DV 2012 AOS Only

[theaos]

Just dropping by to say hi.

Good to see that everyone here is almost done with the process especially theaos. Good luck to all of you!

Hey kgeorge, thanks for dropping by. I wanna thank you for your words of encouragement during the last few weeks while I was freaking out in a major way. Y'all were right about being given an interview and going green. Hopefully this time next week or in two weeks we'll all be green.

 

[theaos]

Wow, one of my case statuses just got updated saying the order for card production has been sent!

I wonder how many people from this thread I've unknowingly seen at the LA USCIS as well, standing in that line out the back (man it's hot, I always get sunburned there...)

Yeah jake you know its funny I thought I was the only one but it turns out that there's a group of us. Have you had your interview already? if so what was it like?

 

[jakeisstoked]

Yeah jake you know its funny I thought I was the only one but it turns out that there's a group of us. Have you had your interview already? if so what was it like?

Hey theaos, my interview was just this last Thursday, so my case must have been approved the next day. After it gets approved the status on the case numbers moves back and forth from 'card production' to 'documentation sent' (*2 different ones for me) to 'order for card production sent' it's very confusing and seems illogical but after a few days it seems to settle on card production.

Anyway my interview was quick they just make you take an oath and ask you to confirm most of the general questions on your original I-485. Also of course they took my birth cert and diplomas (copied my originals). I was acutally in the room for quite a while with the officer but most of it was small chit-chat about how confusing the process is . I'm sure the interview can vary a lot from officer to officer but I think in LA you will be fine as they know they need to shuffle people through the process quickly at this point.

Good luck

 

[eeeric]

So finally.. I was told by USCIS that they just sent out my IL this morning, and the interview date was set to Oct 9th!!!! LOL They thought as long as my A-file was there before 9/30, everything would be OK. Anyhow, I told them the status change has to be done by 9/30, and they made another check to confirm this. Now they will re-schedule my interview to the next few days... Thank God that I scheduled an Infopass appointment today. LOL

Now I'm gonna share my experience here and hope that will help those who are in the same path to get their GC... And before that, I wanna thank all you guys here because I got so many helps from your posts!!

I am one of the guys got the notification in July this year!! and before that, I really forgot that I registered DV2012 before. LOL So the following is my date of process:

20120713 DSP-122
20120719 AOS fee $330
20010730
- I-485 + application fee $1,070
- I-693 (medical exam $275)
- G-325a
20100806 Email notification from Chicago Lockbox: Acceptance on August 3rd.

One thing to note here is I did not send out the package with my receipt because it was not mentioned in the instructions, but I called KCC after sending the package, and they said their record shows that I paid the fee. Actually I got my receipt one week later, and it was torn by USPS... and they put it in an envelope labeled "WE CARE".. LOL

Anyhow, I think if you wanna make sure your package will be accepted, you can wait and send the receipt with I-485; otherwise, you can call KCC first to see if they've got your payment recorded, and if positive, you are good to send the I-485 w/o the receipt.

20120812 I-797C Biometrics letter received (Bio appointment 0904)
20120817 I-797C Receipt received
20120823 Walk-in biometrics done
20120911 KCC sent files to local USCIS

So I did a walk-in bio, and I think many people did the same. And now is the important part. After the bio, you can wait for a few days for USCIS to process your case, and then call them or make an appointment to see if the bio record has been in the system. I'd suggest to make an appointment at the local USCIS because of what you are gonna do next: you can ask them whether they have requested your A-file/packet from KCC; and this has to be done by the local USCIS! They might told you they saw your record, and you are fine, but NO!! You have to ask the agent to check with his/her director or someone responsible for this to see if the paperwork has been done. They might have your record in the system, but the A-file/packet has to be requested by them to KCC to process your case.

If your local USCIS did send the request, then you can call KCC to ask whether they have sent your file to the local USCIS. Usually KCC will firstly ask if your local USCIS has made the request and at what date, and you can tell them and let them check if they received the request already. (btw, if KCC wants you to call back to check the status again or says they'll contact you, DONT TRUST THEM. LOL They never call back You can tell them you'll have your appointment soon and need this information now. They can check it actually immediately. In addition, I don't know how long it would take for KCC to get the request, so I suggest that you wait for a few days or a week if possible.)

