Hi all! Yes, IT’S DONE! We received our GC last Thursday and now I would like to share my experience.
I was in F1 status, my wife and our child were in F2 status. I couldn’t believe that I was selected in DV, especially because I was born in Ukraine, and it’s in the list of “special” countries and the probability of being selected from these countries is significantly low in comparison with “regular” countries
http://britsimonsays.com/dv2018-selectee-numbers-published/
I restarted my laptop several times when I saw 1NL on 5/3/2017! After that I filled DS-260 and paid DV fee. I translated all my documents in my country because it’s much cheaper in comparison with translations in the US. They were printed on A4 paper and it was NOT a problem for USCIS. Actually, I drove to FO and asked a lot of questions (for instance, should I type N/A in I-485 or something like that), moreover, I asked the representative to ask the officer who considers DV cases all these questions. They confirmed that I can file my package according to early filing policy memo.
I filed my package in November when December Bulletin was available. My number was current in January.
In February we received interview notice and I prepared all necessary documents. But there were typos in 2 interview notices and I decided to call Customer Service to check whether these typos were in USCIS system or not. I found typos were made in notices only but USCIS made a request to fix this issue. And it sent the notice to my wife that her interview will be at a later date
https://forums.immigration.com/threads/dv-2018-aos-only.336256/page-101#post-2471379 We were so confused but decided to attend the interview all together according to the suggestion made by mom.
Our interview was scheduled on 3/8 at 10 AM. We decided to ask our friend to be an interpreter because my wife was not confident in her level of English. We arrived at 9:40, checked in and in 5 minutes the officer asked us to follow her to the interview room. After saying the oath, I asked the officer about the notice for my wife (interview at a later date, see above). She said that the later date meant after issuance of the notice and we all were having interview as scheduled. Then she asked for passports, DL and SSN cards. After that I answered all questions from I-485 (good that she asked yes/no to both of us at the same time). Then she asked my wife about her bibliographic data, where my wife was working in the US. My spouse explained that she was not eligible to work in the US.
When they finished with my wife’s I-485, the officer asked questions from our child’s I-485. Thankfully, she asked only bio questions not yes/no!
After that she said we were done. I asked about documents and our case overall and the officer told us that the decision would be made later. At the same time, she noted that all necessary documents were available in my package. Why? Because I followed mom’s spreadsheet!
She said that decision may be made next week and if approved we would receive our green cards in 2-4 weeks. At the end of the interview the officer asked whether we would like to add any documents to our case. I decided to add recent paystubs, employment letter, but I totally forgot about recent W-2.
Again, the officer did not ask any documents except passports, DL and my SSN. She did not ask anything about DV entry. I brought about 30 lbs of documents but almost nothing was needed.
We checked USCIS case status every hour after we left FO, but it showed the same message about fingerprint fee. Only when I created an account in USCIS system
https://forums.immigration.com/threads/dv-2018-aos-only.336256/page-106#post-2471726 I found that we were approved on the day of the interview and CPO was made on the same day! We received approval notices
https://forums.immigration.com/threads/dv-2018-aos-only.336256/page-103#post-2471540 and in a couple of days our cards were delivered! We were so happy!
My conclusions:
1) Follow mom’s suggestions! A few times I decided not to follow and each time I got into trap. She is extremely experienced and knows what to do for successful AOS journey.
2) Always ask your CS to show you I-693 BEFORE CS signs it. Otherwise you may find that your passport number or your name will be written incorrectly. And the clinic representative can tell you something like: “If USCIS rejects your medical exam, just come again we will do another envelope for you”…
3) Be patient! AOS is different from CP and takes more time. And you have to prepare more documents. And it’s more expensive. However, in my case, I spent $5k for AOS, but if I calculate the cost of tickets to my country, it will be about $3k for me, my spouse and our child. As a result, the overall price is similar.
