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DV 2025 AOS (Adjustment of Status) Process Only

benjaminfranklin said:
Long-time lurker here—thanks to everyone for keeping this incredible resource active!

I’m a second-year undergrad student on an F-1 visa, attending school on a full-ride scholarship. I initially planned to proceed with Adjustment of Status (AOS) after finding out I was selected for DV2025, as the embassy in my home country has been notoriously slow with DV processing (they only reached CN EU7xxx for DV2024, while my CN is EU21xxx). However, after doing some more digging, I’m conflicted about whether to continue with AOS or attempt Consular Processing (CP) in a different country.

Here are a few questions that are making this decision challenging:

1. Will my financial situation affect my AOS case? I don’t receive financial support from my parents, as my scholarship and part-time work-study cover all my expenses. However, I have minimal savings, which might raise concerns about being a public charge. Would having a distant relative (a U.S. citizen) sponsor me help in this situation?
2. How does the Philadelphia Field Office (FO) handle AOS cases? I’ve heard the processing speed of the field office can make a big difference. Does anyone have experience with the Philadelphia FO, especially for DV AOS cases?
3. What would you do in my position? This is an open-ended question, and I understand if you can’t give a definitive answer. But if you were in my shoes, would you go with AOS or opt for CP in a different country? I’m willing to miss classes and take on the financial hit of traveling if that would make the process easier.

Thanks in advance for any insights!
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1. Regardless if you process AOS or CP, there’s an expectation to be able to demonstrate one is not likely to become a public charge. If you have a USC or LPR willing to provide you with an I-134, you should be fine regardless of the selected route.
2. Take a look at some of the past Timeline spreadsheets to get an insight into how any of the reported FOs have performed in the past.
3. Like you rightly noted, the decision to go AOS or CP is a personal call. Note: you can’t simply process CP in a 3rd country where you have no demonstrable ties to.
 
Sm1smom said:
1. Regardless if you process AOS or CP, there’s an expectation to be able to demonstrate one is not likely to become a public charge. If you have a USC or LPR willing to provide you with an I-134, you should be fine regardless of the selected route.
2. Take a look at some of the past Timeline spreadsheets to get an insight into how any of the reported FOs have performed in the past.
3. Like you rightly noted, the decision to go AOS or CP is a personal call. Note: you can’t simply process CP in a 3rd country where you have no demonstrable ties to.
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Thank you so much for the response! I’ll definitely check out the timeline.

Regarding doing CP in a third country, I learned from a green card discussion forum specific to my country that KCC allows case transfers to a country with which the applicant has no ties, provided that the case number is not yet current. I understand there’s some risk involved, as each embassy can have its own approach to accepting or rejecting these transfers. However, from what I’ve read, embassies in Vienna and Hong Kong seem to have been relatively flexible and have issued visas to individuals who transferred their cases through KCC without local ties.
 
Hi, I need you guys to help me with this. It's been 11 days since I received my NOA letter but I haven't received anything regarding the Bio appointment. Online, it is still "Case Was Received". So just a few minutes ago, I thought about chatting with EMMA. I explained the situation and they told me that my appointment had been scheduled on 11/4/2024 and that they had sent a request for the appointment letter to be sent to my email within 24 hours.

I then asked to check my wife's case and the agent told me I needed to start a separate chat, which I did. However, I didn't know they close after 8 pm and I couldn't get connected with an agent. Not until Monday which is my appointment day. I'm 100% sure my wife's is on the same time and date. I don't know what to do for her now.

If I get my letter through my email and let's say I don't receive anything in the mail this weekend. Should I go alone and work on setting up a new date for the wife?
 
omarsn93 said:
Hi, I need you guys to help me with this. It's been 11 days since I received my NOA letter but I haven't received anything regarding the Bio appointment. Online, it is still "Case Was Received". So just a few minutes ago, I thought about chatting with EMMA. I explained the situation and they told me that my appointment had been scheduled on 11/4/2024 and that they had sent a request for the appointment letter to be sent to my email within 24 hours.

I then asked to check my wife's case and the agent told me I needed to start a separate chat, which I did. However, I didn't know they close after 8 pm and I couldn't get connected with an agent. Not until Monday which is my appointment day. I'm 100% sure my wife's is on the same time and date. I don't know what to do for her now.

If I get my letter through my email and let's say I don't receive anything in the mail this weekend. Should I go alone and work on setting up a new date for the wife?
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Your wife will need her own bio letter in order for her to attend and complete her bio appointment.
 
