[...last part, I promise
]
The CO was a friendly gentleman who asked me to raise my right hand and swear to tell the truth. Then he asked:
- high school completion year?
- What I did after that?
- How many years I lived in each country since then?
- What year I moved to the US (no questions about maintenance of status), but he did ask if I had adjusted status?
- Marital status?
- Any children?
- Highest education level?
- He asked about my research project and
He then asked me to seat and wait to be called back. 15 minutes later the CO came back and apologized for the delays, and said he could not find my archives in the consulate general’s database, and had to access those from other US embassies where I had applied for visas of different categories. Finally he asked me when I was planning to travel, and I explained that I was actually late as I was supposed to join a team on an excursion North near the Baffin Bay in the arctic regions of Canada, so I’d have to leave Montreal that same evening and catch a charter flight to take me near the Baffin Bay where the rest of the team was headed. He laughed and said that clearly I must enjoy making plans last-minute, after which we laughed and joked about how nuts the past week had been for me, but in the end I thanked him for being willing to interview me on such short notice.
He finally pulled out 2 forms from his desk, one from USCIS saying congratulations, with an A# and a DoS case # (same as my DV case number + 01 as did not have any derivates), and another form from the embassy asking me to come back later that afternoon to pick up the visa, which I did. In addition to the passport, I was also given a very long sealed envelope. The CO said I was to give it to CBP upon reentry into the US and that the i-551 stamp will serve as temporary GC for a year waiting for the plastic one to be delivered to my home.
That same evening, I checked the CEAC case status and the blue letters had changed to “Issued”.
Timeline:
- June 2018: checked selection results
- July 2018: DS-260 form filled out
- September 2018: 1st 2NL
- October 2018: early filing AoS package sent to lockbox
- Mid-October 2018: check cashed
- Late October 2018: NOA received
- Early Nov. 2018: Walk-in biometrics
- End of Nov. 2018: “Fingerprint review completed”
- February 2019: 1st infopass, no satisfactory answer as to when to expect an IL
- April 2019: 1st service request submitted, KCC informs that eDV file not yet requested by FO.
- May 2019: FO responds to service request with unsatisfactory generic response “case under review”
- June 2019: 2nd service request, no satisfactory response.
- End-June 2019: 1st congressional inquiry + request for assistance from Ombudsman + 2nd infopass, informed FO that I’ll be out of State end of Aug-early Sept. FO assures me IL will be sent before then.
- July 2019: 2nd congressional inquiry, still the same generic unhelpful response from the FO.
- August 1 2019: 3rd service request, for which no response ever came from FO + 3rd congressional inquiry, FO response: “case still in preliminary stages of processing”
- September 1 2019: 4th congressional inquiry
- September 15th FO responds that H1B visa applied for abroad and approved in 2017 but never picked up is still pending and therefore FO needs information from DoS about that visa.
- September 16-22nd: meeting with lawyers and congress
- September 23rd: initiation of CP process communication with KCC and the consulate. KCC only agreed to waive the “document submission process” for my case because an embassy had already agreed to interview me on a specific date.
- September 24-30: gathering of CP-specific missing required documents.
- September 25: a piece of mail, likely IL coming from FO (they probably tried to call me on that day, but I was in Canada by then), but I didn’t care anymore about anything an FO which delays a whole year had to say in a letter.
- September 30 late afternoon : CP interview @ consulate + immigrant DV visa issued that same late afternoon.
Notes:
- When it started to dawn on me that my case may run out of time and that, as a result, I may very well miss out on my DV selection, I pondered over what it all meant for a week, while consulting with lawyers by phone. As expected, most of them not knowing what to do to expedite my stalled case, advised me to hire them and follow other routes (NIW, etc.) but something in my brain just could not accept defeat, I tried to accept it, but I could not.
- In the end survival instinct, the kindness of friends and strangers (angels in unexpected places, really!!) during that last week, and the willingness of the consulate and KCC to push things so last minute made all the difference.
- Needless to point here that by the time the status quo looked like it was never going to change in time to ensure I don’t miss out on my DV selection, it was beyond too late to apply for advanced parole, as only emergency reasons like emergency medical treatment or funerals qualify for such short notice advanced parole, there was absolutely no time!!!
- The past 2 weeks were very stressful in terms of game-plan. I would not wish that level of stress on my worst enemy.
- Would I advise anyone to try CP that late in the game? Absolutely not!! Not everyone can cope with such stress and no everyone would feel comfortable putting pressure on people so last minute.
- If you’re dealing with an FO that’s proving difficult to communicate with despite having been approached through all reasonable and advised follow-up avenues, please consider CP before end of July of that FY.
- Submitting the DS-260 form soon after learning I was selected made a key difference in the outcome of my case a year later, so, something to keep in mind when processing AoS (although DS-260 form not required, you never what lies ahead).
- Having your own FBI-fingerprint background check done at an FBI-approved local channeler might help you have the equivalent of a police certificate for the US in case you unexpectedly have to process CP.
- It ain’t over until it’s over.
- Experiencing both sides of the DV journey (AoS and CP) was fun, but I have to say CP processing is so much faster and more time-efficient.
- Finally, I’d like to say that I had strange misgivings about my FO from the outset, and I wished I had acted on them and switch to CP sooner. So, if any DV selectee who’s dealing with my FO has the same doubts as I had, I’d advise to change course earlier in the FY and process CP if that’s an option for them.
- I hope all of you are enjoying your new LPR status, and I wish those of DV2020 all the best of luck!! Cheers!!