List of documents for XX XX (DV selectee):
- Personal check $1,225
- Two passport-style photos 2x2 inches
- Form I-485 (Green Card Application) signed by applicant along with the following supporting documents for XX XX
- Additional sheet to I-485
- USCIS Policy Memorandum PM-602-0088
- USCIS webpage “Green Card Through the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program” https://www.uscis.gov/greencard/diversity-visa
- Visa bulletin for December 2017
- Form G-325A
- Form G-1145
- Copy of the principal applicant’s selection letter for the diversity visa lottery from Department of State
- Copy of DOS Notification letter of transferring case to AOS through USCIS
- Copy of the receipt from DOS for the Diversity Visa Lottery processing fee
- Copy of passport main page
- Copy of page with visa/stamps
- Copy of birth certificate with certified translation
- Copy of National passport with certified translation
- Copy of Military records with certified translation
- Copy of secondary school certificate with certified translation
- Copy of Bachelor Diploma with certified translation
- Copy of Master Diploma with certified translation
- Copy of Candidate of Sciences Diploma with certified translation
- Copy of the Decree about renaming the city of QQ with certified translation
- Copy of online I-94
- Copy of I-20 + SEVIS
- Copy of Social Security Number
- Copy of Enrollment verification letter
- Employment letter
- Copy of Appointment letter + transcripts
- Copies of recent Paystubs
- Copy of W-2
- Copy of Tax Return Transcript
- Copy of receipt for photos
- Form I-134 Affidavit of Support signed by the Sponsor
- Employment letter for the Sponsor
- Copy of W-2 for the Sponsor
- Copy of Driver License for the Sponsor
- Form I-693 (sealed medical evaluation)
List of documents for YY YY (spouse):
- Personal check $1,225
- Two passport-style photos 2x2 inches
- Form I-485 (Green Card Application) signed by applicant along with the following supporting documents for YY YY
- Additional sheet to I-485
- Form G-325A
- Form G-1145
- Copy of the principal applicant’s selection letter for the diversity visa lottery from Department of State
- Copy of passport main page
- Copy of page with visa/stamps
- Copy of birth certificate with certified translation
- Copy of National passport with certified translation
- Copy of Military records with certified translation
- Copy of marriage certificate with certified translation
- Copy of secondary school certificate with certified translation
- Copy of Specialist Diploma with certified translation
- Copy of doctor’s certificate with certified translation
- Copy of the Decree about renaming the city of QQ with certified translation
- Copy of online I-94
- Copy of I-20
- Form I-693 (sealed medical evaluation)
List of documents for ZZ ZZ (child):
- Personal check $750
- Two passport-style photos 2x2 inches
- Form I-485 (Green Card Application) signed by applicant along with the following supporting documents for ZZ ZZ
- Form G-1145
- Copy of the principal applicant’s selection letter for the diversity visa lottery from Department of State
- Copy of passport main page
- Copy of page with visa/stamps
- Copy of birth certificate with certified translation
- Copy of online I-94
- Copy of I-20
- Form I-693 (sealed medical evaluation)
Timeline:
05/03 – 1NL
05/19 – DS 260
07/10 – DV Fee ($990)
07/28 – 2NL
08/03 – DV Fee Receipt
09/25 – Civil Surgeon appointment
11/13 – Visa Bulletin December 2017
11/14 – Package sent (USPS)
11/27 – Acceptance letter and text
11/28 – Checks cashed
12/02 – I-797C case received
12/08 – I-797C biometrics
12/12 – biometrics walk-in
12/19 – biometrics scheduled
01/12 – USCIS requested the case from KCC (call 03/05)
02/04 – interview letter 03/08
03/08 – Interview 9:45 – 10:30
03/08 – Case approved
03/08 – Card Production Ordered
03/12 – I-797C Approval Notice
03/13 – Cards were mailed
03/16 – Cards were delivered!
At the end I want to thank mom! She is doing amazing job and she is trying to help everybody on this forum even when we ask the same (and, frankly speaking, stupid questions) again and again. She created superhelpful spreadsheet that contains all necessary information and is available for everyone for free! That’s so amazing! Thanks, mom! Also, I would like to thank Britsimon and all other members of this forum for your experience and suggestions.
