Having a complete meltdown

[Galateia 1]

Having finally cornered my husband on prepping our ROC package after nagging him for 2.5 months (our printer has been broken and he's been putting off the hassle of going elsewhere to print) before he flies off to a funeral out of state, I am looking at my greencard so he can photocopy it and it says it expires Nov 5th 2010.

Not Nov 18th, 2010 like I previously thought.

That means that even if we sent it today expedited, there is no way in h*ll it is going to get processed before my greencard expires.

Am I going to get deported? Am I going to lose my work authorization?

[FreeAgent 1]

Having finally cornered my husband on prepping our ROC package after nagging him for 2.5 months (our printer has been broken and he's been putting off the hassle of going elsewhere to print) before he flies off to a funeral out of state, I am looking at my greencard so he can photocopy it and it says it expires Nov 5th 2010.

Not Nov 18th, 2010 like I previously thought.

That means that even if we sent it today expedited, there is no way in h*ll it is going to get processed before my greencard expires.

Am I going to get deported? Am I going to lose my work authorization?

relax. If the USCIS receives the package and all the forms before Nov 5th you are fine. They will send you a notice of action letter that will extend your original green card by a year while they will look into your application. meanwhile you will be able to stay here, travel, work. just send it there before Nov 5th.

[milimelo 4,470]

Having finally cornered my husband on prepping our ROC package after nagging him for 2.5 months (our printer has been broken and he's been putting off the hassle of going elsewhere to print) before he flies off to a funeral out of state, I am looking at my greencard so he can photocopy it and it says it expires Nov 5th 2010.

Not Nov 18th, 2010 like I previously thought.

That means that even if we sent it today expedited, there is no way in h*ll it is going to get processed before my greencard expires.

Am I going to get deported? Am I going to lose my work authorization?

Relax. Even if you sent it a day before it expires you'll be fine. In 2 weeks time you'll have your Notice of Action - receipt of your package and with that you can travel and work.

For work, use your driver's license and SSN (hope you already got the unrestricted card) - no one but you can decide what proof of employment you show to the employer and DL and SSN is sufficient.

[lucy4 11]

You need to send it in ASAP, and once you get your NOA1, that extends your greencard for a year. You must keep your NOA with your expired GC in order for it to remain valid. Hopefully your new card will be processed well before that year is up.

[Galateia 1]

Relax. Even if you sent it a day before it expires you'll be fine. In 2 weeks time you'll have your Notice of Action - receipt of your package and with that you can travel and work.

For work, use your driver's license and SSN (hope you already got the unrestricted card) - no one but you can decide what proof of employment you show to the employer and DL and SSN is sufficient.

Thank you for replying so quickly! It's a relief to know I won't have to worry about deportation!

However, I don't have a DL (I don't drive), and my SSN is the restricted type- I didn't realize I could get a new one? Should I tell my employer that I'm in the process of renewing my work authorization?

[FreeAgent 1]

Thank you for replying so quickly! It's a relief to know I won't have to worry about deportation!

However, I don't have a DL (I don't drive), and my SSN is the restricted type- I didn't realize I could get a new one? Should I tell my employer that I'm in the process of renewing my work authorization?

not needed. the notice of action extends everything you have by a year.

[HeatDeath 430]

When you filled out your I-9 work authorization form when you started work, you wrote in the expiration date of your GC [assuming that that's the document you showed your employer for work authorization]. Once you get your I-751 NOA1, that will extend your GC's epiration date for another year. I don't know for sure if you absolutely have to, but it would probably be a good idea to fill out a new I-9 with the new expiration date.

And yes, if you had taken your GC, back when it was newer, to the SSA office, they'd have updated your records and sent you an unqualified, "normal looking" SSC. I don't know if they will now that your GC is so close to expiring. But it's one of the first things you should do when your 10 year GC arrives. Just don't bring the old SSC with you, so they can't take it back. [You're not supposed to be carrying it around on a day-to-day basis anyways.]

Edited October 18, 2010 by HeatDeath

[Galateia 1]

Okay, it's in the mail with signature confirmation for no later than 3pm. Fingers crossed!

Edit: We had to print the I-751 from the apartment office and the printer faded out a big stripe down the left side, obscuring the printed text, so I had to write some of the digits in with pen- in BLUE and then I realized it said BLACK INK, is that going to be a problem?

Edited October 18, 2010 by Galateia

[HeatDeath 430]

Okay, it's in the mail with signature confirmation for no later than 3pm. Fingers crossed!

Edit: We had to print the I-751 from the apartment office and the printer faded out a big stripe down the left side, obscuring the printed text, so I had to write some of the digits in with pen- in BLUE and then I realized it said BLACK INK, is that going to be a problem?

I would be surprised if it was. In the worst case scenario, they reject the application and mail it back to you. You would then re-do the form and overnight it back to them. No big deal. It's only money. And as I said, I would be surprised if that happens. As long as it's clear and legible, I would not anticipate any problems.

[Galateia 1]

Comedy update:

I had a doctor's appt this afternoon, and for the first time in my life, my blood pressure reading was bad. I explained I spent this morning hysterical over the prospect of getting deported, ripping our apartment apart looking for documents, and having screaming matches with my husband over things like "WHERE IS MY PASSPORT?!!" and "I CAN'T REMEMBER OUR TURBO TAX PASSWORD!" so yeah, I imagine my blood pressure is a bit off.

[Nik+Heather 121]

Comedy update:

I had a doctor's appt this afternoon, and for the first time in my life, my blood pressure reading was bad. I explained I spent this morning hysterical over the prospect of getting deported, ripping our apartment apart looking for documents, and having screaming matches with my husband over things like "WHERE IS MY PASSPORT?!!" and "I CAN'T REMEMBER OUR TURBO TAX PASSWORD!" so yeah, I imagine my blood pressure is a bit off.

This is why during tax season my sister and I make ourselves scarce around the parents'. Now that I don't live there anymore, for about a month I decline to appear on their doorstep at all! Lucky for me and Nik (or not so lucky - because more tax issues means more money sometimes...) taxes so far have been pretty easy if I can keep all the annual statements together!