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DV 2021 AOS Only

mazadd said:
Update from Nashville FO.
I had the interview today Sep 7th at 7 am (bio on Aug 30). When I got there there was only one other person. Passed the security and then checked in (there were 5-6 windows for checking in, only one person there at that time). Next I was called in by the officer maybe after 10-15 minutes to her office. The interview was very quick, asking about name, address, parent's name, if I'm still a student, etc. And all the Yes/No questions. She also checked my passport, driver's license, birth certificate, and divorce decree. I also mentioned I had a new enrollment letter from university but she said she doesn't need it. At the end the officer told me there are more things to check and that I'll receive an update or request for more info in 2-3 weeks. Finally she asked if I had any questions and I just mentioned that I am a little bit worried about the deadline. She was well aware of it and said don't worry. My case status is "Interview Was Completed And My Case Must Be Reviewed." Every one at the field office were so nice. The officer especially was very nice.
Thanks to all on this forum and hope that we all receive good news very soon.
Click to expand...
Status updated to New Card Is Being Produced :D
 
Just finished my interview today at SF FO.
I hope this is especially helpful for people who have an interview here.

We waited for 10 min past the interview time.

we were called in, did the oath.
Then she requested passports, another form of ID ( in our case SSN and DL), birth certificate.

Then she went over pretty much the same questions everyone posted here such as name, DOB, parent info, address & yes no question.
the interview took about 30 minutes but very straight forward and IO was super nice.
Nothing came out as a surprise and at the end of the interview, she told me that she has everything she needs and just need to run a quick background check before she approves, which can be very quick.
We felt pretty good about it and made a quick stop at an ice cream shop in the city to celebrate and on our way back to our home, we noticed that our status now changed to “new card being produced”.

wow that was quick.( only 40 min after we left the room)

I can’t believe this long journey is finally coming to an end. I cannot thank enough this amazing community & resources, especially @Sm1smom who constantly helped us along the way and sometime told me to calm down. And of course @SusieQQQ.

I wish everyone the success here and will try to come check this forum to help as well!!
 
Last edited:
Hi all,

This forum has been a great source for DV information over the past 7 years and it’s finally my turn to contribute. I’ll be sharing my DV 2021 timeline and interview experience in this post.

------------

DV 2021 AOS & OPT Timeline (all dates in MM/DD form)

-OPT timeline included for reference (marked with *)

-All events took place in 2021 and are arranged in chronological order

[Status: F-1 graduating in June 2021, 1st time OPT applied in March 2021]

[Case Number: 2021AS298xx]

[Current: June (VB published on 04/20)]

[ASC: Tustin, CA]

[FO: Santa Ana, CA]


*OPT package: arrived at Chicago lockbox on 03/31

*OPT case received text message: received on 04/04

*OPT payment $410: cashed on 04/05

*I-797C (NOA: OPT I-765 case accepted): USCIS sent on 04/02, received on 04/08

•VB current starting in June: published on 04/20

•DV Administration fee $330: arrived on 04/28, cashed on 05/03

•DV Administration fee $330 digital receipt: requested on 05/03 via email, received on 06/03

•Immigration medical exam: completed on 05/12, received I-693 on 05/17

•DV Administration fee $330 paper receipt: KCC sent on 05/12, received on 05/18

•2NL: KCC sent on 06/01 via email

•AOS package: arrived at Chicago lockbox on 06/04

*I-765 approval: USCIS case status updated on 06/03

*I-797 (NOA: OPT I-765 approval): USCIS sent on 06/02, received on 06/07

*EAD card: USCIS sent on 06/07, received on 06/10

•AOS payment ($1225) cashed: 06/25

*Social Security card: SSA sent on 06/29, received on 07/06

•I-797C (NOA: AOS case accepted) with receipt number: NBC sent on 06/25, received on 07/02

•Interview appointment letter: FO sent on 07/13, received on 07/16

•I-797C (NOA: bio appointment): NBC sent on 07/16, received on 07/24

•Interview: completed on 08/05 (USCIS website case status updated to “Interview Was Completed And My Case Must Be Reviewed”)

