RogerL9119

Last year my wife had filed the I-751 on time to Remove conditions of Residence. She then got a revceived notice in the mail along with a 1 year extension on her conditional residence card. Now, back in June of this year the processing date shown for the service center came up and passed but my wife never got any notice in the mail and no change on her online status check. I called the customer service center for info. They submitted a request for status info and said it will be mailed to her. About 4 days later the wife gets a NOA requesting more evidence or relationship. (This NOA came from the Vermont Service Center. She had originally filed at the Texas Service Center which was the appropriate one for her.)

We sent the requested in to the Vermont Center before the deadline they gave my wife. Now we are waiting again. They say it can take up to 60 more days for them to process it.

The problem is her extension date is about to expire. How does she get another extension?
Someone had told me to use Info Pass to make an appointment at the nearest field office to get the extension in person. This would be an all day task for us. The is ridiculous! We both would have to take off from our jobs.
It seems to me that the service center would have known her first extension is expiring and would have automatically sent her another one since it is THEY who are taking forever to process her forms.

Is there some way my wife can get another exentension on her conditional residence by writing or calling somewhere?

Another question, What is my wife's I-751 doing in Vermont when it is suppose to be processed in the Texas Service Center??
Even her online status check still stays that her I-751 was received and is being processed at the Texas Center.

neil

The only reason you would need anything to show the extension is if you plan any trips out of the country (I'd probably want it in case of any emergency trips home), and for that you would need to go to the office and get a stamp in her passport.

Some cases are transferred to other centres if one centre is busier.

A typical suggestion on here is to apply to become a citizen since she should now qualify. Although with the backlog there, it might not speed things up much.

scrubbedexpat099

It does not work that way! Mine was sent to California, they do it to even work loads. I forget what you had to do, I did look it up so it must be on the USCIS web site.

Noorah101

The only way to get a temp I-551 stamp in her passport is to make an appointment via Infopass, to go in person to your local office.

No, there is only one extension letter sent out. Beyond that, it's up to the individual to go get an I-551 stamp in their passport if they need it.

No.

Is your wife planning to travel overseas? If not, there's not reason she really needs the stamp in her passport, anyway.

Don't forget she can file for citizenship (if she wants to) when she's eligible, even if the I-751 is not yet adjudicated.

(I'm moving this thread to the Marriage-Based Visa forum)

Rene
Moderator

meauxna

Your wife is required to have evidence of her immigration status on her at all times. I recall being told the fine was $100 but someone else recently reported a higher amount.
The only evidence of status available to her right now is an I-551 stamp in her passport. This can only be obtained in a USCIS Field Office--her Field Office.

Your wife can't travel to the office on her own?

RogerL9119

Thanks for all of the wonderful responses. Since the fiance visa/AOS, I have not been looking at this stuff, so I am feeling sort of dense about it.


I was not aware she could be fined. by which law enforcement?

My wife will not need to travel abroad at this time. But she works so I was told she needs I guess the I-551 stamp as a temporary permit to present to her employer so that the employer is employing her legally.
So you say the I-551 stamp is also used a temporary ID for lawful permanent resident status?

She does not drive. Besides if she went on her own, she might get ahold of some wacked clerk down there who would tell her she would have to come back another day.
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Okay, I made an appointment for her at the nearest field office. What documents and ID does she need to bring with her?



No travel planned. Even though the Vermont Center has up to 60 days, I heard they are very fast so I am expecting much earlier results.
The other poster 'meauxna' says she can be fined without the stamp. ???

I thought she had to wait 3 more years before filing for citizenship. Why file so early...is there a long wait?
Also how do I know if she is eligible?
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How much is the I-551 stamp going to cost?
When my wife's I-751 gets approved will the service center require my wife to go to an appointment at the local field office before they give her unconditional status?
I have seen that happen on other applicants' statuses.

I think what is going to happen is that we are going to have to go to the San Antonio field office to get her work extension, the turn right around and go there again for the unconditional status approval appointment. Sheeh! what redundancy! They will probably reject my request, but when we go the first trip, I am going to ask that she also go ahead and be interviewed for the I-751 final approval.

Noorah101

What document(s) did she originally present to get hired? To my knowledge, the employer should not be "rechecking" her work authorization, unless she used a specific type which expires.

Yes, an I-551 stamp is the same thing as a green card.

Probably her current expired green card, her 1-year extension letter, and proof of why she needs the I-551 stamp.

It's true an alien is supposed to carry proof of status at all times. However, many district offices are known NOT to give out the I-551 stamp if a pressing need (such as international travel) is not presented. Your wife could simply say she needs the stamp as physical proof of her legal status. Be prepared in case the officer says they do NOT give out the stamp.

She is eligible 3 years minus 90 days from the date she became a PR. Look at the "resident since" date on her green card, and count 3 years from that date, then minus 90 days. That is, if she meets all the other eligibility requirements (physical presence in the USA, still married to a USC, etc)

It's free. There's no charge.

That depends on whether she gets a notice for an interview or not. Usually not, but some people do. If she does, you both need to go in for the interview.

You can ask, but you're right, your request will get rejected. That's because they aren't prepared at this time to adjudicate the I-751. If they were, they would have let you know by mail.

Best Wishes,
Rene

ian-mstm

It is a federal law.


Take a look at form I-9. If she has the right documents she can work legally. The employer can *not* dictate what specific forms are required. So, while an I-551 stamp is sufficient, so is the combination of a SS card (without the DHS legend) and a valid driver's license.


