• Hello Members, This forums is for DV lottery visas only. For other immigration related questions, please go to our forums home page, find the related forum and post it there.

DV 2021 AOS Only

SusieQQQ said:
.

I’d be unclear as to why you are continuing to work if you think you might be violating status. Surely you must think your status is valid if you are still working?

I don’t have time to go look back now but I am pretty sure there was a discussion around I94s vs visa in your case a while back,
Click to expand...
My lawyer said I am still in status because of my i94 date. I had also seen this post on here a while back that said:
"I entered on an E3 which expires at the end of June and can't currently renew due to the consulate situation. However, my I-94 is valid through the end of 2021 and my employer's lawyers extended the LCA until the end date of the I-94 (also the end of 2021). They are saying that the E3 end date is just the last date that is allowed for entry on the visa but that the LCA and I-94 determine when I am allowed to stay and work until."

To which mom answered:

"Your employer’s lawyers are correct in terms of the E3 stamp explanation - the expiration date on it is no longer relevant if you’re already in the US and are not planning on exiting any time soon. That document is basically for admission purpose. The I-94 is what determines how long you’re admitted for."

Then, I read this on AmericaJosh:
"Some lawyers have said that it’s fine to keep working without doing anything as long as your I-94 is valid, because when you arrived, you were permitted on your E3 work visa status until that date.
However, when you dig a little deeper you will see that the majority of lawyers recommend taking a slightly more conservative approach to ensure you stay on the right side of the law.
While in theory you can just keep on living and working, it’s highly recommended that you extend your status from inside the US (through an I-129) or you leave the country, get a new visa, and return. This is basically due to the origins of the E3 visa and the fact that you’re not really meant to have different dates."

That's why it seems unclear to me.

I continued working based on what I had learnt above and my lawyer seemed to suggest it was not a problem.
I just want to be certain before the interview on whether I can still work now considering my LCA extension. Not sure if they can even approve extension if it wasn't legal.
 
CYNBLJ said:
I think the website AmericaJosh[dot]com has a post about i-94 / E-3 / LCA etc that might help you understand how they interact...
Click to expand...
Yes I just read that earlier and he suggests filing an i-129 but I'm not sure I can do that now that I've filed for AOS?!
 
Sohaross said:
Mom, and all members in this great form. I own you a lot. And I appreciate each single post and question in this form.
I had my interview today in NY federal plaza.
the officer was lady she is Light skin (mix Chinese and African American ). She is so sweet above whatever you can imagine.
she started with the oath. Then she asked about my ID. She asked me to take the mask so she can see my face. And I told her I am fully vaccinated and I asked her if I can take my mask off. She said yes you can. She asked me about the last entrance to the US. She took my passports just to take look at them And she asked have you ever extended your Visa. I said no but I have TPS. She said OGod.that’s good. Cuz if you do not have TPS or extend your Visa (maintaing the status ) you will not be able to do adjustment. She took a look at them. She said great.
she asked me about the work. Tax returns. She took my last 4 pay stubs. Then we chatted about work.then she said I almost forget to take your finger print. She took a copy of ny pharmacist intern permit.
After all she handed me paper and she told me this is a prove that you came to the interview in that paper she checked the first box which is ( your case is being held for interview. USCIS dose not require any further information or documents from you ……..). Everything looks good. And if something pops up in the system I will let you know. Other wise you will receive letter in the mail.
I will keep you posted and I will try today to upload the whole things to the time line.
love you all.
Click to expand...
Great update.
 
Lucio said:
Hi all,

My wife and I had our interview earlier this morning in NYC. We had the airport screening, then on the 7th floor the check-in, and then went to the waiting room. Our IO was so nice, he came 10min after we arrived in the waiting room and told us we would need to wait 30/40min because his computer was slow. He came back 30min later to invite us to his office, asked us if we had any documents to provide, ask us for updated financial documents, marriage certificate (already in the file submitted to the Chicago lockbox) did the oath, answered the first pages of I-485 for each other (me replying for my wife info and vice versa to check that we know each other well enough), then we had the Yes/No questions. Gave us the interview notice with the case is being reviewed and gave us the timeline when we should see an update on the USCIS website, receive the welcome letter, and the GC. He asked if we had questions and my wife asked him when we would be able to travel and he offered to provide us with an I-551 stamp. Told us this stamp would take 30min and we told him to go ahead. We came back to the waiting room and 30min later we had our passport stamped. 30min later the website was showing "New Card Is Being Produced".

I want to thank you all for this forum, spreadsheet, the community, and all the resources you provided and especially @Sm1smom !! I am so grateful and hope you will all succeed and have an IO as friendly as ours, wishing you luck in this process for all the ones waiting for an update!