•Bio: completed on 08/09

•USCIS website case status updated to “New Card Is Being Produced”: 08/18

•Approval notice: FO send on 08/18, received on 08/20

•I-797C (NOA: welcome to the USA): NBC sent on 08/18, received on 08/23

•USCIS website case status updated to “Case Was Approved”: 08/19

•USCIS website case status updated to “Card Was Mailed To Me”: 08/20

•USCIS website case status updated to "Card Was Picked Up By The United States Postal Service": 08/23

•Green card: received on 08/25

------------

Interview experience at Santa Ana FO

My interview was pretty similar to what was described previously. We started by taking the oath, followed by questions about personal info on the first 9 pages of I-485 and then the Yes/No questions. We both signed the form after verifying all the info.

Besides my passport, the officer also asked for my OPT EAD card, SS card, original copy of birth certificate and non-official transcript of my grad school (which is in the US). He returned the first three documents to me after reading them and kept the transcript.

The interview was around 20 minutes. The officer gave me the ”Notice of Interview Results” saying that my case is being held for review (as I interviewed before the bio appointment) and ensured that he was the only officer at the FO in charge of all DV applicants so there’s no need to worry about the case being transferred to some other officer and therefore causing a delay, and that he knew about the 9/30 deadline of DV and would definitely complete the processing before that.

I’ve seen the exact same words from previous posts so I’m pretty sure we’ve all had the same officer reviewing our cases. He’s really nice and pretty tall. I’m not sure if it’s okay to do a name drop here so the hint is “His last name, without being scrambled, could be divided into three English words.” If any of you shall interview at Santa Ana and find out that your officer’s last name matches this hint, consider yourself lucky :)

------------

Some final thoughts

This is my 6th entry of DV. I started as soon as I turned 18 and finally, at the age 25, I am able to introduce myself as a permanent resident of this country. This wouldn’t have been possible without each and every one of you. Special thanks to Simon, Mom, Susie and all others that have answered my questions. To all my fellow DV participants, I wish you the best of luck!
 
ihavehope said:
Hi all,

This forum has been a great source for DV information over the past 7 years and it’s finally my turn to contribute. I’ll be sharing my DV 2021 timeline and interview experience in this post.

------------

DV 2021 AOS & OPT Timeline (all dates in MM/DD form)

-OPT timeline included for reference (marked with *)

-All events took place in 2021 and are arranged in chronological order

[Status: F-1 graduating in June 2021, 1st time OPT applied in March 2021]

[Case Number: 2021AS298xx]

[Current: June (VB published on 04/20)]

[ASC: Tustin, CA]

[FO: Santa Ana, CA]


*OPT package: arrived at Chicago lockbox on 03/31

*OPT case received text message: received on 04/04

*OPT payment $410: cashed on 04/05

*I-797C (NOA: OPT I-765 case accepted): USCIS sent on 04/02, received on 04/08

•VB current starting in June: published on 04/20

•DV Administration fee $330: arrived on 04/28, cashed on 05/03

•DV Administration fee $330 digital receipt: requested on 05/03 via email, received on 06/03

•Immigration medical exam: completed on 05/12, received I-693 on 05/17

•DV Administration fee $330 paper receipt: KCC sent on 05/12, received on 05/18

•2NL: KCC sent on 06/01 via email

•AOS package: arrived at Chicago lockbox on 06/04

*I-765 approval: USCIS case status updated on 06/03

*I-797 (NOA: OPT I-765 approval): USCIS sent on 06/02, received on 06/07

*EAD card: USCIS sent on 06/07, received on 06/10

•AOS payment ($1225) cashed: 06/25

*Social Security card: SSA sent on 06/29, received on 07/06

•I-797C (NOA: AOS case accepted) with receipt number: NBC sent on 06/25, received on 07/02

•Interview appointment letter: FO sent on 07/13, received on 07/16

•I-797C (NOA: bio appointment): NBC sent on 07/16, received on 07/24

•Interview: completed on 08/05 (USCIS website case status updated to “Interview Was Completed And My Case Must Be Reviewed”)

•Bio: completed on 08/09

•USCIS website case status updated to “New Card Is Being Produced”: 08/18

•Approval notice: FO send on 08/18, received on 08/20

•I-797C (NOA: welcome to the USA): NBC sent on 08/18, received on 08/23

•USCIS website case status updated to “Case Was Approved”: 08/19

•USCIS website case status updated to “Card Was Mailed To Me”: 08/20

•USCIS website case status updated to "Card Was Picked Up By The United States Postal Service": 08/23

•Green card: received on 08/25

------------

Interview experience at Santa Ana FO

My interview was pretty similar to what was described previously. We started by taking the oath, followed by questions about personal info on the first 9 pages of I-485 and then the Yes/No questions. We both signed the form after verifying all the info.

