what is a permanent resident?

[Lorenzo 0]

I have been explaining to my wife about this and I am reading things at USCIS leading me to think I am correct. I want to be sure.

Is she a permanent resident when she arrives on a K1 visa or the 90 days before she receives the 2 year green card?

She was told she can file now as a permanent resident.

She arrived on the K1 July 26, 2005, we were married August 26, 2005 and she received her two year green card June 7, 2006.

I need clarification of this.

Thank you.

Edited September 28, 2008 by Lorenzo

[TayRivers 4]

I have been explaining to my wife about this and I am reading things at USCIS leading me to think I am correct. I want to be sure.

Is she a permanent resident when she arrives on a K1 visa or the 90 days before she receives the 2 year green card?

She was told she can file now as a permanent resident.

She arrived on the K1 July 26, 2005, we were married August 26, 2005 and she received her two year green card June 7, 2006.

I need clarification of this.

Thank you.

She has been a permanent resident since June 7 2006, so I hope you have filed to remove the conditions of her residency before June 7 2008. If you did not then she is no longer a permenent resident as her greencard has expired and you failed to file at the correct time. She is now out of status and is no longer allowed to work or travel.

Please clarify what you have filed for since she got her 2 year greencard!

[lucyrich 20]

The word "permanent resident" has a very specific meaning in immigration. It's neither when she arrives as a K-1 nor 90 days before the receives the 2 year green card. It's probably the date adjustment of status was approved.

She's a permanent resident on the date she's granted permanent resident status. Sometimes permanent resident status is colloquially called "green card" status.

Anyone who has a green card can look at that green card and read the "resident since" date. That date is the date permanent resident status started.

[Lorenzo 0]

Yes, I filed to remove conditions on March 15 of 2008. Thanks for the clarification.

[moonhunt 1]

Yes, I filed to remove conditions on March 15 of 2008. Thanks for the clarification.

You can check it from her green card, also known as Permanent Resident Card, and/or I-551.

"Resident Since" date is the date when she became permanent resident of U.S.A. officially.

Everything starts from there.

[NickD 202]

The word "permanent resident" has a very specific meaning in immigration. It's neither when she arrives as a K-1 nor 90 days before the receives the 2 year green card. It's probably the date adjustment of status was approved.

She's a permanent resident on the date she's granted permanent resident status. Sometimes permanent resident status is colloquially called "green card" status.

Anyone who has a green card can look at that green card and read the "resident since" date. That date is the date permanent resident status started.

Nor really clear on this either, did a I-130 on my wife and her daughter like the "Bringing family members of US Citizens to America" section of this board, paid extra for that work permit and travel document, got a restricted SS card on both of them, and took almost a year before they received their "Conditional" Permanent Resident Card. Was told by my attorney that they are here legally, but according to several banks in this area and how they interpreted the American Patriot Act, couldn't really add my wife to my checking and savings account. So I really don't know what you would call their status during that period of time. Wife could work and pay taxes, even get a probationary driver's license, and daughter could attend school, but otherwise were very restricted.

Seems like they should be permanent residents, but the clock did not start ticking toward her USC until she received her conditional permanent resident card. Then another long delay until she received her ten year card spending most of a year here with an expired card and one year extension notice. With her green card, was able to add her to my checking and savings accounts, banks wanted to see that. Also seems like with the I-130/I-485, the clock should have started ticking toward her USC, but it doesn't, starts when that first green card is issued.

Has to be a reason for this, I just call it a state of limbo, don't know what in the heck is going on, except waiting. Her adjustment of status occurred just two weeks after she got here, but she sure wasn't a lawful permanent resident at that time, otherwise, we could have applied for USC well over a year ago.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

I have been explaining to my wife about this and I am reading things at USCIS leading me to think I am correct. I want to be sure.

Is she a permanent resident when she arrives on a K1 visa or the 90 days before she receives the 2 year green card?

She was told she can file now as a permanent resident.

She arrived on the K1 July 26, 2005, we were married August 26, 2005 and she received her two year green card June 7, 2006.

I need clarification of this.

Thank you.