If KCC hasn't got the request from the local USCIS after a reasonable time period, you have to tell your local USCIS to make another request ASAP! And if KCC did get the request already, you can ask them to send your file ASAP!! You can then call back to check if they've sent out the file after a few days. Although the KCC agent told me that they have a really high volume of requests blahblah, they did send out my file immediately, and the record marked the date I called.

Then from here, I think everything will proceed really soon.

20120918 Interview letter (scheduled to 10/09, rescheduled)

So I hope my experience can help. I did not know this process requires so many manual work till two weeks' waiting but got nothing after my bio done; and basically I have to monitor every step by my own.. LOL I think I am still lucky that there's one agent kinda knowing the process of the DV Lottery, and he does help me a lot. I kept making an appointment to the local USCIS at least once a week to check the status; however, the other agent always told me that he saw me in the system, so I should be fine; and that's why it took me so long to figure out I should directly contact KCC to ask them to send the file... and my online status check is sill in the "acceptance" stage, but they said they've done my background check blahblah, and now just wait for my interview. LOL

Alright, good luck everyone! and good luck to myself..

 

[marianaiggs]

Wow that is so freaking cool....and guess what, my FO is the LA office too!!! My app is Sep 19 at 7.15am. So chances are we'll be there around the same time. You are super lucky maria...I've been waiting 3 months and two weeks, only to find out that the LA office scheduled us all on the same day...lol anyway thats super cool. Hope to see you there....

I can't believe it is tomorrow! I hope everything goes smoothly! I am just taking all my orginal documents, hopefully it will be quick! I guess we'll be there around the same time, I'll be heading up early so as to not leave anything to chance! Look for tattooed feet

 

[theaos]

So I just came back from my interview and wanted to share my experience.

To begin with, the appointment was at 7.15 am on the notice. I made a point of leaving the house at 5.30 due to notorious LA traffic which requires me being on the road by 6am. So when I woke up and 6.05am having slept through my alarm, I broke the record for the fastest to ever get ready in just one minute. Though traffic was slow in some places, I got there with 20 mins to spare.

After handing in the notice, I'm told to wait and that my name would be called out. I sit expecting to wait for at least an hour but was called after only 10 minutes. The interviewer was very nice friendly blonde lady who noticed I was a little nervous and told me to relax. The interview itself, like all the ones mentioned here was very basic and most of it just friendly banter and chat. She took my I-94 and my Masters diploma (she already had copies of the rest) and went to photocopy them. She came back and told me that I had been approved and that she would need to contact head office and request a visa. i thought it meant it was time to go but she had me go back to the waiting room and that doing the request would take a few minutes. I admit I panicked a little because I thought that with time being so close to the deadline that visas would run out. But she re-emerged a few minutes later with a welcome notice saying that adjustment of status had been approved and a very warm congratulations. She then stepped to the side and asked for a maria, which I'm guessing was marianaiggs.....

Needless to say, after the long frustrating journey, I'm glad that the end is in sight. Now just waiting for the green card itself to arrive in the mail.....

 

[mohkha]

congrat and happy to hear that

So I just came back from my interview and wanted to share my experience.

To begin with, the appointment was at 7.15 am on the notice. I made a point of leaving the house at 5.30 due to notorious LA traffic which requires me being on the road by 6am. So when I woke up and 6.05am having slept through my alarm, I broke the record for the fastest to ever get ready in just one minute. Though traffic was slow in some places, I got there with 20 mins to spare.

After handing in the notice, I'm told to wait and that my name would be called out. I sit expecting to wait for at least an hour but was called after only 10 minutes. The interviewer was very nice friendly blonde lady who noticed I was a little nervous and told me to relax. The interview itself, like all the ones mentioned here was very basic and most of it just friendly banter and chat. She took my I-94 and my Masters diploma (she already had copies of the rest) and went to photocopy them. She came back and told me that I had been approved and that she would need to contact head office and request a visa. i thought it meant it was time to go but she had me go back to the waiting room and that doing the request would take a few minutes. I admit I panicked a little because I thought that with time being so close to the deadline that visas would run out. But she re-emerged a few minutes later with a welcome notice saying that adjustment of status had been approved and a very warm congratulations. She then stepped to the side and asked for a maria, which I'm guessing was marianaiggs.....

Needless to say, after the long frustrating journey, I'm glad that the end is in sight. Now just waiting for the green card itself to arrive in the mail.....