Besides my passport, the officer also asked for my OPT EAD card, SS card, original copy of birth certificate and non-official transcript of my grad school (which is in the US). He returned the first three documents to me after reading them and kept the transcript.

The interview was around 20 minutes. The officer gave me the ”Notice of Interview Results” saying that my case is being held for review (as I interviewed before the bio appointment) and ensured that he was the only officer at the FO in charge of all DV applicants so there’s no need to worry about the case being transferred to some other officer and therefore causing a delay, and that he knew about the 9/30 deadline of DV and would definitely complete the processing before that.

I’ve seen the exact same words from previous posts so I’m pretty sure we’ve all had the same officer reviewing our cases. He’s really nice and pretty tall. I’m not sure if it’s okay to do a name drop here so the hint is “His last name, without being scrambled, could be divided into three English words.” If any of you shall interview at Santa Ana and find out that your officer’s last name matches this hint, consider yourself lucky :)

------------

Some final thoughts

This is my 6th entry of DV. I started as soon as I turned 18 and finally, at the age 25, I am able to introduce myself as a permanent resident of this country. This wouldn’t have been possible without each and every one of you. Special thanks to Simon, Mom, Susie and all others that have answered my questions. To all my fellow DV participants, I wish you the best of luck!
Click to expand...
Congratulations.
 
Ybuster said:
Just finished my interview today at SF FO.
I hope this is especially helpful for people who have an interview here.

We waited for 10 min past the interview time.

we were called in, did the oath.
Then she requested passports, another form of ID ( in our case SSN and DL), birth certificate.

Then she went over pretty much the same questions everyone posted here such as name, DOB, parent info, address & yes no question.
the interview took about 30 minutes but very straight forward and IO was super nice.
Nothing came out as a surprise and at the end of the interview, she told me that she has everything she needs and just need to run a quick background check before she approves, which can be very quick.
We felt pretty good about it and made a quick stop at an ice cream shop in the city to celebrate and on our way back to our home, we noticed that our status now changed to “new card being produced”.

wow that was quick.( only 40 min after we left the room)

I can’t believe this long journey is finally coming to an end. I cannot thank enough this amazing community & resources, especially @Sm1smom who constantly helped us along the way and sometime told me to calm down. And of course @SusieQQQ.

I wish everyone the success here and will try to come check this forum to help as well!!
Click to expand...
Congratulations.
 
We had our interview today and just checked the update, and it is the happy news 'new card being Produced" . As stated in my reply to fellow TN applicant @mazadd , the interview experience was very pleasant. Thank You MOM, Simon, Susie and others.

It has been a very stressful journey for last 9 months.
Our J waiver process took from Dec2021 to June 21 and compare to that AOS process was less stressful and 'smooth' , and we have this forum. I would like to urge any J visa DV22 applicant who follow this forum to apply for the waiver asap as the time taken for the process is totally unpredictable.
 
MKH said:
We had our interview today and just checked the update, and it is the happy news 'new card being Produced" . As stated in my reply to fellow TN applicant @mazadd , the interview experience was very pleasant. Thank You MOM, Simon, Susie and others.

It has been a very stressful journey for last 9 months.
Our J waiver process took from Dec2021 to June 21 and compare to that AOS process was less stressful and 'smooth' , and we have this forum. I would like to urge any J visa DV22 applicant who follow this forum to apply for the waiver asap as the time taken for the process is totally unpredictable.
Click to expand...
Congratulations
 
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Reactions: MKH
Sm1smom said:
How’s that a dead end? Where/who did you think the inquiry/expedite request was going to get sent to?
Click to expand...
Because the whole issue is that the office is closed until further notice, so I am still facing the same problem.
I was kinda hoping the congressman inquiry or this one would be sent to USCIS in general rather than the FO in particular, if there’s such thing, and they could take care of it somehow from there (for example to reschedule me in another office).
 
hi mom and suzie
we are planning on going to my home country , couple of questions:
1. We are planning to go for about 4 weeks however sisnce things are very unstable with covid is there anything we need to apply if stay becomes longer unexpectedly?...( to keep our record clean so that it want be an issue in future)
2. My wife has not recieved the physical card yet - can she enter US with the stamped visa?
 
