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DV 2021 AOS Only

Sm1smom said:
Way too late to be filing a 2021 DV based AOS application IMO - complete waste of money, time, emotional investment, etc.
No problem with having two different AOS applications in the system at the same time, so if they still want to give it a shot, then can of course - their money, their case, their time = their decision!
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I feel the same, and I will let them know. Thank you!!!
 
My partner and I completed our interview at San Jose FO on Wednesday morning, and our online status was updated to "New Card Is Being Produced" later the same day. We would like to echo the thanks and gratitude others have expressed for this forum/thread that helped us learn from the experience and questions of others and (perhaps most importantly) to calibrate our expectations -- and of course especially for the selflessness, generosity, and patience of the resident experts and moderators, @Sm1smom, @SusieQQQ and others.

Our case number became current in June and our journey was straightforward and more-or-less exactly as could have been predicted from that point. Our interview experience closely mirrored many of those reported already, so I won't offer another blow-by-blow account. Aside from the standing advice to be patient and let the process take its course, there are just a couple of things we've not seen mentioned repeatedly that we would like to offer in the hope of helping those who come after:

1. For our FO (San Jose) it seems fairly clear that a) they know exactly what they're doing with the DV process, so there's no need to be concerned that they might drop the ball from that point of view; and b) judging from the fact that there appear to be three of us (@Lassi_jp and @nahseryeoj) from San Jose who all had our interviews on the same day (and all appear to have been approved on the same day), it seems very likely that they're in the habit of batching the interviews.

2. In our case (two of us applying together), my partner's interview was for 7.45am and mine for 9am. We have two (USC) children which made the morning difficult, and we seriously considered travelling separately (I figured I could get the kids to school and still make it for 9am). We judged they would probably interview us together anyway (and so found some help with the kids), and that proved to be correct -- they clearly expected us to show up and be interviewed together. It would have been considerably more awkward, I think, if we had indeed shown up separately.

Thank you to all, and best wishes especially to those who are still hoping to complete everything by September 30th.
 
wilo108 said:
My partner and I completed our interview at San Jose FO on Wednesday morning, and our online status was updated to "New Card Is Being Produced" later the same day. We would like to echo the thanks and gratitude others have expressed for this forum/thread that helped us learn from the experience and questions of others and (perhaps most importantly) to calibrate our expectations -- and of course especially for the selflessness, generosity, and patience of the resident experts and moderators, @Sm1smom, @SusieQQQ and others.

Our case number became current in June and our journey was straightforward and more-or-less exactly as could have been predicted from that point. Our interview experience closely mirrored many of those reported already, so I won't offer another blow-by-blow account. Aside from the standing advice to be patient and let the process take its course, there are just a couple of things we've not seen mentioned repeatedly that we would like to offer in the hope of helping those who come after:

1. For our FO (San Jose) it seems fairly clear that a) they know exactly what they're doing with the DV process, so there's no need to be concerned that they might drop the ball from that point of view; and b) judging from the fact that there appear to be three of us (@Lassi_jp and @nahseryeoj) from San Jose who all had our interviews on the same day (and all appear to have been approved on the same day), it seems very likely that they're in the habit of batching the interviews.

2. In our case (two of us applying together), my partner's interview was for 7.45am and mine for 9am. We have two (USC) children which made the morning difficult, and we seriously considered travelling separately (I figured I could get the kids to school and still make it for 9am). We judged they would probably interview us together anyway (and so found some help with the kids), and that proved to be correct -- they clearly expected us to show up and be interviewed together. It would have been considerably more awkward, I think, if we had indeed shown up separately.

Thank you to all, and best wishes especially to those who are still hoping to complete everything by September 30th.
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Congratulations!!!
 
wilo108 said:
My partner and I completed our interview at San Jose FO on Wednesday morning, and our online status was updated to "New Card Is Being Produced" later the same day. We would like to echo the thanks and gratitude others have expressed for this forum/thread that helped us learn from the experience and questions of others and (perhaps most importantly) to calibrate our expectations -- and of course especially for the selflessness, generosity, and patience of the resident experts and moderators, @Sm1smom, @SusieQQQ and others.

