• 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.

Help - DV LOTTERY AND FORM I-797C

O

olurasco

New Member
I won the 2008 Visa lottery and my visa was awarded to me in January 2009. I did not come to the US till 11/07/09 and my point of entry was Philadephia.

I was expecting to see my welcome letter in the post and the green card but i received today a form named I-797C, notice of action asking me to come for my biometric. The forms says , ' PLEASE APPEAR AT THE SUPPORT CENTER BELOW AT THE TIME SPECIFIED . IF YOU FAIL TO APPEAR AS SCHEDULED, YOUR APPLICATION WILL BE CONSIDERED ABANDONED. On checking on their website, the following information was posted with the receipt number

'On July 22, 2009, we received this OS155A IMMIGRANT VISA AND ALIEN REGISTRATION, and mailed you a notice describing how we will process your case. Please follow any instructions on this notice. We will notify you by mail when we make a decision or if we need something from you. If you move while this case is pending, call customer service. We process cases in the order we receive them. You can use our processing dates to estimate when yours will be done. This case is at our TEXAS SERVICE CENTER location. Follow the link below to check processing dates.'

On checking on the internet, i did not find a single case of DV lottery winner and the kind of letter [ action form i received]. On top of the I-797 form, it says X999 Unknown form type.

Please, help me, what is going on. Are greencard loottery winner supposed to do this. I did loads of biometric before i was awarded the Dv visa.
 
yes, it is. I even check their website for the case update with the receipt number on the letter and this is the information that was posted

'On July 22, 2009, we received this OS155A IMMIGRANT VISA AND ALIEN REGISTRATION, and mailed you a notice describing how we will process your case. Please follow any instructions on this notice. We will notify you by mail when we make a decision or if we need something from you. If you move while this case is pending, call customer service. We process cases in the order we receive them. You can use our processing dates to estimate when yours will be done. This case is at our TEXAS SERVICE CENTER location. Follow the link below to check processing dates.'

It was on an official letter headed paper
 
olurasco said:
yes, it is. I even check their website for the case update with the receipt number on the letter and this is the information that was posted

'On July 22, 2009, we received this OS155A IMMIGRANT VISA AND ALIEN REGISTRATION, and mailed you a notice describing how we will process your case. Please follow any instructions on this notice. We will notify you by mail when we make a decision or if we need something from you. If you move while this case is pending, call customer service. We process cases in the order we receive them. You can use our processing dates to estimate when yours will be done. This case is at our TEXAS SERVICE CENTER location. Follow the link below to check processing dates.'

It was on an official letter headed paper
Click to expand...

I would call them and ask them to explain what you need to do and what to expect, and hopefully you get a friendly helpful person on the phone...if not say "thanks" hang up and try later, maybe another more helpful person will be answering the phone. Good Luck!
 
bentlebee said:
I would call them and ask them to explain what you need to do and what to expect, and hopefully you get a friendly helpful person on the phone...if not say "thanks" hang up and try later, maybe another more helpful person will be answering the phone. Good Luck!
Click to expand...

It could be that your biometrics have expired. Anyway, you have to follow what they're saying, go to the appointment for biometrics if you want to get your card, that's what matters!!
 
olurasco: I'm afraid I don't really have any advice other than what bentlebee suggested - call and ask. But I just wanted to agree that this does sound really strange, I have never heard of this happening to anybody else either.

I didn't know that biometrics expire like Imados mentioned, but it makes sense I guess. I've just never heard of anybody who had their interview at a consulate (and had to give their fingerprints there) having to have them redone once in the US.

You definitely made it in before the visa expired right? I would guess that you would have just been turned away at the border if it had expired - but thought I would check as you must have been close if the visa was issued in January.

Also, is the Texas service center anywhere near where you said you would be living or where you asked the green card to be sent. I wondered how they could be sure you could actually go there, especially as you entered through Philadephia.

