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DV 2019 AOS Only

fozlong said:
Just had my interview, waited about 40min from my initial interview time. Pretty easy, just asked questions from i-485. Wasn't approved on the spot, he said he needed to check to see a visa was available and that i'll receive a decision in the mail, didn't indicate either way if I was going to be approved or denied. Is this normal practice?
Click to expand...

Yes, normal. Nothing unusual about it.
 
Hi Mom,
we did interview with my wife today. Everything went smoothly. We answered all questions and provided all documents. The officer told us our background check hasn't completed yet. He said he cannot approve our case unless background check completed. So We confused and don't know what to do now? 2. Do you know how long does it take? 3. Is there anyway to learn current status of background check or expedite it?
 
alienm said:
Dear Mom,

This is my first post here and I have a couple of questions. First, I'm a G4 Visa holder (principal) and my wife (G4 spouse) was selected in the DV lottery We are from South America, she was current in June and we applied on June 2nd. After all the steps necessary we have received the interview confirmation for August 27, 2019 in the Fairfax County, VA field office.

My first question: currently my wife has a EAD which expires in November, therefore, she has received request from my organization to start the process to renew her EAD. Can this process be started while our AOS is in process? Or we need to wait until a decision is made on our AOS application and then do it? She is not working at this time.

Second question: since our interview is very late in August, we have the risk of not having visas available for us, even if everything goes well in the interview. Is there any way to know the approximate numbers of visas left at one point in time or some statistics?

Thank you very much for all the help you and all the members are providing to the community.

H.
Click to expand...

1. Yes she can initiate the renewal now. If I was in your shoes though, I would wait until after the interview at least (especially if your spouse isn’t currently working with her EAD) before initiating the renewal process.

2. See this post and the link in it for information on number of issued visas.
 
medemirhan said:
Hi Mom,
we did interview with my wife today. Everything went smoothly. We answered all questions and provided all documents. The officer told us our background check hasn't completed yet. He said he cannot approve our case unless background check completed. So We confused and don't know what to do now? 2. Do you know how long does it take? 3. Is there anyway to learn current status of background check or expedite it?
Click to expand...

Which country are you chargeable to?
 
medemirhan said:
Turkey
Click to expand...

Pending background check typically takes a couple of days to several months to clear. I don’t expect yours to take several months like those chargeable to Iran experience. Nonetheless, I can’t predict how long yours might take as I don’t know anything about your background, places you’ve lived in or visited, your educational and/or work background etc.

All you can do for now is to exercise some patience and hope the background check clears soon enough.
 
Dear All,

I finally received my IL yesterday for an Interview scheduled on August 20th.

I received a 4 page document:
1. The actual interview letter
2. a boiler plate, long list of documents to bring (even I-485 and so on)
3. an Interpreter request form
4. a list of items to bring but this one was "personalized" with only a few document boxes check.

I ll keep everyone posted.
 
I received this notification at 12:30am - On August 1, 2019, we approved your Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, Receipt Number MSC**********. We will mail your approval notice. Please follow the instructions in the notice. If you move, go to www.uscis.gov/addresschange to give us your new mailing address.

Does this mean I was successful in getting a green card?
 
fozlong said:
I received this notification at 12:30am - On August 1, 2019, we approved your Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, Receipt Number MSC**********. We will mail your approval notice. Please follow the instructions in the notice. If you move, go to www.uscis.gov/addresschange to give us your new mailing address.

Does this mean I was successful in getting a green card?
Click to expand...
Yes, congrats. I received the same))
 
vadrouille said:
Dear All,

I finally received my IL yesterday for an Interview scheduled on August 20th.

I received a 4 page document:
1. The actual interview letter
2. a boiler plate, long list of documents to bring (even I-485 and so on)
3. an Interpreter request form
4. a list of items to bring but this one was "personalized" with only a few document boxes check.

I ll keep everyone posted.
Click to expand...
Finally you got it ! Great news !
 
Great stuff presented here guys, and moderates are doing an awesome job!

