Mark

L D Jones wrote in message news:...
    > romperkid wrote:
    > >
    > > "Jonathan_ATC" wrote in message news:...
    > >
    > > > No, you don't have to wait for contact from INS. 90 days before your green
    > > > card expires you go in and get it extended. You dropped the ball. You
    > > > should have been in contact with INS during this period. You should have
    > > > extended your green card when it expired.
    > >
    > > I may be wrong, but I think that applies to Permanent Residents who
    > > have 10-year greencards. Is Form I-90 the application to use to
    > > extend an expiring greencard? If so, it says that Conditional
    >
    > This discussion is not about form I-90. It doesn't apply here at all.
    > The greencard was not lost (at least I don't recall reading that in your
    > message)
    >
    > > Permanent Residents can use it only to replace a card that was lost,
    > > destroyed, stolen, or has incorrect information. It also says that
    > > conditional residents should use form I-751, which we did. Were we
    > > supposed to file I-751 every year if we didn't receive a response from
    > > the INS?
    >
    > No, you should have had a new "greencard" stamp ("I-551 stamp") placed
    > in the passport when the letter to extend status after filing the I-751
    > was about to expire. This is the extension referred to in this thread.


Hi there! We filed our I-751 on 05/08/02 at VSC and my wife's green
card expired on 07/25/02. We did receive two letters from the INS in
May of 2002 extending her GC for another year and we haven't heard
anything from them ever since. You were saying that we should go to
the local INS office and have the passport staped when the letter is
about to expire. Just out of the curiosity, does our letter expire on
07/25/03?

My wife is going to apply for the citizenship sometime in May-June of
2003. Would this fact somehow affect the INS's decision on stamping
her passport?


Thanks

Mrtravel

If you get a letter that says your green card is extended for 1 year,
why would you wait for 3 years without hearing anything?

Ingo Pakleppa

You may also want to contact your Congressperson's office for assistance.
Filing a motion to reopen is probably indeed the best thing, but I would
recommend that you do indeed hire a lawyer.


On Thu, 13 Feb 2003 16:38:28 +0000, romperkid wrote:

    > Our lives suddenly took a drastic turn. Although this is only the
    > beginning of our nightmare, I'd like to share this story with you as an
    > example of innocent victims of the immigration system.
    >
    > My spouse received a letter entitled "Termination of Conditional
    > Residence Status." In short, I am a US citizen who married a foreign
    > national. Our adjustment of status was approved on a conditional basis.
    > We filed the joint petition to remove the conditional status within the
    > proper time frame, which was almost 3 years ago. We did not hear from
    > the INS until recently; we are still within the 39 month period, so at
    > this point we would not be entitled to inquire about our case status.
    >
    > The letter states that we were scheduled for an interview last year (to
    > remove the conditional status) and failed to appear. According to 8 CFR
    > 216.4(b), if a couple fails to appear for the interview, the alien's
    > permanent residence status will be automatically terminated.
    >
    > We never received any notice to appear for the interview last year, and
    > we have maintained the same address all along. How could this happen?
    >
    > The letter concludes with ORDER: Based on the foregoing facts and law
    > in accordance with....it is ordered that the status as conditional
    > permanent resident be, and the same is hereby terminated under this
    > application.
    >
    > The letter is signed by the District Director. It is a personal letter,
    > not some kind of form or court document. There is no information as to
    > how we can dispute or appeal this order. According to 8 CFR, decisions
    > by the District Director are final and non-appealable. This seems very
    > harsh considering that this is only an issue of scheduling. I don't
    > know why there was not any confirmation or reminder letter. I believe
    > that there is a way to reschedule the interview, but if we never
    > received the letter in the first place, how would we know?
    >
    > We received two letters that reminded us to file Form I-751 within the
    > required time period. Why was there only one letter regarding the
    > interview?
    >
    > There is relief for those who filed Form I-751 late (you have to write
    > to the regional service center and show good cause for failing to file
    > on time), why is there no similar exception for the interview?
    >
    > I immediately called the National INS Service Center. The initial
    > person could not give me any useful advice, so she transferred me to
    > another immigration officer. She told me to file a "motion to reopen"
    > or "motion for reconsideration," and that it can be as simple as a
    > personal letter, i.e. it doesn't have to be a brief or pleading.
    > According to the INS website, a motion to reopen is a request to review
    > new facts, and a motion to reconsider challenges the application of law
    > or INS policy.
    >
    > I am frantically going through the yellow pages trying to find an
    > attorney who has heard of this type of case. Unfortunately, all of the
    > more popular immigration firms are booked for the next couple of weeks.
    >
    > My research has also revealed that at some point the case will proceed
    > from the District Director to the Immigration Judge (for removal
    > proceedings), and jurisdiction will change accordingly. At this point,
    > since time is of the essence, I think a motion to reopen or reconsider
    > to the District Director is worth submitting; once the case is in the
    > judge's hands, the District Director will no longer have the authority
    > to decide the case. I hope it's not too late.