DV 2016 AOS Only

[iicux]

Seems like your FO initially thought you were a 2015 selectee, hence the promptly scheduled interview in Sept before the start of your applicable FY. The petition then got denied after the interview once they realized you're a 2016 selectee. Does your online status indicate the approval date? Has it shown any update regarding card production being ordered? You should call the USCIS customer service number to follow up on your case - request to speak with a Tier 2 officer after politely listening to the customer service rep read out exactly what you've already seen online when you checked the case status yourself.

This is what I got when I check my status "On December 15, 2015, we approved your Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or to Adjust Status, Receipt Number MSCxxxxxxxxx. We will mail your approval notice. Please follow the instructions in the notice..."
I was surprised that an interview was scheduled so fast when I first filed, it seems so that this was the reason. I'll contact USCIS customer service tomorrow as you advised to follow up.

Thank you Sm1smom!

 

[Sm1smom]

This is what I got when I check my status "On December 15, 2015, we approved your Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or to Adjust Status, Receipt Number MSCxxxxxxxxx. We will mail your approval notice. Please follow the instructions in the notice..."
I was surprised that an interview was scheduled so fast when I first filed, it seems so that this was the reason. I'll contact USCIS customer service tomorrow as you advised to follow up.

Thank you Sm1smom!

Well, that information is a definite confirmation your case has been approved, congratulations. They probably approved it based on the previous interview you had back in September. You should definitely be receiving the GC itself before the end of Dec. That's great!

 

[iicux]

Well, that information is a definite confirmation your case has been approved, congratulations. They probably approved it based on the previous interview you had back in September. You should definitely be receiving the GC itself before the end of Dec. That's great!

Thanks Mom I feel much better now, because last time I had bad surprise.. I'll keep you posted.

 

[asgcdgod]

Hi, I'm still waiting for interview notice but my husband just got EAD card. ( But I haven't...) We are currently F1 status. I have a question. If he uses EAD card from next year or even now, what if we get denied? Can we still go back to F1 status? We are still going to school. If we go back to F1, but can he still work if EAD card hasn't expired? or better just don't use it?
And should he apply SSN right now? or should wait for the interview?
Thanks in advance.

 

[Bluefox]

I would like to share my interview experience with you guys.

First of All, I would like to thank Mom for her invaluable advises.

Since I was not familiar with this forum before submitting my documents, I did not include the most of the stuff that are in the excel shit and I mostly included the ones that were requested in USCIS website.

I went through the security check and then the officer called my name and I went in and after swearing to oath, she started asking me about the basic information such as my name, family name and generally verified all the information I had written on I-485.

Meanwhile I told her that I had an internship during the summer but I forgot to include the CPT (permission) with my documents. So she took it alongside with my I-20 (Thanks Mom for the tip!)
She also asked Yes/No questions which are located at the END of I-485.

She didn't ask for any financial documents such as my W2/Tax stuff or affidavit of support. At the end, she printed out a form and checked the box for approval. She told me I should receive the physical card in two weeks. (I highly doubt this timing because of @Elixir Gautam experience in the FO!).

My online status is not changed yet after interview.

Thanks again mom for your honest and helpful guides.

 

[Elixir Gautam]

I would like to share my interview experience with you guys.

First of All, I would like to thank Mom for her invaluable advises.

Since I was not familiar with this forum before submitting my documents, I did not include the most of the stuff that are in the excel shit and I mostly included the ones that were requested in USCIS website.

I went through the security check and then the officer called my name and I went in and after swearing to oath, she started asking me about the basic information such as my name, family name and generally verified all the information I had written on I-485.

Meanwhile I told her that I had an internship during the summer but I forgot to include the CPT (permission) with my documents. So she took it alongside with my I-20 (Thanks Mom for the tip!)
She also asked Yes/No questions which are located at the END of I-485.

She didn't ask for any financial documents such as my W2/Tax stuff or affidavit of support. At the end, she printed out a form and checked the box for approval. She told me I should receive the physical card in two weeks. (I highly doubt this timing because of @Elixir Gautam experience in the FO!).

My online status is not changed yet after interview.

Thanks again mom for your honest and helpful guides.

I was waiting for your interview experience. For some reason, the Indianapolis FO is doing it late for us. Anyway, lets hope for the best. Please update if you get approval notice.

