Legal resident?

[Clownies 2]

Hello friends!

I'm AOS pending, and i'm wondering what my "resident" status is.. If i'm not a legal resident yet, does that make me illegal resident? I don't think so, but then what? I'm asking cos i'm trying to apply for a credit card, but all of them requires me to be a legal US resident, so i'm wondering...

[Not Available 0]

I guess our status is just that, "Adjusting status"?... thats a really good question... what are we? lol

[Gatorfan 0]

I believe once you file for your AOS you are considered a legal resident of the U.S.

[CWR 0]

I believe once you file for your AOS you are considered a legal resident of the U.S.

I wouldn't be so sure.....at the SSA ofice they told me that my status was "status pending AOS".

I think only the approval of AOS (not already the filing) and the Greencard make you a "real" legal permanent resident....

[Gatorfan 0]

I believe once you file for your AOS you are considered a legal resident of the U.S.

I wouldn't be so sure.....at the SSA ofice they told me that my status was "status pending AOS".

I think only the approval of AOS (not already the filing) and the Greencard make you a "real" legal permanent resident....

I agree with what you are saying. What I was trying to say was that you are considered a legal resident in the sense that you are not breaking any immigration laws if you are staying in the Country while awaiting your AOS decision.

[motu 6]

CWR is correct - you are not a legal resident yet (that's why you still need an AP to travel and an EAD to work) - you are adjusting status and that's why you are not illegal (Your K1 expired the day you entered USA.) And your permenet residency count doesn't begin till you are approved (so it doesn't matter how long you had to wait for it - your clock begins once you are approved not when you filed, not when you got married.) Good Luck

[Clownies 2]

CWR is correct - you are not a legal resident yet (that's why you still need an AP to travel and an EAD to work) - you are adjusting status and that's why you are not illegal (Your K1 expired the day you entered USA.) And your permenet residency count doesn't begin till you are approved (so it doesn't matter how long you had to wait for it - your clock begins once you are approved not when you filed, not when you got married.) Good Luck

that clock feels like ticking only once a month...

[Yodrak 7]

GatorFan,

You may be a legal resident, but you are not a Legal Permanent Resident.

It's not clear from Clownies post which the credit card company is requiring. (Maybe not clownies' fault, maybe the credit card company wasn't clear about it.)

Yodrak

I believe once you file for your AOS you are considered a legal resident of the U.S.

[kc456 0]

For the purpose of the credit card application, you are residing in the US legally. I'd just mark "legal resident." End of story.

[Vinay 1]

You could always add yourself to your spouses credit card account and get a second card in your name. You'll also be able to make use of that at the AOS interview.

[lucyrich 20]

I don't believe the term "legal resident" has a precise definition in immigration literature. Informally, I'd think it might mean any resident who is not an illegal alien.

The term "Lawful Permanent Resident" does have a well defined meaning. It essentially means "Green Card Holder", or more verbosely, "Someone who has the status that entitles them to a Green Card, regardless of whether the government has gotten around to actually printing and mailing the card yet".

Note that a native-born US Citizen is most defininitely not a Lawful Permanent Resident. But if said US Citizen resides in the US, he's definitely a resident, and he's definitely here legally, so by my book, I'd say he's probably a legal resident. I'd argue that "legal resident" is probably more encompassing than "Lawful Permanent Resident".

[Clownies 2]

GatorFan,

You may be a legal resident, but you are not a Legal Permanent Resident.

It's not clear from Clownies post which the credit card company is requiring. (Maybe not clownies' fault, maybe the credit card company wasn't clear about it.)

Yodrak

I believe once you file for your AOS you are considered a legal resident of the U.S.

any credit card company actually, as far as i can tell. I asked the bank where i have a bank account (WAMU), and they told me i do need a GC.

[americangirl 0]

You need a green card just to get a credit card? That's not true. My husband has had one for ages and he hadn't even applied for AOS yet. (He did have EAD and SSN when he applied, though.)

[ariel_2005 0]

I believe once you file for your AOS you are considered a legal resident of the U.S.

I wouldn't be so sure.....at the SSA ofice they told me that my status was "status pending AOS".

I think only the approval of AOS (not already the filing) and the Greencard make you a "real" legal permanent resident....

yeap you are exactly right because today i had my passport stamped for a temporary permanent green card till the green card comes in the mail and the lady who interviewed me told me that i can apply for SSN and even work legally if i want to ... Iulia

[KarenCee 3]

CWR is correct - you are not a legal resident yet (that's why you still need an AP to travel and an EAD to work) - you are adjusting status and that's why you are not illegal (Your K1 expired the day you entered USA.) And your permenet residency count doesn't begin till you are approved (so it doesn't matter how long you had to wait for it - your clock begins once you are approved not when you filed, not when you got married.) Good Luck

Well...the K-1, from how I understand it, does NOT expire the day you enter the US. You have 90 days before the K-1 is invalid, which is the timeframe in which the marriage is to occur, and upon that marriage the K-1 expires.