DV 2019 AOS Only

[timothybanks]

How did you track it?
Other than card being produced will other status get updated on case status?
How long after card being produced status you received your green card?

Use both egov and my.uscis. They are often in agreement, but I found egov was more complete for the card shipment info than myuscis. Egov told me things like the card was ready to be picked up by USPS, for example, which surprised me. It is now telling me that the card has been delivered to my address. my.uscis is still stuck on case approved. The USPS tracking tells me the same thing as egov, that the card has been delivered

egov only gave the most recent status, whereas with my.uscis I can see history.

When your card is ready, USCIS will ship by priority USPS so you can track the packet. I set up SMS and email updates from my.uscis and USPS.

As for the timings, I have updated everything in the tracking workbook. It was about a week from card produced to delivery.

 

[Sm1smom]

Hello Mom,
I am selected for Diversity Visa Program 2019. I sent my requested documents to KCC in March this year but they never received my email which means that it’s too late to schedule an interview in US embassy in my European country. Case number: 2019EU00014XXX.
I have tourist US visa B1/B2 and i was wondering is it possible to adjust status and try to get my green card in USA. I know that September is so close but i kindly ask you to suggest me do i have any chances finish it before deadline. If yes, please let me know what are my next steps. If not, do you know any other option?
Kind regards,
Daniel

No, you can’t enter the US on a NIV with a preconceived intent of filing AOS - that is considered a fraudulent use of the NIV.

 

[Joshua1]

Had my interview on Monday - and despite being pretty nervous, it was all very straightforward and I am happy to report I was approved! The officer was very friendly and reasonable, and my card has been shipped and is on the way. Many, many thanks to Sm1smom, SusieQQQ and all the other contributors to this forum and the spreadsheets for making this a far more manageable process than it would be otherwise. It truly is an invaluable resource.

I've added my details to the spreadsheet, but my timelines are as follows:

Chicago Lockbox: 06/19
Payment Cashed/Acceptance Received: 06/27
NOA letter received: 07/01
Bio letter received: 07/04
Bio date: 07/16 (I didn't walk in early - just based off other's timelines, it doesn't seem like this accelerates things, but I obviously could be wrong)
Interview notice received: 07/22
Interview date: 08/05 (I was told I was approved pending the completion of the background check. That night I received a text that the GC was being produced)
GC received: should arrive by 08/12, according to the tracking details.

I was very fortunate that everything came together so quick. The NYC officer in charge of DV cases seems to be very on top of his game with regards to scheduling appointments and working through things diligently. He asked me a bunch of questions from my application, and asked for the documents detailed in the interview notice received. All told, I was in and out in half an hour.

A couple of common-sense points, which tripped me up initially: read through the spreadsheet as carefully as possible (especially the required documents). I initially thought you include the Admin Fee payment in the AOS package, instead of the receipt. If I had read carefully, I would have known to send the Admin Fee in advance of my number becoming current, saving me 2 weeks spent waiting for the receipt to come back. Also, as mentioned, I only realized late that you need a long-form/unabridged birth certificate, which left me scrambling to get hold of this at the last minute, causing unnecessary stress. Make sure you know the rules backwards and have ALL documents required (as well as supporting docs).

Thanks again all!

 

[SusieQQQ]

Had my interview on Monday - and despite being pretty nervous, it was all very straightforward and I am happy to report I was approved! The officer was very friendly and reasonable, and my card has been shipped and is on the way. Many, many thanks to Sm1smom, SusieQQQ and all the other contributors to this forum and the spreadsheets for making this a far more manageable process than it would be otherwise. It truly is an invaluable resource.

I've added my details to the spreadsheet, but my timelines are as follows:

Chicago Lockbox: 06/19
Payment Cashed/Acceptance Received: 06/27
NOA letter received: 07/01
Bio letter received: 07/04
Bio date: 07/16 (I didn't walk in early - just based off other's timelines, it doesn't seem like this accelerates things, but I obviously could be wrong)
Interview notice received: 07/22
Interview date: 08/05 (I was told I was approved pending the completion of the background check. That night I received a text that the GC was being produced)
GC received: should arrive by 08/12, according to the tracking details.