I hope you will keep us informed as to what happens. This sounds like a very strange case and as somebody who has yet to enter the US and have my visa stamped, I would certainly like to hear what this is all about. Good luck.
 
Anyone else???

I'm in the same situation except I'm not in the US now. I'll go back in the summer but I have an appointment for next week. I can reschedule it as they say, but how can i make it for the summer? Any ideas?
And why is that at all? I had more biometrics done through my case, at my country's us embassy and at the Department and Border Security too.
 
im in the same situation.went to do the biometrics again after receiving the i797c.its been 2 and a half weeks now still no green card.can someone tell me whats going on and can i leave the country without it.
 
delph_ne said:
im in the same situation.went to do the biometrics again after receiving the i797c.its been 2 and a half weeks now still no green card.can someone tell me whats going on and can i leave the country without it.
Click to expand...
When did you enter the US?
I'm assuming the details in your sig are correct, so yes you can leave as your stamped immigrant visa is now a temporary green card for a year after entry.
 
SusieQQQ said:
When did you enter the US?
I'm assuming the details in your sig are correct, so yes you can leave as your stamped immigrant visa is now a temporary green card for a year after entry.
Click to expand...

Thanks so much for responding.i entered the US on the 19th of June.paid the $165 in may..a month before i entered.i got the letter on the 1st of August n did the biometrics on the 7th of August.ive called them a billion times and there still hasnt been any progress.now i want to leave the country due to some but the stamp in my passport which say evidencing as temporary i 551 has expired.it expired on the 4th of August.now is the one year from the day i entered the US?And my 2ndquestion is can the green card be posted overseas and if so can i use that to enter the US when im returning..im so sorry for the questions.im soo confused..thank you
 
delph_ne said:
Thanks so much for responding.i entered the US on the 19th of June.paid the $165 in may..a month before i entered.i got the letter on the 1st of August n did the biometrics on the 7th of August.ive called them a billion times and there still hasnt been any progress.now i want to leave the country due to some but the stamp in my passport which say evidencing as temporary i 551 has expired.it expired on the 4th of August.now is the one year from the day i entered the US?And my 2ndquestion is can the green card be posted overseas and if so can i use that to enter the US when im returning..im so sorry for the questions.im soo confused..thank you
Click to expand...

I'm confused again. You say you entered the US on 19 June, then you say 4 Aug is the one year anniversary of entry..?

No, they will not post the green card overseas. I don't understand why you had to do biometrics either, and I can't figure out how long you have actually been there from the date confusion above. So all I can suggest right now is you make an infopass appointment to see what is happening.
 
i dont understand why i had to do biometrics again too hmmm.ok so the visa was issued in february and expiry date is in august(thats the 6 months period for entry) and i entered in june so the one year starts from june right?and i went to an immigration officer at the immigration offices at where i did my biometrics in cleveland(since they couldnt provide me with any info about my case) and he told me that he cant tell me whats going on with my case and that i can only come back and do a service request when i dont get the green card by 31st of september.now i checked online for an infopass appt location near me and its at this same place where i didnt get any info so i dont know what to do
 
delph_ne said:
i dont understand why i had to do biometrics again too hmmm.ok so the visa was issued in february and expiry date is in august(thats the 6 months period for entry) and i entered in june so the one year starts from june right?and i went to an immigration officer at the immigration offices at where i did my biometrics in cleveland(since they couldnt provide me with any info about my case) and he told me that he cant tell me whats going on with my case and that i can only come back and do a service request when i dont get the green card by 31st of september.now i checked online for an infopass appt location near me and its at this same place where i didnt get any info so i dont know what to do
Click to expand...

Yes, the one year is from date of entry so that is from June, so you can travel on that. And while i still don't know why you had to do biometrics again, I do now understand that you have only been in the country a little over two months and that is not out of the range for still waiting for a green card. But as long as the entry stamp on your visa is 19 June 2014 you can travel out and re-enter on that until 18 June 2015.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top