10-year card and filing I751?

[gzaniche 0]

Hello. I posted my story here a couple of years ago, when, after applying for AOS, USCIS sent me, withouth any interview, a regular 10-year green card - instead of the 2-year conditional one I expected. At that time I made an appointment at my local office to see what I should do (that's what the customer service told me to do on the phone), and the perplexed employee sent an email to somebody at the Missouri Service Center to ask them to send me instructions. (I don't have a copy of that email, maybe I should have asked for one...) He told me not to send back my card until I got instructions, and I've been waiting since then for something that never arrived.

So now it should be time for me to file form I751 to remove conditions, even though I find myself with a regular card. When I first posted my story here I got mixed advice, some people saying I should do nothing, others advising to file for removal anyway. I've decided to file the form, maybe with a cover letter explaining why I'm filing it while having a normal card. I hope I'm not messing things up - I can just picture USCIS trying to understand what happened , taking years to process my case!! But I'm worried that, if I don't file, something will come up anyway when I apply for citizenship, and then I don't want to be in trouble.

I think what I'm hoping for is a nice letter from them saying "You've got a 10-year card, you're fine, see you for your N-400".

I just want to know what you people here think of this, and if there's somebody like me who got a normal card right after AOS. Thank you!

PS - I'll be on vacation for the next couple of weeks, so I won't be able to post anything. Bye!

[Kez/JWolf 6]

Make an infopass appointment at your local USCIS office and check if you need to file for removal of conditions....

Kez

[zyggy 9]

If USCIS made a service error in giving you a 10-year card instead of a two-year card, you are still responsible for filing an I-751. What you plan to do is exactly what you should do...

If they return it to you and they tell you you don't need to file it, then keep a copy of their response in case you have any difficulty when you naturalize...

Edited May 31, 2007 by zyggy

[Yodrak 7]

gzaniche,

File the I-751. That will force the USCIS to investigate and resolve the situation.

If you don't file the I-751, and in accordance with the law you should be classed as a LPR with conditions, when the mistake is eventually uncovered it is you who will suffer the consequences even though it was the USCIS fault that you were mis-classified.

Yodrak

Hello. I posted my story here a couple of years ago, when, after applying for AOS, USCIS sent me, withouth any interview, a regular 10-year green card - instead of the 2-year conditional one I expected. At that time I made an appointment at my local office to see what I should do (that's what the customer service told me to do on the phone), and the perplexed employee sent an email to somebody at the Missouri Service Center to ask them to send me instructions. (I don't have a copy of that email, maybe I should have asked for one...) He told me not to send back my card until I got instructions, and I've been waiting since then for something that never arrived.

So now it should be time for me to file form I751 to remove conditions, even though I find myself with a regular card. When I first posted my story here I got mixed advice, some people saying I should do nothing, others advising to file for removal anyway. I've decided to file the form, maybe with a cover letter explaining why I'm filing it while having a normal card. I hope I'm not messing things up - I can just picture USCIS trying to understand what happened , taking years to process my case!! But I'm worried that, if I don't file, something will come up anyway when I apply for citizenship, and then I don't want to be in trouble.

I think what I'm hoping for is a nice letter from them saying "You've got a 10-year card, you're fine, see you for your N-400".

I just want to know what you people here think of this, and if there's somebody like me who got a normal card right after AOS. Thank you!

PS - I'll be on vacation for the next couple of weeks, so I won't be able to post anything. Bye!

[j-manu 0]

Make an Info Pass appointment and I am sure they will be able to clarify this for you.

[Kiv 32]

I think you are doing the right thing, better safe than sorry, I would just keep copies of what you send this time and specially if they charge your check.

Good luck !

[XEE531 0]

gzaniche,

How long were you married before you were petitioned to become a Permanent Resident? Conditional Permanent Resident Cards are issued to couples who were petitioned within 2 years of being married.

If you were married at least 2 years before a petition was filed, then they were right in sending you a 10 year PGC.

I hope this helps.