Our case number became current in June and our journey was straightforward and more-or-less exactly as could have been predicted from that point. Our interview experience closely mirrored many of those reported already, so I won't offer another blow-by-blow account. Aside from the standing advice to be patient and let the process take its course, there are just a couple of things we've not seen mentioned repeatedly that we would like to offer in the hope of helping those who come after:

1. For our FO (San Jose) it seems fairly clear that a) they know exactly what they're doing with the DV process, so there's no need to be concerned that they might drop the ball from that point of view; and b) judging from the fact that there appear to be three of us (@Lassi_jp and @nahseryeoj) from San Jose who all had our interviews on the same day (and all appear to have been approved on the same day), it seems very likely that they're in the habit of batching the interviews.

2. In our case (two of us applying together), my partner's interview was for 7.45am and mine for 9am. We have two (USC) children which made the morning difficult, and we seriously considered travelling separately (I figured I could get the kids to school and still make it for 9am). We judged they would probably interview us together anyway (and so found some help with the kids), and that proved to be correct -- they clearly expected us to show up and be interviewed together. It would have been considerably more awkward, I think, if we had indeed shown up separately.

Thank you to all, and best wishes especially to those who are still hoping to complete everything by September 30th.
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Congratulations. Yes indeed, it would have been quite awkward if you both hadn’t shown up together.
 
coffeemonster said:
It seems to be fairly typical for the FOs to not look at cases again until after the scheduled bio date. The same thing happened to me - I did a bio walk-in a few weeks before my scheduled date, but my case wasn't updated until several days after the scheduled bio date. It's also possible that your background check isn't finished.

It's always worth trying a walk-in, but there's no guarantee that it will speed up your case even if you're successful, especially for cases where the interview is already done.

As long as USCIS has confirmed that your biometrics were received you should be ok. Personally, I went to my FO on the day of my bio appointment just to be 100% sure. They told me at the check in desk that I didn't need to be there.
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Thanks for sharing your experience and congrats on your GC in hand :)
 
Sm1smom said:
People do early walk-in bio, some even from non-assigned ASCs all the time, it has never been an issue. The IOs (in cases where interview already happened before the bio walk-in) are not waiting until the assigned bio date to update or review such cases. They get notified as soon as the background check clears and depending on their workload/schedule, they complete the case adjudication as applicable. I believe the response sent to your Senator is not directly from the IO in charge of your case, plus the wording is basically due to a late delivery of the message. Did your Senator’s office forward the response from USCIS to you verbatim or they simply wrote the above as the response they received? There’s no need to redo the bio, as long as your bio notice got stamped and dated when you completed the walk-in bio - that is your confirmation of having completed the bio as required.
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It was verbatim, I just summarized it!

USCIS states: "Thank you for your August 17, 2021 email inquiry on behalf of your constituent, regarding his I-485.

The Washington Field Office has scheduled a biometrics appointment for Tuesday, Sep 14, 2021 at 1 PM."

Action required was in the title of the Email.
 
Hey everyone. I'm a DV2021 selectee, I just got my green card and wanted to share my experience with those of you who might be in the same position as I was.

I was an asylum pending. I applied for asylum way in advance before my J1 status expired. I tried expediting scheduling my asylum interview, but that didn't help, and my case got stuck due to pandemics contributing to the asylum office backlog. I never accumulated any unlawful presence, but when I sent out my AOS package, I was in a quasi-status or out of status, or some might say, no status from which I can adjust.

Given how low my odds were, according to many lawyers and experience of others not getting their cases approved, I still decided to try and yet got my green card issued.