PS: when we thank the IO for his time and for offering the I-551 stamp he told us just to be kind today with someone just like you said a few weeks back @Sm1smom when someone asked you what we can do to thank you. We're so lucky to have you!!

Edit: overall time on site, 2 hours (1 hour for security, check in, wait, 30min for the interview, 30min wait for the I-551)
Click to expand...
Awesome update. Congratulations.
 
elisap said:
My lawyer said I am still in status because of my i94 date. I had also seen this post on here a while back that said:
"I entered on an E3 which expires at the end of June and can't currently renew due to the consulate situation. However, my I-94 is valid through the end of 2021 and my employer's lawyers extended the LCA until the end date of the I-94 (also the end of 2021). They are saying that the E3 end date is just the last date that is allowed for entry on the visa but that the LCA and I-94 determine when I am allowed to stay and work until."

To which mom answered:

"Your employer’s lawyers are correct in terms of the E3 stamp explanation - the expiration date on it is no longer relevant if you’re already in the US and are not planning on exiting any time soon. That document is basically for admission purpose. The I-94 is what determines how long you’re admitted for."

Then, I read this on AmericaJosh:
"Some lawyers have said that it’s fine to keep working without doing anything as long as your I-94 is valid, because when you arrived, you were permitted on your E3 work visa status until that date.
However, when you dig a little deeper you will see that the majority of lawyers recommend taking a slightly more conservative approach to ensure you stay on the right side of the law.
While in theory you can just keep on living and working, it’s highly recommended that you extend your status from inside the US (through an I-129) or you leave the country, get a new visa, and return. This is basically due to the origins of the E3 visa and the fact that you’re not really meant to have different dates."

That's why it seems unclear to me.

I continued working based on what I had learnt above and my lawyer seemed to suggest it was not a problem.
I just want to be certain before the interview on whether I can still work now considering my LCA extension. Not sure if they can even approve extension if it wasn't legal.
Click to expand...
So I was right, we had the discussion here before
 
Shilaesf said:
I need a booster shot for one of my vaccines and wondering if I only take a letter from where I get the vaccine would be enough? or do I need to get a letter from civil surgeon again. she wrote me an exemption back when she prepared the I 693 because it was conflicting with my COVID vaccine , but I'm going to take the shot
before the interview.
Click to expand...
@Sm1smom appreciate if you could advise please
 
Sm1smom said:
Yes.
Click to expand...
thank you, dear mom

we are going to send the second package tomorrow, although today, tier 2 said we will receive a letter with instructions from NBC next week, we cannot wait anymore. ( this is the same as what a tier1 said two weeks ago!!) this letter has not been sent yet, and we worry about that. maybe it takes more time and we wouldn't have enough time for the rest of process.
tier 2 said this letter is not a RFE. and she said sending a new package is fine also!!:rolleyes:
we know sending the second package would make us some challenges, but in this situation, we have to do....

we are facing a great dilemma... We appreciate any suggestions

thank you
 
Shilaesf said:
I need a booster shot for one of my vaccines and wondering if I only take a letter from where I get the vaccine would be enough? or do I need to get a letter from civil surgeon again. she wrote me an exemption back when she prepared the I 693 because it was conflicting with my COVID vaccine , but I'm going to take the shot
before the interview.
Click to expand...
Shilaesf said:
@Sm1smom appreciate if you could advise please
Click to expand...
If your CS already marked the exempt column on your I-693, you're good. Curious though, which vaccine is this which you need a booster shot for?
 
2021Ma said:
thank you, dear mom

we are going to send the second package tomorrow, although today, tier 2 said we will receive a letter with instructions from NBC next week, we cannot wait anymore. ( this is the same as what a tier1 said two weeks ago!!) this letter has not been sent yet, and we worry about that. maybe it takes more time and we wouldn't have enough time for the rest of process.
tier 2 said this letter is not a RFE. and she said sending a new package is fine also!!:rolleyes:
we know sending the second package would make us some challenges, but in this situation, we have to do....

we are facing a great dilemma... We appreciate any suggestions

thank you
Click to expand...
I see. Is this second package going to be for both of you, or just one person? If one person, whose package are you re-sending?
 
