It seems to be pretty high. I would deal with school change first, and give 2-3 months before sending DSP122. But that's me.
DV 2014 AOS Only
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It seems to be pretty high. I would deal with school change first, and give 2-3 months before sending DSP122. But that's me.
So they already have the visa? I do not think there would be a problem at the entry unless they volunteer information that they were not asked.
I sincerely think it is in their best interest to apply for CP in their home country. It will go much smoother.
Odds of getting Green Card
Hi all!
This is the first time I entered the DV lottery and I won! While that is amazing, it also means I know very little about the whole process and my chances of success.
I am on a J1 visa (student) which expires in May 2013 but my DS-2019 is fine for a few more years (school officials assure me that as long as I don't leave the US I am still legal).
I called the KCC to ask about the AoS process and they instructed me to mail in the DSP-122 (not DS-230) with the selectee notification letter and 2 passport pictures. While this is not required, the person I spoke with said it helps them to get the process started to have it.
In terms of next steps, apparently, I just wait until my number becomes current (by checking the bulletin monthly) and then I mail in the Adjustment of Status form (I-485).
My questions are:
1. Does all this sound ok or is there something else I should be doing?
2. What forms go along with the I-485 and the fee?
3. my case number is: DV2014AS000001xx. Is that a good number?
Hi all!
This is the first time I entered the DV lottery and I won! While that is amazing, it also means I know very little about the whole process and my chances of success.
I am on a J1 visa (student) which expires in May 2013 but my DS-2019 is fine for a few more years (school officials assure me that as long as I don't leave the US I am still legal).
I called the KCC to ask about the AoS process and they instructed me to mail in the DSP-122 (not DS-230) with the selectee notification letter and 2 passport pictures. While this is not required, the person I spoke with said it helps them to get the process started to have it.
In terms of next steps, apparently, I just wait until my number becomes current (by checking the bulletin monthly) and then I mail in the Adjustment of Status form (I-485).
My questions are:
1. Does all this sound ok or is there something else I should be doing?
2. What forms go along with the I-485 and the fee?
3. my case number is: DV2014AS000001xx. Is that a good number?
O-1 is dual intent visa, you will be fine at the consulate.
Let me do you a favor; forget these calculationsThere's no heads and tails when it comes to DV numbers. As I wrote before, the case numbers don't mean much. Only thing you can know with some degree of confidence is how many were selected in your country. If it is a low number, you have reason to worry.
Let me give you an example:
100 people got selected from your country. Your case number is 0000041, so you are number 41 selectee in your whole region. Does that mean you are getting a green card for sure? No.
Do you want me to elaborate more ?
Hi aos13.
First, thanks for sharing your extensive knowledge with us!
I was wondering how you can know how many people are selected from your country (as you stated in a previous post). I did an internet search but couldnt find anything. I couldnt find how many are selected in my region either (South America). I did however find an estimate of the number of selectees for South America in past years.
OK wait a minute are you AS or SA ?
1xx ?? That is one awesome number
Should I get excited by your classification of my case number as "awesome"?
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SA - sorry for that typo before.
Well for AS (Asia) it would have been awesome. For SA (South America) things are different. In 2013, there were 18 selectees from Grenada. That means there are more or less 10 visa numbers available for Grenada
Here is your dilemma: if you do AOS, you are almost guaranteed NOT to get a visa number. Because by the time USCIS sorts out your stuff and gives you an interview, bunch of your countrymen will already have their interviews scheduled/done. Your number is very low, but so is your country's quota (unless they chose more people this year from your country which we don't know yet).
You will be current in October, chances are you'll get an interview in December, January, or even February, which could be too late.
If you do CP, you have more chances; you'll get your interview probably in October, before other 15 or 20 people had a chance
to claim all visa numbers. But remember this; if you don't get a GC, you are not coming back to US on J1
Your number is low so chances are you'll get an interview before most of them, but all it takes is three people before you with spouses and kids, and all 10 or so visa numbers are gone.
There was a guy from Belize this year and he had no idea that there were only about 10 visas available; by the time USCIS gave him an interview there were no numbers left.
You really have some thinking and deciding to do. If you think it's worth risking J1, I'd say go ahead and do CP.Well for AS (Asia) it would have been awesome. For SA (South America) things are different. In 2013, there were 18 selectees from Grenada. That means there are more or less 10 visa numbers available for Grenada
Here is your dilemma: if you do AOS, you are almost guaranteed NOT to get a visa number. Because by the time USCIS sorts out your stuff and gives you an interview, bunch of your countrymen will already have their interviews scheduled/done. Your number is very low, but so is your country's quota (unless they chose more people this year from your country which we don't know yet).
You will be current in October, chances are you'll get an interview in December, January, or even February, which could be too late.
If you do CP, you have more chances; you'll get your interview probably in October, before other 15 or 20 people had a chance
to claim all visa numbers. But remember this; if you don't get a GC, you are not coming back to US on J1
Your number is low so chances are you'll get an interview before most of them, but all it takes is three people before you with spouses and kids, and all 10 or so visa numbers are gone.
There was a guy from Belize this year and he had no idea that there were only about 10 visas available; by the time USCIS gave him an interview there were no numbers left.
Thanks for the advice and so thoroughly considering my case. I definitely cant jeopardize my J1 status so I guess I probably wont be getting that Green card.
Can you clarify why CP will get interviews before I do? There is actually no US consulate in my country (peopel have to travel to another country for interviews). Why does it take so long to schedule an interview in the US once my paperwork is received? Is there nothing I can do to speed that up (like if I called to schedule it on October 1st)? Also, does the 1XX number apply to the whole SA region or only my country? Isnt it possible that the others from my country wont be current in October or even this year and so I still have a shot?
