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DV Activation trip

H

H0pi

New Member
I'm a 2025 winner. Got my visa approved, it's valid for 6 month only, till 13th Aug (I saw some mentioned theirs was valid for 1 year?).
I plan to do an activation trip on 9th Aug right before the expiry.
Is it true that during yr GC process you cannot leave the country? Cause I did not plan to stay right away as I read on the US travel gov website that you can leave up to 6mo in a year (from entry date) and I have planned to get my affairs in order and only make the final move to US in December.
We had to provide a US address where the GC will be posted that is a friend's address, who is traveling a lot to where I'm from and would bring me my GC after it was produced and posted to his address.
So my question is am I okay to stay in the US for 1-2 weeks in August and then leave while the GC processed/made?
Thank you.
 
H0pi said:
I'm a 2025 winner. Got my visa approved, it's valid for 6 month only, till 13th Aug (I saw some mentioned theirs was valid for 1 year?).
I plan to do an activation trip on 9th Aug right before the expiry.
Is it true that during yr GC process you cannot leave the country? Cause I did not plan to stay right away as I read on the US travel gov website that you can leave up to 6mo in a year (from entry date) and I have planned to get my affairs in order and only make the final move to US in December.
We had to provide a US address where the GC will be posted that is a friend's address, who is traveling a lot to where I'm from and would bring me my GC after it was produced and posted to his address.
So my question is am I okay to stay in the US for 1-2 weeks in August and then leave while the GC processed/made?
Thank you.
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You’ve either had bad information or you have confused some of the issues.
1 - the visa is never valid for longer than 6 months (sometimes it’s shorter).
2 - you may be thinking of the 1 year period that the endorsed visa (stamped on entry) acts as a temporary green card - that’s one year. This is proof of your status while you wait for the plastic card.
3 - no requirement to not leave until the plastic card arrives - you are free to turn around and leave as soon as you get your passport stamped. It’s quite normal for new DV immigrants to activate then go home for some period to finalize things before making a permanent move. However, make sure you understand the rules for maintaining residence (all the time you are a LPR) - essentially that you have to spend longer inside the US than outside, and never more than a year away (ideally not longer than 6 months, especially if you want to obtain citizenship).

some links that may be useful re maintaining your green card status :
www.uscis.gov

International Travel as a Permanent Resident | USCIS

In general, you will need to present a passport from your country of citizenship or your refugee travel document to travel to a foreign country. In addition, the foreign country may have additional entry/exit requirements (such as a visa). For information on foreign entry and exit requirements...
www.uscis.gov
www.uscis.gov

Maintaining Permanent Residence | USCIS

Once you become a lawful permanent resident (Green Card holder), you maintain permanent resident status until you: apply for and complete the naturalization process; or lose or abandon your status. There are several ways that you can lose your status as a lawful permanent resident.
www.uscis.gov

and for citizenship requirements
www.uscis.gov

Continuous Residence and Physical Presence Requirements for Naturalization | USCIS

Continuous ResidenceApplicants are required to show that they have:
www.uscis.gov


As an aside, please try to give yourself a bit of leeway for travel in case something happens. I know more than one person who missed a flight or had a flight cancelled due to technical issues where it’s taken a few days to get on another one,especially in peak travel season when flights are full. If you arrive on 14 August (US time) when you land, you’ve lost your chance.
 
SusieQQQ said:
You’ve either had bad information or you have confused some of the issues.
1 - the visa is never valid for longer than 6 months (sometimes it’s shorter).
2 - you may be thinking of the 1 year period that the endorsed visa (stamped on entry) acts as a temporary green card - that’s one year. This is proof of your status while you wait for the plastic card.
3 - no requirement to not leave until the plastic card arrives - you are free to turn around and leave as soon as you get your passport stamped. It’s quite normal for new DV immigrants to activate then go home for some period to finalize things before making a permanent move. However, make sure you understand the rules for maintaining residence (all the time you are a LPR) - essentially that you have to spend longer inside the US than outside, and never more than a year away (ideally not longer than 6 months, especially if you want to obtain citizenship).
...
Click to expand...
Thank you for the help really appreciate it!

Yes, I was a bit confused. Read so many things, half of that was sure missinformation....

Q on yr 2. Point: Am i gonna get a physical stamp in the passport you called it endorsed visa?
I will read through the links, I might come back with more question. Thank you.
 