Sooo it seems like there is a new update to Form I-693 (Report of Medical Examination and Vaccination Record). What are the implications of this? What happens to the applications that are already pending and waiting for interviews? Will they ask us to redo the medical exam with this new form?

Thoughts appreciated
 
maxstop said:
Great stuff presented here guys, and moderates are doing an awesome job!

Sooo it seems like there is a new update to Form I-693 (Report of Medical Examination and Vaccination Record). What are the implications of this? What happens to the applications that are already pending and waiting for interviews? Will they ask us to redo the medical exam with this new form?

Thoughts appreciated
Click to expand...

Can you be specific as to which new update you’re referring to?
 
Sm1smom said:
Can you be specific as to which new update you’re referring to?
Click to expand...

There is a new edition that is now out, please see attached screen shot.

I just realized that they also mentioned "Starting 09/23/19, we will only accept the 07/15/19 edition" which could imply that the old form is still accepted in the meanwhile.
 

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maxstop said:
There is a new edition that is now out, please see attached screen shot.

I just realized that they also mentioned "Starting 09/23/19, we will only accept the 07/15/19 edition" which could imply that the old form is still accepted in the meanwhile.
Click to expand...

That’s just a new edition of the form, not necessarily a new update. And like you’ve discovered, the new edition is effective from 09/23/19.
 
We attended our interview earlier this week, at the Chicago office. The Field Officer was professional and pleasant. The process was as others have described it:
  • You'll go through security, rather like at an airport, where your bags will go through a scanner and you'll step through an x-ray portal. We had to take shoes, belts, and watches off. If I had been carrying a laptop, I would have had to take it out and put it into a separate plastic box for scanning. The security guards were nice and friendly, walking you through everything
  • Once through, we went to a check-in desk and handed over our invitation letters. These were stamped and a "booking ID" given to us. We were then shown to a waiting area.
  • Field officers will then come and meet you, introducing themselves and then walking you to an interview room.
  • Once there, we were asked to take an oath that we would tell the truth and then asked to sit down.
  • Your photo will be taken, and scans of your finger prints for both index fingers.
  • The interview went well --- basically you show the documents as you are asked for them. First was our passports and an Illinois State ID (with photograph). Drivers' licence did well in my case. Then we were asked for birth certificates and other supporting documentation. Tip for the wise, don't laminate documents. I vaguely remember seeing this mentioned either in this discussion board, or in the very helpful Google Sheets document sm1smom maintains. Also, worthwhile sourcing up to date versions of any documents. For instance, I had sourced our birth certificates, wedding document, and so on again. The ones we had before were fairly old (decades). The Field Officers know most about the more recent documents and the security features in them. So it is helpful to have the latest versions.
  • We were asked about a dozen yes/no questions from the I-485, as well as to confirm birthdates and the like. Just answer Yes/No to the questions and work through them. I know some of them are odd, but they have to be asked. Be truthful. After all, you've already been through a security check so if there is anything "unusual" in your background, USCIS likely knows about it. You don't want to jeopardise your application by not telling the truth!
  • At the end of the interview we were given "Notice of Interview Results". There is no form number for this document, but it has three tick boxes. The first was ticked, being "Your case is being held for review". The Field Officer explained that she needed to make additional security checks post-interview and that this was normal procedure. She did not have an "approved" form, and that until the security checks were complete the application could not be approved. No mention was made of KCC and checking for visa availability. She shook our hands, congratulated us (!), and then helped us by showing us the way back out of the building.
Two days later we received SMS and email messages informing us that there had been a status change in our applications. We checked both egov and myuscis, finding that "we ordered your new card for Receipt Number ....., and will mail it to the address you gave us".

All in all, it was a very professional experience. The officer handled the interview well, making everything pleasant.

Many, many thanks to BrtiSimon for his wonderful site, which helped us through the initial application, and to Sm1smom for her terrific help. Of course, it goes without saying, thank you to all of you on this site --- you have helped me keep my sanity through this whole process.

I'll update later after the letters arrive.
 
