skyland235

Not sure if some CBP officers are just awkward/rude for the sake f it..
I arrived back in New York-JFK on Saturday so that I can sort out the issues with not having received our SSN etc. On entry I did the automated thing first – got the printout and then went straight to a kiosk..
He asked me purpose of the visit and why I was staying for only a few days- I explained that here to sort out SSN application- he then said ‘I am not really interested in all of that’!!.. I said nothing as no idea how to respond..
He then banged on about re-entry permits for us and although he was wrong as it was totally irrelevant I again didn’t say anything
Anyway back to point of this post- when he stamped my passport he wrote something in it and it has me worried as no idea what it means – It looks like AAC or something
If anyone can advice that would be great
Thanks

Noorah101

Sorry, under what status did you enter? You have an I-551 stamp in your passport? i.e., an endorsed Immigrant Visa?

Rene

rpjs

Could it be "ARC"? That means "Alien Resident Card" and is the standard notation a CBP officer writes on the stamp when admitting a Lawful Permanent Resident.

Twinkle0927

Did he stamp 'ARC'? This means you are a permanent resident. They can't stamp a 'stay until' date for permanent residents like they can for visitors.

Guindalf

Did you say 're-entry? As in you have activated your visa, left the country and are coming back in? If so, did you obtain advanced parole to do that?

If the latter is true, the CBP officer was perfectly correct. You can't come and go as you please until you gave your green card in hand (unless the law has changed).

When I arrived, it took close to three years to get my green card. and I missed my sister's wedding and other family events because I didn't get AP in time.

I wonder if this is what happened?

Remember that the CBP Officer has every right to detain and/or question anyone he pleases except for US citizens, at any time. So catch one in a bad mood and there's nothing you can do except bend over and take it - or risk a quicker-than-expected return flight!

Rete

That is so very untrue. The I-551 is the paper green card and has all the same rights and privileges as the little card itself. He can leave the US and return at any time he wishes as long as he doesn't stay out long enough to abandon his residency. You don't need AP to leave the US as long as you have the I-551 stamp. Perhaps you are remembering things incorrectly. Or the stamp had expired and you didn't go to the USCIS office for another stamp. Green card holders do not and cannot get advance parole.

The agent didn't tell him he can't come and go as he pleases. The agent was not interested in his reason being getting a social security card. Don't know if spending the money to do so is warranted as the number will be there whenever he returns to the US.

Pulaski

All of this doesn't apply. He came in on an F-3, family-based green card, so was a PR from the moment he entered using his visa. He didn't adjust status, so "advance parole" isn't relevant. He has an I-551 stamp, so he was always, and will continue to be, free to come and go (from the US) as he pleases, subject of course to spending sufficent time in the US to maintain his PR status.

S Folinsky

He probably wrote "ARC" or meant to write that. It stands for "alien registration card."

Actually, the officer doesn't seem all that rude to me. It seems you started to go into a long story and he was not interested in "all" of the story once he got that you were still taking care of set up business.

It should be noted that CBP does NOT not have the power to unilaterally refuse admission to anyone who has ever been granted LPR status and is claiming to return. Perhaps this fact might ease state of mind upon return.

p.s. I returned to the US last month via DEN on a long flight from FRA. Even entering with a US passport I found the newer procedures to be confusing. I also have a habit of obseving how CBP handles other people and I must say that I was impressed.

skyland235

Thank you all - Yes, ARC make sense... I guess I was getting paranoid for no good reason. Thanks for clarifying.
On our first visit we applied for SSN but although issued on September 13th - not arrived. I attended office again this morning and have been told replacement should be with us in 10 business days.
I was surprised that important docs are not sent with tracking etc
Fortunately, she gave to me the number that was assigned to us so i guess we will now just await delivery of the SSN Cards

Pulaski

You are not likely to need the card very often. Our SSN cards are in our bank safety deposit box and I can't remember the last time I needed it for anything. .... Maybe when I applied for my passport, and that was about five or six years ago. In other words, various businesses will ask for your SSN, but only very rarely will you be asked to produce your actual SS card to prove it. And certainly banks have access to a database that will confirm that your SSN is linked to your name, though perhaps not immediately for a newly issued SSN.

S Folinsky

The SSN card can be PART of evidence of authority to work. That said I've never been asked to produce an original card. I still have my original card from 1966. Plain white cardboard with pre-printed number in red and my name typed via a manual typewriter (the first "t" in my name is raised because the clerk did not allow the platen to drop).

I also have a duplicate from when IRS asked about my steel worker wages which were not reported on my 1040. It seems that my number was misappropriated. But again, I have never had to produce it.

My SSN is part of my Medicare number. But all of those are being changed next year with issuance of newer more secure cards. (In other words, the price of forged cards will go up).

rpjs

The NYS DMV requires sight of the actual Social Security Card the first time you apply for a license or other ID and I also had to show it when I upgraded to an Enhanced License after becoming a citizen. I’ve never had to show it for any other purpose.

md95065

You need to start using the right terminology or you will run the risk of confusing CBP and yourself.

That first trip wasn't a "visit" - that was the trip where you became a US permanent resident. Your subsequent trip to the UK was a "visit", and now you have returned home to the US ...

Guindalf

Rete, once again you see fit to jump all over my posts. Please stop, especially if you're not going to actually read the thread and my responses!

The OP says nothing about how he entered the country and I responded with MY version of events. As Pulaski pointed out, what happened to me doesn't apply to the OP, which means it is not 'untrue', just not applicable to him. You both had the advantage of knowing (from other sources, maybe) on which visa he came in and I replied with my experience.

So, why don't you TRY to be constructive for a change instead of irritating people all the time?

S Folinsky

Be nice. It is easier for you and everyone else. It is perfectly fine to say "Oops, I misunderstood."