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2008 Europe Dv Lottery Aos

S

scooby-doo

Registered Users (C)
Hello there,

I just wanted to take a few minutes to share with you guys my 2008 DV AOS and to thank everybody for all the valuable information offered by this forum.

I've been in the US for 10 years (college + work). I went through numerous visas ( 1 student visa and 2 work visas) and numerous dv lottery applications (never selected). In May 2007 I was notified by KCC that I was selected for DV 2008. To be honest I had forgotten about the fact that I had applied and I was getting ready to start an employment based GC.

Now the big decision..... AOS or CP. AOS was easier because I was already in the US but CP was shorter. After considering pros and cons we decided to go for AOS. I contacted an attorney who asked $7,500 to handle my case. That was a lot of money so I scheduled and INFO PASS appointment, I wanted to take a look at the forms to see if I could do it with no help from an attorney. The forms were long but not that complicated so my wife and I decided to go for it and save some $$$$.

Yes, we forgot a signature that maybe the attorney wouldn't have but not a big deal, error corrected and we only lost 1 month (we still saved about $3,500)

When we started the process we were expecting a long and painful process. We heard horror stories about name checks and background checks that could take months to clear....maybe we were lucky but everything went smooth and fast :

OCT. 1st 2007 - sent AOS (I485), I 765, I313 to Chicago
NOV. 5th 2007 - forms returned (I missed a signature) :eek:
NOV. 8th 2007 - resubmitted forms
DEC. 15th 2007 - receipt notice received
DEC. 20th 2007 - biometrics notice received
JAN. 3rd 2008 - biometrics completed (name check & background check completed in 5 days)
JAN. 7th 2008- EAD & I-131 Approved (error on my wife's advance parole) :eek:
JAN. 19th 2008 - Interview notice received
FEB. 19th 2008 - Interview completed :D
FEB. 20th 2008 - green card ordered :D
FEB. 22nd 2008 - welcome letter received :D
FEB. 24th 2008 - waiting for card :rolleyes:


The entire process took about 5 month.

Please be aware that I'm not recommending not to use an attorney ( all I did was tell you my success story without an attorney). I'm sure some cases are a little more complicated than mine and probably require one.
I'm also not recommending AOS over CP, my decision was dictated by $$$ and the fact that I could not take time from work to go back to my county for an interview.
 
scooby-doo,

Congrats on the happy ending!

Can you tell me where is your local office?

Leny

scooby-doo said:
Hello there,

I just wanted to take a few minutes to share with you guys my 2008 DV AOS and to thank everybody for all the valuable information offered by this forum.

I've been in the US for 10 years (college + work). I went through numerous visas ( 1 student visa and 2 work visas) and numerous dv lottery applications (never selected). In May 2007 I was notified by KCC that I was selected for DV 2008. To be honest I had forgotten about the fact that I had applied and I was getting ready to start an employment based GC.

Now the big decision..... AOS or CP. AOS was easier because I was already in the US but CP was shorter. After considering pros and cons we decided to go for AOS. I contacted an attorney who asked $7,500 to handle my case. That was a lot of money so I scheduled and INFO PASS appointment, I wanted to take a look at the forms to see if I could do it with no help from an attorney. The forms were long but not that complicated so my wife and I decided to go for it and save some $$$$.

Yes, we forgot a signature that maybe the attorney wouldn't have but not a big deal, error corrected and we only lost 1 month (we still saved about $3,500)

When we started the process we were expecting a long and painful process. We heard horror stories about name checks and background checks that could take months to clear....maybe we were lucky but everything went smooth and fast :

OCT. 1st 2007 - sent AOS (I485), I 765, I313 to Chicago
NOV. 5th 2007 - forms returned (I missed a signature) :eek:
NOV. 8th 2007 - resubmitted forms
DEC. 15th 2007 - receipt notice received
DEC. 20th 2007 - biometrics notice received
JAN. 3rd 2008 - biometrics completed (name check & background check completed in 5 days)
JAN. 7th 2008- EAD & I-131 Approved (error on my wife's advance parole) :eek:
JAN. 19th 2008 - Interview notice received
FEB. 19th 2008 - Interview completed :D
FEB. 20th 2008 - green card ordered :D
FEB. 22nd 2008 - welcome letter received :D
FEB. 24th 2008 - waiting for card :rolleyes:


The entire process took about 5 month.

Please be aware that I'm not recommending not to use an attorney ( all I did was tell you my success story without an attorney). I'm sure some cases are a little more complicated than mine and probably require one.
I'm also not recommending AOS over CP, my decision was dictated by $$$ and the fact that I could not take time from work to go back to my county for an interview.
Click to expand...
 
