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DV 2018 AOS Only

Hello,

I, my wife and our 8 years old son currently in the USA on H1B (I) and H4 visas (wife and son). My wife won a DVLottery and our case number is supposed to be current in the March. We contacted an immigration attorney and started collecting all required documents for AOS petition, since we currently in the US and have a legal status. I have 2 questions:

1. Attorney told us that it is not necessary to fill out DS-260, since it's required only for those who applied for an entrance VISA to come into the US, since we are already in the country and have a legal status we do not need to fill out it. Is he right? Moreover I looked through DS-260 form and couldn't find any field regarding AOS, I think that confirms attorney's opinion. But I would like to have your advice as well.

2. The second question regarding Affidavit of Support. My wife doesn't work. I work and last several years we filled joint 1040 tax return form. Our joint income is higher than the poverty line for our family. Do we need to find a sponsor? Or we can just add to the package my W2 form and 1040 forms for the several past years.

I will be very appreciated for your answers and opinions.
 
Hi Mom,

1. Typically, a week after the biometrics appointment should the online case status update to something along the lines of "biometrics completed" or no? I didn't see any changes after my appointment and was a little concerned.

2. After the biometrics appointment, how long does it usually take until the interview appointment letter arrives (Obviously if everything goes fine).

Many thanks
 
Jonathan784 said:
Hi Mom,

1. Typically, a week after the biometrics appointment should the online case status update to something along the lines of "biometrics completed" or no? I didn't see any changes after my appointment and was a little concerned.

2. After the biometrics appointment, how long does it usually take until the interview appointment letter arrives (Obviously if everything goes fine).

Many thanks
Click to expand...

1. Not for the same thing, but when we applied for a replacement GC the status remained at “biometrics appt scheduled” right until we received the GC, 11 months later. (The actual appointment was a couple of weeks after we got the scheduling letter.) so I wouldn’t worry about that.
 
Andrii said:
Hello,

I, my wife and our 8 years old son currently in the USA on H1B (I) and H4 visas (wife and son). My wife won a DVLottery and our case number is supposed to be current in the March. We contacted an immigration attorney and started collecting all required documents for AOS petition, since we currently in the US and have a legal status. I have 2 questions:

1. Attorney told us that it is not necessary to fill out DS-260, since it's required only for those who applied for an entrance VISA to come into the US, since we are already in the country and have a legal status we do not need to fill out it. Is he right? Moreover I looked through DS-260 form and couldn't find any field regarding AOS, I think that confirms attorney's opinion. But I would like to have your advice as well.

2. The second question regarding Affidavit of Support. My wife doesn't work. I work and last several years we filled joint 1040 tax return form. Our joint income is higher than the poverty line for our family. Do we need to find a sponsor? Or we can just add to the package my W2 form and 1040 forms for the several past years.

I will be very appreciated for your answers and opinions.
Click to expand...

1. In this forum we do recommend DS260 form submission since it gives KCC a heads up regarding your plan - it has a section where you have to indicate interview location, right? Of course one may argue KCC will become aware of their intention to process AOS when they make the DV processing payment. Majority of those we’ve guided here submitted the form. Your call though if you want to submit it or not.

2. You don’t need a sponsor. Your income is considered jointly earned.

An unsolicited advice: you don’t need a lawyer for this process. It’s quite straightforward, a step by step guide has been put together in this forum to assist DV based AOSers. No lawyer can influence the outcome or hasten the process. Contrarily we’ve had reports of lawyers messing up the process and causing unnecessary delays.
 
Jonathan784 said:
Hi Mom,

1. Typically, a week after the biometrics appointment should the online case status update to something along the lines of "biometrics completed" or no? I didn't see any changes after my appointment and was a little concerned.

2. After the biometrics appointment, how long does it usually take until the interview appointment letter arrives (Obviously if everything goes fine).

Many thanks
Click to expand...


1. Case status does not change until after the petition has been adjudicated.

2. I can’t give a specific time frame. It depends on your FO and their workload. Go through the past Timelines spreadsheets to see if your FO is listed. That should give you an idea of how long it typically takes your FO to send out the interview letter.
 
Sm1smom said:
1. In this forum we do recommend DS260 form submission since it gives KCC a heads up regarding your plan - it has a section where you have to indicate interview location, right? Of course one may argue KCC will become aware of their intention to process AOS when they make the DV processing payment. Majority of those we’ve guided here submitted the form. Your call though if you want to submit it or not.

