Received conditional Green Card..Question..
 

Hi Everyone,

I'm writing after long time.
Yesterday I received the letter from USCIS saying that I was approved conditional permamnet residency. I got married to my wife on 12/15/2002 and my green card was approved on 02/16/2005. So it's obvious that it's been more 2 years since I got married.
Still they wrote in the letter that my marriage is less than 2 year old, so I get conditional residency. Now I have to wait for 2 years to apply for I-751 to remove the condition.
Now I dont understand why they commited such a mistake, where the rule completely says if the marriage is more than 2 year old I shouldn't receive conditional residency, I should get unconditional residency.

Please advise what to do in this situation.
Anyone with similar experience please reply too..

Ben

Re: Received conditional Green Card..Question..
 

Hi Ben,

USCIS has been known to goof up quite a bit! Try making an Infopass appointment to go in to your local office and see if they'll correct the mistake. Be sure to bring all documentation that your marriage was over 2 years old at time of approval.

Best Wishes,
Rene

Re: Received conditional Green Card..Question..
 

Were you originally a K1?
Which office did you interview at?

Re: Received conditional Green Card..Question..
 

Santa Ana, CA on 23 May 2003.

Re: Received conditional Green Card..Question..
 

I wasn't on K1. I was on a F1 student visa when I applied for green card.
Santa Ana USCIS, California.

Re: Received conditional Green Card..Question..
 

Well then, that uses up any idea I had. In that case, I like Rene's idea.

Re: Received conditional Green Card..Question..
 

Noorah101 wrote:
    >>Hi Everyone,
    >>I'm writing after long time.
    >>Yesterday I received the letter from USCIS saying that I was approved
    >>conditional permamnet residency. I got married to my wife on
    >>12/15/2002 and my green card was approved on 02/16/2005. So it's
    >>obvious that it's been more 2 years since I got married.
    >>Still they wrote in the letter that my marriage is less than 2 year
    >>old, so I get conditional residency. Now I have to wait for 2 years to
    >>apply for I-751 to remove the condition.
    >>Now I dont understand why they commited such a mistake, where the rule
    >>completely says if the marriage is more than 2 year old I shouldn't
    >>receive conditional residency, I should get unconditional residency.
    >>Please advise what to do in this situation.
    >>Anyone with similar experience please reply too..
    >>Ben
    >
    >
    > Hi Ben,
    >
    > USCIS has been known to goof up quite a bit! Try making an Infopass
    > appointment to go in to your local office and see if they'll correct the
    > mistake. Be sure to bring all documentation that your marriage was over
    > 2 years old at time of approval.
    >
    > Best Wishes,
    > Rene
    >

If it is USCIS error, you may still be asked to file Form I-90 and to
provide two new ADIT photos -- but the fee should be waived.

--
Above intended as general commentary, not specific legal
advice. Your mileage may vary.

================================================== =============
Jonathan McNeil Wong Voice: 510-451-0544
Donahue, Gallagher Woods LLP Facsimile: 510-832-1486
P.O. Box 12979 http://www.donahue.com
Oakland, CA 94604-2979 E-mail: [email protected]
================================================== =============

Re: Received conditional Green Card..Question..
 

Is it still the ADIT style photo for this, or is it the newer passport-style ones?

Rene

Re: Received conditional Green Card..Question..
 

3/4 ADIT photos are dead. Erase them from your memory banks.

Re: Received conditional Green Card..Question..
 

That's what I thought....just wanted to make sure for the OP's sake. :)

Re: Received conditional Green Card..Question..
 

Noorah101 wrote:
    >>3/4 ADIT photos are dead. Erase them from your memory banks.
    >
    >
    > That's what I thought....just wanted to make sure for the OP's sake. :)
    >

The new face-forward passport style _is_ "ADIT style" now. But I
recognize that merely using the phrase "ADIT style" could have been
ambiguous.

--
Above intended as general commentary, not specific legal
advice. Your mileage may vary.

================================================== =============
Jonathan McNeil Wong Voice: 510-451-0544
Donahue, Gallagher Woods LLP Facsimile: 510-832-1486
P.O. Box 12979 http://www.donahue.com
Oakland, CA 94604-2979 E-mail: [email protected]
================================================== =============

Re: Received conditional Green Card..Question..
 

Hi!
... almost the exact same happened to me... our dates just vary a week or so... I got my approval for a conditional green card on Feb. 11th .... by the time my FBI checks were finally completed I was married for more then two years ... I called the "mis-information hotline" twice (you never know... sometimes they give you different answers ;) ) ... but this time they were actually consistent with their answers.... " It is up to the immigration officer if he grants you conditional or unconditional resident status!" ... I will make an infopass appointment next week though... maybe I am lucky and they will give me unconditional status ! ( dates: married 12/30/2002, interview 10/12/2004, approved 02/11/2005 ; filed with the Portland, OR office; I originally came over on a K3 visa)
Let me know how it worked out for you!

