I’m a Permanent U.S. Resident!!! My Green Card Lottery Winning Process

What a roller coaster of emotions the Green Card process was. Here’s how it all played out for me… Green Card Lottery Winning Process

  • May 8, 2015: Found out I was one of 80,000 selected at random for further processing out of the 14,397,781 applicants who registered for the DV-2015 program during the 30-day application period back in 2013.
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  • Submitted form DS-260 to confirm my decision to proceed with my DV selection under an Adjustment Of Status (AOS). An AOS is for those already living/working in the USA on a work visa (in my case, this was the E3 visa).
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  • Received an email from the Kentucky Consular Center (KCC) to confirm my intention of wanting to move forward with an AOS.
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  • Paid my administrative fee to the Department of State (DoS).
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  • Received a receipt in the mail from the DoS confirming that my payment had been made and accepted.
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  • Waited for the DV 2015 visa bulletin to come out online and show the first batch of processing numbers for each continent. Luckily I was #182 of ~2,000 from the Oceania region which placed me within the first DV group to be processed.
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  • August 17, 2015: Had a civil surgeon conduct my DV medical exam/shots.
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  • Started putting together my AOS package. This consisted of:
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    • Form I-485
    • Form G-325A
    • Form I-693 (my medical exam results)
    • Form G-1145
    • Form I-131 (Advanced Parole – in case I needed to leave the U.S. during the Green Card process for work travel)
    • DV Lottery Winning Letter
    • Email/Confirmation notice from KCC
    • Copy of DV administrative fee payment receipt
    • Money order totaling $1,070 USD – made up of two parts, the filing fee for the I-485 ($985) and a Biometrics fee ($85)
    • 2 recent passport photos (taken according to American passport photo standards)
    • Copy of expired International passport photo page (I needed this as I had recently acquired a new Australian passport, however my valid E3 visa was still located in my expired passport)
    • Copy of current I-94 card (this can be obtained online and shows all your entries into and out of the U.S.A.)
    • Copy of my visa (in my case, my E3 visa)
    • Copy of my high school certificates
    • Copy of my university degree
    • Copy of my social security number (SSN)
    • Copy of my most current letter of employment (in my case, this was showing a recent promotion and new title I received earlier that year).
    • Copy of pay stubs (these should be from the last 3 months)
    • Copies of W-2s (1-3 years worth)
    • Bank statements
    • Copies of tax return transcripts (Past 1-3 years)
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  • September 28, 2015: Posted my AOS package off to the Chicago Lockbox.
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  • October 6, 2015: Received text that my AOS package had been accepted and had my I-485 and Biometrics check cashed.
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  • October 10, 2015: Received my Notice of Action (NOA) letter.
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  • October 17, 2015: Received my Biometrics scheduling letter/date in the mail.
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  • October 26, 2015: Had my Biometrics appointment.
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  • November 19, 2015: Received my interview letter/date in the mail.
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  • December 15, 2015: Attending my Green Card interview.
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  • December 16, 2015: Received online notification that my interview was successful.
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  • December 21, 2015: Received my welcome letter in the mail.
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  • December 23, 2015: Received my Green Card in the mail – officially a permanent U.S. resident!!!

did not bring on the services of a lawyer for this process. The paper work is fairly straight forward and since I am single with no spouse or children, this made it even easier so I handled it all myself.

highly recommend checking out the Immigration.com message boards. There are certain threads within that forum that helped me from beginning through to end with my AOS – the people on there made it possible for me to complete this process on my own, especially one of the board moderators known as Sm1smom – she’s an absolute rockstar. You can find the DV Lottery 2016 AOS thread that I used to get myself through this here.

I was so overcome with emotion when I found out my interview had been successful. I was actually sitting at my desk at work when I found out and I burst into tears. I have never wanted something so badly after years and years of trying. I am so happy and proud to call myself a U.S. permanent resident. Next up – dual citizenship, baby!

 

A photo posted by Lynda Galea (@lynnie11) on

.Green Card Lottery Winning Process

Green Card Lottery Winning Process

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