DV 2018 AOS Only

[Peter Marshall]

This may sound like a stupid question, but there have been so many different approvals/acceptances to various things on the way, just want to be sure... does "On May 3, 2018, we approved your Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status... we will mail your approval notice" 45 minutes after my interview mean the whole thing is done now and GC en route?

 

[Sm1smom]

This may sound like a stupid question, but there have been so many different approvals/acceptances to various things on the way, just want to be sure... does "On May 3, 2018, we approved your Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status... we will mail your approval notice" 45 minutes after my interview mean the whole thing is done now and GC en route?

Yup!

 

[Sm1smom]

Tnanks, I got you.

But what is an RFE, and may it delay the case, will we need to attend another interview or just send them what will be requried?

Andrii

RFE/RFI - Request For Evidence / Request For Information

It delays the approval, no additional interview, you send in the requested document(s) / information and wait until the FO is ready to review the case and what was sent in.

 

[Peter Marshall]

Hi all,

I want to write this post to first of all thank Mom, Simon and other moderators for their invaluable insight and guidance on this process, and share my interview experience, and also set out my personal thoughts on whether to use a lawyer.

The Interview Itself
After requesting to expedite my case, I got a one week notice about my interview. I go in with my lawyer and am not feeling that great because there is no warmth at all off the IO. There also were no family pictures or any personal things in her office which seemed strange. She asks me to raise my hand, swear to tell the truth etc. She runs through basic questions (name, DOB etc), the generic 1-25 questions, asks for a load of documents etc. Not much unusual but there was one bizarre thing she pressed me on which made me sweat and my lawyer was like afterwards, "yeah that was bizarre. Never seen that happen before."

When the IO asked for my law school diploma, I handed her the official certified copy the records office gave me which basically said "We testify that Peter graduated May 2017..." she then asks where the actual diploma is, to which I say Ireland. She asks why there? I go "ehhh... because... its more valuable to my parents framed at home..?" she then goes "so it's not valuable to you here right now?" There's silence, I say it's a certified copy as requested, and I have the exact same type of letter for my college diploma. She then asks for any other evidence, I give her a sealed transcript then she moves on.

At the end I was given a notice that basically said "you interview is complete. We cannot process your case at this time. You will receive a decision within 30 days." Great, more waiting I'm thinking. Then on my way back to my office, I get an email saying my I-485 was approved. I had to clarify whether that means it's all good now on this forum a few minutes ago and am delighted to hear that it is.

Hiring a Lawyer
Take this advice with a pinch/fistful of salt or disregard entirely. I see moderators here saying don't bother with a lawyer, not necessary, they make the case worse etc. From my own experience, (and coming from a (hopefully) soon to be admitted Californian attorney, I disagree.

Do your research and find an immigration attorney who comes well recommended at a reasonable fee. Although my attorney was only admitted 2 and a half years ago and had never handled a DV case before, I am really glad I hired her. While unfamiliar with the DV program, she was very familiar with the I-485 process in general and other immigration matters. She filed all the right documents at the right time. It seems people here delay their cases by filing early or other basic mistakes. A lawyer is worth the headache of not running into those issues.

Moreover, she coordinated with my employer my expedite request and knew what to say, and how to say it such that my request was approved. I was born in the UK but she knew what documents to produce and what to say to fit my case within an exception such that it was not a problem. Finally, working long, stressful hours myself, and having strange quirks in my case (going AOS route and born in an ineligible country) going through the process on my own would've been too much. With my OPT expiring in 2 months time, it was really nice having a knowledgeable attorney there to keep me calm, and under control.

Thanks again to all involved in this forum.

 

[Sm1smom]

Hi all,

I want to write this post to first of all thank Mom, Simon and other moderators for their invaluable insight and guidance on this process, and share my interview experience, and also set out my personal thoughts on whether to use a lawyer.