2. You don’t need a sponsor. Your income is considered jointly earned.

An unsolicited advice: you don’t need a lawyer for this process. It’s quite straightforward, a step by step guide has been put together in this forum to assist DV based AOSers. No lawyer can influence the outcome or hasten the process. Contrarily we’ve had reports of lawyers messing up the process and causing unnecessary delays.
Click to expand...

Thanks a lot.
Currently I'm trying to find a sponsor, but if we will failed we will apply without.
Now I realized that all AOS can be done by ourself. But when we just got results of DV Lottery we were very confused and decided to make it through a lawer.
 
Andrii said:
Thanks a lot.
Currently I'm trying to find a sponsor, but if we will failed we will apply without.
Now I realized that all AOS can be done by ourself. But when we just got results of DV Lottery we were very confused and decided to make it through a lawer.
Click to expand...

I thought I just stated that you don’t need a sponsor. So why are you still hung up on trying to find one?
 
Hi all,

I understand that there is no clear-cut answer to this question, but would love to get some thoughts/opinions on it.

I am a current H1B visa holder, and my DV interview is likely to take place sometime in the middle of this year (I have a case number from Oceania in the 700s). My employer has offered me the opportunity to do a ~4 month project in the Middle East. I would love to take the project, but I am not sure whether this may harm my chances during an interview. The reasons I think it may harm my chances are (a) I would be spending a large amount of time outside the US right before my interview, and (b) I would be spending time in a part of the world that is a little bit controversial and which some people have negative opinions of.

Does anyone have any thoughts on this? Or has anyone been in a similar situation before?
 
westcoast2006 said:
Hi all,

I understand that there is no clear-cut answer to this question, but would love to get some thoughts/opinions on it.

I am a current H1B visa holder, and my DV interview is likely to take place sometime in the middle of this year (I have a case number from Oceania in the 700s). My employer has offered me the opportunity to do a ~4 month project in the Middle East. I would love to take the project, but I am not sure whether this may harm my chances during an interview. The reasons I think it may harm my chances are (a) I would be spending a large amount of time outside the US right before my interview, and (b) I would be spending time in a part of the world that is a little bit controversial and which some people have negative opinions of.

Does anyone have any thoughts on this? Or has anyone been in a similar situation before?
Click to expand...

Without applying for Advanced Parole, your AOS application will be considered abandoned if you leave the US. With the current backlog in USCIS waiting time for AP is comparable with waiting time for AOS interview. I think there was one case in DV2018, where selectee got a GC and still haven't received EAD/AP...

edit: I just noticed that you have a dual-intent visa, above may not apply to you then. But let's wait for someone more knowledgeable to chime in.
 
Hi everyone, I am currently on TN visa and my Case Number will be available in Feb 2018 I am working on my package to send AOS as of FEB 1 st, but there are a lot of changes at work and seems like if I don not accept these changes I might get fired or I have to quit, if this happens after I send my package, how that going to affect my case as I would already have submitted my package as AOS based on my TN?
 
westcoast2006 said:
Hi all,

I understand that there is no clear-cut answer to this question, but would love to get some thoughts/opinions on it.

I am a current H1B visa holder, and my DV interview is likely to take place sometime in the middle of this year (I have a case number from Oceania in the 700s). My employer has offered me the opportunity to do a ~4 month project in the Middle East. I would love to take the project, but I am not sure whether this may harm my chances during an interview. The reasons I think it may harm my chances are (a) I would be spending a large amount of time outside the US right before my interview, and (b) I would be spending time in a part of the world that is a little bit controversial and which some people have negative opinions of.

Does anyone have any thoughts on this? Or has anyone been in a similar situation before?
Click to expand...

You know you can’t file AOS while outside the US, right? On the other hand, if you file and leave the US while your AOS petition is pending without an approved AP card on hand, your AOS petition will be considered abandoned and subsequently denied.
 
74MARMORA74 said:
Hi everyone, I am currently on TN visa and my Case Number will be available in Feb 2018 I am working on my package to send AOS as of FEB 1 st, but there are a lot of changes at work and seems like if I don not accept these changes I might get fired or I have to quit, if this happens after I send my package, how that going to affect my case as I would already have submitted my package as AOS based on my TN?
Click to expand...

If your work situation changes after AOS package submission, you take updated/current information to your interview and present if work related questions gets asked.
 
Sm1smom said:
You know you can’t file AOS while outside the US, right? On the other hand, if you file and leave the US while your AOS petition is pending without an approved AP card on hand, your AOS petition will be considered abandoned and subsequently denied.
Click to expand...
Just for my own self-education, since I cannot find the answer myself. Per https://www.uscis.gov/travel-documents :

If you depart the U.S. while your Form I-485 is pending without first obtaining advance parole, USCIS will deny your case unless you fit into a narrow exception for people with certain nonimmigrant statuses.

