DV 2024 AOS (Adjustment of Status) Process Only

[Sm1smom]

Ok, thank you, good to know that it's just recommended.

I also wanted to ask about this then. On the US Department of state website there is a message.

"Do not submit to the KCC any other required supporting documents. Rather, all supporting documents for DV-2024 selectees will be collected and evaluated in connection with the interview at the embassy or consulate where the visa application is made."

Does that mean that it's better to not attach more supporting documents?

That instruction is for folks processing CP, you’ll notice it says to not submit documents to KCC, in addition it clearly states “embassy or consulate”. All of those have nothing to do with AOS processing.

For AOS, you can can decide on if you want to go by the recommendations on the AOS spreadsheet or not; it’s your case, your call. To help you decide though, do ask yourself this question: why was so much effort put into putting the AOS spreadsheet together? Then based on your own answer, you decide on what to do.

 

[msl_8924]

Just so to be clear and to ensure other folks do not get confused, the referenced approved case had nothing to do with the applicant’s HP status.

Thank you for your help and promptness-- From your experience why do you think none of the cases have been scheduled for interviews? In comparison to previous years from past timelines AOS cases were scheduled even before Jan.

 

[Sm1smom]

Thank you for your help and promptness-- From your experience why do you think none of the cases have been scheduled for interviews? In comparison to previous years from past timelines AOS cases were scheduled even before Jan.

When you say "In comparison to previous years from past timelines AOS cases were scheduled even before Jan", is the comparison you're making based on FO to FO; or you're just comparing based on time difference? If the comparison is based on time difference, this is like comparing apples and oranges as each FO operates quite independently of one another. The best way to gauge if there's an observable difference is to look at how long it took the cases from the same FO in the previous years compared to the current year.

There are several factors at play in terms of how long it could possibly take to get interviewed or approved without an interview, as the case may be. Factors such as each FO's workload, each FO's method for processing DV based AOS cases (some approve without an interview, some process the cases and schedule the interviews as soon as received, while some prefer to batch up such cases and wait towards the end of the FY regardless of when it was filed), availability of an IO knowledgeable in DV cases within each FO (such IOs are quite few as DV based AOS cases are relatively few compared to all the other types of AOS applications they deal with on a day to day basis), the applicant's background check completion and clearance, etc.

 

[rondon]

Hello Mom,

Below is a snippet of i 134 Part 3 item 14 (income of the sponser). I am confused as to what amount goes into the last column of this snippet.

1. Should my friend (sponser) put his and his wife's name in this table (along with DOB and relationship to him)?
2. Should he put $0 in the last column below as his income contribution to the beneficiary (me) is $0 so far?

Thank you.

 

[Lilian88]

No, I wouldn’t do that.

So is it better to just not include that in additional names section?

 

[Sm1smom]

Hello Mom,

Below is a snippet of i 134 Part 3 item 14 (income of the sponser). I am confused as to what amount goes into the last column of this snippet.

1. Should my friend (sponser) put his and his wife's name in this table (along with DOB and relationship to him)?
2. Should he put $0 in the last column below as his income contribution to the beneficiary (me) is $0 so far?

Thank you.
View attachment 4519

1. Does your sponsor claim his wife as a dependent on his IRS tax filing? If yes, she should be listed.
2. Yes.

 

[Sm1smom]

So is it better to just not include that in additional names section?

I already informed you of what I would have done in this specific situation if this was my case. I can’t say anything about it being better or not.

 

[rondon]

1. Does your sponsor claim his wife as a dependent on his IRS tax filing? If yes, she should be listed.
2. Yes.

Thank you Mom, a quick clarifying question-- Where does the sponsor report his income? Apologies, I am asking too many questions on this.

 

[Kagen310]

Hello, I have a relatively low DV case number and submitted my I-485 in August when the VB for Sept. containing Oct FY2024 CN was posted. My case has been stuck at "fingerprints were applied" (biometrics reused) since August 18. I submitted my I-765 and I-131 much later on January 03. EAD was approved 2 days ago. Considering that the cases are connected, should I expect to see a decision on the I-485 soon? The processing time according to USCIS is six months. As of today, it's been 151 days. What are my options if I don't receive a decision within that time frame? Thanks in advance!

 

[Sm1smom]

Thank you Mom, a quick clarifying question-- Where does the sponsor report his income? Apologies, I am asking too many questions on this.

That should actually be listed in the last column in Part 3 item 14 (first line). The form is badly worded.

 

[Sm1smom]

Hello, I have a relatively low DV case number and submitted my I-485 in August when the VB for Sept. containing Oct FY2024 CN was posted. My case has been stuck at "fingerprints were applied" (biometrics reused) since August 18. I submitted my I-765 and I-131 much later on January 03. EAD was approved 2 days ago. Considering that the cases are connected, should I expect to see a decision on the I-485 soon? The processing time according to USCIS is six months. As of today, it's been 151 days. What are my options if I don't receive a decision within that time frame? Thanks in advance!