The Interview Itself
After requesting to expedite my case, I got a one week notice about my interview. I go in with my lawyer and am not feeling that great because there is no warmth at all off the IO. There also were no family pictures or any personal things in her office which seemed strange. She asks me to raise my hand, swear to tell the truth etc. She runs through basic questions (name, DOB etc), the generic 1-25 questions, asks for a load of documents etc. Not much unusual but there was one bizarre thing she pressed me on which made me sweat and my lawyer was like afterwards, "yeah that was bizarre. Never seen that happen before."

When the IO asked for my law school diploma, I handed her the official certified copy the records office gave me which basically said "We testify that Peter graduated May 2017..." she then asks where the actual diploma is, to which I say Ireland. She asks why there? I go "ehhh... because... its more valuable to my parents framed at home..?" she then goes "so it's not valuable to you here right now?" There's silence, I say it's a certified copy as requested, and I have the exact same type of letter for my college diploma. She then asks for any other evidence, I give her a sealed transcript then she moves on.

At the end I was given a notice that basically said "you interview is complete. We cannot process your case at this time. You will receive a decision within 30 days." Great, more waiting I'm thinking. Then on my way back to my office, I get an email saying my I-485 was approved. I had to clarify whether that means it's all good now on this forum a few minutes ago and am delighted to hear that it is.

Hiring a Lawyer
Take this advice with a pinch/fistful of salt or disregard entirely. I see moderators here saying don't bother with a lawyer, not necessary, they make the case worse etc. From my own experience, (and coming from a (hopefully) soon to be admitted Californian attorney, I disagree.

Do your research and find an immigration attorney who comes well recommended at a reasonable fee. Although my attorney was only admitted 2 and a half years ago and had never handled a DV case before, I am really glad I hired her. While unfamiliar with the DV program, she was very familiar with the I-485 process in general and other immigration matters. She filed all the right documents at the right time. It seems people here delay their cases by filing early or other basic mistakes. A lawyer is worth the headache of not running into those issues.

Moreover, she coordinated with my employer my expedite request and knew what to say, and how to say it such that my request was approved. I was born in the UK but she knew what documents to produce and what to say to fit my case within an exception such that it was not a problem. Finally, working long, stressful hours myself, and having strange quirks in my case (going AOS route and born in an ineligible country) going through the process on my own would've been too much. With my OPT expiring in 2 months time, it was really nice having a knowledgeable attorney there to keep me calm, and under control.

Thanks again to all involved in this forum.

Can you shed more light on which country you were charged to since you’re from an ineligible country and precisely what your lawyer did to fit your case within the exception category?

 

[Sm1smom]

Hi all,

I want to write this post to first of all thank Mom, Simon and other moderators for their invaluable insight and guidance on this process, and share my interview experience, and also set out my personal thoughts on whether to use a lawyer.

The Interview Itself
After requesting to expedite my case, I got a one week notice about my interview. I go in with my lawyer and am not feeling that great because there is no warmth at all off the IO. There also were no family pictures or any personal things in her office which seemed strange. She asks me to raise my hand, swear to tell the truth etc. She runs through basic questions (name, DOB etc), the generic 1-25 questions, asks for a load of documents etc. Not much unusual but there was one bizarre thing she pressed me on which made me sweat and my lawyer was like afterwards, "yeah that was bizarre. Never seen that happen before."

When the IO asked for my law school diploma, I handed her the official certified copy the records office gave me which basically said "We testify that Peter graduated May 2017..." she then asks where the actual diploma is, to which I say Ireland. She asks why there? I go "ehhh... because... its more valuable to my parents framed at home..?" she then goes "so it's not valuable to you here right now?" There's silence, I say it's a certified copy as requested, and I have the exact same type of letter for my college diploma. She then asks for any other evidence, I give her a sealed transcript then she moves on.

At the end I was given a notice that basically said "you interview is complete. We cannot process your case at this time. You will receive a decision within 30 days." Great, more waiting I'm thinking. Then on my way back to my office, I get an email saying my I-485 was approved. I had to clarify whether that means it's all good now on this forum a few minutes ago and am delighted to hear that it is.

