DV 2019 AOS Only

[Sm1smom]

Hey! Good morning, everyone.

I'm getting mixed views and feedback with regards to Green Card Biometrics for Minors online, and was wondering if anyone can share their knowledge and or experience with regards to this? Reason I'm asking... my boy is 2 years old, and as initially expected he didn't get a Bio appointment letter. My wife then put some doubt in my mind by simply asking: "so what photo will they be using for him?" So...
1. What do they issue for a minor?
2. Will he have to go for fingerprints? My understanding is no, but some say (google search) that they actually had to take their kids for fingerprints
3. If #2 is true (need to go for fingerprints), when will this have to happen, as he will not go along to our bio appointment.
4. And then the question my wife asked. What photo will they be using for his GC?

Thanks,
DaDipps

Minors benefitting as derivatives are still required to attend a bio appointment in order for their GC picture and thumbprint to get captured - your is a very smart woman for figuring that out . Your son should be attending the bio appointment with you, unless he’s already a USC. If you included an AOS package for your minor child, he should have received a bio appointment notice too.

 

[DaDipps]

Thanks Sm1smom!

This is good to know. I have not received a letter for him yet. Perhaps it will get delivered within the next day or so. I'll keep an eye open for when it arrives.

 

[SA_7XX]

Hi Moderators,

Thanks for such valuable information you provide. In return, I update my information in the timeline, as well as I will share details from my interview right after. If there is any other way I can help, please let me know.

My wife (F2 - winner) and I (F1) will have the interview in three weeks. A couple of questions arise:

1. In the appointment letter, one of the documents requested are Arrest Reports: "Need to bring Arrest Reports & Final Dispositions for any & all arrests. Failure to do so will result in denial of application." We come from a country where individuals are not allowed to request arrest reports. This is literally stated in the Department of State webpage under U.S. Visa: Reciprocity and Civil Documents by Country. Should this be enough to support the lack of the report? Should I expect the officer to be aware of this? Is there any print out you would suggest to bring?
Let me just add that neither my wife nor me have ever been arrested (origin country/US).

2. My spouse is not fully comfortable with english. Wondering if I could be the interpreter if ever needed during the interview? Should we let the officer know about my role of interpreter in case is needed? I would assume this is not possible in case this were a marriage based application, for obvious reasons. Still I find mix responses on this matter on whether it may or may not be possible depending on the office, among other comments.

Thanks a lot!

 

[Sm1smom]

Hi Moderators,

Thanks for such valuable information you provide. In return, I update my information in the timeline, as well as I will share details from my interview right after. If there is any other way I can help, please let me know.

My wife (F2 - winner) and I (F1) will have the interview in three weeks. A couple of questions arise:

1. In the appointment letter, one of the documents requested are Arrest Reports: "Need to bring Arrest Reports & Final Dispositions for any & all arrests. Failure to do so will result in denial of application." We come from a country where individuals are not allowed to request arrest reports. This is literally stated in the Department of State webpage under U.S. Visa: Reciprocity and Civil Documents by Country. Should this be enough to support the lack of the report? Should I expect the officer to be aware of this? Is there any print out you would suggest to bring?
Let me just add that neither my wife nor me have ever been arrested (origin country/US).

2. My spouse is not fully comfortable with english. Wondering if I could be the interpreter if ever needed during the interview? Should we let the officer know about my role of interpreter in case is needed? I would assume this is not possible in case this were a marriage based application, for obvious reasons. Still I find mix responses on this matter on whether it may or may not be possible depending on the office, among other comments.

Thanks a lot!

1. Arrest reports and Final Disposition records, completely different from a PCC (Police Clearance Certificate) are a must for anyone who has ever been arrested. So if you and/or your wife have ever been arrested in the past, you must provide the arrest report and/or disposition record.