Let me start with the timeline:
- 06.16.2021 my AOS package has been received by the USCIS;
- 07.05.2021 received my BIO waiver letter;
- 07.06.2021 made a congressional inquiry asking them to help schedule my interview;
- 07.19.2021 received my interview letter;
- 08.19.2021 had my interview;
- 08.30.2021 status of my case changes to "New Card Is Being Produced"

I filled out & submitted my DS-260. I never received 2NL. I mailed the DV fee to the Department of State but didn't get the receipt fast enough and sent out my AOS package without it. However, I saw my money order was cashed through the USPS website; I printed that page out and put it at the very end of my package. Then I waited for the receipt for about a month, didn't get it, then emailed KCC and received my receipt about 2 weeks after that.

Besides that, my AOS package didn't have anything special. For my current status, I put "I-589 Asylum Pending." For everything else, I just followed the instructions outlined in the AOS spreadsheet. Many thanks to people who contributed to that, especially Mom & Susie.

The interview took place in San Jose FO, and it took a bit longer than I expected. I took the originals of my documents and everything else that was suggested in the AOS spreadsheet with me. The officer was strict but fair. He fixed a few errors on my application. His questions were mostly about my work authorization, whether I violated my non-immigrant status, and the non-profit organizations I volunteer for. No questions about asylum. At the end of the interview, he asked if I had any questions. I asked what the next steps were. He said I'd find out about their decision in about a week, and if I get approved, I'll receive my green card 2 weeks after. I left the FO in a positive mood without knowing if this was going to work out. All I got was a piece of paper stating the case was being held for additional review. But a week after, I got notified through the case tracker that my card was being produced.

My advice for everyone else in a similar position: do not be afraid to try; this will not jeopardize your asylum application. My personal takeaway from this is immigration officers review every case individually and evaluate if you're a good individual. They can always make an exception as long as it's worth it. Make sure you can present a good moral character. If you don't have any bad intentions, you're not taking advantage or abusing the public benefits system and just living your life - then everything will be okay.

Good luck, everyone. Now I'm off to enjoy my freedom!
 
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nevergiveupintheus said:
Hey everyone. I'm a DV2021 selectee, I just got my green card and wanted to share my experience with those of you who might be in the same position as I was.

I was an asylum pending. I applied for asylum way in advance before my J1 status expired. I tried expediting scheduling my asylum interview, but that didn't help, and my case got stuck due to pandemics contributing to the asylum office backlog. I never accumulated any unlawful presence, but when I sent out my AOS package, I was in a quasi-status or out of status, or some might say, no status from which I can adjust.

Given how low my odds were, according to many lawyers and experience of others not getting their cases approved, I still decided to try and yet got my green card issued.

Let me start with the timeline:
- 06.16.2021 my AOS package has been received by the USCIS;
- 07.05.2021 received my BIO waiver letter;
- 07.06.2021 made a congressional inquiry asking them to help schedule my interview;
- 07.19.2021 received my interview letter;
- 08.19.2021 had my interview;
- 08.30.2021 status of my case changes to "New Card Is Being Produced"

I filled out & submitted my DS-260. I never received 2NL. I mailed the DV fee to the Department of State but didn't get the receipt fast enough and sent out my AOS package without it. However, I saw my money order was cashed through the USPS website; I printed that page out and put it at the very end of my package. Then I waited for the receipt for about a month, didn't get it, then emailed KCC and received my receipt about 2 weeks after that.

Besides that, my AOS package didn't have anything special. For my current status, I put "I-589 Asylum Pending." For everything else, I just followed the instructions outlined in the AOS spreadsheet. Many thanks to people who contributed to that, especially Mom & Susie.

The interview took place in San Jose FO, and it took a bit longer than I expected. I took the originals of my documents and everything else that was suggested in the AOS spreadsheet with me. The officer was strict but fair. He fixed a few errors on my application. His questions were mostly about my work authorization, whether I violated my non-immigrant status, and the non-profit organizations I volunteer for. No questions about asylum. At the end of the interview, he asked if I had any questions. I asked what the next steps were. He said I'd find out about their decision in about a week, and if I get approved, I'll receive my green card 2 weeks after. I left the FO in a positive mood without knowing if this was going to work out. All I got was a piece of paper stating the case was being held for additional review. But a week after, I got notified through the case tracker that my card was being produced.