I was very fortunate that everything came together so quick. The NYC officer in charge of DV cases seems to be very on top of his game with regards to scheduling appointments and working through things diligently.

A couple of common-sense points, which tripped me up initially: read through the spreadsheet as carefully as possible (especially the required documents). I initially thought you include the Admin Fee payment in the AOS package, instead of the receipt. If I had read carefully, I would have known to send the Admin Fee in advance of my number becoming current, saving me 2 weeks spent waiting for the receipt to come back. Also, as mentioned, I only realized late that you need a long-form/unabridged birth certificate, which left me scrambling to get hold of this at the last minute, causing unnecessary stress. Make sure you know the rules backwards and have ALL documents required (as well as supporting docs).

Thanks again all!

Congrats. (So I assume you got hold of the unabridged birth certificate ?)

 

[guitarek]

Had my interview on Monday - and despite being pretty nervous, it was all very straightforward and I am happy to report I was approved! The officer was very friendly and reasonable, and my card has been shipped and is on the way. Many, many thanks to Sm1smom, SusieQQQ and all the other contributors to this forum and the spreadsheets for making this a far more manageable process than it would be otherwise. It truly is an invaluable resource.

I've added my details to the spreadsheet, but my timelines are as follows:

Chicago Lockbox: 06/19
Payment Cashed/Acceptance Received: 06/27
NOA letter received: 07/01
Bio letter received: 07/04
Bio date: 07/16 (I didn't walk in early - just based off other's timelines, it doesn't seem like this accelerates things, but I obviously could be wrong)
Interview notice received: 07/22
Interview date: 08/05 (I was told I was approved pending the completion of the background check. That night I received a text that the GC was being produced)
GC received: should arrive by 08/12, according to the tracking details.

I was very fortunate that everything came together so quick. The NYC officer in charge of DV cases seems to be very on top of his game with regards to scheduling appointments and working through things diligently. He asked me a bunch of questions from my application, and asked for the documents detailed in the interview notice received. All told, I was in and out in half an hour.

A couple of common-sense points, which tripped me up initially: read through the spreadsheet as carefully as possible (especially the required documents). I initially thought you include the Admin Fee payment in the AOS package, instead of the receipt. If I had read carefully, I would have known to send the Admin Fee in advance of my number becoming current, saving me 2 weeks spent waiting for the receipt to come back. Also, as mentioned, I only realized late that you need a long-form/unabridged birth certificate, which left me scrambling to get hold of this at the last minute, causing unnecessary stress. Make sure you know the rules backwards and have ALL documents required (as well as supporting docs).

Thanks again all!

Congratulations

 

[Joshua1]

Congrats. (So I assume you got hold of the unabridged birth certificate ?)

As per your advice, I managed to get hold of someone from Home Affairs who promised to help me. As luck would have it, turns out my birth certificate had been lost in a flood at the archive centre previously (at least this is what I was told). Therefore, they would have had to pull the birth records to create a copy to then send to me, which would never arrive in time.

I then went and read the rules around non-availability of BCs (in which you need to overcome the presumption of ineligibility via supporting docs) and brought every piece of supporting evidence imaginable, including:
- Abridged birth certificate
- Notarized affidavits stating the reason for the non-availability of unabridged
- Notarized affidavits from both parents (with apostilles)
- Notarized copies of IDs of both parents
- School records
- Church records
- Relevant newspaper articles etc.

You could see the officer considering the weight and sufficiency of all this evidence, and thankfully the decision was in my favor. Obviously this is not a process I would recommend for anyone else (unless you enjoy excessive amounts of worrying), so make sure you have all your documents, in the required form, to make it as painless a process as possible.

 

[SusieQQQ]

As per your advice, I managed to get hold of someone from Home Affairs who promised to help me. As luck would have it, turns out my birth certificate had been lost in a flood at the archive centre previously (at least this is what I was told). Therefore, they would have had to pull the birth records to create a copy to then send to me, which would never arrive in time.

I then went and read the rules around non-availability of BCs (in which you need to overcome the presumption of ineligibility via supporting docs) and brought every piece of supporting evidence imaginable, including:
- Abridged birth certificate
- Notarized affidavits stating the reason for the non-availability of unabridged
- Notarized affidavits from both parents (with apostilles)
- Notarized copies of IDs of both parents
- School records
- Church records
- Relevant newspaper articles etc.

