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DS 117 - Application to determine Returning Resident Status (Successful)
Hey Guys!!!!
Just wanted to share my successful experience for the SB 1 visa.
Since I haven't really seen a case like mine online thought I'd put mine. It's a little different from what I've seen.
So a little background on my story.
I'm 21 yrs old and I've been a permanent resident since 2005 through the DV lottery (my dad won). Due to family separation etc... i flew in and out of the states quite often. However the issue began when I left college in the U.S and flew to Kenya then to Japan where I stayed for almost 2 years without returning to the states. As we all know, if you stay out of the US for a year without a valid re-entry permit (more than 2 with one) you're basically deemed to have lost your LPR status. My reasons were basically, I left the U.S at the instruction of my mom right before I turned 19. I was studying pre-med at a university in Arkansas but it became way too expensive to maintain so my mom pulled me out and had me apply to different schools everywhere. I applied to Japan and got a pretty good scholarship to study accounting so I was brought here. Last time I went to the states was in July 2013 and came back to Japan and haven't really gone back since.
I was due back in the states last year July right before my year was up but due to exams and affordability I couldn't really go back to the states so my year lapsed. I waited, and waited and mom and now dad (who is still an LPR) continued to refuse to support my return to the states until a later time. Anyways long story short I decided to apply for the SB 1 Visa. Application to determine returning resident status. I was really scared cause I saw a bunch of denials everywhere so I was like man I don't know. I decided to pray (I am Christian) and keep praying and I headed to the interview in Tokyo.
Interview Day!
So I get to the embassy in Tokyo at around 9:30 (I was a little late but didn't seem to matter). I went through security, took my number and waited. After about 2 hours I was called to the window, paid my fee of $180 and was told to continue waiting. I was one of the last people waiting in the room so I saw one other lady get approved for her SB 1 so I was like man maybe the interviewer is in a good mood. Either way I kept praying.
Finally my number got called. The guy, really nice guy, talks to me asks me where I'm from. I'm from Nairobi, Kenya by the by!! And it turns out he lived in Nairobi for 2 years so he knew exactly where I was from in the city. He looked at my file and at first he says, 'You know there's a really high standard for this visa Louis so would you go ahead and explain why you've been out for so long' I told him my story and he goes on to say, 'like I said this visa has a very high standard and the point is to prove that the reason you've been out for so long was out of your control, and I don't think this quite meets that standard' By this time my heart's beating really quick. I keep talking to him and I tell him how my parents pulled me out, and at this point he seems to get a little more interested in my story. We speak for a little longer and finally he says he's gonna go speak to his supervisor and come and tell me. By this time I'm praying and praying and my hearts beating out of my chest.
Finally he comes back, at first he has a frown. Then he goes on to say, 'Well,I have some good news for you'. Then he had this big smile, 'We're going to going to go ahead and approve your application to determine returning resident status'. Honestly if it wasn't for shame I would've JUMPED up and down. I didn't even know like.... oh my.... I was elated, overjoyed. Any word I can use for Happy, I was!!
Earlier he did ask about my future plans and tells me, 'based on technical merit, your case is borderline but because you have family in the states (my aunt, uncle (U.S citizen), my dad, sister) all being LPRs we decided we wanted you to be with your family. That is why we approved your application'
Based on this, all of you out there I advise you to go ahead and try for the SB 1. You really never know. If your Christian pray. If you aren't PRAY!
I believe my case was a little special in that, I wasn't really sick or anything. But I guess my time in out of the U.S wasn't way too long. And the fact that I'm pretty young may have helped idk. I don't think so though (at one point he asked about my age, and when I said 21 he said so you've been an adult for how long now?)
I did provide documents of my full-time status as a student, my dad's tax returns (I am still a dependent but not a minor), loan documents showing I've been keeping them active, my drivers license. To be honest though he didn't even ask me ANYTHING about those. I was pretty surprised.
So now I just got an email from the consulate with my case number telling me I may now go ahead and start filing my IV application. I'm just about to get on that.
Planning to get back stateside around August/September.
Hope my story encourages y'all applying for Returning Resident Status!!
If you have any questions about the process, I have read a lot on this particular visa so I might be able to answer them. Please feel free to contact me via message. Or leave a comment, I'll reply pretty quick.
