BritishInOhio

Need some advice. I am due to apply for my 10 year Green Card here in a couple of weeks after having a 2 year. Now from what I understand most people get a letter after a few weeks of sending there pack off to tell them there application is being processed and the letter is kind of a "temporary" Green Card good for 1 year.

Now has anyone left the US with only having this letter as proof of residency? Have you had any problems getting back into the US?

Thanks in advance for your reply's!!

Pulaski

I think (thought?) that if your green card was expired/ being replaced, that you were only supposed to leave the country if you had a new visa stamp in your passport. I'm sure that is what the letter I recevied told me when I had mine replaced after two years.

If you only have the visa stamp (no green card on you) then the immigration desk is likely to send you to a side desk where an immigration officer can verify the visa stamp (which is linttle better than a potato cut) and your identity before clearling you to enter the country.

Lynne

I am assuming you currently have a 2 year visa. You may want to check with the INS (now Department of Homeland Security) directly since the green card process seems to differ from person to person.

My green card was obtained before I left the UK. The US embassy stamped my passport confirming I55 had been applied for. Once in the US it actually took six months before I received a proper green card. As far as renewing an existing green card this cannot be done longer than six months before it expires. Not knowing how long this would take, I applied for one exactly six months before it expired. I filed online, then received an appointment at the local INS Center. There they did background checks, biometrics, photos etc and affixed an extension strip to my existing green card to extend it for a year from that dat. They said that if I had not received my new green card by the time the old one expired to go back and get an extension, the extension would be a stamp in my passport. As it was the new green card arrived about two months later.

Again, don't take what people say of their experience as gospel. I know several people who applied for their green cards around the same time as me but their process was different. Also remember that the INS have cut their workforce by half. A friend who applied for their green card received a letter from the Atlanta office telling them that due to cut backs not to be concerned if they didn't hear from them for three years.

The whole immigration system is complicated, my own application was dealt with by four different offices in three different states, thank god an attorney handled it for us. Just the process of getting labor certification took one year because the company that sponsored us had to prove to the Department of Labor that by bringing my husband into the US the company were not depriving an American of a job.

Good luck, the green card system can be a frustrating process even when you have a immigration lawyer doing it for you.

Ray

Yes thats no problem at all ..Or make an infopass appointment ..take the letter and will put a stamp in your passport ...

Lynne... your talking merde

Rete

Sure have. You petitioned for the removal of conditions I'm assuming. The expired green card and the NOA is sufficient for your return to the US. If you are anxious you can always make an appointment through Infopass in order to get the stamp. Some local offices, however, won't give it as long as you have the NOA so be prepared in case your request is denied.