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DV 2019 AOS Only

sofiamau said:
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!
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Congratulations
 
mechanici23 said:
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.
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Great news indeed. Congratulations.
 
mechanici23 said:
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.
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Thanks for the update, glad to know the second interview turned out to be the typical DV AOSer interview experience and not like the wacky one you initially.

I’m glad you shared your experience and are giving recommendations based on your experience. I however disagree with them:

1. Most lawyers actually do not know about or understand they typical process for a DV based AOS petition, considering the fact that less than 10% of DV selectees process AOS and of this number, majority of those selectees self process - they do not use the services of an immigration attorney. So it makes total sense for none of the ones you spoke to have no idea of what the early filing option is (which is not a law by the way) - information about it is readily available on USCIS’s website, but those attorneys wouldn’t know because it is not a process they’re familiar with. Just because majority of lawyers don’t know about early filing however does not mean majority of the USCIS IOs equally do not know - majority of those reviewing DV AOS petitions actually know, only a handful of them do not know. Early filing is risky, yes, but we do know of other selectees subject to prolonged background check clearance who managed to get through because they opted to do early filing - their background wouldn’t have cleared before the end of the FY if they had waited.

2. Asking if one’s background check has cleared is recommended - most IOs are more than willing to provide this update at the end of the interview. At the end of the interview, most would ask if you had any question for them - this is your opportunity to find out if there’s any other issue that could possibly delay the decision you’re hoping to get. Your overall experience (with your 1st interview) is not a typical experience - you unfortunately experienced an IO who basically had made up his mind to deny your case due to his personal feelings against people from certain places or certain background.

Anyways, all the best with your new status.
 
mechanici23 said:
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.
Click to expand...
Awesome, thanks for sharing! What documents did you submit with the second application, and what documents did you NOT resubmit?
 
Sm1smom said:
Thanks for the update, glad to know the second interview turned out to be the typical DV AOSer interview experience and not like the wacky one you initially.

I’m glad you shared your experience and are giving recommendations based on your experience. I however disagree with them:

1. Most lawyers actually do not know about or understand they typical process for a DV based AOS petition, considering the fact that less than 10% of DV selectees process AOS and of this number, majority of those selectees self process - they do not use the services of an immigration attorney. So it makes total sense for none of the ones you spoke to have no idea of what the early filing option is (which is not a law by the way) - information about it is readily available on USCIS’s website, but those attorneys wouldn’t know because it is not a process they’re familiar with. Just because majority of lawyers don’t know about early filing however does not mean majority of the USCIS IOs equally do not know - majority of those reviewing DV AOS petitions actually know, only a handful of them do not know. Early filing is risky, yes, but we do know of other selectees subject to prolonged background check clearance who managed to get through because they opted to do early filing - their background wouldn’t have cleared before the end of the FY if they had waited.

2. Asking if one’s background check has cleared is recommended - most IOs are more than willing to provide this update at the end of the interview. At the end of the interview, most would ask if you had any question for them - this is your opportunity to find out if there’s any other issue that could possibly delay the decision you’re hoping to get. Your overall experience (with your 1st interview) is not a typical experience - you unfortunately experienced an IO who basically had made up his mind to deny your case due to his personal feelings against people from certain places or certain background.

Anyways, all the best with your new status.
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I owe you a lot Mom. You know I would never be able to thank you enough.

Sure you are much more experienced than me and of course you know a lot more. Those were just a couple of suggestions from someone who has had an unusual experience. But no one could guarantee that one would not be facing a similar situation that's why I think for low case numbers it is not worth taking the risk of early filing. Of course it is just my opinion because although I am Iranian, my back ground check was completed in less than a week but I have no idea how long it normally takes.
My suggestions may mainly address Iranians because it seems like it is more likely for them to deal with different behaviors!!!


Thank you so much for all your help during this grueling process mom. God bless you
 
Grug said:
Awesome, thanks for sharing! What documents did you submit with the second application, and what documents did you NOT resubmit?
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I sent exactly the same package but this time I made a copy of my denial letter and attached it to the form I-485. That was the only difference. Maybe that's why the officer didn't ask me about it.
 
mechanici23 said:
I sent exactly the same package but this time I made a copy of my denial letter and attached it to the form I-485. That was the only difference. Maybe that's why the officer didn't ask me about it.
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I see, it makes sense; did you resend the application fees (I-485 +biometrics fees)?
 
Tommasi80 said:
Thank you, I will keep you guys posted.
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Dear All,

I had my home interview today.
Officer called me around 750 am that they would arrive at 930 am.
Two officers came around 910 am and asked really the basic stuff. He had a paper with the questions by the IO (who would have interviewed me at the USCIS office) that had to be asked. Name, DOB. If I am still attending school and If I informed them already about my medical condition. Also appr two questions from yes and no. Actually I think this was it. Oh and asked for the birth cert of my children. So I just stood up, looked for them and copied to their files.
They spent here around 40 mins but because they were so nice that we had a small chat with them. We even wrapped some home made apple pies to them for the trip because they have 2 more places to go for an interview. So home interview is like regular thing if needed. Maybe Mom could this put into the excel sheet so others know in the future.
One of them told me he would call me after he spoke to the officer in the USCIS office and let me know if everything is ok. They have to check if there is enough visa left etc.
They were so polite and professional.

Now I am Waiting for the call or any online changes on my case. So exciting.
 