The I-551 stamp *IS* proof of PR status. It has the full weight and force of law as the plastic card.


Okay... but does she have a driver's license?


She can file for citizenship 3 years (less 90 days) after the date she received PR status (whether conditional or not), as long as she has been married for 3 years and meets both the physical presence and continuous residency requirements. Check out the Guide to Naturalization... you can fine it at www.uscis.gov. She does *not* need an adjudicated I-751 in order to file... in fact, filing for naturalization will often force adjudication of the I-751.


There is no cost for the stamp.


Sometimes people get called for an interview, but more often than not it is approved without interview. There's no specific reason why someone gets called for an interview.


Thanks for the laugh... I needed it. Umm... there is *NO* way that you will get an I-751 interview without *them* setting the date ahead of time. Period. End of Story. Indeed, why would you even want to suggest they interview her when her I-751 will most likely be approved without an interview... most are!

Ian

meauxna

Told by whom? Is that the right way to use 'whom'? I don't use it very often but I'm trying to improve.

Anyway, back to the work. It depends on what documents your wife used to be hired. If she presented her Green Card, she doesn't have to *ever* reverify her status with her current employer. She is a Permanent Resident. Period.

VSC is the opposite of 'fast' when it comes to I-751s (they do have a very good reputation for fiance petitions tho).
"No expectations" might be a better way to approach it. They'll get to it when they do.

As explained, your wife is eligible to apply 90 days before the 3rd anniversary of her 'resident since' date on her Green Card. All the naturalization resources you need are in the wiki here; linked at the top of the page.

Other I-751 applicants?
If your wife has already had her biometrics appointment (fingerprints) then her new card will be mailed to her if approved. No further office visits required.

OK, she doesn't need a work extension, and the stamp .. well, I don't know what to tell you. Yes, technically there is a fine, realistically, everyone laughs when it is mentioned. If you live near the border zone, only you know how much you get checked on the roads etc as part of daily or occasional life.

At least 90+% of I-751s are not interviewed, from my observation.

USA & Pakistan

Just to share what happened to us when we recently went to an I-751 interview and my husband had not made an info pass to get an I-551 stamp. The officer was very indignant and asked "what, it wasnt important enough to you to come down here and get a stamp?!" Yikes. It was just one more nail in the coffin and the officer refused to approve our I-751. We just sent in another fat packet of relationship proof documents and now we are waiting again.

I suggest taking the time to get the stamp. If nothing else, it shows diligence.

Marnee

RogerL9119

Thanks for all. You people are wonderful and may saved me a worthless trip down to the field office.

Okay a few more facts here to cleare up some of the unclear parts I see in the postings...

After the fiancee visa, then came AOS. My wife got her conditional permanant resident card (No stamp).

Her 'resident since' date 9-14-2005.

I took my wife to the local field office to get her biometrics done way back when she got a letter saying they received the I-751.

We do not live anywhere near the border so there are no check points to go thru here.

My wife does has no plans to travel outside the country at this time.

My wife showed her Cond PRC to the human resources dept of her employer almost 3 years ago when she first started the job. It was soon after she got the card. They made a photo copy of it to keep on file.
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(Yes your use of 'whom' sounds correct) Well to be more specific I called the NCSC recently and a guy there is the one who told me that for my wife's employer to legally keep employing her after the the PRC expiration, she would need to make an info pass appointment asap at the local field office to get some type of extension. I do not remember if he said stamp or I-551. When I complained to him about her having to take off work to go there, he said it would better than her employer laying her off because of the expiration. I actually do not think her employer's human resource dept keeps any lookout on expiration dates.

One concern is that upon their request for more evidence of bonified relationship, I sent to them a printout of joint health and life insurance proof which is thru her employer. Her employer's company name is on the letter head of the prinount along with contact info should they want to call and verify the info. Since they now have her employer's contact info, I think they could also very easily call the employer and ask if my wife submitted some type of additional extension to them for proof of legal employment. But do they make an effort to trap immigrants that way.

After reading your replys, I think I will NOT waste the effort of going to the local field office. Instead i feel ws holdp.

AlanR

You are absolutely right in your usage, but 'whom' is dying/dead and the odds are that it won't be around in any form in 50 years time (except for quaint ancient English language schools). It's already died in practise, both in spoken and written speech (never heard it used correctly - or incorrectly i- n the US).
So, when? At whom, of whom, by whom, to whom, from whom. Who is that at the door? Easy? No. That's why languages tend to die after less than 1000 years....

ian-mstm

If an employee presents an unexpired GC (even a conditional one) to an employer as proof of employment authorization, that employer can not reverify those credentials. It's federal law. Even if your wife's card expires, her status does not.

Ian

Noorah101

So then as long as you guys have been married a full three years, and she meets the physical presence requirements, she can file the N-400 now.

Rene

meauxna

OK, the NSCS is informally known as the MisInformation Line, so you can automatically suspect any answers from them. They happen to be wrong on this issue.
If your wife's employer ever does ask her, just post back here and we'll dig up a couple of threads that will help you solve it.

As far as your concern about them checking up on paperwork you've submitted, I have never heard of them commonly calling employers. Maybe on the rare specific occasion, but not as a norm.

Your wife is legal and she should not fear being trapped or tricked. You're doing everything you're supposed to be doing.