DV - No Plastic Green Card received after 8 months of entry to US

[preguntas 0]

Hi fellow Dv-ers,

I am not sure if I should ask this here as it may not be specific to DV visas...

My apologies if this is not the right place.

My question:

I did NOT get the plastic green card yet after 8 months of entry to the US.

Should I be worried that I did not get the plastic green card after 8 months? Is this normal?
Should I schedule an appointment with USCIS (InfoPass) to check what's going on?
Do they provide information on the phone (if I give them all my info), or is it necessary to go meet them in person?

Here is the full chronology:

may 2015: DV visa interview passed in Montreal, Canada; I paid the fees there ($165 etc...)
I provided Address1 as my US address
oct 2015: At port of entry, a temporary I-551 was stamped on my passport (i.e. valid for one year)
I changed my US address to Address2 at the POE
may 2016 (today): Social Security numbers received (SSN) at Address2 but NO PLASTIC GREEN CARD received yet after 8 months of entry to US.
I am currently back in Canada getting my things in order before going back to the US.
I can still use the stamp on my passport until Oct 2016

Thanks a lot in advance,

P.

[SusieQQQ 11,586]

It's not normal, definitely you can schedule an infopass, or you can also call them and ask them.

The relevant dates are when you entered the US, and that fact that you paid the fee before entering. 60-90 days after entering is enough time for receiving it so something has definitely gone wrong.

It's not specific to DV btw but no harm asking here

Edited May 30, 2016 by SusieQQQ

[preguntas 0]

It's not normal, definitely you can schedule an infopass, or you can also call them and ask them.

The relevant dates are when you entered the US, and that fact that you paid the fee before entering. 60-90 days after entering is enough time for receiving it so something has definitely gone wrong.

It's not specific to DV btw but no harm asking here

I will call USCIS (since I am back in Canada), and hopefully I won't need the infopass...

Thank you SusieQQQ for your valuable input, as usual!

P.

[preguntas 0]

The relevant dates are when you entered the US, and that fact that you paid the fee before entering.

I am not so sure I paid the $165 for green card processing anymore!

I thought I already paid the $165 at the Montreal US consulate on the day of the interview, but I just checked my credit card and they billed me $330 which is the application fee for a DV visa, not the green card's $165... I am not sure if I paid the $165 cash...

Can someone please confirm if they paid the $165 green card fee at the Montreal consulate on the day of their interview?

Or is this something that everybody had to pay here: https://www.uscis.gov/file-online/uscis-immigrant-fee ?

Thanks a lot in advance!!!

P.

[SusieQQQ 11,586]

I am not so sure I paid the $165 for green card processing anymore!

I thought I already paid the $165 at the Montreal US consulate on the day of the interview, but I just checked my credit card and they billed me $330 which is the application fee for a DV visa, not the green card's $165... I am not sure if I paid the $165 cash...

Can someone please confirm if they paid the $165 green card fee at the Montreal consulate on the day of their interview?

Or is this something that everybody had to pay here: https://www.uscis.gov/file-online/uscis-immigrant-fee ?

Thanks a lot in advance!!!

P.

Ah, that would explain it. All USCIS immigrant fee payments are online. And yes, they will not send the green card unless the fee has been paid. So, you'll probably find everything is ready and just waiting for you to pay the fee.... It seems that in your type of situation there is not much waiting time after the fee is paid. People have reported getting their cards pretty quickly - the actual entry still sets the process in motion even if the fee has not been paid, then when the fee is paid the mailing process is triggered. Edited May 31, 2016 by SusieQQQ

[preguntas 0]

Ah, that would explain it. All USCIS immigrant fee payments are online. And yes, they will not send the green card unless the fee has been paid. So, you'll probably find everything is ready and just waiting for you to pay the fee.... It seems that in your type of situation there is not much waiting time after the fee is paid. People have reported getting their cards pretty quickly - the actual entry still sets the process in motion even if the fee has not been paid, then when the fee is paid the mailing process is triggered.

I totally missed the piece where I had to pay USCIS for the $165 (i.e. it was never paid at the embassy).

Thanks a lot SusieQQQ for your helpful information, once again!

[preguntas 0]

It seems that in your type of situation there is not much waiting time after the fee is paid. People have reported getting their cards pretty quickly - the actual entry still sets the process in motion even if the fee has not been paid, then when the fee is paid the mailing process is triggered.

An update for anyone interested in this topic:

This is exactly what happened.

I paid the 165$ online (on the uscis site based on my Alien number from my visa stamped on my passport) and the green card was actually sent to my US address within 2 weeks.

So, again, what SusieQQQ indicated above was super helpful!

Thanks a lot!

P.