 

[eeeric]

USCIS called this morning to let me choose an available time slot for interview.. and it will be this Friday morning!

So finally.. I was told by USCIS that they just sent out my IL this morning, and the interview date was set to Oct 9th!!!! LOL They thought as long as my A-file was there before 9/30, everything would be OK. Anyhow, I told them the status change has to be done by 9/30, and they made another check to confirm this. Now they will re-schedule my interview to the next few days... Thank God that I scheduled an Infopass appointment today. LOL

 

[theaos]

congrats

USCIS called this morning to let me choose an available time slot for interview.. and it will be this Friday morning!

Congrats eeeric. A lot of us are having those Indiana Jones "slip under the closing rock door with enough time to grab our hats" kind of experience with the whole DV process. Yay us

 

[kazore]

So I just came back from my interview and wanted to share my experience.


Needless to say, after the long frustrating journey, I'm glad that the end is in sight. Now just waiting for the green card itself to arrive in the mail.....

Congratulation, you must have nerves of steel now but you got it!

 

[kgeorge]

Congrats to all of you. Its awesome to see all the folks here make it across the finish line.

Congratulation, you must have nerves of steel now but you got it!

 

[marianaiggs]

Done and dusted! YES! Finish line!

I thought that must have been you theoas!

I can't believe how quick it all happened!

Yesterday morning I woke up at 5am to not leave anything to chance. Took all my original documents, got to LA, around 730am. I was early but I didn't care waiting, just as long as I had a chance!

I sat in the waiting room for 15 minutes, then heard a woman say "congratulations" I'm guessing that was you theaos! And I got called in, as I walked down the hall with the FO I made small talk, asking if she was busy with cases told me she only had six DV cases today. I mentioned the deadline and she said thats why shes trying to get through all the cases fast! I was in luck!

Took the oath to tell the truth, she went through my case looked at my current status, asked me about my job. Then she said "looks all good, I am just going to send in my suggestion for approval, should just take a few minutes" I was in shock! I few minutes after months of uncertainty a few minutes it would all be over!

Then she walked me back to the waiting room, and thats when my heart was racing, I sat down and a few minutes later I heard the same "congratulations" but this time it was directed to me!

This was one of the most testing experiences of my life, but my lasting advice would be definitely perseverance! Keep at it, even when things look like their going nowhere keep pushing forward! Everyone in this forum taught me so much! I am so grateful to all of you!

Congrats to everyone for making it through!

-m

So I just came back from my interview and wanted to share my experience.

To begin with, the appointment was at 7.15 am on the notice. I made a point of leaving the house at 5.30 due to notorious LA traffic which requires me being on the road by 6am. So when I woke up and 6.05am having slept through my alarm, I broke the record for the fastest to ever get ready in just one minute. Though traffic was slow in some places, I got there with 20 mins to spare.

After handing in the notice, I'm told to wait and that my name would be called out. I sit expecting to wait for at least an hour but was called after only 10 minutes. The interviewer was very nice friendly blonde lady who noticed I was a little nervous and told me to relax. The interview itself, like all the ones mentioned here was very basic and most of it just friendly banter and chat. She took my I-94 and my Masters diploma (she already had copies of the rest) and went to photocopy them. She came back and told me that I had been approved and that she would need to contact head office and request a visa. i thought it meant it was time to go but she had me go back to the waiting room and that doing the request would take a few minutes. I admit I panicked a little because I thought that with time being so close to the deadline that visas would run out. But she re-emerged a few minutes later with a welcome notice saying that adjustment of status had been approved and a very warm congratulations. She then stepped to the side and asked for a maria, which I'm guessing was marianaiggs.....

Needless to say, after the long frustrating journey, I'm glad that the end is in sight. Now just waiting for the green card itself to arrive in the mail.....

 

[theaos]

congrat maria.....yeah I thought it was you too and I tried to wave hi but the lady was walking you away and you had the same face I had when she walked me away lol.....but yes we may have been late to the game but the journey is finally over. btw, my status online changed to decision 4 hours later, and its stayed there till today. I bet that we will probably get our green cards either mid to late next week....