Thanks for reading!!!
Just wanted to share my successful experience for the SB 1 visa.
Since I haven't really seen a case like mine online thought I'd put mine. It's a little different from what I've seen.
So a little background on my story.
I'm 21 yrs old and I've been a permanent resident since 2005 through the DV lottery (my dad won). Due to family separation etc... i flew in and out of the states quite often. However the issue began when I left college in the U.S and flew to Kenya then to Japan where I stayed for almost 2 years without returning to the states. As we all know, if you stay out of the US for a year without a valid re-entry permit (more than 2 with one) you're basically deemed to have lost your LPR status. My reasons were basically, I left the U.S at the instruction of my mom right before I turned 19. I was studying pre-med at a university in Arkansas but it became way too expensive to maintain so my mom pulled me out and had me apply to different schools everywhere. I applied to Japan and got a pretty good scholarship to study accounting so I was brought here. Last time I went to the states was in July 2013 and came back to Japan and haven't really gone back since.
I was due back in the states last year July right before my year was up but due to exams and affordability I couldn't really go back to the states so my year lapsed. I waited, and waited and mom and now dad (who is still an LPR) continued to refuse to support my return to the states until a later time. Anyways long story short I decided to apply for the SB 1 Visa. Application to determine returning resident status. I was really scared cause I saw a bunch of denials everywhere so I was like man I don't know. I decided to pray (I am Christian) and keep praying and I headed to the interview in Tokyo.
Interview Day!
So I get to the embassy in Tokyo at around 9:30 (I was a little late but didn't seem to matter). I went through security, took my number and waited. After about 2 hours I was called to the window, paid my fee of $180 and was told to continue waiting. I was one of the last people waiting in the room so I saw one other lady get approved for her SB 1 so I was like man maybe the interviewer is in a good mood. Either way I kept praying.
Finally my number got called. The guy, really nice guy, talks to me asks me where I'm from. I'm from Nairobi, Kenya by the by!! And it turns out he lived in Nairobi for 2 years so he knew exactly where I was from in the city. He looked at my file and at first he says, 'You know there's a really high standard for this visa Louis so would you go ahead and explain why you've been out for so long' I told him my story and he goes on to say, 'like I said this visa has a very high standard and the point is to prove that the reason you've been out for so long was out of your control, and I don't think this quite meets that standard' By this time my heart's beating really quick. I keep talking to him and I tell him how my parents pulled me out, and at this point he seems to get a little more interested in my story. We speak for a little longer and finally he says he's gonna go speak to his supervisor and come and tell me. By this time I'm praying and praying and my hearts beating out of my chest.
Finally he comes back, at first he has a frown. Then he goes on to say, 'Well,I have some good news for you'. Then he had this big smile, 'We're going to going to go ahead and approve your application to determine returning resident status'. Honestly if it wasn't for shame I would've JUMPED up and down. I didn't even know like.... oh my.... I was elated, overjoyed. Any word I can use for Happy, I was!!
Earlier he did ask about my future plans and tells me, 'based on technical merit, your case is borderline but because you have family in the states (my aunt, uncle (U.S citizen), my dad, sister) all being LPRs we decided we wanted you to be with your family. That is why we approved your application'
Based on this, all of you out there I advise you to go ahead and try for the SB 1. You really never know. If your Christian pray. If you aren't PRAY!
I believe my case was a little special in that, I wasn't really sick or anything. But I guess my time in out of the U.S wasn't way too long. And the fact that I'm pretty young may have helped idk. I don't think so though (at one point he asked about my age, and when I said 21 he said so you've been an adult for how long now?)
I did provide documents of my full-time status as a student, my dad's tax returns (I am still a dependent but not a minor), loan documents showing I've been keeping them active, my drivers license. To be honest though he didn't even ask me ANYTHING about those. I was pretty surprised.
So now I just got an email from the consulate with my case number telling me I may now go ahead and start filing my IV application. I'm just about to get on that.
Planning to get back stateside around August/September.
Hope my story encourages y'all applying for Returning Resident Status!!
If you have any questions about the process, I have read a lot on this particular visa so I might be able to answer them. Please feel free to contact me via message. Or leave a comment, I'll reply pretty quick.
Thanks for reading!!!
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