As West Africa Senior Secondary Certificate Examinations (WASSCE) results worsen and unemployment rate becomes striking; the United States Diversity Lottery (DV) 2009 now requires a minimum level of education for applicants in order to be granted work permit.
According to a press release issued by the US Embassy in Sierra Leone, to enter the lottery programme which makes available 55,000 immigrants visas annually “you must meet either the education or work experience requirements.
To qualify through the educational credentials, you must have the equivalent of a United States high school education, defined as: WASSCE or GCE ‘O’ level with five passes”.
The release further states that, “to qualify through work experience, you must have two years working experience in the past five years in an occupation requiring at least two years of formal training or experience, as defined by the U.S Department of Labor.”
It strongly cautions that “if you cannot meet either of these requirements, you should ‘NOT’ submit an entry to the DV program.
Applications for the 2010 DV would be accepted between 2nd October to 1st December 2008. Applicants are also encouraged to apply early and use the online form at www.dvlottery.state.gov, as no entries would be accepted after the deadline.
The US Embassy also cautioned the general public about misinformation which would lead to misunderstanding and outright lies from dishonest businesses and individuals; who have the potential to cost members of the public time and money, and even lure applicants into participating in fraud schemes, which could make them ineligible for visa for the rest of their lives.
Questions about the process can be submitted by e-mail to the Embassy’s Consular Section at consularfreetown@state.gov. the release states.
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