Hi mom. On my Edv submission in the section where it asks “highest level of education as of today” i ticked ‘masters’ as i was one semester away from my graduation, is that going to be a problem? Would i be penalised for it?
 
Yousafzai said:
Hi mom. On my Edv submission in the section where it asks “highest level of education as of today” i ticked ‘masters’ as i was one semester away from my graduation, is that going to be a problem? Would i be penalised for it?
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Not a problem.
 
Hi guys,

When people are referring to EMMA, is it the USCIS phone number they are talking about or is there something else? Are there any drawbacks to calling them?

Our lockbox delivery was 16 days ago. We did get an SMS, but no NOA. My wife, who is a primary applicant, had her status change to "ready to be scheduled for interview". Mine is still "application received". I'm guessing this is because she had biometrics done less than 15 months ago and mine is older than 15 month so her is going to be waived. Anyway, I've called USCIS and inquired about my case specifically. They said bio was not scheduled yet. I couldn't inquire about my wife's case because she was not with me and they wouldn't let me do it for her... Can I call them again or should I just wait?

The reason I'm asking this is because when I called the worker very specifically told me that he is "making a record in my case about me calling them", which I interpreted as "just sit down and wait".
 
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MaryJks said:
Hi guys,

When people are referring to EMMA, is it the USCIS phone number they are talking about or is there something else? Are there any drawbacks to calling them?

Our lockbox delivery was 16 days ago. We did get an SMS, but no NOA. My wife, who is a primary applicant, had her status change to "ready to be scheduled for interview". Mine is still "application received". I'm guessing this is because she had biometrics done less than 15 months ago and mine is older than 15 month so her is going to be waived. Anyway, I've called USCIS and inquired about my case specifically. They said bio was not scheduled yet. I couldn't inquire about my wife's case because she was not with me and they wouldn't let me do it for her... Can I call them again or should I just wait?

The reason I'm asking this is because when I called the worker very specifically told me that he is "making a record in my case about me calling them", which I interpreted as "just sit down and wait".
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Emma is a virtual assistant where you get to chat with both a bot and an agent, by asking to be connected with a live agent, to enable you follow up on your case.

You can call or chat as many times as you deem necessary for your case, just be mindful of how often you do so back to back.
 
omarsn93 said:
Hi, I need you guys to help me with this. It's been 11 days since I received my NOA letter but I haven't received anything regarding the Bio appointment. Online, it is still "Case Was Received". So just a few minutes ago, I thought about chatting with EMMA. I explained the situation and they told me that my appointment had been scheduled on 11/4/2024 and that they had sent a request for the appointment letter to be sent to my email within 24 hours.

I then asked to check my wife's case and the agent told me I needed to start a separate chat, which I did. However, I didn't know they close after 8 pm and I couldn't get connected with an agent. Not until Monday which is my appointment day. I'm 100% sure my wife's is on the same time and date. I don't know what to do for her now.

If I get my letter through my email and let's say I don't receive anything in the mail this weekend. Should I go alone and work on setting up a new date for the wife?
Click to expand...

Update to this.

I never received anything in the email or the mail. My appointment is supposed to be tomorrow at 9 am. What am I supposed to do? I know they won't let me in with no letter. Should I ignore it and wait for the letters to be delivered in the mail? I mean say I never contacted Emma and never knew my appointment was tomorrow. No letter and no status update. Would they just abandon my case because I missed it? This is insane.

Seriously, what should I do?
 
omarsn93 said:
Update to this.

I never received anything in the email or the mail. My appointment is supposed to be tomorrow at 9 am. What am I supposed to do? I know they won't let me in with no letter. Should I ignore it and wait for the letters to be delivered in the mail? I mean say I never contacted Emma and never knew my appointment was tomorrow. No letter and no status update. Would they just abandon my case because I missed it? This is insane.

Seriously, what should I do?
Click to expand...
Since you know the date/time of your bio, you can actually login into your USCIS account today and use both the bio date and your receipt number (listed on your NOA) to reschedule the bio appointment to another date/time of your preference (if available) - you will be able to download the new bio notice.

Alternatively, you still showing up at the ASC (as scheduled) and explain the situation to see what they say. But before heading out, I would recommend having another chat with Emma to confirm the bio scheduled data/time, then print out that chat and take it to your ASC as proof of effort made to get the bio notice.

p.s. add your case progress to the 2025 Timeline spreadsheet.
 
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