 

[ai134]

well... time for more stressfull news.
This morning I went to local USCIS again. (SF)
Since the same person wasn't there, it took me 30 mins again to explain the situation.
They said that my fingerprints or background check might not be complete. Then she checked they were done.
Then she said, give me 10 minutes. Went to her supervisor.
She came back and got my phone number. She told me that my file was at Tampa, Florida.
I don't have any idea why it is there. (The other guy also asked me if I ever been florida, I didn't realize that it might be the case).
Apparently they have sent my file to SF on Monday, after my last visit to USCIS.
but they still don't have it, and they don't know when they will get it. They told me that they will call me back as soon as they get my file to schedule an interview.
On top of all those lost receipts and everything, one more obstacle in front of me.... My file was sent to Florida for some reason.
If they used cheapest mail, it will take forever. and I'm almost sure that they did.

Anyways, I will go there again next Tuesday.. Play last cards that I have.
I'm getting some progress, but I also get some more problems at each step..

 

[Sm1smom]

Don't be discouraged, try to remain positive (yeah, I know it's easier said than done). There's still about 10 days left to the end of the fiscal year. Things will work out for you too eventually. Just keep bugging USCIS if you don't hear back from them as promised.

well... time for more stressfull news.

On top of all those lost receipts and everything, one more obstacle in front of me.... My file was sent to Florida for some reason.
If they used cheapest mail, it will take forever. and I'm almost sure that they did.

Anyways, I will go there again next Tuesday.. Play last cards that I have.
I'm getting some progress, but I also get some more problems at each step..

 

[theaos]

Hey ai,

Do not give up. It definitely is not over. You have 10 days. The best thing you have working for you is that USCIS know they screwed up so its in their best interests to get you approved before the deadline. One lesson I learned is that the guys at infopass and the IO's doing the interviews are two different offices and they often don't talk to each other. For example, the day I got my interview letter, I went to USCIS early in the morning not knowing that it had already been sent. The lady at infopass told me that she couldn't find my file and that it still must be processing. I told her that this was not the case and it was only then that she found that I was they were in the process of scheduling an interview, not knowing that one had already been sent to me. I am confident you will get something from USCIS in the way of a notice or a call for an interview. The interview takes all of 15 mins and they approve and request the visa right there after the interview. at my interview, the lady said that she was seeing other dv applicants that day because she was well aware of the deadline approaching and was trying to get through them as fast as possible. Anyway, please don't give up yet. Keep us posted on your developments....

well... time for more stressfull news.
This morning I went to local USCIS again. (SF)
Since the same person wasn't there, it took me 30 mins again to explain the situation.
They said that my fingerprints or background check might not be complete. Then she checked they were done.
Then she said, give me 10 minutes. Went to her supervisor.
She came back and got my phone number. She told me that my file was at Tampa, Florida.
I don't have any idea why it is there. (The other guy also asked me if I ever been florida, I didn't realize that it might be the case).
Apparently they have sent my file to SF on Monday, after my last visit to USCIS.
but they still don't have it, and they don't know when they will get it. They told me that they will call me back as soon as they get my file to schedule an interview.
On top of all those lost receipts and everything, one more obstacle in front of me.... My file was sent to Florida for some reason.
If they used cheapest mail, it will take forever. and I'm almost sure that they did.

Anyways, I will go there again next Tuesday.. Play last cards that I have.
I'm getting some progress, but I also get some more problems at each step..

 

[ai134]

ok, I was at the USCIS office again this morning. (San Francisco)
Apparently they still didn't get my file from TAMPA, FL.
They don't know why my file is sent to TAMPA. They just know that TAMPA sent my file from there to SF last Monday after my visit there. Normally it takes up to 7 days for a mail to reach to SF from FL. It has been 8 days, so my file is probably lost in mail.
First my KCC receipt was lost, now my file. And nobody knows how it ended up in FL at first. I have never been to FL in my life, my first address was OR.

Anyways, anybody knows a good attorney? I might use some advice before my last visit to USCIS on Friday. I think I will just get frustrated and burn the bridges there, since it is the last day.

 

[Sm1smom]

Oh dear! This must be quite frustrating. I feel your pains!!

 

[theaos]

Sorry to hear about these delays. Yes it is frustrating especially when someone on their side messed up. I really do hope this thing gets fixed and that your file arrives in good time. Knowing they screwed up, they should be able to give you an interview on Friday. I know that as long you get approved before 9/30 then it doesn't matter when you get the green card after that. Hang in there!

 

[theaos]

Hey eeric, was wondering how your interview went on Friday? Any changes to your status online?