SusieQQQ said:
Yes, that is how it’s endorsed. The date on the stamp will be the start of the one year.
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Hiya, went to the US for 2 weeks for vacation and to activate my visa on 9-aug, customs agent took my yellow envelope. They recognized it etc. All seemed okay.
WHen i was there i even got my social security number (which i thought i have to apply for)?
is that normal?

So left on 24th back to UK where i currently live. Now i got a biometrics date letter for my US address (a friend's place) to appear in personal on next Monday afternoon for it... I didnt know this was to happen. I will call the USCIS office as im not in the country, can they reschedule for US embassy abroad? Like in th UK?

Is this normal for all my research this i didnt know gonna happen?
Also they took my prints and photo during my interview process, so why they need again?

Now thinking back when i entered through customs they did not take my prints I think, but they took my my photo... was this a mistake on their side?

Any comments on this?

Thank you
 
It’s normal to get your social security card automatically when you’ve done consular processing.

Sometimes there’s an issue with the prints and they need to retake biometrics. No, it can’t be done at an embassy, it has to be at a USCIS center in the US.
 
SusieQQQ said:
It’s normal to get your social security card automatically when you’ve done consular processing.

Sometimes there’s an issue with the prints and they need to retake biometrics. No, it can’t be done at an embassy, it has to be at a USCIS center in the US.
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Great...so now i need to fly back just for this. Wow. I called USCIS, they were very not friendly...
 
That is the downside of doing an "activation trip" after obtaining the IV. If you want your GC to get issued, you have no choice but to complete a new bio appointment in the US as requested. You can contact USCIS to request for the bio appointment to be re-scheduled because you are currently out of the country on a temporary trip - you must make this request before the date and time of your original appointment. However, you'll have no control over the new date it will get rescheduled to.
 
Sm1smom said:
That is the downside of doing an "activation trip" after obtaining the IV. If you want your GC to get issued, you have no choice but to complete a new bio appointment in the US as requested. You can contact USCIS to request for the bio appointment to be re-scheduled because you are currently out of the country on a temporary trip - you must make this request before the date and time of your original appointment. However, you'll have no control over the new date it will get rescheduled to.
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Yeah I wish I would have known this before....i would have stayed an extra 2 weeks or smthing.

I have seen online the dates available On the USCIS websitrle after I registered. They are only 3 weeks in advance which is crazy. Are you saying even if I select a date and time they might not confirm it?

Also what happens if I miss my date?

It's currently 8th Sept so I can still amend it.
Also It looks like you are able to amend it 2x.

Thanks
 
Even if you had stayed an extra 2 weeks, there's no guarantee you'll have received the bio notice before leaving. They will honor the rescheduled date you’re able to book online by yourself from the list of what is available. While you may think just 3 weeks is crazy, you should actually consider yourself fortunate to be able to rebook the appointment to the time of your choosing based on what is available. Don’t plan on missing the new date.
 
Sm1smom said:
Even if you had stayed an extra 2 weeks, there's no guarantee you'll have received the bio notice before leaving.
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Or they might have stayed an extra two weeks and never receive a bio notice at all and then complain of wasted time ‍…
One needs to have a bit of flexibility dealing with immigration processes … anywhere.

Of course, for people who actually live in the US, short times to bios are a good thing. The vast majority of immigrant visa entrants do enter and stay - DV and its “activation trips” is a bit of an anomaly in this case (and of course many DV entrants do permanently enter in one go too)
 
SusieQQQ said:
Or they might have stayed an extra two weeks and never receive a bio notice at all and then complain of wasted time ‍…
One needs to have a bit of flexibility dealing with immigration processes … anywhere.

Of course, for people who actually live in the US, short times to bios are a good thing. The vast majority of immigrant visa entrants do enter and stay - DV and its “activation trips” is a bit of an anomaly in this case (and of course many DV entrants do permanently enter in one go too)
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Would not have as I was vacationing, I would have loved to stay a bit more.
I wish I could move now but as I'm under health treatment I need to finish that first this year. That is my priority, and haven to work around that.
3 weeks I still consider not enough time to rebook, my boss asking for 4 weeks notice for any time away. Also this letter came late last week, so they gave like 1 week notice for the appointment which is very short.
 
