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DV-2012 winner. J-1 HRR waiver and AOS/CP questions

2

2012j1

Registered Users (C)
My wife and I (yes, both) are also one of the lucky people that won DV-2012. We're currently in the US on a J-1 and J-2 visa (expiring Feb 2012).
Unfortunately, we're subject to the 2-year home residency requirement, so at this moment we're wondering how to proceed.

We have a few questions:
- I think it would be wise to use only one of our case numbers (we're thinking the lowest), with the other person joining as spouse.
- When applying for the HRR waiver (applying for "no objection", our country generally does not have a problem providing these), what do we mention at the "statement of reason" section (ie. is it wise to give as a reason "won the DV-lottery", or should we say something else).
- Can we file for AOS when we do not have the HRR waiver yet, or should we wait?
- In our situation would it be better to apply for Consular Processing instead of Adjustment of Status (and does the interview have to be in your home country, or is Canada also a possibility)?
- We have a low case number (in the 1xxx range), is it true they start interviewing people this year October first (and would we have enough time to apply for the HRR waiver, and send in all other forms etc.?)?

We hope someone can help us out a bit!
 
I am in a similar situation. I was on J-1 visa with the HRR, that visa expired on the 09/17/2010, so the HRR will be fulfilled on the 09/17/2012. I am living in my home country right now, fulfilling the HRR, I didn't ask for a waiver at that moment (no objection). My CN is very low as yours: 2012EU00001XXX. I would like to ask if you have already sent the DS-230 form. If so, what did you answer to the question 40J: An alien who is a former exchange visitor who has not fulfilled the 2-year foreign residence requirement? YES?
Do you know if the KCC will automatically drop my application or if I answer YES will I still be called for the interview?
Do you think I should apply for the HRR waiver as soon as possible to get it before the interview? You said in your country is easy to get the "no objection". Where are you from?

Thanks
 
2012j1 said:
My wife and I (yes, both) are also one of the lucky people that won DV-2012. We're currently in the US on a J-1 and J-2 visa (expiring Feb 2012).
Unfortunately, we're subject to the 2-year home residency requirement, so at this moment we're wondering how to proceed.

We have a few questions:
- I think it would be wise to use only one of our case numbers (we're thinking the lowest), with the other person joining as spouse.
- When applying for the HRR waiver (applying for "no objection", our country generally does not have a problem providing these), what do we mention at the "statement of reason" section (ie. is it wise to give as a reason "won the DV-lottery", or should we say something else).
- Can we file for AOS when we do not have the HRR waiver yet, or should we wait?
- In our situation would it be better to apply for Consular Processing instead of Adjustment of Status (and does the interview have to be in your home country, or is Canada also a possibility)?
- We have a low case number (in the 1xxx range), is it true they start interviewing people this year October first (and would we have enough time to apply for the HRR waiver, and send in all other forms etc.?)?

We hope someone can help us out a bit!
Click to expand...

your CN will be current on october 2011 so you have enough room to proceed with AOS before feb 2012
 
@Nexus: We did not fill in the DS-230 form because we will try to adjust our status. I was told that DS-230 is only for CP processing. Just spend a couple of days reading up on this forum about the waiver, and I found out that a winner of last year consulted a lawyer and was told that he should not send anything back until he has the waiver.
I suggest you get started with the waiver process right away (we already did). We are from the Netherlands, and most people get their waiver in 2 to 4 months. Were are you from?

@Dada: But I assume we have to get the waiver before the 30th of September?
 
@2012j1: Thank you so much for your answer. I have a low CN, so my interview will take place in October 2011. If I wait to get the waiver, I am afraid I might not make it on time for the interview, because the No Objection takes 6 to 8 weeks according to their website (you said: 2 to 4 months), and I have read on the forum that the KCC it takes around 2 months to send you the appointment at the embassy once you have sent the documents to them. If the DS-230 is just for CP processing, then I will be fine saying "YES" to the question 40j and then showing at the interview that I have a waiver when I have to sign the Sworn Statement, don't you think? Could you send me the link to post where the winner of last year consulted a lawyer? When asking for your No Objection, did you say that the reason for the waiver is: DV-2012 winner, work, studies,...? Given that I didn't ask for the waiver when I was in US, Is ok to ask for the waiver in the middle of my HRR period? As I said, I left US on September 2010. I am from Spain.