2. I don’t think so. Your wife will have to do her best at listening and answering in English.

 

[mechanici23]

Dear Mom and all,

I have some really bad news I don't know what to do. On May 13th I attended my interview which went on unprofessionally weird. It took almost one hour and during the first 50 minutes the interviewer made all the offensive comments he knew about Iranians. He asked me why I had applied for Permanent Residence when the Iranian government officially announces that Iran hates America? He asked if Iranian would kill him if he traveled to Iran and when I answered "no" he got angry and said:" But you arrested three American hikers in Iran for nothing saying they were spies. I couldn't remember what he was talking about. Then he asked if I do the Ashoura mourning as a muslim and kinda imitated the customs. I was completely shocked. I completely understand if the Iranians are not that welcomed in the United States specially at this period of time but I had never thought that a USCIS officer would inject his personal hatred into the process in a completely official interview. Then in the last 10 minutes he finally went through the I-485 form pretty fast but he kept on insulting. For example when he got to the question about polygamy he sarcastically said:" But you are a Muslim you may take four wives, no?" I didn't know what to answer. At the end I asked about the results he said that I could buy a "magic eight ball" for the answer! I asked if all the previous steps like background check had been completed he suddenly got suspicious and ask:" Why are you asking? Have you done something you are worried about?

Anyway, I got the letter of denial today dated "May 13,2019" which means he had made his decision there but the reason for the denial is that on the time of submitting the package (March 18th) my CN had not been current yet. This is so weird because the Visa bulletin for April was published on March 14th in which it was saying that the allocation cut-off number for May would be 7800. (mine was 67xx) I had even sent a copy of policy memorandum with my application but ,as it was mentioned in the spreadsheet, they preferred to deny the petition.

I have a lot of question.

1) What is the best way to take now? The letter says I may not appeal the decision but I can file a Motion to Reconsider form I-290B if I think the denial is in error. Does it work? On the other hand the spread sheet recommends to file again. Which one is the best way? Any comments are appreciated.

2) In case of refiling, Do I have to repay the $330 of AOS fee? Or the receipt I have would still be valid?
3) Will I get a new A-number? In the I-485 form there's a question if I have ever been denied for getting an immigration visa which should be answered yes. I wanted to know if that means they would get over my denied application and use those information (such as A-number) for my new application?

4) Shall I redo the medical and send the I-693 by the filing time or wait to do it before the interview. This is going to be the third time I am doing the medical.
5) In general, do you suggest me to hire a lawyer this time? Is there any danger I could mistakenly ignore when applying for a second time after a denial?

Sorry for a lengthy post and thank you for your patience.

 

[SusieQQQ]

@mechanici23 what a shame the hatred at the top of the administration seems to give license to some officers to act unprofessionally and show bias. I am so sorry this happened to you.

I cannot give any other advice unfortunately. But please know that many of us, i would like to say most of us, do not share in the prejudice and hatred.

 

[mechanici23]

@mechanici23 what a shame the hatred at the top of the administration seems to give license to some officers to act unprofessionally and show bias. I am so sorry this happened to you.

I cannot give any other advice unfortunately. But please know that many of us, i would like to say most of us, do not share in the prejudice and hatred.

Thank you so much for your kind words Susie. I am sure you don't.

 

[Tommasi80]

Dear Mom and all,

I have some really bad news I don't know what to do. On May 13th I attended my interview which went on unprofessionally weird. It took almost one hour and during the first 50 minutes the interviewer made all the offensive comments he knew about Iranians. He asked me why I had applied for Permanent Residence when the Iranian government officially announces that Iran hates America? He asked if Iranian would kill him if he traveled to Iran and when I answered "no" he got angry and said:" But you arrested three American hikers in Iran for nothing saying they were spies. I couldn't remember what he was talking about. Then he asked if I do the Ashoura mourning as a muslim and kinda imitated the customs. I was completely shocked. I completely understand if the Iranians are not that welcomed in the United States specially at this period of time but I had never thought that a USCIS officer would inject his personal hatred into the process in a completely official interview. Then in the last 10 minutes he finally went through the I-485 form pretty fast but he kept on insulting. For example when he got to the question about polygamy he sarcastically said:" But you are a Muslim you may take four wives, no?" I didn't know what to answer. At the end I asked about the results he said that I could buy a "magic eight ball" for the answer! I asked if all the previous steps like background check had been completed he suddenly got suspicious and ask:" Why are you asking? Have you done something you are worried about?