Hey Mom,

Just wanted to share the good news with you and everyone else in here that I have received my IL in an email and they said actual letters will be sent through U.S post. Interview date is 8/28. I have updated the timeline. I also verified with KCC and they said my file has been requested yesterday and they will send it today. Fingers, toes, eyes, are all crossed :)
 
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timothybanks said:
We attended our interview earlier this week, at the Chicago office. The Field Officer was professional and pleasant. The process was as others have described it:
  • You'll go through security, rather like at an airport, where your bags will go through a scanner and you'll step through an x-ray portal. We had to take shoes, belts, and watches off. If I had been carrying a laptop, I would have had to take it out and put it into a separate plastic box for scanning. The security guards were nice and friendly, walking you through everything
  • Once through, we went to a check-in desk and handed over our invitation letters. These were stamped and a "booking ID" given to us. We were then shown to a waiting area.
  • Field officers will then come and meet you, introducing themselves and then walking you to an interview room.
  • Once there, we were asked to take an oath that we would tell the truth and then asked to sit down.
  • Your photo will be taken, and scans of your finger prints for both index fingers.
  • The interview went well --- basically you show the documents as you are asked for them. First was our passports and an Illinois State ID (with photograph). Drivers' licence did well in my case. Then we were asked for birth certificates and other supporting documentation. Tip for the wise, don't laminate documents. I vaguely remember seeing this mentioned either in this discussion board, or in the very helpful Google Sheets document sm1smom maintains. Also, worthwhile sourcing up to date versions of any documents. For instance, I had sourced our birth certificates, wedding document, and so on again. The ones we had before were fairly old (decades). The Field Officers know most about the more recent documents and the security features in them. So it is helpful to have the latest versions.
  • We were asked about a dozen yes/no questions from the I-485, as well as to confirm birthdates and the like. Just answer Yes/No to the questions and work through them. I know some of them are odd, but they have to be asked. Be truthful. After all, you've already been through a security check so if there is anything "unusual" in your background, USCIS likely knows about it. You don't want to jeopardise your application by not telling the truth!
  • At the end of the interview we were given "Notice of Interview Results". There is no form number for this document, but it has three tick boxes. The first was ticked, being "Your case is being held for review". The Field Officer explained that she needed to make additional security checks post-interview and that this was normal procedure. She did not have an "approved" form, and that until the security checks were complete the application could not be approved. No mention was made of KCC and checking for visa availability. She shook our hands, congratulated us (!), and then helped us by showing us the way back out of the building.
Two days later we received SMS and email messages informing us that there had been a status change in our applications. We checked both egov and myuscis, finding that "we ordered your new card for Receipt Number ....., and will mail it to the address you gave us".

All in all, it was a very professional experience. The officer handled the interview well, making everything pleasant.

Many, many thanks to BrtiSimon for his wonderful site, which helped us through the initial application, and to Sm1smom for her terrific help. Of course, it goes without saying, thank you to all of you on this site --- you have helped me keep my sanity through this whole process.

I'll update later after the letters arrive.
Click to expand...
Congratulations :)
 
fozlong said:
I received this notification at 12:30am - On August 1, 2019, we approved your Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, Receipt Number MSC**********. We will mail your approval notice. Please follow the instructions in the notice. If you move, go to www.uscis.gov/addresschange to give us your new mailing address.

Does this mean I was successful in getting a green card?
Click to expand...
Congrats :)
 
Sm1smom said:
Pending background check typically takes a couple of days to several months to clear. I don’t expect yours to take several months like those chargeable to Iran experience. Nonetheless, I can’t predict how long yours might take as I don’t know anything about your background, places you’ve lived in or visited, your educational and/or work background etc.

All you can do for now is to exercise some patience and hope the background check clears soon enough.
Click to expand...
Thanks Mom! I want to update you with recent news. today my wife's case was approved (she was the primary applicant) My case is currently "Interview Was Completed And My Case Must Be Reviewed" I think my wife's case approved first because she was the primary applicant. If even though my case review will take longer than 2 months (after Sept 30th), I could still get GC when it is approved right because I am dependant to primary application and her case is approved.
 
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