Successful consulate interview. Now what?

[Kaptan 0]

Hi,

Just had a successful interview at the U.S. Consulate in Hong Kong! Our visas should be ready in about ten days according to the consular officer who interviewed us, and our passports should be in the courier to be delivered to us as soon as they are ready.

I was wondering what would now be the major milestones going forward. For example, are our Green Cards already in production, or would they be "triggered" only if we do something, e.g. enter the U.S? We plan to move there in July, five months after our medical exams were done. When would our social security numbers would be determined and would we have to do something? I assume the numbers would need to be issued first and placed on the Green Cards?

Speaking of social security numbers, I used to have one as a temporary resident back b/w 1998-2003. In the DS-260 I did disclose this but clicked the option "don't know" when asked what my number was, because I don't remember it after all these years. Would the INS dig up my old number somehow, or would I be issued a new one?

Thanks in advance for any clarifications you may be able to provide.

[Sukie 1,464]

Hi,

Just had a successful interview at the U.S. Consulate in Hong Kong! Our visas should be ready in about ten days according to the consular officer who interviewed us, and our passports should be in the courier to be delivered to us as soon as they are ready.

I was wondering what would now be the major milestones going forward. For example, are our Green Cards already in production, or would they be "triggered" only if we do something, e.g. enter the U.S? We plan to move there in July, five months after our medical exams were done. When would our social security numbers would be determined and would we have to do something? I assume the numbers would need to be issued first and placed on the Green Cards?

Speaking of social security numbers, I used to have one as a temporary resident back b/w 1998-2003. In the DS-260 I did disclose this but clicked the option "don't know" when asked what my number was, because I don't remember it after all these years. Would the INS dig up my old number somehow, or would I be issued a new one?

Thanks in advance for any clarifications you may be able to provide.

Congrats on your successful interview(s)!

Your physical green card and your Social Security Number generations are two separate things. If you checked the "Please assign me a SSN" on the DS-260, this will occur when you enter the US with your new visa. However - many people have found that their SSN request was NOT entered at the POE (this happened to us at JFK). Because you have had a Social Security Number in the past, I would suggest that you visit your local Social Security Office about a week after your POE, and see 1) if your cards are in production and/or 2) if they can look up your former number and/or 3), if you need a new number, and your info was NOT entered at POE, you apply in person.

Please know that calling the "help" line at the SSN will not be able to help you here. You must show up in person.

Your physical green card will not be generated until you pay the $165 fee, and will be sent to the address you provided on your forms. However, I have no clue as to whether or not this will occur prior to your POE. I'm betting that nothing happens until you actually set foot in the US.

Does anyone else know a definitive answer for this part? I'd be interested in knowing, too!

Sukie in NY

Edited March 4, 2015 by Sukie

[Kaptan 0]

Hi Sukie,

Thanks for your reply. Regarding the SSN, do you mean that the consular officer at the POE would enter a request to generate SSNs for me and my family WHILE WE ARE ENTERING THE COUNTRY, or would he/she see in the system an already-generated SSN (because we had requested SSNs when submitting our online ds-260) and let us know the number on the spot?

[CP1983 0]

I have a quick question. When you activate your visa at POE and get your SSN then after you arrive...is it at this point you are leggally able to work?? Or do you need the green card to start work ?

[SusieQQQ 11,586]

Ok so:

Physical production of the green card is triggered when you enter the country (actually not exactly as it seems the POE officers send the forms to TSC then they sit and wait till their turn comes around). You will not be sent the card if the USCIS fee has not been paid, however.

CP1983, when you enter, your stamped immigrant visa becomes a temporary green card for a year, so you do not need to wait for your plastic green card to do anything you need to show proof of residence for. You are legally able to do anything a PR can do as soon as you cross the border line with your stamped passport. In practice however, it's difficult to do anything without your SSN. Our SSNs arrived about a week and a half after entry.

And congratulations, Kaptan!

Edited March 4, 2015 by SusieQQQ

[Kaptan 0]

Thank you both. I am still unclear on how the SSN is initiated though. Does the officer at the POE hit a magic button and request the SSNs for me and my family, or has my getting the immigration visa approved at the consulate already initiated the SSN process?

[SusieQQQ 11,586]

Thank you both. I am still unclear on how the SSN is initiated though. Does the officer at the POE hit a magic button and request the SSNs for me and my family, or has my getting the immigration visa approved at the consulate already initiated the SSN process?

As far as I understand nothing happens until you enter. For a variety of reasons, people receive immigrant visas that they never end up using and expire worthless, so it makes no sense to start initiating production of cards etc until actual entry.

[Kaptan 0]

Makes sense, thanks SusieQQQ.