Yes, unfortunately for those few in your situation USCIS is geared towards people who are living in the US, so an appointment in say a week or 3 weeks would be no different than someone making any other appointment and taking an hour out of their day, and obviously a quick appointment is preferred for most people to get their cases moving. You’ll have to figure out the best way to approach this given your particular circumstances, bearing in mind your physical green card won’t be issued until the bio is complete. (I assume you have paid the immigrant fee, the other prerequisite for the card to be issued.)
 
SusieQQQ said:
Yes, unfortunately for those few in your situation USCIS is geared towards people who are living in the US, so an appointment in say a week or 3 weeks would be no different than someone making any other appointment and taking an hour out of their day, and obviously a quick appointment is preferred for most people to get their cases moving. You’ll have to figure out the best way to approach this given your particular circumstances, bearing in mind your physical green card won’t be issued until the bio is complete. (I assume you have paid the immigrant fee, the other prerequisite for the card to be issued.)
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The funny thing is USCIS used to have branches at Embassies as well, biometrics could have been taken there, one closest to me closed during Covid of 2020 and never re-openned. So they deffo have the technology to take biometrics and send them securely wherever was needed... anyways it is what it is. Not much I can do.

I have paid the fee before entering the US in Aug. Think it was $235.
Yes I understand the GC wont be issued till this is done. In my passport the visa was endorsed, i have the stamp in it with a date that is before the validity end date (now expired of course). Hopefully all will be ok upon re-entering for the biometrics appointment.

Anything else you guys can tell me, any tips are appreciated. Very grateful for this site.
 
H0pi said:
The funny thing is USCIS used to have branches at Embassies as well, biometrics could have been taken there, one closest to me closed during Covid of 2020 and never re-openned. So they deffo have the technology to take biometrics and send them securely wherever was needed... anyways it is what it is. Not much I can do.

I have paid the fee before entering the US in Aug. Think it was $235.
Yes I understand the GC wont be issued till this is done. In my passport the visa was endorsed, i have the stamp in it with a date that is before the validity end date (now expired of course). Hopefully all will be ok upon re-entering for the biometrics appointment.

Anything else you guys can tell me, any tips are appreciated. Very grateful for this site.
Click to expand...
Very rare for USCIS biometrics to be done abroad - pretty limited circumstances. DOS ones for visas, yes. USCIS’s mandate is basically for people residing in the US - which it assumes green card holders do. There shouldn’t be any issue re-entering on your endorsed visa, but ideally (to avoid discomfort with possible questioning) it should be done within 6 months. If you leave it longer than 6 months then ideally you should be entering to stay (one way ticket) on that entry. (Based on personal experiences as well as some others I know). They won’t deny you entry if you leave it longer than 6 months and just come for a temporary stay, but they will probably annotate your passport something like “advised residency requirements “ which will lead to more scrutiny on following entry.

My understanding is that once you’ve missed a bio appointment entirely you can only schedule a new one by calling the call center.
 
SusieQQQ said:
Very rare for USCIS biometrics to be done abroad - pretty limited circumstances. DOS ones for visas, yes. USCIS’s mandate is basically for people residing in the US - which it assumes green card holders do. There shouldn’t be any issue re-entering on your endorsed visa, but ideally (to avoid discomfort with possible questioning) it should be done within 6 months. If you leave it longer than 6 months then ideally you should be entering to stay (one way ticket) on that entry. (Based on personal experiences as well as some others I know). They won’t deny you entry if you leave it longer than 6 months and just come for a temporary stay, but they will probably annotate your passport something like “advised residency requirements “ which will lead to more scrutiny on following entry.

My understanding is that once you’ve missed a bio appointment entirely you can only schedule a new one by calling the call center.
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I called the center and they said the only way is to do online re-booking, which is contradictory to what was on the letter I got. They gave me a very 'templated' answear.
 
H0pi said:
I called the center and they said the only way is to do online re-booking, which is contradictory to what was on the letter I got. They gave me a very 'templated' answear.
Click to expand...
Online rebooking before the scheduled appointment, call center after you’ve missed it.
 
Hi, My friend who's address I'm using for now, and where I stay when I'm in the US just told me I got the Permanent resident card in the mail today. I don't get how is this possible. My biometrics appointment is next Monday. Any ideas? Should I still go to it, I'm guessing?
 
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