Diversity Immigrant Visa Lottery

EDUCATION AND WORK STANDARDS FOR THE FIJI ISLANDS, THE KINGDOM OF TONGA, NEW CALEDONIA, FRENCH POLYNESIA, NAURU, TUVALU AND KIRIBATI.

According to the instructions for the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program, an applicant MUST have EITHER a high school education or its equivalent, defined in the U.S. as successful completion of a 12-year course of elementary and secondary education; OR two years of work experience within the past five years in an occupation requiring at least two years of training or experience to perform.  U.S. Department of Labor definitions will apply.  If a person does not meet these requirements, he/she should NOT submit an entry to the DV program.  Without exception applicants not meeting these requirements will be denied visas at the time of interview.

ACADEMIC REQUIREMENTS:

• Fiji applicants
• Tonga applicants
• French Polynesia applicants
• New Caledonia applicants
• Nauru applicants
• Tuvalu applicants
• Kiribati applicants

* If you were educated in a country not listed, please call the U.S. Embassy in Suva.

WORK REQUIREMENTS:

To qualify by virtue of work the principal applicant must have two years of experience in the last five years in an occupation defined by U.S. Department of Labor as qualifying for the DV Program.  The Department of Labor (DOL) O*Net Online Database http://online.onetcenter.org/ groups job experience into five “job zones.”  While many occupations are listed on the DOL Website, only certain specified occupations qualify for the Diversity Visa Program.  To qualify for a Diversity Visa on the basis of work experience, the principal applicant must, within the past five years, have two years of experience in an occupation that is designated as Job Zone 4 or 5, classified in a Specific Vocational Preparation (SVP) range of 7.0 or higher.  The SVP estimate is the amount of time determined by the Department of Labor to be required to learn the techniques, acquire information and develop the skills needed for average performance of a job as it is described by the O*Net OnLine.   Vocational preparation includes time spent in vocational education programs, apprentice training, in-plant or on-the-job training and essential training and experience received in other jobs.

To find out if your occupation qualifies, go to the above DOL O*Net Online website http://online.onetcenter.org/: Select “Find Occupations” and then select a specific “Job Family”. (For example, select Architecture and Engineering and click “GO”.  Then click on the link for the specific Occupation (For example, Aerospace Engineers).  After selecting a specific Occupation link, select the tab “Job Zone” to find out the designated Job Zone number and SVP rating range.

DETERMINATION OF ELIGIBILITY
 
A Consular Officer will only make an assessment of your eligibility after your non-refundable fees are paid.   Therefore, we suggest that you make a personal assessment of your qualifications before applying for your diversity visa.  All applicants must either meet the education or work requirements in order to be issued a visa.

Please note:  The Consular Officers in the American Embassy in Suva are the sole determinants whether specific education or work qualification meet the requirements.