 

[Sm1smom]

Hi, I'm still waiting for interview notice but my husband just got EAD card. ( But I haven't...) We are currently F1 status. I have a question. If he uses EAD card from next year or even now, what if we get denied? Can we still go back to F1 status? We are still going to school. If we go back to F1, but can he still work if EAD card hasn't expired? or better just don't use it?
And should he apply SSN right now? or should wait for the interview?
Thanks in advance.

If you guys use your DV based EAD card to take up an offer of employment, you're technically no longer in F1 status and if your AOS petition ends up being denied at the end of the day, you technically have no F1 status to fall back on. You also can no longer use that EAD card to continue working regardless of whether the card has expired or not. The card becomes invalid if the AOS petition is denied.

 

[Sm1smom]

I would like to share my interview experience with you guys.

First of All, I would like to thank Mom for her invaluable advises.

Since I was not familiar with this forum before submitting my documents, I did not include the most of the stuff that are in the excel shit and I mostly included the ones that were requested in USCIS website.

I went through the security check and then the officer called my name and I went in and after swearing to oath, she started asking me about the basic information such as my name, family name and generally verified all the information I had written on I-485.

Meanwhile I told her that I had an internship during the summer but I forgot to include the CPT (permission) with my documents. So she took it alongside with my I-20 (Thanks Mom for the tip!)
She also asked Yes/No questions which are located at the END of I-485.

She didn't ask for any financial documents such as my W2/Tax stuff or affidavit of support. At the end, she printed out a form and checked the box for approval. She told me I should receive the physical card in two weeks. (I highly doubt this timing because of @Elixir Gautam experience in the FO!).

My online status is not changed yet after interview.

Thanks again mom for your honest and helpful guides.

That is fantastic! Congratulations!!

 

[kchemist]

I was waiting for your interview experience. For some reason, the Indianapolis FO is doing it late for us. Anyway, lets hope for the best. Please update if you get approval notice.

I think it is good the ask them to stamp the tempory green card to avoid this sort of incidents. What do you guys think about?

 

[asgcdgod]

If you guys use your DV based EAD card to take up an offer of employment, you're technically no longer in F1 status and if your AOS petition ends up being denied at the end of the day, you technically have no F1 status to fall back on. You also can no longer use that EAD card to continue working regardless of whether the card has expired or not. The card becomes invalid if the AOS petition is denied.

I understand, thank you mom! So it's safer to just wait till interview as same as travel permit. But what about SSN? Can't he even apply for SSN with that EAD card?

 

[HardStones]

I also would like to share my interview experience. We had our interview yesterday in Detroit, MI and it went pretty straight forward. The officer asked us some of the Yes/No questions in the I-485 form and then asked us very simple questions about our parents names and our dates of birth. The interview took around 10 minutes. The officer was very nice and he said that everything looks good. The officer said that he was going to approve the case on spot, but there was one document missing (a letter), which as he said was not sent to their local office. I showed him the dv lottery winning letter and he said yes it is the missing paper. He said that he will request a visa number for us and hopefully it will come back within 24 hours. Then he will approve the case immediately and we will receive our green cards within two weeks. I am confident that we sent this document with the application so I am not sure why they did not receive it. I asked my attorney and he said that USCIS does this kind of mistakes very often.

The only document the officer asked for is a photocopy of the birth certificate of my three months old baby. I did not have this when I submitted the application. He did not ask about any financial documents. He also was fine with me interpreting for my wife, even though we had a friend with us as a back up, but he said that he is fine with me doing the interpretation.

Mom, how long do you think it takes the officer to receive the visa number? My online status is not changed yet. Thanks for your help.

 

[Sm1smom]

I think it is good the ask them to stamp the tempory green card to avoid this sort of incidents. What do you guys think about?

This can only help in a situation where the IO expressly states at the end of the interview that your case is approved. If he/she says

I think it is good the ask them to stamp the tempory green card to avoid this sort of incidents. What do you guys think about?

You may request the temporary stamp, however the IO isn't obligated to issue a temporary I-551 even if he/she says your case has been approved at the end of your interview.

 

[Sm1smom]

I understand, thank you mom! So it's safer to just wait till interview as same as travel permit. But what about SSN? Can't he even apply for SSN with that EAD card?

Yes he can apply for a SSN, no harm in that. Just be aware the SSN card will be issued with the DHS restrictions: "VALID FOR WORK ONLY WITH DHS AUTHORIZATION" printed on it. He will need to go back and request a replacement SSN when the AOS petition gets approved if he now wants a SSN card without the restriction stated. Of course it's not compulsory to have a card withou the restriction but it's always better to have the card without the restriction as a LPR.