My advice for everyone else in a similar position: do not be afraid to try; this will not jeopardize your asylum application. My personal takeaway from this is immigration officers review every case individually and evaluate if you're a good individual. They can always make an exception as long as it's worth it. Make sure you can present a good moral character. If you don't have any bad intentions, you're not taking advantage or abusing the public benefits system and just living your life - then everything will be okay.

Good luck, everyone. Now I'm off to enjoy my freedom!
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Congrats! "Freedom"! I know the feeling. Enjoy your new life!

PS: Would be more useful for future applicants if you enter your info in the timeline, as this post will be buried here after a while and no one can really benefit.
 
It has been couple days since our approval and I finally can contain my excitement enough to sit down and type few concluding remarks.

As many of you know, our interview went smoothly and IO said that our KCC file was received and BG was completed. So the level of excitement that I show might seem unusual to some. As all Chicago AOSers got approved on the night of their interview, I was very much disappointed when I did not hear back after 2 days. I started writing our interview experience before my memory fades away. Around noon a letter from USCIS showed up in my informed delivery. I rushed back home to see if it was an RFE. The letter was from FO; it was titled "Notice of interview results" and to my surprise, it stated that upon further review, my BG has not been cleared and although my wife's BG has been cleared, they can't process her application as I'm the main DV applicant.

We had our biometrics appointment on 07/30, so my understanding was that my BG would probably never be cleared. I started accepting the outcome and moving on with my life. As useful as it has been for many, the only thing I was hoping for was for my name not to find its way to the "incident tracker".

As disappointed as I was, I started reading through the incident tracker to see what others have done in the same situation. The answer was clear for me from beginning: "Nothing!". While surfing the forum, I came upon a post from an unfortunate user named "Yosef", who had his bio around the same time in the FY and had never had his BG cleared. He mentioned that on Sep 17 his FO initiated an expedited BG check. So I decided to ask my congressional caseworker to request an expedited BG check on my behalf. I shoot him an email on the Friday before the Labour day and as I expected, he replied on Sep 8 that although there is no such a thing as expedited BG check, he will do a follow-up for my case. It was few minutes to 3:00 PM that I received an email from him stating that the FO has just approved my case.

I didn't even finish the next sentence on the email, jumped on my bike and rode to home, with some ice cream I bought on the way to celebrate!
 
I had been an unfortunate DV2018 winner, with CN OC21XX, which never became current. This year, when I saw my CN was OC3XXX, I was sure that I would never become current. So I didn't even check the VB that often, just the first few months to get an idea about the holes. It was late in April that I was looking up the date for announcement of the DV2022 winners. While at it, I also checked the VB and to my surprise, my number was in Advance Notification section! Luckily, I was familiar with the forum and @Britsimon 's blog from 2018's win and was able to put together and send my package out in around 2 weeks.

"Thank you"s: @Britsimon I learned a lot from your posts in DV2018 and also your blog and the YT channel. Thanks for sharing your knowledge! @Sm1smom No doubt that it would have taken forever to put a package together if it wasn't for your beautifully prepared spreadsheet. And no one would have been patient if it wasn't for the DV timeline spreadsheet. A huge thank you and best wishes for you and Sm1. @SusieQQQ Thanks for sharing your knowledge and maintaining this platform and spending time answering my questions!

"Shout out"s: @raphael1899 Thanks for spending time chatting with me and giving me advice and your opinions on my case. @jasperrrr.c It would have been much harder to bear the pressure if it wasn't for our conversations. @Milz my brother, thanks for pushing me for the Tier 2 requests, FO inquiries, and congressional inquiries. And thanks for sharing your efforts with me with no hesitation. Keep in touch! @ritallight Thanks for the conversations, all the good wishes and the prayers, and the positive vibes! Best wishes for you and your son. Keep in touch!
 