You could see the officer considering the weight and sufficiency of all this evidence, and thankfully the decision was in my favor. Obviously this is not a process I would recommend for anyone else (unless you enjoy excessive amounts of worrying), so make sure you have all your documents, in the required form, to make it as painless a process as possible.

Excellent for being so well prepared!

 

[princess91]

Hello everyone,
First of all I wanted to say huge thank you to sm1smom for this valuable resource. You are literally changing people's life. We are so grateful for that!

I had an interview last week. My interview lasted about 15-20 minutes. Officer asked me to provide original passport, birth certificate (with translation) ID. I took an oath. Before interview started he asked me to show him interview invitation letter. He then asked me some basic questions from i-485 (name, DOB, date of last entry to country, what kind of visa I had then, confirmed SSN and wanted to see original, he also asked me to see receipt for payment to state department. Then, he confirmed my marital status and started to ask some yes/no questions from the form (about 7-8). After that, he checked some documents in his file, and asked me if I want to add something. I added my most recent I20, payment receipt for the next quarter, enrollment letter from school, also I showed him my original high school diploma, previous passport with US visas. He did not ask about multiple CPT or my previous I20s. At the end of the interview, he printed letter saying that case is under review. He added though that its a normal procedure and that he is aware that all DV cases should be processed by the end of September, that's why he will try to expedite my case. I was leaving the building a little bit upset, since I wanted to be approved on a spot. I imagined to wait the next couple weeks or months for a final decision. However, I checked my status online in the evening and saw the line: ʺCard was producedʺ. Exactly in one week after the interview, I received my Green Card.
Now I am so happy it is finally over, the last three months was extremely stressful for me. But I am so grateful for this forum. Good luck everyone! I wish everybody to see an envelope in your mailbox with something green inside of it)

 

[Cheatha]

Hello everyone,
First of all I wanted to say huge thank you to sm1smom for this valuable resource. You are literally changing people's life. We are so grateful for that!

I had an interview last week. My interview lasted about 15-20 minutes. Officer asked me to provide original passport, birth certificate (with translation) ID. I took an oath. Before interview started he asked me to show him interview invitation letter. He then asked me some basic questions from i-485 (name, DOB, date of last entry to country, what kind of visa I had then, confirmed SSN and wanted to see original, he also asked me to see receipt for payment to state department. Then, he confirmed my marital status and started to ask some yes/no questions from the form (about 7-8). After that, he checked some documents in his file, and asked me if I want to add something. I added my most recent I20, payment receipt for the next quarter, enrollment letter from school, also I showed him my original high school diploma, previous passport with US visas. He did not ask about multiple CPT or my previous I20s. At the end of the interview, he printed letter saying that case is under review. He added though that its a normal procedure and that he is aware that all DV cases should be processed by the end of September, that's why he will try to expedite my case. I was leaving the building a little bit upset, since I wanted to be approved on a spot. I imagined to wait the next couple weeks or months for a final decision. However, I checked my status online in the evening and saw the line: ʺCard was producedʺ. Exactly in one week after the interview, I received my Green Card.
Now I am so happy it is finally over, the last three months was extremely stressful for me. But I am so grateful for this forum. Good luck everyone! I wish everybody to see an envelope in your mailbox with something green inside of it)

Congratulations Happy to know that everything went smoothly for you. Could you please let me know whether each and every step was updated on your online USCIS account? Because I am in the same category as you EU and our number was 28XXX. We did our bio on 26th July and online status says "Fingerprint fee was received" and it is frozen. Is this normal?

 

[Cheatha]

Had my interview on Monday - and despite being pretty nervous, it was all very straightforward and I am happy to report I was approved! The officer was very friendly and reasonable, and my card has been shipped and is on the way. Many, many thanks to Sm1smom, SusieQQQ and all the other contributors to this forum and the spreadsheets for making this a far more manageable process than it would be otherwise. It truly is an invaluable resource.