Hiring a Lawyer
Take this advice with a pinch/fistful of salt or disregard entirely. I see moderators here saying don't bother with a lawyer, not necessary, they make the case worse etc. From my own experience, (and coming from a (hopefully) soon to be admitted Californian attorney, I disagree.

Do your research and find an immigration attorney who comes well recommended at a reasonable fee. Although my attorney was only admitted 2 and a half years ago and had never handled a DV case before, I am really glad I hired her. While unfamiliar with the DV program, she was very familiar with the I-485 process in general and other immigration matters. She filed all the right documents at the right time. It seems people here delay their cases by filing early or other basic mistakes. A lawyer is worth the headache of not running into those issues.

Moreover, she coordinated with my employer my expedite request and knew what to say, and how to say it such that my request was approved. I was born in the UK but she knew what documents to produce and what to say to fit my case within an exception such that it was not a problem. Finally, working long, stressful hours myself, and having strange quirks in my case (going AOS route and born in an ineligible country) going through the process on my own would've been too much. With my OPT expiring in 2 months time, it was really nice having a knowledgeable attorney there to keep me calm, and under control.

Thanks again to all involved in this forum.

Of course we can disagree to agree but I still maintain hiring a lawyer for a simple straight forward AOS process is a complete waste of money.

Your lawyer is very familiar with I-485 but she clearly didn’t know the fact that filing an I-765 for EAD work authorization with an I-485 is completely free. Remember these conversations (amongst others ) we had in this forum regarding your situation?:

Okay I’m talking apples, you're talking oranges here. An AOS based EAD card which would have allowed you to keeping working if your current status expires while your AOS is pending is FREE - it has nothing to do with an OC3 visa which I don’t even know what that is supposed to be.

Maybe you mean an E3 visa? Still no need to apply for a new one, an AOS based EAD would have taken care of things for you.

You sure? She was going to file one but said as of this year, there is a ~$400 fee. I'll go ahead and file if it is free then.

It doesn’t seem to me like your attorney did keep you calm and under control like you said, considering the fact you still ended up coming online to calm your nerves from a bunch of anonymous posters.

Your attorney attended your interview with you, which I know costs extra. From your narrative, it doesn’t seem like she played any role in the interview process. Her presence didn’t stop your IO from asking the “weird question”, right?

And most people here have successfully filed in a timely manner and without making “basic mistakes” contrary to your observation, before I even demystified the process with the creation of the AOS process spreadsheet.

 

[SusieQQQ]

Plus, the rejections we’ve seen for “early filing” are actually a uscis error not an applicant error...
Mom, do you remember that woman here, I think she was based in NY, who nearly lost out entirely on her green card because her “experienced lawyer” made such a mess of the case? Thankfully she found this forum before it was too late. Most of the time the only damage is financial, charging clients for things they can do themselves, but there have been a couple of bad cases like that one. I guess some people feel more comfortable having someone else looking over all the documents and if they’re happy to pay for that it’s their choice.

 

[Peter Marshall]

Of course we can disagree to agree but I still maintain hiring a lawyer for a simple straight forward AOS process is a complete waste of money.

Your lawyer is very familiar with I-485 but she clearly didn’t know the fact that filing an I-765 for EAD work authorization with an I-485 is completely free. Remember these conversations (amongst others ) we had in this forum regarding your situation?:





It doesn’t seem to me like your attorney did keep you calm and under control like you said, considering the fact you still ended up coming online to calm your nerves from a bunch of anonymous posters.

Your attorney attended your interview with you, which I know costs extra. From your narrative, it doesn’t seem like she played any role in the interview process. Her presence didn’t stop your IO from asking the “weird question”, right?

And most people here have successfully filed in a timely manner and without making “basic mistakes” contrary to your observation, before I even demystified the process with the creation of the AOS process spreadsheet.

 

[Peter Marshall]

Whoa. Lets take a step back for a minute. I didn't come on here looking for an argument or to offend anyone. Just my disclaimed 2 cents on the matter.

She did keep me calm in general, coming on here was due diligence.