She has been a permanent resident since she got her green card, but it was conditional (on your marriage). You can now file to remove the conditions and make her an unconditional permanent resident.

Gary

[Lorenzo 0]

I think this is about as clear as mud to a foreign born US resident. I can understand that my wife would misinterpret the law because I thought her argument was convincing even after I called the immigration attorney. Why can't they just spell it out in black and white and not have someone have to search and pose question online in forums like Visa Journey?

[NickD 202]

I think this is about as clear as mud to a foreign born US resident. I can understand that my wife would misinterpret the law because I thought her argument was convincing even after I called the immigration attorney. Why can't they just spell it out in black and white and not have someone have to search and pose question online in forums like Visa Journey?

Your length of time that you were a lawful permanent resident is only important when filing for US citizenship, that I know of. I mean it doesn't make any difference if you were a LPR for a week or 50 years, no additional benefits. Therefore one place to look for what a LPR is in is in the application for citizenship, or the N-400 form with it's instructions. According to the instructions:

C. Date you became a Permanent Resident - Write the official date when your lawful permanent residence began, as shown on your Permanent Resident Card. To help locate the date on your card, see the sample Permanent Resident Cards in the Guide. Write the date in this order: Month, Day,Year. For example, write August 9, 1988 as 08/09/1988.

Not exactly explicit, but what is with the USCIS? But certainly infers you have to have a permanent resident card so you can find the date on it.

The guide they are referring to is the M-476 that you have to download and print, USCIS does not seem to have a printed copy of this book. Takes a bit of digging to find out about that manual but is listed on the general instructions under the N-400.

"Please note: The Instructions to Form N-400 frequently refer to information in the USCIS document A Guide to Naturalization, M-476. We encourage you to review those referenced sections of the Guide as you complete this form.'

But they don't show a link for that, have to find that too: I did a google search to find this:

www.uscis.gov/files/article/M-476.pdf

Is a screwed up *.pdf in that I could not print it out and walk away, some 68 pages long, some pages were skipped so had to go back several times to print out the missing pages.

There you can find samples of green cards or more accurately permanent resident cards, but that isn't accurate either as with marriage of less than two years, will be a conditional two year card, followed by a ten year card. Each is up to you to remember to remove the conditional requirements or to renew that ten year card if you have a calendar that goes forward that period of time. If you do not, you are in deep trouble. Page 7 of this manual has sample Permanent or Alien Resident cards. The older cards are in black and white, never saw one of those, but the newer ones are not green. You know, like green in a traffic light.

Only thing I have left of a PRC is a scanned copy, they took my wife's card from her at her oath ceremony, but has on it:

Resident Since 06/27/05, believe that is June 27, but not sure if that is 1905 or 2005, this may seem either trivial or even obvious, but the government took this very seriously in 1999 where many of us spent most of that year changing the two digit year to a four digit year at a huge expense, somehow the USCIS considered themselves exempt from this practice. So let's just assume it was June 27, 2005 she became a conditional permanent resident, we weren't married quite two years yet, but if we weren't she still could have became a ten year resident if I slapped her around a bit, or pushed me off a cliff and said I fell, or claim it would be a hardship to return back to her former country. Not saying she would do any of these, nor would I, but could according to the I-751 instructions. You really don't have to stay married for two years, but if you do, better be able to prove it. Is this clear enough?

No mention whatsoever the date she became a permanent resident, er, conditional permanent resident on her certificate of citizenship, only date on there is the date she became a USC, so that date she became a LPR must not no longer be important.

Really didn't think much about her becoming a USC, what started it is when the Nebraska posted that July 06, 2006 and somehow our I-751 got lost between Nebraska and California we didn't know about and the misery we went through to track it down, plus making preparations for her and our daughter to stay here legally. If you want to know how to do that, you really have to dig deep. Certainly do not get details of that from the USCIS without a lot of digging.

By the way, found this board by just typing in "July 06, 2006" in goggle, this and many other boards, this one was the best.

Still not sure what my wife was between 06/16/04 and 06/27/05, but she was here legally, but not as a permanent resident because that time does not count toward USC according to their instructions. It was a shock to me back then with all the proof and expense, she only got a two year card. What in the hell else do they want?