DV21M said:
Because the whole issue is that the office is closed until further notice, so I am still facing the same problem.
I was kinda hoping the congressman inquiry or this one would be sent to USCIS in general rather than the FO in particular, if there’s such thing, and they could take care of it somehow from there (for example to reschedule me in another office).
Click to expand...
Well, that is a misunderstanding on your part as to how the USCIS operates. The only “general USCIS” is the customer service support saddled with dealing with low level issues - other queries/questions they cannot deal with gets sent to the applicable FOs. For specific cases, they are assigned to IOs within the FOs with jurisdiction over the case. USCIS does not have a pool of IOs waiting to deal with general issues or case specific issues and make decisions on those.

Yes, the local office may be physically closed or closed to the general public, again it doesn’t mean the folks there are not working, cannot operate or are not already operating remotely or from some other locations. I previously provided you with DV 2020 reference and COVID-19 impact on USCIS office closures. Your case cannot be re-assigned to a new FO without the input of your currently assigned FO - there's a process in place which needs to be followed. The inquiry you sent is not a dead end IMO. Same with the congressional inquiry by the way. The way I see it, those are the needed efforts to generate the required attention to a case. A congressional inquiry is not a magic wand or some big stick being waved in front of USCIS - a congressional inquiry is basically a process for calling attention to a case, kind of like saying "can you please take a look at this case from my constituent" as against people thinking of it as a congressman/woman welding power over USCIS and forcing them to act on their case. You are making the right "noise" (so to say) with the follow-up attempts and calling the New Orleans FO's attention to your fast approaching deadline and requesting they do something to ensure you do not loose this opportunity. Trust the system and keep your fingers crossed while hoping for the best, as against adopting defeatist attitude as of now. Try and focus on your studies. And if ultimately you end up not getting approved and miss out on this opportunity, pull up your big girl's panties and move on. It will not be the end of the world for you.
 
DV21M said:
Because the whole issue is that the office is closed until further notice, so I am still facing the same problem.
I was kinda hoping the congressman inquiry or this one would be sent to USCIS in general rather than the FO in particular, if there’s such thing, and they could take care of it somehow from there (for example to reschedule me in another office).
Click to expand...
One thing we learnt from covid is that FO staff do in fact work from home. Someone will be taking the query.
 
dhanu159 said:
hi mom and suzie
we are planning on going to my home country , couple of questions:
1. We are planning to go for about 4 weeks however sisnce things are very unstable with covid is there anything we need to apply if stay becomes longer unexpectedly?...( to keep our record clean so that it want be an issue in future)
2. My wife has not recieved the physical card yet - can she enter US with the stamped visa?
Click to expand...
1. If you want to have a back-up assurance in case things go south and you're not able to return as planned, apply for a re-entry permit. Note, you'll need to wait for and complete the bio appointment (which may take a while) before departing from the US.
2. Yes. Her validated (stamped) visa is valid for one year from the day she entered the US.
 
dhanu159 said:
hi mom and suzie
we are planning on going to my home country , couple of questions:
1. We are planning to go for about 4 weeks however sisnce things are very unstable with covid is there anything we need to apply if stay becomes longer unexpectedly?...( to keep our record clean so that it want be an issue in future)
2. My wife has not recieved the physical card yet - can she enter US with the stamped visa?
Click to expand...
1. You can stay out for up to a year without needing to apply for a re-entry permit so no problem. (Try to keep it under 6 months for naturalization purposes though)
2. Yes, it is valid up to a year from entry as a temp green card. Bear in mind it may not be accepted if you need to show a green card for transit purposes anywhere. Also some airline personnel are unaware of it so get to the airport early & preferably take a copy of the page from the CBP carrier guide showing it’s ok.
 
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