 

[Sm1smom]

I also would like to share my interview experience. We had our interview yesterday in Detroit, MI and it went pretty straight forward. The officer asked us some of the Yes/No questions in the I-485 form and then asked us very simple questions about our parents names and our dates of birth. The interview took around 10 minutes. The officer was very nice and he said that everything looks good. The officer said that he was going to approve the case on spot, but there was one document missing (a letter), which as he said was not sent to their local office. I showed him the dv lottery winning letter and he said yes it is the missing paper. He said that he will request a visa number for us and hopefully it will come back within 24 hours. Then he will approve the case immediately and we will receive our green cards within two weeks. I am confident that we sent this document with the application so I am not sure why they did not receive it. I asked my attorney and he said that USCIS does this kind of mistakes very often.

The only document the officer asked for is a photocopy of the birth certificate of my three months old baby. I did not have this when I submitted the application. He did not ask about any financial documents. He also was fine with me interpreting for my wife, even though we had a friend with us as a back up, but he said that he is fine with me doing the interpretation.

Mom, how long do you think it takes the officer to receive the visa number? My online status is not changed yet. Thanks for your help.

Congratulations on getting the interview out of the way. The missing document the IO is referring to isn't the copy of the DV selectee notification letter which I'm certain you originally included with your AOS package. It's most likely the case file from KCC - either your FO forgot to request the case file from KCC before your interview (and your IO just realized that) or they already made the request and were simply waiting for KCC to respond. Requesting and getting the visa number is an online process, which can be done right on the spot, hardly requires any wait time as long as the CN is current prior to the interview taking place.

You can give KCC a call and ask them if your FO has requested your KCC file. If they say yes, ask them when was it requested and if it's already sent.

 

[HardStones]

Congratulations on getting the interview out of the way. The missing document the IO is referring to isn't the copy of the DV selectee notification letter which I'm certain you originally included with your AOS package. It's most likely the case file from KCC - either your FO forgot to request the case file from KCC before your interview (and your IO just realized that) or they already made the request and were simply waiting for KCC to respond. Requesting and getting the visa number is an online process, which can be done right on the spot, hardly requires any wait time as long as the CN is current prior to the interview taking place.

You can give KCC a call and ask them if your FO has requested your KCC file. If they say yes, ask them when was it requested and if it's already sent.

Thank you so much for your reply. Do you know how long it takes KCC to respond to them if they ordered the file? I remember that the IO mentioned that he requested the file, but have not received it yet. I will give KCC a call on Monday.

Also is it the same file we receive from KCC regarding AOS? If so I had this with me, but I did not know that it is what he needed!

 

[Sm1smom]

Thank you so much for your reply. Do you know how long it takes KCC to respond to them if they ordered the file? I remember that the IO mentioned that he requested the file, but have not received it yet. I will give KCC a call on Monday.

Also is it the same file we receive from KCC regarding AOS? If so I had this with me, but I did not know that it is what he needed!

It took quite a while last year, 3 to 6 weeks if I'm not mistaken. It seems to be faster this year though, going by the reports of those who already got approved. It's probably more than what you have on hand, but it still wouldn't have mattered even if you had copies of everything that's typically contained in the file. The official file still has to come directly from KCC to your FO before the case gets approved.

 

[HardStones]

Thanks so much for your continuous help!

 

[asgcdgod]

Yes he can apply for a SSN, no harm in that. Just be aware the SSN card will be issued with the DHS restrictions: "VALID FOR WORK ONLY WITH DHS AUTHORIZATION" printed on it. He will need to go back and request a replacement SSN when the AOS petition gets approved if he now wants a SSN card without the restriction stated. Of course it's not compulsory to have a card withou the restriction but it's always better to have the card without the restriction as a LPR.

I really appreciate your response mom!

 

[STAN2015]

Hi Mom and all readers,

As Mom mentioned many times before to be patience, I finally got my interview letter, I received it yesterday and it will be scheduled on coming Tuesday, it's a pretty short notice but my spouse and I are happy to receive it. I will keep update with all of you.
Wish us luck and thank you.

Merry Christmas.

 

[jjjess]

Hi Mom and all readers,

As Mom mentioned many times before to be patience, I finally got my interview letter, I received it yesterday and it will be scheduled on coming Tuesday, it's a pretty short notice but my spouse and I are happy to receive it. I will keep update with all of you.
Wish us luck and thank you.

Merry Christmas.

Congrats!!