Thanks
 
Do you have to send any documents to the Spanish embassy from your home country? That usually takes longest. Our embassy lets us email the documents and they told me that they usually approve it within a few days. You can start filing for AOS, and perhaps this also holds true for CP, when the approval is registered at the DOS. You don't need to wait for it to be registered at USCIS. When you go for your interview, you have to have the waiver. So that buys you a little more time (because it will take some time to actually have the waiver mailed to you etc.).
I really don't know if you will be disqualified if you fill in "Yes" on the DS-230. Did you ask someone?
About the waiver, I called the DOS Waiver line about this, and they told me complete to my surprise that winning the DV-lottery is the ideal reason to get a waiver. I asked them this for I thought that because we are here on a J-1 visa (a NON-immigrant visa), it would be stupid to fill in that you basically had dual intentions. But she told me that they don't care about that, and you can basically fill in anything at the "statement of reason" part. Once your government is fine with the decision, they are okay with it as well. I also know another J-1 2HRR DV winner (wow all the abbreviations) and she also filled in that they wanted to get the waiver because of their winning DV-lottery ticket.
 
Hm I can't put the URL of the topic of last years' winner here for some reason.. anyway, his name is "Mike351", try to see if you can find his posts. He was in the exact same situation, but unfortunately he did not let the forum know what happened with his GC in the end.
 
Hi, I am in same situation as 2012j1. My wife and I both worn the DV-2012. We do have the two year home stay restriction. Really trying to figure out how to proceed.
Bessel80
 
First step is definitely to apply for the waiver. Do that right away!! Where are you from? Is it easy to get a no objection statement from your government?
 
@2012j1: Thank you again, you are being very helpful. Maybe you misunderstood some particulars of my case. I can't apply for a AOS because I am not in US right now. I am Spain right now fulfilling the 2HRR, in fact I currently have fulfilled 8 months. I contacted my government and they don't have any problem in giving a NOS based on winning the DV. Also, my 2HRR comes from receiving Spanish government funding, not US. So, US will not reject my waiver based on the source of my money. Now, my biggest problem is that US will give the waiver based on winning the DV. You say: "About the waiver, I called the DOS Waiver line about this, and they told me complete to my surprise that winning the DV-lottery is the ideal reason to get a waiver. I asked them this for I thought that because we are here on a J-1 visa (a NON-immigrant visa), it would be stupid to fill in that you basically had dual intentions. But she told me that they don't care about that, and you can basically fill in anything at the "statement of reason" part. Once your government is fine with the decision, they are okay with it as well". Which number have you called to ask for this? I called at the Public Inquiries at (202) 663-1225, and the lady didn't know, she gave a number that doesn't work. I also have read in this website: visalaw.com/greencard (sorry, i can't put the URL directly yet). Please, read the question: "Can someone selected in the lottery receive a waiver of any of the grounds of visa ineligibility?". This contradicts what you say. Have you requested your NOS based on winning the DV? The girl that you know, Was she in US when she won the lottery or was she in her home country fulfilling her 2HRR. Did she manage to get the GC?

Thanks,
 
I know you can't file for AOS, I just recited what the winner of DV2011 said, and I am hoping that it also holds true for CP.
Furthermore, I called the DOS and don't know who I talked to, but she told me a lot of things about the waiver, so it felt like she was an expert. Yesterday, I had a short question about the waiver and I called the same number, but I got someone from a totally different department. She told me she could not connect me to the waiver department and that I could send a fax if I wanted to. So I guess I was just lucky when I called the first time and got the correct person on the line. About the waiver; the thing you are quoting is about something else. Our government is willing to provide us a NOS. There is no special waiver for people who won the DV-lottery (and that was what you were quoting). That we know, of course. We will just be asking for a NOS, and do understand that there is no special category for winning the DV. So don't worry about that :)
The girl is currently trying to get the waiver, she resides in her home country and also has to go through CP. She won the DV-2012 so I can't answer the question about if she got the GC.
But what are you going to do now? Did you fill in the waiver forms yet? Or are you going to send DS-230 back first?