Anyway, I got the letter of denial today dated "May 13,2019" which means he had made his decision there but the reason for the denial is that on the time of submitting the package (March 18th) my CN had not been current yet. This is so weird because the Visa bulletin for April was published on March 14th in which it was saying that the allocation cut-off number for May would be 7800. (mine was 67xx) I had even sent a copy of policy memorandum with my application but ,as it was mentioned in the spreadsheet, they preferred to deny the petition.

I have a lot of question.

1) What is the best way to take now? The letter says I may not appeal the decision but I can file a Motion to Reconsider form I-290B if I think the denial is in error. Does it work? On the other hand the spread sheet recommends to file again. Which one is the best way? Any comments are appreciated.

2) In case of refiling, Do I have to repay the $330 of AOS fee? Or the receipt I have would still be valid?
3) Will I get a new A-number? In the I-485 form there's a question if I have ever been denied for getting an immigration visa which should be answered yes. I wanted to know if that means they would get over my denied application and use those information (such as A-number) for my new application?

4) Shall I redo the medical and send the I-693 by the filing time or wait to do it before the interview. This is going to be the third time I am doing the medical.
5) In general, do you suggest me to hire a lawyer this time? Is there any danger I could mistakenly ignore when applying for a second time after a denial?

Sorry for a lengthy post and thank you for your patience.

I am very sorry. How this could be happen? Totally unacceptable.
If I were you, I would visit an immigration attorney first thing on Monday. There might be a chance since the reason of denial is something that is not true. You were allowed to file early. You are at that stage when you have nothing to loose (just the money you pay for lawyer) But it is your call. I hope you can turn this around.
Also just curious, in which city and field office was the interview?

 

[damo1089]

Dear Mom and all,

I have some really bad news I don't know what to do. On May 13th I attended my interview which went on unprofessionally weird. It took almost one hour and during the first 50 minutes the interviewer made all the offensive comments he knew about Iranians. He asked me why I had applied for Permanent Residence when the Iranian government officially announces that Iran hates America? He asked if Iranian would kill him if he traveled to Iran and when I answered "no" he got angry and said:" But you arrested three American hikers in Iran for nothing saying they were spies. I couldn't remember what he was talking about. Then he asked if I do the Ashoura mourning as a muslim and kinda imitated the customs. I was completely shocked. I completely understand if the Iranians are not that welcomed in the United States specially at this period of time but I had never thought that a USCIS officer would inject his personal hatred into the process in a completely official interview. Then in the last 10 minutes he finally went through the I-485 form pretty fast but he kept on insulting. For example when he got to the question about polygamy he sarcastically said:" But you are a Muslim you may take four wives, no?" I didn't know what to answer. At the end I asked about the results he said that I could buy a "magic eight ball" for the answer! I asked if all the previous steps like background check had been completed he suddenly got suspicious and ask:" Why are you asking? Have you done something you are worried about?

Anyway, I got the letter of denial today dated "May 13,2019" which means he had made his decision there but the reason for the denial is that on the time of submitting the package (March 18th) my CN had not been current yet. This is so weird because the Visa bulletin for April was published on March 14th in which it was saying that the allocation cut-off number for May would be 7800. (mine was 67xx) I had even sent a copy of policy memorandum with my application but ,as it was mentioned in the spreadsheet, they preferred to deny the petition.

I have a lot of question.

1) What is the best way to take now? The letter says I may not appeal the decision but I can file a Motion to Reconsider form I-290B if I think the denial is in error. Does it work? On the other hand the spread sheet recommends to file again. Which one is the best way? Any comments are appreciated.

2) In case of refiling, Do I have to repay the $330 of AOS fee? Or the receipt I have would still be valid?
3) Will I get a new A-number? In the I-485 form there's a question if I have ever been denied for getting an immigration visa which should be answered yes. I wanted to know if that means they would get over my denied application and use those information (such as A-number) for my new application?

4) Shall I redo the medical and send the I-693 by the filing time or wait to do it before the interview. This is going to be the third time I am doing the medical.
5) In general, do you suggest me to hire a lawyer this time? Is there any danger I could mistakenly ignore when applying for a second time after a denial?

Sorry for a lengthy post and thank you for your patience.

This is the most insane thing I have ever heard. So sorry to hear about your experience.

