Alright folks, here is my story:
I submitted my DS 260 on May 17th, 2018 and then had to wait a while for my 2NL to arrive (Jan 2019). I knew from the start my number would not be current for a while, so I just sat patiently.
As soon as I got my 2NL, I submitted my 330 USD payment.
Early January I started gathering all the required documents that I needed, and since I lost all my diplomas, one can imagine the hassle to get them all back. I guess this is what happens when you move 15 times in less than 10 years...
Comes March when I miss the cut off by less than 50 case numbers so I time everything for my package to be ready the day the June Bulletin becomes available. I knew I was going to take advantage of the Early filing policy, but I wanted to be sure that should my package gets rejected I would not have to redo the medical exam.
Then everything rolled out (almost) as expected:
-Package was received on April 23rd
-Check was cashed on the 29th & received a text message the same day
-NOA received on May 3rd
-Bio Letter received on May 10th
-Bio Walk-in on May 13th
-- After two months without news of my IL, I started the escalation process and contacted the office of the Congresswoman of my district. Her office was of great help and contacted the FO to help push things along --
-Interview Letter received on August 1st
-Interview held on August 20th
-Card Production Order on August 20th
-Card expected in the mail August 26th
Interview:
The interview when well although I felt that the Officer tested me on a few things. Regardless, it was straightforward, the officer new the process, confirmed me that my background check was fine and that she would close my case the same day.
Lessons Learned:
1. I would pay by Card and not by Check (It think it is relatively quicker and offers the same tracking possibilities)
2. I would take more time filling in the DS 260 form and make sure I understand the entire process before rushing to submit it since it won’t have any consequence on the velocity to adjudicate my case file
3. An online storing system (Icloud, Dropbox...) is the best tool to go through this. I am really happy I got all my documents located in one and accessible place all day (year) round.
4. Read carefully the interventions of other folks on the forum. Most of my questions -at any given time- had already been answered in previous posts and if I read something that I did not need at the time, it was just because I was not in that part of the process yet.
5. Gathering documents takes a long time (especially if you must beg higher education institutions to send you a new diploma in the U.S)
6. Although the Manhattan and Brooklyn FO, are in the same building, they appear not to have the policy regarding Interview Scheduling. The Manhattan office being apparently a tad more proactive than the Brooklyn one.
Last words:
Obviously, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to the members of this community and an extra bow to Xanarthius and BritSimon who's continuous work during the year helped me understand how the system worked and made my waiting if not more bearable at least more interesting.
I would also like to give an accolade to my cluster partners, TimothyBanks, Vladoo and Tommasi80 (I wish you the best recovery) and all my fellow AOSers.
Finally, I would like to thank Sm1smom for her relentless and selfless activity on this forum. I do not know who you are, but I am sure you already have your seat reserved, up there. Providing help the way you all do, not only eases up everyone's stress during this period but it also provides a sense of belonging for all those going through this process and it is unquantifiably uplifting.
Good luck to everyone and as always, listen to Mom, she knows best.