Sm1smom said:
If your CS already marked the exempt column on your I-693, you're good. Curious though, which vaccine is this which you need a booster shot for?
Click to expand...
thanks Mom
it's for Rubella, I was ok for Measles and Mumps but Rubella was slightly below the range in the blood test.
what CS wrote for exemption was that because it's not advised to have any vaccine during the 2 weeks timeframe of COVID shot I couldn't have the booster shot and I'll will get it if USCIS requires.
I'm thinking to have the shot before the interview so they won't hold my GC for something that I can do now
 
My wife (the principal applicant) and I had our interview today at the Brooklyn Field Office. We were called in about 15 minutes after our scheduled appointment time. The IO was very nice and mainly went through a few questions regarding our marriage (e.g. date of marriage, what are your spouse's parents' names, etc.) and checked some of the basic information on the I-485 form. The IO told us she'd approve the cases today. About one hour after the interview my wife's status changed from "Fingerprint Fee Was Received" to "New Card Is Being Produced"! Mine is still at "Fingerprint Fee Was Received". It makes me a bit nervous, but I've seen other cases in this thread where the spouse's case status didn't update until later or even until the card was received, so I hope it'll be ok! I'll keep you posted.
 
mawanews said:
My wife (the principal applicant) and I had our interview today at the Brooklyn Field Office. We were called in about 15 minutes after our scheduled appointment time. The IO was very nice and mainly went through a few questions regarding our marriage (e.g. date of marriage, what are your spouse's parents' names, etc.) and checked some of the basic information on the I-485 form. The IO told us she'd approve the cases today. About one hour after the interview my wife's status changed from "Fingerprint Fee Was Received" to "New Card Is Being Produced"! Mine is still at "Fingerprint Fee Was Received". It makes me a bit nervous, but I've seen other cases in this thread where the spouse's case status didn't update until later or even until the card was received, so I hope it'll be ok! I'll keep you posted.
Click to expand...
Congratulations!
 
omgastro said:
My status changed from "card being produced" to "Case Was Reopened For Reconsideration". This is stressful. What are my options before waiting for the notice in the mail?
Click to expand...
The options are ............. ............. ............. ............. ............. ............. ............. ............. .......................... ............. ............. ............. ............. ............. ............. ............. .......................... ............. ............. ............. ............. ............. ............. ............. .......................... ............. ............. ............. ............. ............. ............. ............. .......................... ............. ............. ............. ............. ............. ............. ............. .......................... ............. ............. ............. ............. ............. ............. ............. .......................... ............. ............. ............. ............. ............. ............. ............. .......................... ............. ............. ............. ............. ............. ............. ............. .......................... ............. ............. ............. ............. ............. ............. ............. .......................... ............. ............. ............. ............. ............. ............. ............. .......................... ............. ............. ............. ............. ............. ............. ............. .......................... ............. ............. ............. ............. ............. ............. ............. .......................... ............. ............. ............. ............. ............. ............. ............. .......................... ............. ............. ............. ............. ............. ............. ............. ............. ............. ............. ............. ............. .............

W...A...I...T!!!
 
Lucio said:
Hi all,

My wife and I had our interview earlier this morning in NYC. We had the airport screening, then on the 7th floor the check-in, and then went to the waiting room. Our IO was so nice, he came 10min after we arrived in the waiting room and told us we would need to wait 30/40min because his computer was slow. He came back 30min later to invite us to his office, asked us if we had any documents to provide, ask us for updated financial documents, marriage certificate (already in the file submitted to the Chicago lockbox) did the oath, answered the first pages of I-485 for each other (me replying for my wife info and vice versa to check that we know each other well enough), then we had the Yes/No questions. Gave us the interview notice with the case is being reviewed and gave us the timeline when we should see an update on the USCIS website, receive the welcome letter, and the GC. He asked if we had questions and my wife asked him when we would be able to travel and he offered to provide us with an I-551 stamp. Told us this stamp would take 30min and we told him to go ahead. We came back to the waiting room and 30min later we had our passport stamped. 30min later the website was showing "New Card Is Being Produced".

I want to thank you all for this forum, spreadsheet, the community, and all the resources you provided and especially @Sm1smom !! I am so grateful and hope you will all succeed and have an IO as friendly as ours, wishing you luck in this process for all the ones waiting for an update!

PS: when we thank the IO for his time and for offering the I-551 stamp he told us just to be kind today with someone just like you said a few weeks back @Sm1smom when someone asked you what we can do to thank you. We're so lucky to have you!!

Edit: overall time on site, 2 hours (1 hour for security, check in, wait, 30min for the interview, 30min wait for the I-551)
Click to expand...
Thanks so much for sharing your experience!
I have my interview there tomorrow. Quick question - I just noticed on the bottom left-hand corner of the Interview Notice under the Federal Plaza address that my letter says "Ask for Sr. ISO Rossi". Did your letter have the same name listed on it? If not, did the name on your letter match the name of the person who actually interviewed you, or not? (Just wondering if we might have the same interviewer...)
Also, what updated financial documents did you need to provide? (paystubs? employer verification letter? etc)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top