I'm sure Mom might have a more robust suggestion for you but I'd like to direct your attention to this web page.

https://www.uscis.gov/about-us/report-uscis-misconduct/report-uscis-employee-misconduct

 

[Sm1smom]

Dear Mom and all,

I have some really bad news I don't know what to do. On May 13th I attended my interview which went on unprofessionally weird. It took almost one hour and during the first 50 minutes the interviewer made all the offensive comments he knew about Iranians. He asked me why I had applied for Permanent Residence when the Iranian government officially announces that Iran hates America? He asked if Iranian would kill him if he traveled to Iran and when I answered "no" he got angry and said:" But you arrested three American hikers in Iran for nothing saying they were spies. I couldn't remember what he was talking about. Then he asked if I do the Ashoura mourning as a muslim and kinda imitated the customs. I was completely shocked. I completely understand if the Iranians are not that welcomed in the United States specially at this period of time but I had never thought that a USCIS officer would inject his personal hatred into the process in a completely official interview. Then in the last 10 minutes he finally went through the I-485 form pretty fast but he kept on insulting. For example when he got to the question about polygamy he sarcastically said:" But you are a Muslim you may take four wives, no?" I didn't know what to answer. At the end I asked about the results he said that I could buy a "magic eight ball" for the answer! I asked if all the previous steps like background check had been completed he suddenly got suspicious and ask:" Why are you asking? Have you done something you are worried about?

Anyway, I got the letter of denial today dated "May 13,2019" which means he had made his decision there but the reason for the denial is that on the time of submitting the package (March 18th) my CN had not been current yet. This is so weird because the Visa bulletin for April was published on March 14th in which it was saying that the allocation cut-off number for May would be 7800. (mine was 67xx) I had even sent a copy of policy memorandum with my application but ,as it was mentioned in the spreadsheet, they preferred to deny the petition.

I have a lot of question.

1) What is the best way to take now? The letter says I may not appeal the decision but I can file a Motion to Reconsider form I-290B if I think the denial is in error. Does it work? On the other hand the spread sheet recommends to file again. Which one is the best way? Any comments are appreciated.

2) In case of refiling, Do I have to repay the $330 of AOS fee? Or the receipt I have would still be valid?
3) Will I get a new A-number? In the I-485 form there's a question if I have ever been denied for getting an immigration visa which should be answered yes. I wanted to know if that means they would get over my denied application and use those information (such as A-number) for my new application?

4) Shall I redo the medical and send the I-693 by the filing time or wait to do it before the interview. This is going to be the third time I am doing the medical.
5) In general, do you suggest me to hire a lawyer this time? Is there any danger I could mistakenly ignore when applying for a second time after a denial?

Sorry for a lengthy post and thank you for your patience.

I am so sorry to read of your interview experience. Your IO clearly engaged in an abuse of power, and it was done in such an unprofessional way! You have the option of filing a complaint of discrimination and misconduct against this person. Here’s a link to the Policy Manual for more information on where and how to file these two complaints.

Now to your question:
1a. Does your FO allow INFOPASS? If it does, that’s your first option - look for an immediate opening and book one. If there’s no immediate opening, attempt a walk in. You’ll need to beg and explain your situation to the security guards in order for them to admit you without a scheduled appointment.
1b. Forget about motion to reconsider - you don’t have enough time to complete that (it takes a while). Best bet is to file a new petition at this point, if INFOPASS doesn’t lead to a reconsideration of the current decision.

2. Your DV administrative fee payment receipt is still valid, no new payment required for that.

3. You will not be issued with a new A# and you have to answer “Yes” yo the have you ever been denied .... question.

4. You will need a new medical exam. My recommendation is to submit it with the new package, don’t create opportunities for them to further delay your petition or issue some unnecessary RFI.

5. You don’t need a lawyer to file - lawyers can’t influence the filing process. But you may decide to hire one to attend the interview with you when you get to that stage.

 

[mechanici23]

I am so sorry to read of your interview experience. Your IO clearly engaged in an abuse of power, and it was done in such an unprofessional way! You have the option of filing a complaint of discrimination and misconduct against this person. Here’s a link to the Policy Manual for more information on where and how to file these two complaints.