Blade_ said:
It has been couple days since our approval and I finally can contain my excitement enough to sit down and type few concluding remarks.

As many of you know, our interview went smoothly and IO said that our KCC file was received and BG was completed. So the level of excitement that I show might seem unusual to some. As all Chicago AOSers got approved on the night of their interview, I was very much disappointed when I did not hear back after 2 days. I started writing our interview experience before my memory fades away. Around noon a letter from USCIS showed up in my informed delivery. I rushed back home to see if it was an RFE. The letter was from FO; it was titled "Notice of interview results" and to my surprise, it stated that upon further review, my BG has not been cleared and although my wife's BG has been cleared, they can't process her application as I'm the main DV applicant.

We had our biometrics appointment on 07/30, so my understanding was that my BG would probably never be cleared. I started accepting the outcome and moving on with my life. As useful as it has been for many, the only thing I was hoping for was for my name not to find its way to the "incident tracker".

As disappointed as I was, I started reading through the incident tracker to see what others have done in the same situation. The answer was clear for me from beginning: "Nothing!". While surfing the forum, I came upon a post from an unfortunate user named "Yosef", who had his bio around the same time in the FY and had never had his BG cleared. He mentioned that on Sep 17 his FO initiated an expedited BG check. So I decided to ask my congressional caseworker to request an expedited BG check on my behalf. I shoot him an email on the Friday before the Labour day and as I expected, he replied on Sep 8 that although there is no such a thing as expedited BG check, he will do a follow-up for my case. It was few minutes to 3:00 PM that I received an email from him stating that the FO has just approved my case.

I didn't even finish the next sentence on the email, jumped on my bike and rode to home, with some ice cream I bought on the way to celebrate!
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I am crying happy tears for you right now! Congratulations!!!
 
Blade_ said:
I had been an unfortunate DV2018 winner, with CN OC21XX, which never became current. This year, when I saw my CN was OC3XXX, I was sure that I would never become current. So I didn't even check the VB that often, just the first few months to get an idea about the holes. It was late in April that I was looking up the date for announcement of the DV2022 winners. While at it, I also checked the VB and to my surprise, my number was in Advance Notification section! Luckily, I was familiar with the forum and @Britsimon 's blog from 2018's win and was able to put together and send my package out in around 2 weeks.

"Thank you"s: @Britsimon I learned a lot from your posts in DV2018 and also your blog and the YT channel. Thanks for sharing your knowledge! @Sm1smom No doubt that it would have taken forever to put a package together if it wasn't for your beautifully prepared spreadsheet. And no one would have been patient if it wasn't for the DV timeline spreadsheet. A huge thank you and best wishes for you and Sm1. @SusieQQQ Thanks for sharing your knowledge and maintaining this platform and spending time answering my questions!

"Shout out"s: @raphael1899 Thanks for spending time chatting with me and giving me advice and your opinions on my case. @jasperrrr.c It would have been much harder to bear the pressure if it wasn't for our conversations. @Milz my brother, thanks for pushing me for the Tier 2 requests, FO inquiries, and congressional inquiries. And thanks for sharing your efforts with me with no hesitation. Keep in touch! @ritallight Thanks for the conversations, all the good wishes and the prayers, and the positive vibes! Best wishes for you and your son. Keep in touch!
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Congratulations :). Enjoy your new status.
 
nevergiveupintheus said:
Hey everyone. I'm a DV2021 selectee, I just got my green card and wanted to share my experience with those of you who might be in the same position as I was.

I was an asylum pending. I applied for asylum way in advance before my J1 status expired. I tried expediting scheduling my asylum interview, but that didn't help, and my case got stuck due to pandemics contributing to the asylum office backlog. I never accumulated any unlawful presence, but when I sent out my AOS package, I was in a quasi-status or out of status, or some might say, no status from which I can adjust.