[Yodrak 7]

XEE,

No - conditional status is based on when LPR status is granted, not when LPR status is applied for.

Yodrak

gzaniche,

How long were you married before you were petitioned to become a Permanent Resident? Conditional Permanent Resident Cards are issued to couples who were petitioned within 2 years of being married.

If you were married at least 2 years before a petition was filed, then they were right in sending you a 10 year PGC.

I hope this helps.

Edited June 4, 2007 by Yodrak

[guzzyron 0]

If the OP's marriage is more than 2 years old at the time of approval (when status is granted), then the USCIS was right in sending him or her a 10-year card.

XEE,

No - conditional status is based on when LPR status is granted, not when LPR status is applied for.

Yodrak

gzaniche,

How long were you married before you were petitioned to become a Permanent Resident? Conditional Permanent Resident Cards are issued to couples who were petitioned within 2 years of being married.

If you were married at least 2 years before a petition was filed, then they were right in sending you a 10 year PGC.

I hope this helps.

[nuguya 0]

Hello. I posted my story here a couple of years ago, when, after applying for AOS, USCIS sent me, withouth any interview, a regular 10-year green card - instead of the 2-year conditional one I expected. At that time I made an appointment at my local office to see what I should do (that's what the customer service told me to do on the phone), and the perplexed employee sent an email to somebody at the Missouri Service Center to ask them to send me instructions. (I don't have a copy of that email, maybe I should have asked for one...) He told me not to send back my card until I got instructions, and I've been waiting since then for something that never arrived.

So now it should be time for me to file form I751 to remove conditions, even though I find myself with a regular card. When I first posted my story here I got mixed advice, some people saying I should do nothing, others advising to file for removal anyway. I've decided to file the form, maybe with a cover letter explaining why I'm filing it while having a normal card. I hope I'm not messing things up - I can just picture USCIS trying to understand what happened , taking years to process my case!! But I'm worried that, if I don't file, something will come up anyway when I apply for citizenship, and then I don't want to be in trouble.

I think what I'm hoping for is a nice letter from them saying "You've got a 10-year card, you're fine, see you for your N-400".

I just want to know what you people here think of this, and if there's somebody like me who got a normal card right after AOS. Thank you!

PS - I'll be on vacation for the next couple of weeks, so I won't be able to post anything. Bye!

gzaniche,

When did you get married and when did the USCIS granted you a residence status? I think we all need your timeline before we answer your question.

Edited June 5, 2007 by nuguya

[gzaniche 0]

Hello everybody and thank you.

We got married in Nov. 04 and applied in Dec 04, and the card arrived in Aug 05, so the 2-years-of-marriage rule, right or wrong, doesn't apply. I don't want to go through another appointment - the first one proved to be useless anyway. I think I'll just apply, and I'll include an explaination - after all a regular card doesn't even look like a conditional one, so they'll be wondering why I'm applying. But I guess once they check my A # my story should be clear.

[lucyrich 20]

Hello everybody and thank you.

after all a regular card doesn't even look like a conditional one, so they'll be wondering why I'm applying. But I guess once they check my A # my story should be clear.

Actually, they look almost exactly alike, other than the expiration date. There might also be some fine print difference in a status code somewhere, but there's no big obvious difference, like "CONDITIONAL PERMANENT RESIDENT CARD" written across the top.

But yes, I'm with the others. File the I-751. Write a brief, simple letter explaining why you think your original status should have been conditional (include relevant dates, and not much else). Either they'll accept your I-751, fix their error, and process your case normally, or they'll reject it saying you don't need to remove conditions. Either way, save their response so that they can't claim at some future date that you screwed up and didn't file your I-751 when required.

The nightmare scenario would be failing to file the I-751, waiting awhile, applying for naturalization, and having someone notify you that your status should have been conditional in the beginning. Then, you'd not only be ineligible for naturalization, but you'd be deportable because your conditional status would have expired without your filing an I-751. You'd pay dearly for their mistake. Avoid this nightmare scenario!