EAD approval has no bearing on when the AOS application gets adjudicated. EAD is processed by the NBC, while the AOS application is processed by the FO. Which FO has jurisdiction over your AOS case?

 

[Kagen310]

EAD approval has no bearing on when the AOS application gets adjudicated. EAD is processed by the NBC, while the AOS application is processed by the FO. Which FO has jurisdiction over your AOS case?

Thanks for the quick response, mom. My case is at the NBC. I'm not sure which FO has jurisdiction since I never received information about it. My residence is in Chicago so I'm assuming it will be the Chicago FO. If the interview is waived, would the NBC adjudicate my case directly? I'm just worried since it's been stuck for a while.

 

[Sm1smom]

Thanks for the quick response, mom. My case is at the NBC. I'm not sure which FO has jurisdiction since I never received information about it. My residence is in Chicago so I'm assuming it will be the Chicago FO. If the interview is waived, would the NBC adjudicate my case directly? I'm just worried since it's been stuck for a while.

Your case is no longer at the NBC, it is now with the specific FO with jurisdiction over your listed home address. Use the below link to identify your FO:

Field Offices | USCIS

USCIS field offices do not allow walk-ins. You must have an appointment to visit an office.Field offices in the U.S. and its territories provide:Interviews for all non-asylum cas

www.uscis.gov

Post your FO info once you find out and we may be able to tell you more about your situation

 

[Kagen310]

Your case is no longer at the NBC, it is now with the specific FO with jurisdiction over your listed home address. Use the below link to identify your FO:

Post your FO info once you find out and we may be able to tell you more about your situation

Thank you. The FO locator indicated that it is Chicago based on the zip code I provided. However, I haven't received an interview appointment from them. I'm concerned that my case might have been set aside and forgotten because I filed early before the fiscal year began. I recently came across posts about the risks of filing early, and now I'm wondering if I should have waited until October when my DV CN becomes current.

 

[Sm1smom]

Thank you. The FO locator indicated that it is Chicago based on the zip code I provided. However, I haven't received an interview appointment from them. I'm concerned that my case might have been set aside and forgotten because I filed early before the fiscal year began. I recently came across posts about the risks of filing early, and now I'm wondering if I should have waited until October when my DV CN becomes current.

The Chicago FO waived the interview for DV based AOS applications for 2023 cases, they may decide to do the same thing for for 2024. You can take a look at the 2023 Timeline Spreadsheet to read about the reported cases in this forum. Yes, there’s the potential for your case to be erroneously denied (without an interview by the way) due to your early filing. It is also possible they actually looked at your case file back back in September and decided to put it aside pending the beginning of your applicable FY (as against denying it due to early filing), and it has somehow fallen through the cracks as of now (as in they’ve lost site of it).

So you need to start following up on the case. You can do this by calling the USCIS 1800 number and try to speak with an agent, the phone line is automated, so getting a live agent can be quite hard. You can also initiate a chat with Emma and request to be connected with a live agent. Keep us posted of the outcome.

Meanwhile, do add your case progress to the 2024 Timeline Spreadsheet, that gives us better visibility into your case progress and could help us figure out what your next steps could be.

 

[Kagen310]

The Chicago FO waived the interview for DV based AOS applications for 2023 cases, they may decide to do the same thing for for 2024. You can take a look at the 2023 Timeline Spreadsheet to read about the reported cases in this forum. Yes, there’s the potential for your case to be erroneously denied (without an interview by the way) due to your early filing. It is also possible they actually looked at your case file back back in September and decided to put it aside pending the beginning of your applicable FY (as against denying it due to early filing), and it has somehow fallen through the cracks as of now (as in they’ve lost site of it).

So you need to start following up on the case. You can do this by calling the USCIS 1800 number and try to speak with an agent, the phone line is automated, so getting a live agent can be quite hard. You can also initiate a chat with Emma and request to be connected with a live agent. Keep us posted of the outcome.

Meanwhile, do add your case progress to the 2024 Timeline Spreadsheet, that gives us better visibility into your case progress and could help us figure out what your next steps could be.

Thanks for taking the time to respond. I will try to contact USCIS about my case. Hopefully, they can locate it and I don't receive a generic copy paste response.

That brings up another one of my concerns.

1. Since I'm here on F-1 and graduating in May, should I apply for the F-1 EAD (OPT) to maintain my legal status (that is, if I don't receive a decision by then)? I already have a full-time job lined up but I haven't told my employer about my pending case (They are willing to sponsor btw). I've read posts about how USCIS may deny the F-1 EAD since I already have an EAD based on the pending I-485 application.

2. If I don't apply for OPT, could USCIS deny my I-485 application upon the completion of my program when I graduate, since I will no longer be in F-1 status anymore. This situation seems complicated. I really appreciate your help.