Also, I read somewhere that there were no specific country quotas, only for each region.
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In short, CP is faster than AOS because embassies work faster than USCIS. You send your stuff to embassy, once they schedule an interview, fingerprinting, paying money and interview is done all in one step. Here in US, your application goes to Chicago, then to Missouri, then to your field office, sits there for a while, you get a bio interview, than another letter for the actual interview; on average this whole thing can take 60-90 days. The fastest I've seen so far was about 37 days. Mine was 65 days.
In the meanwhile people who has higher case numbers than you are already getting their interviews done in CP.
There's pretty much nothing you can do other than calling USCIS every day to tell them to move fast, and they still will do it in their own pace because there is about a million cases they are already late for.
1XX applies to whole SA, so you are right; others from your country may not be current in October at all. The problem is you have no idea what their numbers are. And as I said, all it takes is few people with spouses and kids.
There were about 2200 people selected from SA last year, and 742 were issued visas. So in a crude way one could say your in top 5-10% in the whole region; but you can't really say anything about your rank in your country.
Chances are you'll get your visa in CP, but there is no sure way of knowing that. I suggest you try to find people online who have been through this in your country or similar countries and ask for their advice. If you do decide for CP, you'll have to do everything ASAP in order to make sure somebody is not getting ahead of you because you sent your stuff couple of days late.
Can you find where you read that? Because I'm pretty sure there are country quotas when selecting winners; it would only make sense there are also quotas for available visa numbers. There is a cap about how many people can migrate from a given country, DV quotas are calculated based on previous migration from each country. Also, if you look at the pdf link I posted a while ago, there is a relation between number of selectees and how many actual visas are given to each country.
EDIT: OK I did some more homework, and you are right, there are no specific country quotas, but they definitely choose different number of selectees for each country. Regional quotas are recomputed each year based on every country's past five year immigration level. The law says selectees are competing for the regional quota, NOT a country quota. But we never have seen all selectees from a given country getting GCs. Always only half or less selectees get GC. So there is reason to believe that they want to keep each country below a certain immigration level during DV based on that country's past immigration. I'm just putting it here for future reference. I'll also send pm to make sure you read this.
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Thanks!
I cant do CP and jeopardize my J1 so I will just pray that I get lucky (again) in AoS.
I don't understand the whole nationality-quota issue. From what I read on their website, the only quota restrictions were that no one country could get more than 7% of the visas available. I thought that the numbers you are quoting per country (and the link posted in the earliest posts) are results for 2013, not quotas.
Either way, there is nothing I can do except do everything really early and perhaps call them everyday in October!
Here is where I found it: http://immigration-lawyer.com/info/dv-green-card-lottery-cut-off-numbers/ as well as other forums (that may or may not be trusted)
There are two links, one shows how many people were selected, the other one is how many visas issued.
I suggest you seek advice of a competent immigration lawyer (preferably somebody who worked with people from SA before), as well as international student advisors in your school before making a decision. The fact that your number is so low makes CP really attractive. On the other hand, please do find out what happens to your J1 status if you do AOS and get rejected. We have reason to believe that J visa holders, like F1s, can continue their status upon unsuccessful GC interview; but we are no lawyers! Please inform yourself to make the right decision.
At the end of the day, online forums are just bunch of people talking.
I will continue doing research then. I will share whatever I do learn!
UPDATE: I called KCC concerning country quotas a few days ago. The lady I spoke with was very careful in her answers as there seems to be some issues on this subject.
Me: Are there cut off numbers or quotas for specific countries?
KCC rep: "There are no rules governing the number of visas any one country can receive. We have never been given such information"
Me: Where can I find the exact quota numbers for each region (rather than use the statistics from past years)?
KCC rep: "I am not aware of any place where you can find region quotas".
Me: But I can expect that after a certain number for each region is reached, no more GCs will be granted?
KCC rep: "I have no information regarding any cut of numbers"
To me, it seems like the whole idea of cut off numbers was something they did not want the public to know specifics about (maybe they change the numbers every year, or maybe they do not want us to plan according to numbers but apply as if we all have an equal chance, or maybe there are none.) either way, she was deliberately vague when answering my questions and all I know for sure if that there are no country quotas and, the USCIS makes the decisions on GC (not quota numbers)
UPDATE: I called KCC concerning country quotas a few days ago. The lady I spoke with was very careful in her answers as there seems to be some issues on this subject.
Me: Are there cut off numbers or quotas for specific countries?
KCC rep: "There are no rules governing the number of visas any one country can receive. We have never been given such information"
Me: Where can I find the exact quota numbers for each region (rather than use the statistics from past years)?
KCC rep: "I am not aware of any place where you can find region quotas".
Me: But I can expect that after a certain number for each region is reached, no more GCs will be granted?
KCC rep: "I have no information regarding any cut of numbers"
To me, it seems like the whole idea of cut off numbers was something they did not want the public to know specifics about (maybe they change the numbers every year, or maybe they do not want us to plan according to numbers but apply as if we all have an equal chance, or maybe there are none.) either way, she was deliberately vague when answering my questions and all I know for sure if that there are no country quotas and, the USCIS makes the decisions on GC (not quota numbers)
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I did have the two year rule and got it waived a couple years ago (I would not have been an eligible selectee otherwise). And my DS2019 was extended after that with no problems.
Huh, so it is different for different countries I guess. Because I know two cases where they could not get an extension after the waiver. Goes to show that every case is different. Thanks for sharing.
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