Now to your question:
1a. Does your FO allow INFOPASS? If it does, that’s your first option - look for an immediate opening and book one. If there’s no immediate opening, attempt a walk in. You’ll need to beg and explain your situation to the security guards in order for them to admit you without a scheduled appointment.
1b. Forget about motion to reconsider - you don’t have enough time to complete that (it takes a while). Best bet is to file a new petition at this point, if INFOPASS doesn’t lead to a reconsideration of the current decision.

2. Your DV administrative fee payment receipt is still valid, no new payment required for that.

3. You will not be issued with a new A# and you have to answer “Yes” yo the have you ever been denied .... question.

4. You will need a new medical exam. My recommendation is to submit it with the new package, don’t create opportunities for them to further delay your petition or issue some unnecessary RFI.

5. You don’t need a lawyer to file - lawyers can’t influence the filing process. But you may decide to hire one to attend the interview with you when you get to that stage.

Thank you so much mom for reply. God has sent you. I just scheduled an infopass appointment for tomorrow at1:30 pm.

1) What am I supposed to say? In the letter they have said: “ you have submitted your package on March 18th but the cut-off number even for April was 6400. So you have filed too early.” But on March 14th visa bulletin for April was published in which the allocation cut-off number for May had been stated which was 7800. I just wanted to make sure I didn’t do it wrong, did I?

2) Another question is suppose that they say “alright, we do a reconsideration and will inform you about the results!”. Shall I start re-filing while they are doing their reconsideration?

3) About lawyer, I know they can’t do much but I was wondering could a name of a lawyer or his license number (or form G-28) make officers not deny the petition for excuses like the one they did last time?

 

[mechanici23]

Another question “I’m so sorry”.

Do I need to do something for canceling this petition? If i re-file my application, could it get denied because of incompleteness of the previous petition? How should I start the re-filing? Just leave the last one as it is?

 

[Sm1smom]

Thank you so much mom for reply. God has sent you. I just scheduled an infopass appointment for tomorrow at1:30 pm.

1) What am I supposed to say? In the letter they have said: “ you have submitted your package on March 18th but the cut-off number even for April was 6400. So you have filed too early.” But on March 14th visa bulletin for April was published in which the allocation cut-off number for May had been stated which was 7800. I just wanted to make sure I didn’t do it wrong, did I?

2) Another question is suppose that they say “alright, we do a reconsideration and will inform you about the results!”. Shall I start re-filing while they are doing their reconsideration?

3) About lawyer, I know they can’t do much but I was wondering could a name of a lawyer or his license number (or form G-28) make officers not deny the petition for excuses like the one they did last time?

1. You will be attending the INFOPASS fully armed with information. Politely let the front desk person you speak with know your petition was wrongly denied and that they need to reconsider the decision. Your petition is time sensitive, there’s no enough time to file a motion to reconsider.

Print out This page from USCIS’s website that clearly says early filing is allowed and highlight this section of the print out:

Section C contains a chart showing the Diversity Immigrant category rank cut-offs for the following month, which represents the advance notification of Diversity Immigrant visa availability. As soon as a monthly Visa Bulletin is published, anyone with a lower rank number than the rank cut-off number shown in Section C is eligible to file for adjustment of status. This provides lottery winners the opportunity to file for adjustment of status up to six or seven weeks before a visa number can actually be allocated. This gives USCIS additional time to determine your eligibility for adjustment of status before the end of the fiscal year. ​

Also take along a copy of the Early Filing Memo as additional evidence.

Point out this section as the reason why filing a motion to reconsider will not work due to sunset factor:
Other Considerations
The adjustment of status process for diversity visa winners must be completed by September 30 of the fiscal year the lottery pertains to. Visas cannot be carried over to the next fiscal year.

If you’re making no headway with the IO you speak with, politely request to speak with a supervisor. If they tell you the supervisor is busy and not available for several hours, tell them you’ll wait for as long as it takes. Be firm, be polite, be respectful but stand your ground.

