Hello people, I hope everyone is doing well. This is going to be a loooong writing so get ready. I'm going to talk about my interview experience but want to leave you guys and the next year's applicants some tips.
Interview:
Had my interview a couple of days ago, got there right on time (I struggled to find the entrance). Had to wait for 20 minutes in the waiting room. The guy was a straight-up dude (not too strict and not too easygoing). He asked for my ID, passport, visa, and I-20. He made fun of my binder because it was huuuuge but appreciated how prepared I was. He went through some of the I-485 questions, then had to make corrections about where exactly I go to school along with some minor things. Then he asked about the "have you been arrested, cited, etc.." so I asked him if a driving citation was included and he was like "kinda" so I said yes and he just took a small note but didn't make a big deal out of it. In the end, he printed a paper which I thought was going to be my approval but then he was like "I need to review your application more, we'll luk if we need more documents, and if u get approved then you should get ur GC in a couple of weeks". That disappointed me a lot lol but to my biggest surprise, I got an approval after 4 hours. So all in all, it was very straightforward and definitely not worth all the stress I put in.
Here is my advice for current and upcoming DV applicants.
BE PATIENT: I know y'all hate this lol. My number was current in January and I just finished, it was soooo frustrating to me seeing other people who applied with me finishing everything in March/ May while I was still stuck. But we are all so privileged compared to other AOSers; some people wait from 2-10 years to get their green cards, I know someone who's been waiting for over 20 years now. For us, it's literally 1 year which is nothing and on top of that, we are being prioritized over many applicants. It really doesn't get any better than that. I know it sometimes feels like your case is stuck but trust, it's not. Your case is moving, slowly, but moving (as long as you are doing what you are supposed to do to push it forward ofc). I cannot tell you guys the amount of stress that this process had on me, it was terrible; sleepless nights, anxiety, depression, etc.. But now looking back I'm like I should have invested my time in something more valuable. So do your best to get your application going but don't stress about what you can't control, do some meditation, workout, anything that will evacuate those negative waves.
KEEP THE FAITH: I know right now we're getting to the end of the fiscal year and many of you are stressed. Yes, there is a risk that you might run out of time. But you don't have time to stress or let this sadden you now. Use that adrenaline to make the process faster for you. Also, if you guys check the previous timelines you will see that almost everyone finished, even those who applied in June/July so KEEP THE FAITH. Yes, it's different now due to covid but I noticed that FO/ASC get things faster as we get to the end of the FY. Further, don't stress about running out of GC bc now so many countries are still struggling with covid and LOTS of embassies are still closed so y'all chilling there.
KNOW YOUR POWER: Be aware of the resources you can use (tier 1, tier 2, expedite request, congressional/senator inquiry, INFO PASS, etc..) all of these are resources y'all can use to get things easier. My case was stuck for months after my biometrics and my lawyer didn't do anything. I did an expedite request and literally got things going. PS: I never had difficulty reaching a tier 2 through the Emma chat function.
FOR UPCOMING APPLICANTS: PLEASE DO NOT GET A LAWYER, I REPEAT, DO NOT GET A LAWYER. I know how you feel right now, u want this so badly that u don't want missteps and u think that a lawyer is going to somehow find a magical way to make things so faster, but not at all. If anything, he's just going screw your applications even more because DV is so rare and they don't have experience with that at all. I had the best lawyer in LA, 5 stars, well known, the guy never lost a case and I remember he almost screwed my application twice, thank god I had
@Sm1smom to correct me. I am literally the one doing 90% of the work. Every time my case gets stuck he goes "you have to wait" then when I propose a solution he goes "I was about to tell you that". I just feel like he didn't care about this as much as I did. I know as a new member here you get very confused looking at the spreadsheet, I thought that way too at first, but take your time. You have 2 months to go through it, read it little by little and members here will help you with everything you need if have any questions (just make sure you don't ask dumb questions otherwise
@Sm1smom will call you out, trust me I know what I'm talking about haha). I promise you that whoever lawyer you are getting won't come close to
@Sm1smom and her spreadsheet. PS: many lawyers come to check this spreadsheet from time to time. So save that money for a trip to Hawaii instead, I heard they're having some good deals now.
GET TOGETHER FOR SUPPORT: This process gets very lonely, so make sure you guys talk to each other in private about your frustrations and empathize with each other. I was in constant contact with a member here, and we would talk to each other regularly; supporting and keeping each other posted about what we do. It made things so much better knowing that I wasn't alone in my feelings and having someone to talk to. Trust me, it will help you lots.
Appreciation: Obviously we always thank mom whenever someone gets approved because she's our Wonderwoman and without her, we'd be fu***d. But I don't think you guys can apprehend how grateful we all should be for mom. No lawyer would help you with the way mom is, I literally paid 4 different lawyers for consultation and they all sucked. All they care about is the paycheck and don't give a crap about you. The quality of work and the amount of support mom gives is honestly incomparable. And she does all of this for free! Can you guys imagine? we have literally the best expert in this field helping us 24/7 for free?? idk how the hell I ended up in this forum but I'm sooo grateful man.
@Sm1smom you honestly are the very best, idk how you can keep up with this rhythm, you've been doing this every day for years. I have so much respect for you and if anything, I hope we all get to pay it forward to other people as we move on in our respective lives. PS: also sorry for sometimes asking you dumb questions (it always cracked me up how you would roast me publicly every time I do it lol) and thank you for being so patient with me. God bless you
@SusieQQQ @Britsimon and especially
@Sm1smom.
I think I wrote everything I wanted. Sorry guys for the long dissertation. But I hope this will help make things easier on you, even for a bit. God bless you all and best of luck! I'll stay around to help y'all till the end! WE GOT YOUR BACK.