@Sm1smom do you happen to know what "narrow exception" they're talking about?
 
Sm1smom said:
You know you can’t file AOS while outside the US, right? On the other hand, if you file and leave the US while your AOS petition is pending without an approved AP card on hand, your AOS petition will be considered abandoned and subsequently denied.
Click to expand...

Do H1 also need AP? I thought that was an exception.
 
Xarthisius said:
Just for my own self-education, since I cannot find the answer myself. Per https://www.uscis.gov/travel-documents :

If you depart the U.S. while your Form I-485 is pending without first obtaining advance parole, USCIS will deny your case unless you fit into a narrow exception for people with certain nonimmigrant statuses.

@Sm1smom do you happen to know what "narrow exception" they're talking about?
Click to expand...

The narrow exception involves people on H1B, L, and K3/4 status and their dependents.
 
westcoast2006 said:
Hi all,

I understand that there is no clear-cut answer to this question, but would love to get some thoughts/opinions on it.

I am a current H1B visa holder, and my DV interview is likely to take place sometime in the middle of this year (I have a case number from Oceania in the 700s). My employer has offered me the opportunity to do a ~4 month project in the Middle East. I would love to take the project, but I am not sure whether this may harm my chances during an interview. The reasons I think it may harm my chances are (a) I would be spending a large amount of time outside the US right before my interview, and (b) I would be spending time in a part of the world that is a little bit controversial and which some people have negative opinions of.

Does anyone have any thoughts on this? Or has anyone been in a similar situation before?
Click to expand...

Modifying my previous response - I missed the H1B status part:

You can travel with a pending AOS petition without needing to have an approved AP card prior to departure.

However the fact that the main purpose of your trip is to work in a different country could cause you to be considered as ineligible for AOS. Your H1B visa is for the purpose of working in the US, and the fact that you’re legally based in the US, courtesy of that visa, is what makes you eligible for AOS. I’m not sure USCIS will take kindly to the fact that you’re working outside the country during that process.
 
Today I received a NOA saying welcome to USA. This is all thanks to you guys and I would like to give back by sharing my experience.

A little background:
My husband has been on F1, OPT, and currently on H1b is from the country which is not eligible for DV and he is the lottery winner.
I, on H4 right now, am from the eligible country. We have a toddler who is a US citizen.

Our file was accepted on Oct 4.
Biometrics on Nov 8.
Infopass on Dec 14. We were told to wait for an interview letter and if we don't get it in 4-6 weeks then come back. I also asked about background check and was told it was done. I did make sure that he understands that our case is DV based and follows different timeline and there is a time limit and limited amount of visa available.
Interview letter was issued a few days after the infopass.

Our interview lasted 20-30 min.
We were asked how long we've been married, where we got married, our daughter's birthday and place of birth, our past US visas, current visa, and etc.
And there were a lot of "Have you ever..." questions from I-485.
The only paperwork asked for was our original marriage certificate which is not in English and the officer was checking it closely.
Also I made a mistake putting old I-94 information on I-485 and I pointed that out during the interview. The officer was not at all concerned.

The officer was nice and even gave our daughter coloring paper during the interview. At the end, she said what we can and can't do with green card and told us to wait for 7-10 days for the actual green card. I feel like we were lucky to have her as an interviewer since it seems like she knows about DV case.

Things I was a little concerned about were...
For financial proof, I only included last year's tax info, work contract and pay stubs. I was worried they would ask for a sponsor but we didn't need it.
We did not file DS 260, thinking we can file it anytime and ended up not filing. (Not recommending not to file. Just stating the fact about our case)

Now I'm waiting for the actual green card. I can't thank you enough for this thread. Couldn't have done it without it.
Sorry for the long post and good luck to everybody else.
 
Sm1smom said:
Modifying my previous response - I missed the H1B status part:

You can travel with a pending AOS petition without needing to have an approved AP card prior to departure.

However the fact that the main purpose of your trip is to work in a different country could cause you to be considered as ineligible for AOS. Your H1B visa is for the purpose of working in the US, and the fact that you’re legally based in the US, courtesy of that visa, is what makes you eligible for AOS. I’m not sure USCIS will take kindly to the fact that you’re working outside the country during that process.
Click to expand...

Yup, it might just be safer for the poster to inform the employer that it’s too complex to work outside the US at this stage of his immigration process, and hopefully another similar opportunity comes up later.
 
another question, when someone would be able to have like an account online with Uscis to see updates on his application, can I create like a log in or they have to send me the receipt of the package first?
 
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