Tommasi80 said:
Dear All,

I had my home interview today.
Officer called me around 750 am that they would arrive at 930 am.
Two officers came around 910 am and asked really the basic stuff. He had a paper with the questions by the IO (who would have interviewed me at the USCIS office) that had to be asked. Name, DOB. If I am still attending school and If I informed them already about my medical condition. Also appr two questions from yes and no. Actually I think this was it. Oh and asked for the birth cert of my children. So I just stood up, looked for them and copied to their files.
They spent here around 40 mins but because they were so nice that we had a small chat with them. We even wrapped some home made apple pies to them for the trip because they have 2 more places to go for an interview. So home interview is like regular thing if needed. Maybe Mom could this put into the excel sheet so others know in the future.
One of them told me he would call me after he spoke to the officer in the USCIS office and let me know if everything is ok. They have to check if there is enough visa left etc.
They were so polite and professional.

Now I am Waiting for the call or any online changes on my case. So exciting.
Click to expand...
I am so happy for you. I hope everything will go well with your health and with your GC :)
 
Hello Mom and everyone,

I am very happy to hear that many of you are receiving your green cards! Congratulations!

As for us, we went to the interview on July 30th and were scheduled for biometrics the same day since we didn't get any bio letter before the interview. The interview overall went smoothly and the officer said he would make his decision after the background check which would take about 2 weeks. Since then, nothing has changed in our status and I contacted the customer service several times to make sure we are not missing anything. We are from Central Asia and went through background checks before for our EAD and other visa applications.

I know that the patience is the key at this moment, but considering that the fiscal year is coming to end soon, I am worried. If I do not hear anything this coming 2 days, what should I do? Our FO does not accept Infopass and the customer service is not helpful either.

Thanks a lot in advance!
 
Hi everyone, unfortunately we were denied(4 people). I see my status online,but still waiting the official letter with a reason for the denial.
Mom, would you please advice...do we still have a chance to go abroad to get interview outside the US (I read the some families were allowed to get interview in Embassy of the Us in Canadia) or it's dot?
Online status shows that letter consist our future options, but re-file the i485 probably no sense,first it's expensive and second it's almost end of the FY.
Anyway thanks for you support and voluntary the necessary info. We appreciate it.
 
Sm1smom said:
1. No
2. For CP, IL gets sent 6 - 8 weeks before the current month for those who submitted their DS260 form early enough for KCC to have finished processing them. For CNs current in Dec, that should be Oct/Nov.
3. Switching to CP shouldn’t affect your chance of getting a GC, however you’re unlikely to be scheduled for a Dec interview if your CN becomes current in Dec as KCC will need enough time to finish processing your form before scheduling your interview.
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Hello,
how was your experience for AOS, as I am also from Nepal?
 
Tommasi80 said:
Dear All,

I had my home interview today.
Officer called me around 750 am that they would arrive at 930 am.
Two officers came around 910 am and asked really the basic stuff. He had a paper with the questions by the IO (who would have interviewed me at the USCIS office) that had to be asked. Name, DOB. If I am still attending school and If I informed them already about my medical condition. Also appr two questions from yes and no. Actually I think this was it. Oh and asked for the birth cert of my children. So I just stood up, looked for them and copied to their files.
They spent here around 40 mins but because they were so nice that we had a small chat with them. We even wrapped some home made apple pies to them for the trip because they have 2 more places to go for an interview. So home interview is like regular thing if needed. Maybe Mom could this put into the excel sheet so others know in the future.
One of them told me he would call me after he spoke to the officer in the USCIS office and let me know if everything is ok. They have to check if there is enough visa left etc.
They were so polite and professional.

Now I am Waiting for the call or any online changes on my case. So exciting.
Click to expand...
I knew they’d ask for one document which they might have missed in the file you sent, and that being at home would make it easier to retrieve it and copy it quickly . Awesome job! Sounds like it should be a smooth sale from here. You will have 2 things to celebrate in the near future: your GCs and full recovery. All the best of luck!!
 
Jasmin30 said:
Hello Mom and everyone,

I am very happy to hear that many of you are receiving your green cards! Congratulations!

As for us, we went to the interview on July 30th and were scheduled for biometrics the same day since we didn't get any bio letter before the interview. The interview overall went smoothly and the officer said he would make his decision after the background check which would take about 2 weeks. Since then, nothing has changed in our status and I contacted the customer service several times to make sure we are not missing anything. We are from Central Asia and went through background checks before for our EAD and other visa applications.

I know that the patience is the key at this moment, but considering that the fiscal year is coming to end soon, I am worried. If I do not hear anything this coming 2 days, what should I do? Our FO does not accept Infopass and the customer service is not helpful either.

Thanks a lot in advance!
Click to expand...

You can exercise some patience by waiting for like two more weeks or contact your Congress person now to request case follow up assistance.
 
Lesia said:
Hi everyone, unfortunately we were denied(4 people). I see my status online,but still waiting the official letter with a reason for the denial.
Mom, would you please advice...do we still have a chance to go abroad to get interview outside the US (I read the some families were allowed to get interview in Embassy of the Us in Canadia) or it's dot?
Online status shows that letter consist our future options, but re-file the i485 probably no sense,first it's expensive and second it's almost end of the FY.
Anyway thanks for you support and voluntary the necessary info. We appreciate it.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately you’re no longer eligible for CP at this point. I’ve never heard of anyone whose AOS petition was denied who was able to subsequently process CP.

Even if time wasn’t of essence, reason for denial will determine if re-filing is an option. Every denied case isn’t automatically eligible to be re-filed.
 
Grug said:
I knew they’d ask for one document which they might have missed in the file you sent, and that being at home would make it easier to retrieve it and copy it quickly . Awesome job! Sounds like it should be a smooth sale from here. You will have 2 things to celebrate in the near future: your GCs and full recovery. All the best of luck!!
Click to expand...
Thank you very much Grug.
Now I am keeping my fingers crossed.
 
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