We live in Chicago so we filed at the Chicago local office.
Our file was originally sent to the National Benefit Center in Missouri, and then re-transfered to Chicago for interview.
 
Thanks for your quick answer.

I have one more question: have you send w/ your package as a evidence of financial support bank statements (for how many months?) and tax returns (only previous year or for the last 3 years?)

Thanks


scooby-doo said:
We live in Chicago so we filed at the Chicago local office.
Our file was originally sent to the National Benefit Center in Missouri, and then re-transfered to Chicago for interview.
Click to expand...
 
leny said:
Thanks for your quick answer.

I have one more question: have you send w/ your package as a evidence of financial support bank statements (for how many months?) and tax returns (only previous year or for the last 3 years?)

Thanks
Click to expand...

I'm was already working in the US so I brought a letter from my employer stating that I'm employed by them, copy of all of last years paychecks and I also called the IRS and requested a copy of the past 3 years of tax returns.

They did not ask for any bank statements but they did ask if my wife and I had any joint credit cards (which we provided) and they made a copy of them.

To be safe we also had the following:

- copy of investment accounts (401k, IRA, saving account )
- copy of last 4 months of bank statements
- Deed of the house we own
- Health insurance cards
 
So, in the package you mailed only the employment letters and paystubs?
Sorry, I'm confused and now I'm working on my package.

Thanks

scooby-doo said:
I'm was already working in the US so I brought a letter from my employer stating that I'm employed by them, copy of all of last years paychecks and I also called the IRS and requested a copy of the past 3 years of tax returns.

They did not ask for any bank statements but they did ask if my wife and I had any joint credit cards (which we provided) and they made a copy of them.

To be safe we also had the following:

- copy of investment accounts (401k, IRA, saving account )
- copy of last 4 months of bank statements
- Deed of the house we own
- Health insurance cards
Click to expand...
 
leny said:
So, in the package you mailed only the employment letters and paystubs?
Sorry, I'm confused and now I'm working on my package.

Thanks
Click to expand...

I did not mail it, i brought it with me to the interview. No financial info was mailed with the package. The officer requested them during the interview.
 
scooby-doo said:
Hello there,

I just wanted to take a few minutes to share with you guys my 2008 DV AOS and to thank everybody for all the valuable information offered by this forum.

I've been in the US for 10 years (college + work). I went through numerous visas ( 1 student visa and 2 work visas) and numerous dv lottery applications (never selected). In May 2007 I was notified by KCC that I was selected for DV 2008. To be honest I had forgotten about the fact that I had applied and I was getting ready to start an employment based GC.

Now the big decision..... AOS or CP. AOS was easier because I was already in the US but CP was shorter. After considering pros and cons we decided to go for AOS. I contacted an attorney who asked $7,500 to handle my case. That was a lot of money so I scheduled and INFO PASS appointment, I wanted to take a look at the forms to see if I could do it with no help from an attorney. The forms were long but not that complicated so my wife and I decided to go for it and save some $$$$.

Yes, we forgot a signature that maybe the attorney wouldn't have but not a big deal, error corrected and we only lost 1 month (we still saved about $3,500)

When we started the process we were expecting a long and painful process. We heard horror stories about name checks and background checks that could take months to clear....maybe we were lucky but everything went smooth and fast :

OCT. 1st 2007 - sent AOS (I485), I 765, I313 to Chicago
NOV. 5th 2007 - forms returned (I missed a signature) :eek:
NOV. 8th 2007 - resubmitted forms
DEC. 15th 2007 - receipt notice received
DEC. 20th 2007 - biometrics notice received
JAN. 3rd 2008 - biometrics completed (name check & background check completed in 5 days)
JAN. 7th 2008- EAD & I-131 Approved (error on my wife's advance parole) :eek:
JAN. 19th 2008 - Interview notice received
FEB. 19th 2008 - Interview completed :D
FEB. 20th 2008 - green card ordered :D
FEB. 22nd 2008 - welcome letter received :D
FEB. 24th 2008 - waiting for card :rolleyes:


The entire process took about 5 month.

Please be aware that I'm not recommending not to use an attorney ( all I did was tell you my success story without an attorney). I'm sure some cases are a little more complicated than mine and probably require one.
I'm also not recommending AOS over CP, my decision was dictated by $$$ and the fact that I could not take time from work to go back to my county for an interview.
Click to expand...

Just wanted to update my case..... today the GC arrived in the mail... 9 days from my interview. USCIS SEE YOU IN 5 YEARS
 
i am working on my package, but is too late to send it now ? At this point should I go for the application of permanaent residence from abroad instead ? (the issue is I already notified the KCC i would adjust status & I received their aknowledgement letter) . Thank you ...
 
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