I've added my details to the spreadsheet, but my timelines are as follows:

Chicago Lockbox: 06/19
Payment Cashed/Acceptance Received: 06/27
NOA letter received: 07/01
Bio letter received: 07/04
Bio date: 07/16 (I didn't walk in early - just based off other's timelines, it doesn't seem like this accelerates things, but I obviously could be wrong)
Interview notice received: 07/22
Interview date: 08/05 (I was told I was approved pending the completion of the background check. That night I received a text that the GC was being produced)
GC received: should arrive by 08/12, according to the tracking details.

I was very fortunate that everything came together so quick. The NYC officer in charge of DV cases seems to be very on top of his game with regards to scheduling appointments and working through things diligently. He asked me a bunch of questions from my application, and asked for the documents detailed in the interview notice received. All told, I was in and out in half an hour.

A couple of common-sense points, which tripped me up initially: read through the spreadsheet as carefully as possible (especially the required documents). I initially thought you include the Admin Fee payment in the AOS package, instead of the receipt. If I had read carefully, I would have known to send the Admin Fee in advance of my number becoming current, saving me 2 weeks spent waiting for the receipt to come back. Also, as mentioned, I only realized late that you need a long-form/unabridged birth certificate, which left me scrambling to get hold of this at the last minute, causing unnecessary stress. Make sure you know the rules backwards and have ALL documents required (as well as supporting docs).

Thanks again all!

Congratulations Could you please let me know whether each and every step was updated on your online USCIS account? We did our bio on 26th July and online status says "Fingerprint fee was received" and it is frozen. Is this normal?

 

[sofiamau]

Hi! Great news! Yesterday we got the email that our case was approved!
Before that, we got an email from the Ombudsman office saying that they would check on our case (we had contacted them two months ago!) and an hour later another email from them saying that USCIS had told them there was already a resolution on our case (but we had not heard anything yet!). A couple of hours later, we received an email from USCIS saying that new cards were being produced, and later one saying that our case was approved (crazy timeline ). What we think is that when the Ombudsman office called about our case, the Baltimore FO re-activated it, because it is just too much coincidence. We had had the interview three weeks ago, send extra documents that same week and the officer had told us that everything was OK and ready for a decision, but nothing had happened since. The Baltimore Office seem to be overload/not working well, everything with them was slow and took a lot of time, but all is over now!
Thanks everyone in the blog, especially Sm1smom for all your help! And best of luck for those still in the process, you'll get there! I will update the timeline ASAP and let you know when we have the cards!

 

[tinaina]

Congratulations Could you please let me know whether each and every step was updated on your online USCIS account? We did our bio on 26th July and online status says "Fingerprint fee was received" and it is frozen. Is this normal?

Did you have interview?
My case status didn't change until I get my case approved. So interview and before that didn't change the status from fee were waived.

 

[princess91]

Congratulations Happy to know that everything went smoothly for you. Could you please let me know whether each and every step was updated on your online USCIS account? Because I am in the same category as you EU and our number was 28XXX. We did our bio on 26th July and online status says "Fingerprint fee was received" and it is frozen. Is this normal?

Thank you Yes, my online status changed the next day after I did bio in June. I believe status changed to "Fingerprint review was completed and now we are working on your I-485 form". After that, status did not change until the interview and after the interview it changed like 5 times (card was produced, case was approved, card was mailed, card was picked up by USPS and finally card was delivered by USPS. I was reading here that we should not pay attention so much to online status update, it doesn't show correct information all the time

 

[Cheatha]

Thank you Yes, my online status changed the next day after I did bio in June. I believe status changed to "Fingerprint review was completed and now we are working on your I-485 form". After that, status did not change until the interview and after the interview it changed like 5 times (card was produced, case was approved, card was mailed, card was picked up by USPS and finally card was delivered by USPS. I was reading here that we should not pay attention so much to online status update, it doesn't show correct information all the time

Thank you very much for your positive response .

 

[Cheatha]

Did you have interview?
My case status didn't change until I get my case approved. So interview and before that didn't change the status from fee were waived.

Hi Tinaina, Thank you for your reply and no I have still get the letter for the interview even and impatiently waiting for the letter as many others "Approved case" means after the interview right?

 

[tinaina]

Hi Tinaina, Thank you for your reply and no I have still get the letter for the interview even and impatiently waiting for the letter as many others "Approved case" means after the interview right?