Given how low my odds were, according to many lawyers and experience of others not getting their cases approved, I still decided to try and yet got my green card issued.

Let me start with the timeline:
- 06.16.2021 my AOS package has been received by the USCIS;
- 07.05.2021 received my BIO waiver letter;
- 07.06.2021 made a congressional inquiry asking them to help schedule my interview;
- 07.19.2021 received my interview letter;
- 08.19.2021 had my interview;
- 08.30.2021 status of my case changes to "New Card Is Being Produced"

I filled out & submitted my DS-260. I never received 2NL. I mailed the DV fee to the Department of State but didn't get the receipt fast enough and sent out my AOS package without it. However, I saw my money order was cashed through the USPS website; I printed that page out and put it at the very end of my package. Then I waited for the receipt for about a month, didn't get it, then emailed KCC and received my receipt about 2 weeks after that.

Besides that, my AOS package didn't have anything special. For my current status, I put "I-589 Asylum Pending." For everything else, I just followed the instructions outlined in the AOS spreadsheet. Many thanks to people who contributed to that, especially Mom & Susie.

The interview took place in San Jose FO, and it took a bit longer than I expected. I took the originals of my documents and everything else that was suggested in the AOS spreadsheet with me. The officer was strict but fair. He fixed a few errors on my application. His questions were mostly about my work authorization, whether I violated my non-immigrant status, and the non-profit organizations I volunteer for. No questions about asylum. At the end of the interview, he asked if I had any questions. I asked what the next steps were. He said I'd find out about their decision in about a week, and if I get approved, I'll receive my green card 2 weeks after. I left the FO in a positive mood without knowing if this was going to work out. All I got was a piece of paper stating the case was being held for additional review. But a week after, I got notified through the case tracker that my card was being produced.

My advice for everyone else in a similar position: do not be afraid to try; this will not jeopardize your asylum application. My personal takeaway from this is immigration officers review every case individually and evaluate if you're a good individual. They can always make an exception as long as it's worth it. Make sure you can present a good moral character. If you don't have any bad intentions, you're not taking advantage or abusing the public benefits system and just living your life - then everything will be okay.

Good luck, everyone. Now I'm off to enjoy my freedom!
Click to expand...
Congratulations. A great outcome for you.
 
Blade_ said:
I had been an unfortunate DV2018 winner, with CN OC21XX, which never became current. This year, when I saw my CN was OC3XXX, I was sure that I would never become current. So I didn't even check the VB that often, just the first few months to get an idea about the holes. It was late in April that I was looking up the date for announcement of the DV2022 winners. While at it, I also checked the VB and to my surprise, my number was in Advance Notification section! Luckily, I was familiar with the forum and @Britsimon 's blog from 2018's win and was able to put together and send my package out in around 2 weeks.

"Thank you"s: @Britsimon I learned a lot from your posts in DV2018 and also your blog and the YT channel. Thanks for sharing your knowledge! @Sm1smom No doubt that it would have taken forever to put a package together if it wasn't for your beautifully prepared spreadsheet. And no one would have been patient if it wasn't for the DV timeline spreadsheet. A huge thank you and best wishes for you and Sm1. @SusieQQQ Thanks for sharing your knowledge and maintaining this platform and spending time answering my questions!

"Shout out"s: @raphael1899 Thanks for spending time chatting with me and giving me advice and your opinions on my case. @jasperrrr.c It would have been much harder to bear the pressure if it wasn't for our conversations. @Milz my brother, thanks for pushing me for the Tier 2 requests, FO inquiries, and congressional inquiries. And thanks for sharing your efforts with me with no hesitation. Keep in touch! @ritallight Thanks for the conversations, all the good wishes and the prayers, and the positive vibes! Best wishes for you and your son. Keep in touch!
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Congratulations ! For you and your family ! Yes the Spreadsheet is miraculous, its weight in Gold
 
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