Greetings!
 
Thanks again. You can't imagine the stress I am going through these days. After being so lucky wining the lottery, the possibility that everything could fall apart scares me a lot. So, are you telling me that you called the same number as I did, this is Public Inquiries Division at (202) 663-1225, is this correct?
I haven't sent anything yet, because I want to be completely sure that if I send the DS-230 saying "YES" to the 40j, the KCC will still process my application and I will be called for the interview at the embassy. I think, I will start with the waiver asap, but my government told me that in order for them to give the NOS, I need to tell them that I need the waiver before the interview. The problem is that in this week I haven't been able to contact anyone at the embassy who is an expert and can answer my questions, they haven't replied to my emails yet, and when I called they just forward me to a call center where the people there obviously don't know how to answer very specific questions. In any case, the call center has my details and they have forwarded my questions to the embassy. Hopefully, I will hear from them tomorrow.

Cheers,
 
Yes, it's the same number (then I pressed 1-2-3-0). It's really unfortunate that we do not really know for sure what to do. That's why I keep hoping that everything goes super fast with the waiver, and that I can send in the forms after that (either to do AOS or CP). Some people from Europe got their waiver in 4 weeks, if that also happens to us, we can send everything in after that. I'm also so scared that something goes wrong, but for now.. there is nothing we can do about it.
 
2012j1, in order to get the NOS from my government I need to show them that I need the waiver before my interview which will be in October 2011 given my case number 2012EU00001XXX, I guess. Do you know where I can find the norm where it says that i need the waiver before the interview or where I can get that link? Given that you have a CN similar to mine, your AOS will be in October too.
 
I read it on this board (for example by the user that I mentioned earlier that consulted a lawyer), and I read that people with the 2 year rule are not eligible for AOS (I know you will file for CP) on an immigration lawyer website in their FAQ. Can't seem to find that last one right now. When are you going to send the forms back? Did you already fill out the things for the waiver?
 
After talking with a couple of Lawyers, i have to definitely do a waiver. My only hope now is getting a NOS from my government on time. OO God help us
 
@2012j1: I am doing the waiver now. Do you know long should be the statement of reason?. You said above that it doesn't matter what I write on the statement of reason in my case. I will wait until I get the waiver to send the forms to the KCC, in case there is a huge delay and by August I don't have the waiver then I might send the forms. I have mailed the KCC asking how long they will take for them to process my application (appointment at the embassy) once they receive the forms. They haven't replied yet, but I guess around two months based on what I have read on the forum, maybe less given that this year there are not notification letter and once you have an appointment at the embassy the KCC send you an email saying to check your online status that there is new information. Could you try to find the link to the lawyers website?

@Bessel80: So, based on what the lawyers told you, you will wait until you get the waiver before sending the forms to the KCC?
 
@2012j1: I forgot to tell you, finally the US embassy contacted me about my question: "Do you know where I can find the norm where it says that i need the waiver before the interview or where I can get that link?" they just copy and paste the INA section 212 e, frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/get-cfr.cgi?TITLE=22&PART=40&SECTION=202&TYPE=TEXT .So, I guess its where you can interpret that you need the waiver before either AOS or CP.
 
Thanks, yes that is also the text that I found on one of the websites. Lets hope that everything will go fast and smoothly, regarding our waiver. I am just waiting for one more letter from my home country, and then I can send my embassy an email with the documents they need for the NOS.
The statement of reason in our application was really short, just 2 or 3 sentences. I hope that will be enough.
 
Am I in a big trouble??

hey guys

I am DV2012 lottery winner and my CN is not low 2012AF00020xxx. I was previously J1 and I am now in my home country fulfilling the two years home residency and I am in my home country since July 2010. Unfortunately, I did not realize that 2 Y HR apply for me except after I sent my forms to KCC so in question 40J regarding this point my answer was no although the correct answer is yes............ What can I do now???
1- Should I contact KCC and tell them that I answered this question by mistake and the correct answer is yes....????
2- If I do this, will this disqualify my application and I will never have interview date??

I will apply for a waiver, Should I wait till the results for the waiver approved and then contact KCC....??

Please advise me.
Thanks in advance for help
 
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