Ben0

Hello,

I see that there are a few other DV lottery winner posts, and I did not want to 'hijack' any of them........

I have been in the USA (California) for 1 year 1 month on an E3 visa.
I have applied for the DV lottery three times, and it seems third time lucky.
I am Australian born and lived there up until a year ago.
Married and two teen aged kids. (No, the wife does not have an E3D work permit).

My question is, should I just let the DV take its course, and apply for my next 2 years on the E3 latter this year like I was needing to do????
Or, should I try and do the 'change of status' thing??

I really don't want to have to go home for anything, I would rather do the whole thing from here (even with the cheaper airfares, its not cheap to take a family of 4, not to mention the time off work).

I thank you in advance for your input.

Regards,

Ben.

JCraigFong

Dear Ben:

Your answer in some degree depends on how long your E-3 lasts. If, for example, your current E-3 is valid, and you have an I-94 that takes you COMPLETELY through the Adjustment of Status (AOS) period, then my answer would be a guarded, "why bother to extend the E-3?" I say "guarded" because there can be LOTS of circumstances where people need and want the flexibility that having a current, valid visa in the passport provides, esp because the AOS window for DV does not open until 1 October 2009 and closes with a definitive 'bang' on 20 September 2010. You may want to maintain options throughout the entire period of the AOS.

Remember: you will not even be able to submit your AOS applications until 1 October 2009.

The number of clients who have told me "oh, I don't want to spend the money to extend status or get a new visa," only to come back to me weeks later and tell me that it's MY fault for not telling them to maintain their visas -- and I did tell them! -- is simply staggering. I now actually ask the client sign a note, acknowledging that I told them to maintain their visas and I-94s.

I understand completely not wanting to go all the way back to Australia with a family of 4 for Consular Processing, so in lieu of the 4 round-trip tickets, perhaps you should consider spending the money on extending the I-94 status as E-3.

--J

starky

JCraigFong, I am really curious now, is it possible to submit an AOS application on the first day of the DV fiscal year even if you have a case number that will not be "current" till say May of the DV fiscal year?

JCraigFong

This used to be possible at the very inception of the DV program. This created logistics problems and logjams of monumental proportions. People did a lot of forum shopping, to get their papers processed as quickly as possible. So, a system of control numbers was instituted. I can't pretend to understand it -- because I don't. It appears to be run in a way not unlike that of the priority dates.

So: no, unless things change for the coming fiscal year, one cannot file one's AOS until one's control number comes current. THAT is the reason I cautioned to maintain status and flexibility. One can never be quite sure WHEN one will be able to file the I-485, so preserve current status to say flexible.

Remember: some people are CHOSEN in the lottery but end up not being called for the adjustment! One should plan for such a contingency, however unhappy that would be.

--J

augigi

Why not renew in Canada as many others here have done to save a trip back to Aus as well as keep the safe backup of a valid visa?

Ben0

Thanks everyone for your replies.
I feel a little bad, it seems that a few days ago when I first posted, I did not know what question I was really asking.
Now that I have spent a few days looking into it further, I am still not sure what the actual question is, so I will go over what I have found out, or think I know and hope that will help some one in the future.....

First up, the E3.
I have to get that renewed no matter what.
My current one runs out in Feb next year, so no matter what I do with the DV, I HAVE to get it renewed.
There are three ways of doing this (that I know of).
Submit the paper work to USCIS and get the renewal in about 3 months.
Go to Canada and get it that way.
Go to Australia and get it that way.
It would seem from the E3 thread on this board that the first option is just as good as any of the others, so thats what I will do..... Around Sept-Oct this year I will submit the paper work and cant see any reason why I wont get another two years.
Ok, thats the E3 dealt with. Its a totally separate issue from the DV.

Now, the DV is where I was really messed up when I first posted (and still am a little).
The scant and confusing information that comes with the DV notification tells me to fill out the enclosed forms and return them by June 2009 to KCC.
In a different section, it says that if I am already in the USA then dont send the enclosed forms to KCC, but rather to USCIS, and apply for an adjustment of status..... It says I am to contact USCIS before I send the forms to check if I am eligible for said adjustment.
So, I rang USCIS, after a lot of button pushing, I got to talk to a human.
Wow, talk about confusing. We talked for about 15 minutes, and in the end I had to apologize to them that I just could not follow what they were saying and end the call. They were all over the place and telling me a lot about how they had no idea how the KCC works because it was a different department. It was really really confusing and they had no idea about changing status or how to check if I could or even how to do it.
So, back to the net........
Here is how I currently think it works (please don't take this as fact!)......
If I return the paper work to USCIS and apply for AOS, then I will have my interview over here and I will most likely be interviewed in August 2010. The DV closes in September 2010, thats really pushing my luck.
If I return the paperwork to KCC then I will most likely be scheduled for an interview around April 2010 in Australia..... True, more expensive, but a lot safer given the extra time.

So, for now, thats how I understand it.
I know many of you will disagree, but I think I am going to get some legal help on this one. The company I work for is willing to pay for that help, so I am not going to take the risk of messing it up.

Thanks again for your input, if you have anything to add, please do!!

Cheers,

Ben.

starky

I had written a long post yesterday explaining this for you, but I did not get a chance to post it. You are totally correct.