The filing fee seemed to be a misunderstanding on their part. She told me its free initially, it got rejected with them then requesting ~$400. She said this was the second time that has happened this year, for unknown reasons. We filed again recently and there was no problem.

There was no extra fee for her to attend, she charged a flat rate. She did jump in saying the USCIS website only requested "originals OR certified copies".

I never doubted most people have successfully filed following this guidance along, just an acknowledgment that there is some scope for things to go wrong.

 

[Xarthisius]

Can you shed more light on which country you were charged to since you’re from an ineligible country and precisely what your lawyer did to fit your case within the exception category?

@Peter Marshall lawyer or no lawyer: it's not really important. The only thing that matters is that ^^. Could you please share the details? It may be invaluable for future winners.

 

[cello8]

1. Yes request to reschedule for none emergency reasons (such as being out of town on the scheduled date) is possible.
2. You may request an expedite if you wish, it definitely will not be entertained. Interview will re rescheduled at the FO’s convenience, which may be after Sept. 30th like you already know.
3. You can have multiple petitions in the system at the same time, not a problem. The second one gets canceled once the first one is approved.

Can’t you move your travel date by one day?

3 is definitely not an option I’ll be considering if I was in your shoes after coming this close to successfully completing the DV based AOS process. You do realize the spousal GC you’ll get will be a conditional one, and you’ll have to file again to remove conditions after 2 years in order to get the 10 year GC which you’ll have received straight away with an approved DV based AOS petition? Plus, you’ll need to gather evidence to prove the marriage is real, go through the process of dealing with USCIS headache TWICE for a marriage based GC when you have the option of putting all that behind until you file for citizenship years later. Just my two penny thoughts of unsolicited musings.

Thank you for taking the time to compare the paths for me, I appreciate your help. I will make sure to attend the interview on the set date.

I do have another question though. I'm on H1B and want to quit my job in July. I didn't apply for work authorization with the i-485 form as I thought I'd be continuing with my organization back then. If I am approved for the GC, will I still need to apply for EAD or I will automatically have a right to work in the US with the GC?

Thanks again!

 

[Peter Marshall]

Can you shed more light on which country you were charged to since you’re from an ineligible country and precisely what your lawyer did to fit your case within the exception category?

Charged to Northern Ireland.

Documents put together (in order of most compelling):
(i) Sworn affidavit from my father attesting to short-term nature of his stay in the UK
(ii) 1991 board meeting minutes showing he was only there at the direction/control of a foreign entity
(iii) mortgage taken out in Ireland prior to going to the UK
(iv) Irish health insurance records maintained during stay in UK

Again, apologies if any annoyance was caused. A lawyer just made sense for me. Mom, your efforts are much appreciated and I hope the above helps future winners.

Many many thanks.

 

[smac]

Hello! this forum saved my life the past year with this tedious application, which is ALMOST complete.

I had my interview April 12th in Los Angeles. It was super simple, the IO was pleasant (asked to see my O1 VISA approval notices which I had on me) and then said "Congratulations you'll receive your permanent residency
card in the mail soon"
I didn't receive any approval notice, or anything from her at the end of the interview. My case status has been sitting on "fingerprint fee was received" for 3 months. I've called USCIS with the hopes of finding out what's going on or if I should be expecting any updates anytime soon, they said it's not considered delayed until after 10 months so they can't do anything.

How long should I stress about this? The reason I stressed in the first place is because my friends going through the same process (in LA) have had their interviews after me and had their green card in hand within a week! Am I just unlucky to have gotten a slow IO who is yet to process my case?

Thanks!
Smac

 

[Sm1smom]

Plus, the rejections we’ve seen for “early filing” are actually a uscis error not an applicant error...
Mom, do you remember that woman here, I think she was based in NY, who nearly lost out entirely on her green card because her “experienced lawyer” made such a mess of the case? Thankfully she found this forum before it was too late. Most of the time the only damage is financial, charging clients for things they can do themselves, but there have been a couple of bad cases like that one. I guess some people feel more comfortable having someone else looking over all the documents and if they’re happy to pay for that it’s their choice.