Yes

 

[mechanici23]

Something unlikely has finally occurred!! I received my GC!!! Hoorayyyyyyyyyyyy

Mom and All,

I can't thank you enough for all your kindness and support. I am really grateful for that precious spreadsheet and all the information, selfless help and compassion you all generously gave me during my adventurous and stressful process.

Here I write the timelines for both cases I filed. I will try to update the spreadsheet as well. Since I am pretty experienced in I-485 self filing now, I would be more than glad to help you if you got any questions!


First petition (GOT DENIED DUE TO EARLY FILING):

CN: 2019AS000067XX

March 18: Package delivered by FedEX
March 24: Text received
March 25: Check cashed
March 28: I-797 received
April 5: Biometerics letter received
April 8: Biometerics done
April 11: Interview letter received
April 15: Case status changed to: "We completed our review of your fingerprints and are working on your form I-485
May 13: Interview done and case status changed to: "My interview was completed and my case must be reviewed."
May 18: Decision letter received saying the case had been denied due to early filing!




Second petition (GOT SUCCEED):

May 28: Package delivered by FedEX
June 5: Text received
June 6: Check cashed
June 10: I-797C received
June 14: Biometrics letter received
June 17: Biometrics done (code 5)
June 18: Case status changed to: "We completed our review of your fingerprints and are working on your form I-485
June 28: Interview letter received
August 5: interview done
August 6: Case status changed to: "My new card is being produced."
August 8: Case status changed to: " My new card was mailed to me."
August 9: Welcome letter received.
August 10: GC received

Thank you again for everything guys. I definitely owe you A LOT.

 

[Grug]

Something unlikely has finally occurred!! I received my GC!!! Hoorayyyyyyyyyyyy

Mom and All,

I can't thank you enough for all your kindness and support. I am really grateful for that precious spreadsheet and all the information, selfless help and compassion you all generously gave me during my adventurous and stressful process.

Here I write the timelines for both cases I filed. I will try to update the spreadsheet as well. Since I am pretty experienced in I-485 self filing now, I would be more than glad to help you if you got any questions!


First petition (GOT DENIED DUE TO EARLY FILING):

CN: 2019AS000067XX

March 18: Package delivered by FedEX
March 24: Text received
March 25: Check cashed
March 28: I-797 received
April 5: Biometerics letter received
April 8: Biometerics done
April 11: Interview letter received
April 15: Case status changed to: "We completed our review of your fingerprints and are working on your form I-485
May 13: Interview done and case status changed to: "My interview was completed and my case must be reviewed."
May 18: Decision letter received saying the case had been denied due to early filing!




Second petition (GOT SUCCEED):

May 28: Package delivered by FedEX
June 5: Text received
June 6: Check cashed
June 10: I-797C received
June 14: Biometrics letter received
June 17: Biometrics done (code 5)
June 18: Case status changed to: "We completed our review of your fingerprints and are working on your form I-485
June 28: Interview letter received
August 5: interview done
August 6: Case status changed to: "My new card is being produced."
August 8: Case status changed to: " My new card was mailed to me."
August 9: Welcome letter received.
August 10: GC received

Thank you again for everything guys. I definitely owe you A LOT.

Congratulations and thank you for sharing the timeline, we are all here(I’m sure) relieved to hear it all ended well for your application. One important detail most of us who are informed about the unacceptable way you were treated during the first interview would like to know is:

1) did you get a different IO for the second interview? (It sounds like it, but just checking...)

2) did the second interview’s IO ever mention anything about the first interview or did they just assume your initial was INDEED truly denied because of early filing?

In the end, it doesn’t matter, but for the sake of continuing to enrich the collective wisdom and experience here, I was just curious to know a few more details on how things went during the second interview.

Good job keeping your cool and sticking to business after that huge setback, we all learned a lot from your experience!!

 

[mechanici23]

Congratulations and thank you for sharing the timeline, we are all here(I’m sure) relieved to hear it all ended well for your application. One important detail most of us who are informed about the unacceptable way you were treated during the first interview would like to know is:

1) did you get a different IO for the second interview? (It sounds like it, but just checking...)

2) did the second interview’s IO ever mention anything about the first interview or did they just assume your initial was INDEED truly denied because of early filing?

In the end, it doesn’t matter, but for the sake of continuing to enrich the collective wisdom and experience here, I was just curious to know a few more details on how things went during the second interview.