 

[icy_dragonfruit]

Thanks for taking the time to respond. I will try to contact USCIS about my case. Hopefully, they can locate it and I don't receive a generic copy paste response.

That brings up another one of my concerns.

1. Since I'm here on F-1 and graduating in May, should I apply for the F-1 EAD (OPT) to maintain my legal status (that is, if I don't receive a decision by then)? I already have a full-time job lined up but I haven't told my employer about my pending case (They are willing to sponsor btw). I've read posts about how USCIS may deny the F-1 EAD since I already have an EAD based on the pending I-485 application.

2. If I don't apply for OPT, could USCIS deny my I-485 application upon the completion of my program when I graduate, since I will no longer be in F-1 status anymore. This situation seems complicated. I really appreciate your help.

Hi,

1)I am exactly in your shoes right now. I am waiting for my case to be approved while my I-20 will expire in April. I plan to extend my I-20. However, I could not find a single definitive answer for this question. Some sources say it is fine to extend whereas other sources consider it to be somehow risky. Same case for OPT. To see mom's response to my question go to page 25.( I can't share links)

2)As long as you file your application while you are legal, that is fine. The fact that your status expired after your application is filed should not affect the decision by itself. However, if somehow USCIS denies it ( even erroneously due to early filing), then your I-485 EAD gets cancelled and you have to leave the country. That is why I do not want to lose my F-1 status.

Definitely, mom would give better answer but this is what I learned based on my research. Please inform me what you decided to do since we are in a similar condition.

 

[feanor]

Hi! First of all I would like to thank everybody who is helping others on this forum (especially Sm1smom) - you are doing an awesome job which provides extremely valuable transparency and statistics to somewhat tricky process.

I've looked through almost all the materials provided here and in Simon's Blog and decided that the provided information is more then enough to file myself. We are a family of 4 currently staying in US legally on L1/L2 status, our case number is 2024EU00031XXX. We decided to go with AOS. According to the latest estimates by Simon we have a good chance becoming current - his estimate was a range of 31000-42000. My feeling that this will happen around August-September, so with early filing in mind we can expect the lockbox delivery date for us to be around June.

However there is only one concern I currently have - looks like there is a high chance to be denied due to visa exhaustion. And with total fees being ~$8000 for the family of 4 that becomes somewhat a gamble. It would be great to estimate the chances of failure more precisely.

I've done a quick research of the data for previous years for the EU region (see below) and looks like the month of June is somewhat the boundary to get the successful application.

For 2023 looks like all 3 people who had CN Current Month of July and CN ~30000 got denied due to Visa exhaustion
- The lockbox delivery date for all of them was in July, looks like they did not use early filing.
For 2021 and 2020 almost all people having CN >30000 got approved due to CN getting current in June
- For lots of them lockbox delivery date is in May - indicates early filing.
For 2019 and 2018 there were no cases >30000, almost all users got approved, latest getting current in June
For 2019 and 2018 there were no cases >30000, almost all users got approved, latest getting current in May
For 2015 and 2014 there were lots of cases >30000 being approved, even those who got current in August
- For lots of them lockbox delivery date was earlier than current month - indicates early filing.

I would really appreciate if somebody could help me with an advice of following questions:

1. How can I better estimate the chances of visa exhaustion for our case? I currently feel that chances are around 50% and are willing to take the risk. However if there is some info I'm missing which decreses the chances to say 10% only - I'd rather do not bother because we also have a employer-related PERM process ongoing.
2. Is there any way to minimize the chances of visa exhaustion by taking some particular actions apart of early filing - e.g. constantly pinging the Immigration Officer?
3. Is there any professional consultant or agency who can help with items 1 and 2 - for the reward of cause?

 

[Sm1smom]

Thanks for taking the time to respond. I will try to contact USCIS about my case. Hopefully, they can locate it and I don't receive a generic copy paste response.

That brings up another one of my concerns.

1. Since I'm here on F-1 and graduating in May, should I apply for the F-1 EAD (OPT) to maintain my legal status (that is, if I don't receive a decision by then)? I already have a full-time job lined up but I haven't told my employer about my pending case (They are willing to sponsor btw). I've read posts about how USCIS may deny the F-1 EAD since I already have an EAD based on the pending I-485 application.

2. If I don't apply for OPT, could USCIS deny my I-485 application upon the completion of my program when I graduate, since I will no longer be in F-1 status anymore. This situation seems complicated. I really appreciate your help.

Before I proceed with answering the above questions, I equally have a question for you. Are you already using your AOS based EAD to work?

 

[Kagen310]

Before I proceed with answering the above questions, I equally have a question for you. Are you already using your AOS based EAD to work?

No, I haven't received it yet. My understanding is that it would violate my F1 status if I used the AOS EAD to work.