You have by now figured out how the DV case numbers work, and you obviously have a high enough case number that you are safe to assume an August interview. You most likely do not have enough time to go through AOS, AOS is going to be a massive risk for you. If something goes wrong, during the complicated AOS process you may end up missing the sept deadline for your DV adjustment. I suggest you opt for the CP route. I am not sure if you can do your CP nearer to home, ie. Canada or Mexico or somewhere like that this might be worth looking into. CP takes one medical and one interview and that's it. Simple as that, visa issued (in my case I walked out of the consulate with the visa in hand). You also have no choice but to renew your E3 as it will most likely have long since expired before your probable interview in August and you must not slip out of status.
I was not in the US during my personal DV experience, but posted on many forums where people with high case numbers eventually realised that AOS was not going to work out and switched back to CP. I have also come across people who's AOS never came through in time too.

Any immigration lawyer who has had experience with DV entrants and the AOS process will most likely give you the same advise. By all means have a consultation with a lawyer to help you make your decision, but you absolutely don't need a lawyer to help you with the DV CP process, it is very simple, all you need to fill in is a few pages of two forms, provide supporting documentation and proof of financial support and your away.
Good luck with your decision!!

Ben0

Starky,

Wow, thanks so much. That makes so much sense and its great to hear that some one has been through the same sort of thing.....

One last question from your last paragraph..... about getting legal help.... I suspect that they may add to my stress since its dealing with a middle man......
Do I take it that I simply fill out the DV forms. Put Australia (Melbourne) for my CP location and send the forms to KCC??
I think thats it, but I might be missing something......
They then give me an interview date, we fly home, do the do and then, as you say, that should be that??

Thanks for your input.

Ben.

augigi

If you renew E3 in the US, you'll still have to attend a consulate to get another physical visa in the passport in the event that you have to leave the US for any reason. Wouldn't it be easier and faster to simply go to Canada and get a new one?

Ben0

Huh? What? Whoaaaaa!
Man, just when I thought I had it under control........
I was sure that to renew my E3 I just had to fill out some paper work and send it off....... simple quick clean.
This changes everything if I have to go out of the country just to extend my E3 for another two years!!!!!!!
Guess I better hold off on the DV stuff and get my facts straight on how to renew the E3 first.
Thanks Augigi, I would rather know about that now than a few weeks before we back to Aust for the DV processing.

starky

Yes, all you need to do is fill out the forms and send them back, then keep everything crossed that your number comes up. Simple as that. If a trip to Australia is not really practical (given you have a whole family to think about) you may be able to do your CP in a third party country that would be cheaper to get to from CA. I am not sure about this though. I know for sure that people have successfully moved there CP to a second country after filing the forms with a different original country. I am not sure what the rules are around this, I cant see why it would be a problem, but obviously I cant say that for sure, you will have to find out in some official capacity.
Although the process for the DV CP is set in stone, I found that different consulates have slightly different procedures. For example, the consulate in Ireland issues visas on the same day, The one in London seems to have a system for mailing them out 3 days later. Some consulates are very strict on financials, where as some are not. The medical is normally done before the interview date, however in Germany you can do the medical after the interview and submit it to complete your process, and so on. My point is that you will need to get on to some of the DV forums and see if you can find out specifics about the consulate that you are applying to have your processing dealt with, so that you can be prepared to meet any quirky demands local to that particular consulate.

Now I don't really know much about E3 visas. What I do know is some times if you are on a particular visa, you can have your status renewed, with out getting the physical visa. Of course this means that you may have problems leaving and entering the USA.
Lest say for argument sake that you can renew the E3 here in the US, with out receiving the physical visa in your passport, (some one else can comment if this is even possible on with an E3).
Then you do that in February to keep your status legal. The you fly home in Aug for your interview, and pick up your DV visas and then technically you immigrate permanently to the US on your return, GC's arrive in the Mail a few weeks later. :-). Of course if you do this then you will have no physical visa in your passport for the time between feb and Aug, but if you can live with that then you can save having to take two expensive trips. If for any unforeseen reason there is a problem with the DV interview (which there most likely wont be), then you can at least pick up the physical E3's that you applied for back in feb to return to the USA. Of course I am just guessing that you can even do this, it may be worth your while getting a legal opinion on the best way for you personally to proceed, given that you are in a unique situation, (E3 expires before DV interview). As soon as you have concluded the most cost effective way to go about this, then you can follow the DV process with out needing a lawyers help, if you get me. I can also give you any pointers for the DV process that you may need, (the CP part any way!)

malj

Beno, I'm also on an E3. Yes, you can send the forms off to renew your visa whilst in the US, however, you will not receive the physical visa in your passport. Therefore, whilst you will be in status, if you wish to ever leave and re-enter the US you will have problems as you will not have that new physical visa in your passport. If you don't forsee yourself leaving the US - no problem, there's no need to leave and get CP. However, with your pending DV, and CP interviews surrounding that coming up in the future, you are going to need a valid visa to reenter the US - in which case, you will need to go for CP outside of the US. Like others have said - Canada is a good option. Although these third party consulates are not required to process anyone who is not of that nationality, and therefore there is an inherent risk in this approach, many many many people have done it with no problem. In fact I'm doing it myself in late September to change over to an H1B visa.

Good luck

JAJ

Realistically, you need to find a good immigration lawyer to obtain some specific advice, including:

- whether it is feasible to do AOS from your E3, or whether you have to do consular processing
- if you have a choice, which is a better option bearing in mind the specific DV issues, also if you're doing consular processing, is Canada an option.
- whether you should renew your E3 status and visa, and if so, when (again bearing in mind that DV lottery selection does not guarantee permanent residence).

Plus more.

Try to find an immigration attorney who understands the specific E3 issues, especially those related to AOS.