Good job keeping your cool and sticking to business after that huge setback, we all learned a lot from your experience!!

Thank you SOOOOO much.

Sure. Let me tell the whole story of the second interview. It was last Monday on August 5th and yes, the officer was different. This time he was really a gentleman and he only did what he was supposed to do. No inappropriate questions, no offensive comments, nothing. He first put me under oath and asked to see my passport. Then he double checked the information I had already provided in form I-485. He just asked some of those Yes/No questions and said he would check the documents again and make the final decision. When he got to the question 14 on part 8 ("Have you ever been denied admission to the United States?") I answered No I haven't but I have filed I-485 once and got denied two months ago due to early filing. He didn't seem very curious and simply said: "Ok but I mean other than that!" I have no idea if he already knew about my first denial or not. The case in front of him was much thicker than the case I saw in the first interview! I don't know if he got any information from previous petition or not. Anyway, since I did not have anything to hide and I had prepared myself to face the same monster, I decided no to go there with an attorney and I think it was a correct move. He didn't seem suspicious at all. The interview took only 10 minutes (as opposed to the first one which took around an hour). The only thing was at the end he wanted to see my original birth certificate and said the photo was odd and it did not look like me. I said, yes I am seventeen in this pic and once upon a time I was handsome. He just said: " Right. Once upon a time I used to have hair!!" Then he returned my birth certificate to me and said that he had no more questions and that was it!

I wanted to make two suggestions based on my weird experience.

1) If your case number is fairly safe ( I would say for example less than 7500 for Asia) DO NOT file early especially if you are from Iran or one of the sensitive countries. Believe it or not, I consulted with 4 or 5 attorneys after being denied but neither one had even heard about early filing policy!!! This is soooo weird and I think many officers are completely unaware of this law too. But once you get denied, you cannot convince them that they have made a mistake. You are not a winner in this game. So if your CN is not that high and you think it normally gets current earlier than June, early filing is not necessary because it is always risky.

2) DO NOT ask the officer about your back ground check. I did in my first interview and he suddenly got suspicious. He was like: "Why are you asking? Have you done something you are worried about?" I said: "No, I am asking because my case status has remained unchanged for a long time." He then said: " Listen, If there was a problem, you wouldn't be here sitting on this chair." This exactly happened to one of my friends too. She was Iranian too so I don't know if the attitude would be the same for all the applicants but generally I would recommend NOT to ask anything. Only answer the questions politely, formally and concisely. Almost all you need to use is: Yes sir, No sir, Thank you sir OR yes ma'am, No ma'am, Thank you ma'am!!!!

Good luck to all who hasn't been interviewed yet. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask.

Thank you again for all your support. I really appreciate your kindness.

 

[Sm1smom]

Hello everyone,
First of all I wanted to say huge thank you to sm1smom for this valuable resource. You are literally changing people's life. We are so grateful for that!

I had an interview last week. My interview lasted about 15-20 minutes. Officer asked me to provide original passport, birth certificate (with translation) ID. I took an oath. Before interview started he asked me to show him interview invitation letter. He then asked me some basic questions from i-485 (name, DOB, date of last entry to country, what kind of visa I had then, confirmed SSN and wanted to see original, he also asked me to see receipt for payment to state department. Then, he confirmed my marital status and started to ask some yes/no questions from the form (about 7-8). After that, he checked some documents in his file, and asked me if I want to add something. I added my most recent I20, payment receipt for the next quarter, enrollment letter from school, also I showed him my original high school diploma, previous passport with US visas. He did not ask about multiple CPT or my previous I20s. At the end of the interview, he printed letter saying that case is under review. He added though that its a normal procedure and that he is aware that all DV cases should be processed by the end of September, that's why he will try to expedite my case. I was leaving the building a little bit upset, since I wanted to be approved on a spot. I imagined to wait the next couple weeks or months for a final decision. However, I checked my status online in the evening and saw the line: ʺCard was producedʺ. Exactly in one week after the interview, I received my Green Card.
Now I am so happy it is finally over, the last three months was extremely stressful for me. But I am so grateful for this forum. Good luck everyone! I wish everybody to see an envelope in your mailbox with something green inside of it)

Congratulations