administrator

Hey folks,
I just want to take some time to wish all those who were selected for further consideration for the DV 2006 program good luck. It is always a joy when one first receives the initial notification. But after few days when one performs more research on the program and sees the challenges that lie ahead before having the honor of becoming a permanent resident of the United States of America, it rather becomes a very sad event.

Any, I have just come out of a situation like this and when I look back and reflect on the emotional stresses I went through, I just give GOD the Glory for sustaining me during those challenging times.

I won DV 2005 with what I called a huge case number (AF44XXX). I was on F1 visa about half way though my masters program. I did not have enough cash to travel home for CP. My wife was in my home country preparing also to leave on F1 visa. Looking at my case # and having only the means to opt for AOS, it was a big challenge to me.

After reading about all that people had gone through with AOS in the previous year, I was not exactly sure of what our case will be but I know very much about the odds. I started asking questions on this board about what my chances will be like. Very few people where positive that I may have some chance in September, 2005 and MOST people said there was no way. Some of the responses I had were very demeaning. Trust me, there are a lot of people on this board that are very kind-hearted want to help and others are just on the board to cause confusion.

After reviewing available statistics on the progression of the case numbers, I was convinced the best that could happen is that my number will be current in September, 2005. Now, the question was how I could get all our stuff ready so that as soon as our number becomes available, we could be approved. So, I decided we will file on November 1, 2005. We did as we planned at St Louis, MO. We thought there could be a problem with such high case number filling at such early stage. But there wasn’t any such problem.

We were called for a finger prints on January 25, 2005. We had our interview letters in first week of April and we had the interview in mid-April. The interview was straight forward since we had all the required document. At the end of the interview the officer told us that apart from our case number that was not current, he does not have any problem with approving our AOS. He hinted that our case number could be current by September, 2005 and that we should monitor t! he visa bulletin monthly and let him know when our number shows up. We did just as he advised in addition to a couple of trips to St Louis to follow-up. After our number showed up, my wife went to the office a filled a form to inquire about the status on August 15, 2005.
On September 2, the office called me on my cell phone to inform me that he has approved our AOS. We went for a stamp on September 9, 2005 and our green cards arrived in the mail on September 28, 2005.

I just want to thank all those who I endured this long waiting and uncertain period with. For those of them who have finally made it, Kudos, those who could not make it, better luck next time and for who gave up, stand firm to the challenge next time. I would also like to thank our legal counsel on this board, Steve. I know there are quite some few guys who try to make you mad at times on this board. Please ignore them. I will also like to thank Wikas for the great job she is doing. Please continue, the DV2006 group needs you.
Finally, I will like to wish of the DV2006 folks good luck and I wish I to read good reports from all of you.

Please don’t forget the caution that appears on the top of this web page
" Making decisions the future of your entire life depends on solely based on information found here would be DUMB!"
Remember, it is your life and you are the only one responsible for it

Best Wishes to all. Glad DV2005 Winner