Yeah I remember that case, unfortunately I don’t quite remember her username - I would have linked to her posts.

 

[Sm1smom]

Thank you for taking the time to compare the paths for me, I appreciate your help. I will make sure to attend the interview on the set date.

I do have another question though. I'm on H1B and want to quit my job in July. I didn't apply for work authorization with the i-485 form as I thought I'd be continuing with my organization back then. If I am approved for the GC, will I still need to apply for EAD or I will automatically have a right to work in the US with the GC?

Thanks again!

You will no longer require an EAD with an approved GC. You will automatically become eligible to work with any employer anywhere in the US.

Word of caution though, I suggest you actually get your GC first before resigning your current job.

 

[Sm1smom]

Hello! this forum saved my life the past year with this tedious application, which is ALMOST complete.

I had my interview April 12th in Los Angeles. It was super simple, the IO was pleasant (asked to see my O1 VISA approval notices which I had on me) and then said "Congratulations you'll receive your permanent residency
card in the mail soon"
I didn't receive any approval notice, or anything from her at the end of the interview. My case status has been sitting on "fingerprint fee was received" for 3 months. I've called USCIS with the hopes of finding out what's going on or if I should be expecting any updates anytime soon, they said it's not considered delayed until after 10 months so they can't do anything.

How long should I stress about this? The reason I stressed in the first place is because my friends going through the same process (in LA) have had their interviews after me and had their green card in hand within a week! Am I just unlucky to have gotten a slow IO who is yet to process my case?

Thanks!
Smac

Do you know if your background check has cleared? The delay you’re experiencing may not necessarily be due to a “slow IO” - it could be due to a pending background check clearance. Also have you confirmed from KCC your case file was requested and subsequently transferred to your FO?

 

[smac]

Do you know if your background check has cleared? The delay you’re experiencing may not necessarily be due to a “slow IO” - it could be due to a pending background check clearance. Also have you confirmed from KCC your case file was requested and subsequently transferred to your FO?

That's what I'm not sure how to find out, I asked USCIS over the phone if this is something to do with background checks, they simply said it'll be up to 10 months of waiting. No other answers! I'm sorry for the ignorance, but what is the confirmation I should be getting from KCC? The last time I contacted them (a few months ago) they forwarded me onto USCIS because my DV case became an adjustment of status since I'm already in the US. Sorry I didn't say that before!
Thanks for the response!

 

[Sm1smom]

That's what I'm not sure how to find out, I asked USCIS over the phone if this is something to do with background checks, they simply said it'll be up to 10 months of waiting. No other answers! I'm sorry for the ignorance, but what is the confirmation I should be getting from KCC? The last time I contacted them (a few months ago) they forwarded me onto USCIS because my DV case became an adjustment of status since I'm already in the US. Sorry I didn't say that before!
Thanks for the response!

1. Call KCC and request to know if your KCC file was requested by your FO, and if it has been sent.

2. You will not get any information regarding your background check (or anything useful), over the phone from USCIS. The status of your background check is a question you should have asked at the end of your interview. Anyway, if there’s no update by one month since your interview, I suggest you go on an INFOPASS to follow up in person.

 

[smac]

1. Call KCC and request to know if your KCC file was requested by your FO, and if it has been sent.

2. You will not get any information regarding your background check (or anything useful), over the phone from USCIS. The status of your background check is a question you should have asked at the end of your interview. Anyway, if there’s no update by one month since your interview, I suggest you go on an INFOPASS to follow up in person.

ok thank you! The interview was very smooth and positive, I'm frustrated to hear that others got handed an approval notice on the spot but I only got verbal confirmation. My interview ended abruptly because someone came in saying there is a staff meeting she had to go to, but the IO was very confident in saying my case was approved! Can't help but wonder if I would've gotten a notice if she wasn't walking out of the room! I'll call KCC now, thank you!

update: Yes KCC confirmed my file was requested March 1st

 

[Beatrice22]

Hello,
I expect my number to be current in July or August. I have filed for AOS. How long does it take for KCC to reply once one has sent the $330 diversity lottery fee?