Re: Received conditional Green Card..Question..
 

Correct or not, the term "adit-style" has historically been used among the immigration community (including USCIS and AILA) as a synonym for 3/4 style or "green card style" photographs. One would often see the term used in contrast to "passport-style".

For example, in the 21 April 2004 USCIS news release announcing the commencement of the Dallas Pilot Program, the following terminology is used:

What is an “ADIT-style photograph� that USCIS requires?
“ADIT-style� photographs must be:
• unmounted and printed on thin paper, on a white background with a 3/4 profile view of the right side of your face and your right ear;

http://uscis.gov/graphics/publicaffa...ct04_21_04.PDF

I notice that in most correspondence (including the most recent news releases), USCIS now refers to the former photo requirement as "3/4 style" when comparing with "passport style". Using "3/4 style" is probably better than using "adit style", as our esteemed legal contributor has pointed out above.

Then, of course, there is the "ADIT stamp". In this case, USCIS is referring to the temp I-551 stamp (i.e. temporary proof of residence) used in passports or I-94s. For example, see the 21 October 2004 news release.

http://uscis.gov/graphics/publicaffa...t_10_21_04.pdf

The term ADIT itself stands for Alien Documentation, Identification & Telecommunications System.

Previous studies have shown that the morphological character of the ear is a more unique identifier than a full frontal view of a person. As such, USCIS had adopted the 3/4 style. Recent facial recognition technology focuses on characters of the face. As such, USCIS and other organizations now prefer the passport style full frontal angle. This also meets the requirements of the International Civil Aviation Organization standards for all travel documents, which went into effect on 26 October 2004 (the US being a member nation).

Re: Received conditional Green Card..Question..
 

sphyrapicus wrote:
    >>Noorah101 wrote:
    >>>>3/4 ADIT photos are dead. Erase them from your memory banks.
    >>>That's what I thought....just wanted to make sure for the OP's
    >>>sake. :)
    >>The new face-forward passport style _is_ "ADIT style" now. But I
    >>recognize that merely using the phrase "ADIT style" could have been
    >>ambiguous.
    >>--
    >>Above intended as general commentary, not specific legal
    >>advice. Your mileage may vary.
    >>================================================ ===============
    >>Jonathan McNeil Wong Voice: 510-451-0544
    >>Donahue, Gallagher Woods LLP Facsimile: 510-832-1486
    >>P.O. Box 12979 http://www.donahue.com
    >> Oakland, CA 94604-2979 E-mail:
    >> [email protected]
    >>================================================ ===============
    >
    >
    > Correct or not, the term "adit-style" has historically been used among
    > the immigration community (including USCIS and AILA) as a synonym for
    > 3/4 style or "green card style" photographs. One would often see the
    > term used in contrast to "passport-style".
    >
    > For example, in the 21 April 2004 USCIS news release announcing
    > the commencement of the Dallas Pilot Program, the following
    > terminology is used:
    >
    > What is an “ADIT-style photographâ€? that USCIS requires?
    > “ADIT-styleâ€? photographs must be:
    > • unmounted and printed on thin paper, on a white background with a 3/4
    > profile view of the right side of your face and your right ear;
    >
    > http://uscis.gov/graphics/publicaffa...ct04_21_04.PDF
    >
    > I notice that in most correspondence (including the most recent news
    > releases), USCIS now refers to the former photo requirement as "3/4
    > style" when comparing with "passport style". Using "3/4 style" is
    > probably better than using "adit style", as our esteemed legal
    > contributor has pointed out above.
    >
    > Then, of course, there is the "ADIT stamp". In this case, USCIS is
    > referring to the temp I-551 stamp (i.e. temporary proof of
    > residence) used in passports or I-94s. For example, see the 21
    > October 2004 news release.
    >
    > http://uscis.gov/graphics/publicaffa...t_10_21_04.pdf
    >
    > The term ADIT itself stands for Alien Documentation, Identification &
    > Telecommunications System.
    >
    > Previous studies have shown that the morphological character of the ear
    > is a more unique identifier than a full frontal view of a person. As
    > such, USCIS had adopted the 3/4 style. Recent facial recognition
    > technology focuses on characters of the face. As such, USCIS and other
    > organizations now prefer the passport style full frontal angle. This
    > also meets the requirements of the International Civil Aviation
    > Organization standards for all travel documents, which went into effect
    > on 26 October 2004 (the US being a member nation).
    >

All of this is quite accurate.

As I said, I probably should have said "face-forward" or "new ADIT
style" or something similar to avoid the ambiguity.

--
Above intended as general commentary, not specific legal
advice. Your mileage may vary.

================================================== =============
Jonathan McNeil Wong Voice: 510-451-0544
Donahue, Gallagher Woods LLP Facsimile: 510-832-1486
P.O. Box 12979 http://www.donahue.com
Oakland, CA 94604-2979 E-mail: [email protected]
================================================== =============