custody, and other civil records as applicable.
- Request police certificates early, using the reciprocity instructions for every triggering country.
- Obtain certified translations where required and keep each translation with its source document.
- Gather the principal applicant’s education or qualifying employment evidence.
- Complete the panel-physician medical exam and preserve any sealed envelope unopened.
- Make a personal duplicate set of the entire file, including payment receipts and correspondence.
- Read the interview post’s current checklist for appointment-day security, payment, photographs, delivery, and document-copy rules.
Fees, delivery, and the DV-2024-and-later procedure
The Department of State preparation page currently lists a nonrefundable immigrant-visa fee of $330 per applicant. This is an operational fee, not a guarantee of issuance, and the amount, payment method, and payment timing can change by post. Verify the current instructions for the embassy or consulate where the interview will occur.
For DV-2024 and later, selectees are not required under the stated Department of State procedure to mail supporting documents to the Kentucky Consular Center (KCC). Complete the DS-260 and bring the required originals or certified copies to the interview instead. Do not send paper records to KCC unless a current official instruction specifically requests them.
Common preparation failures and fixes
- Using ordinary photocopies: obtain originals or certified copies from the issuing authority.
- Opening the medical envelope: keep it sealed; ask the physician how results are transmitted if no envelope is provided.
- Relying on an outdated police certificate: apply the two-year and current-residence rules, then check the country reciprocity page.
- Bringing only a résumé for work qualification: document dates, duties, employer, and the required Job Zone/SVP level.
- Assuming one translation rule applies everywhere: follow the interview post’s language and certification instructions.
- Ignoring a prior marriage, arrest, or name change: disclose it and bring the official record or unavailability explanation.
- Sending documents to KCC automatically: for DV-2024 and later, follow the current instruction to bring them to the interview unless KCC tells you otherwise.
- Making irreversible plans too soon: do not sell property, resign from work, or book nonrefundable travel until the immigrant visa has been issued.
Final appointment-day check
Before leaving, confirm that every applicant has the appointment notice, DS-260 confirmation, valid passport and copy, two photographs, civil originals or certified copies, required translations, medical documentation, and all conditional records. Keep documents accessible for security screening and follow the post’s instructions about bags, electronics, payment, and document delivery. If a required record cannot be obtained, carry the issuing authority’s certified explanation and any permitted secondary evidence rather than silently omitting it.
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