DV Visa

Hello Guys, I need advice from all my comrade only you guys give good complete answers that are thorough and even better than these board certified lawyers.

So my friend came to US on school visa. She finished school but decided to change majors and moved states. well, she fell out of status in between changing schools.

She participated in the lottery process and was selected. Will she be able to go through AOS given her status? and what options/waiver would favor her?

AOS - not really unless she manages to get her F-1 visa reinstated. F-1s are kinda privileged in that you can file a renewal late if you had a good reason for whatever caused you to fall out of status and if approved you'll get the unlawful presence forgiven like it never happened.

Consular processing - yes if she was out of status for less than 180 days. If she's nearing that point she should get out as soon as possible.

Waiver - yes if she has a USC/LPR Spouse or Parent.

F-1s used to not accrue unlawful presence until DHS or an Immigration Judge outright told them that's the case. That loophole was closed sometime in 2018.

curious what is her qualifying country. i tried once as an adult and i think my family had tried once too, but never got selected.

What matters is her current status. If she fell out of F-1 status then somehow got reinstated when she enrolled in the new school, then she just needs to maintain that new F-1 up until they interview her for AOS.

If she doesn’t have status currently, she either needs to get reinstated or exit the country ASAP.

Whatever she does, pay very close attention to her DV case number. She can only file for AOS or apply for immigrant visa abroad if her number is below the monthly cutoff. Eyeball the Visa Bulletin like a hawk. DV is only good within its fiscal year. If she somehow misses the last day of the fiscal year, only Congress itself can help her.

Thank you guys, I thought there was a loophole. Everything is closed huh!

Kenya