2. You can’t re-file on the same basis if the previous petition is being reconsidered.

3. Again having a lawyer prepare your filing cannot influence the final outcome. A lawyer’s name on the G-28 makes no difference. The only way it may help is if a lawyer attends your interview, and that only ensures you’re not subjected to the same set of treatment you previously got. A lawyer's presence can not prevent a petition from being denied if the petitioner is not eligible for AOS or clear background check for instance. So don’t start thinking of lawyers as the ‘magic wand’ for lack of a better expression. But go ahead and hire one to file for you if you think it will make a difference.

​

​

 

[Sm1smom]

Another question “I’m so sorry”.

Do I need to do something for canceling this petition? If i re-file my application, could it get denied because of incompleteness of the previous petition? How should I start the re-filing? Just leave the last one as it is?

The petition is currently denied, there’s nothing to cancel. That petition is already complete based on the current decision they’ve sent you.

Re-filing is the same process as filing for the first time.

 

[Sm1smom]

@mechanici23

You may attend tomorrow’s INFOPASS appointment with a lawyer though, if you’re able to to find one to go with you at such a short notice - it will cost you quite a bit of course should you choose to do that.

 

[Lak8]

Hello mom and all,

I have few questions about early filing? I read what is in the spreadsheet but I have following to ask.

1) where can I find the memorandum ? Is it in the USCIS website ?
2) Does anyone have a clue about early filing rejections ?
Since mine get current in July, I do not want to wait till July due to the insufficient time. So I feel like I should take a chance and go for an early filing.

Thank you
lak8

 

[vadrouille]

Hello mom and all,

I have few questions about early filing? I read what is in the spreadsheet but I have following to ask.

1) where can I find the memorandum ? Is it in the USCIS website ?
2) Does anyone have a clue about early filing rejections ?
Since mine get current in July, I do not want to wait till July due to the insufficient time. So I feel like I should take a chance and go for an early filing.

Thank you
lak8

Hi,

You can find it in the Process tab of the spreadsheet, I attached here for your convenience.
http://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/...013/August/DV-Related I-485 Applications .pdf

You can also add this document, as advised from the AOS_Package Tab:
https://www.uscis.gov/greencard/diversity-visa

You can add the Bulletin from which your case is current.

(I added all three documents)

2. A lot of folks who were current in June (Vladoo, Tommasi and me) chose to file early as you can infer from the timeline and we all went through.
Since I was the only one filing on my petition my risk was rather minimal but it is possible to get denied, that is why I schedule my Medical Exam at the right moment for it to remain valid in june should my petition gets denied for early filing.

I hope this helps.

 

[damo1089]

@mechanici23

Even though what happened to you was unacceptable. Please please try to be the better person in your info pass. Hopefully you have some recourse due to both your IOs actions and your incorrect denial. Don't show them anything other than a fine model of a future green card holder and report the guy through the proper channels.

It's probably quite a trying time for you and a personal injustice, but your info pass person will not be your IO. If you tell them about your interview experience, try to be as calm and collected as possible.

 

[mechanici23]

@mechanici23

Even though what happened to you was unacceptable. Please please try to be the better person in your info pass. Hopefully you have some recourse due to both your IOs actions and your incorrect denial. Don't show them anything other than a fine model of a future green card holder and report the guy through the proper channels.

It's probably quite a trying time for you and a personal injustice, but your info pass person will not be your IO. If you tell them about your interview experience, try to be as calm and collected as possible.

Thank you for reminding these but I have no intention to talk about my bad interview experience. It doesn’t have anything to do with the guy who will be talking to me and doesn’t make any difference. I just want to show them the policy memorandum and the USCIS page based on which my denial has been decided wrongly. But I am afraid of being alone this time. I couldn’t find a lawyer to go there with until now. I think they may say it is decided and can’t be reconsidered and if you want to make a reconsideration you may just follow the rules and file a i-290 and I have no authority to resist.

 

[DaDipps]

Minors benefitting as derivatives are still required to attend a bio appointment in order for their GC picture and thumbprint to get captured - your is a very smart woman for figuring that out . Your son should be attending the bio appointment with you, unless he’s already a USC. If you included an AOS package for your minor child, he should have received a bio appointment notice too.

Just circling back on this. We have received an appointment letter for our little man as well. We are going to attempt a walk-in tomorrow. Scheduled date for appointment is on Thursday, 30th. Fingers Crossed that it will all go as planned.