Green Card Expedites?

[james&adry 3]

Hello all I may have written in the wrong forum but how quickly does the Green Card and Social security cards get process when your spouse arrives on a CR-1 visa? My wife flies in next friday (January 8th) from Colombia and we absolutely need to get her identification set up so we can begin processing her military ID. Also need to get it started for her residency as well since we are leaving in February for a school, then on military leave, then leaving the country altogether to S. Korea. Any suggestions or answers?

James and Adriana

[Dakine 26]

Hello all I may have written in the wrong forum but how quickly does the Green Card and Social security cards get process when your spouse arrives on a CR-1 visa? My wife flies in next friday (January 8th) from Colombia and we absolutely need to get her identification set up so we can begin processing her military ID. Also need to get it started for her residency as well since we are leaving in February for a school, then on military leave, then leaving the country altogether to S. Korea. Any suggestions or answers?

James and Adriana

She should get a I-551 temporary GC stamped in her passport when she arrives at her POE. Be sure and tell her to get it done.

You should be able to get things moving with that. It just took a freind 3 weeks to get her CR-1 GC in the mail after arrival.

I'm not sure but the time may vary depending on the POE.

Getting the SS card is another matter and probably more important. I've "heard" of some peeps going right away to their SSA office. Takes awhile to get in the SSA system tho.

[wayno 9]

My wife flew in October 14th and as of yet still has not recieved anything. Called USCIS last week and they told me that nothing has been lost in the mail---he reconfirmed that nothing was sent and for me not to worry. Whaen I asked how long he said call back in 30 days if it still hasn't arrived.

I'm hoping her visa acts as a I-551 temp green card as it is written (and immigration told us) because all she has is an entrance stamp with the date of entry and CR-1 written as the status. We are in Costa Rica at the moment and I'm a little worried when we return to the US---though customs and immigration at Miami confirmed it was OK to travel. She did not recieve a I-551 stamp. More worried on her being given a boarding pass to leave C.R. then being admitted in the U.S.

Original port of entry was Miami.

[james&adry 3]

My wife flew in October 14th and as of yet still has not recieved anything. Called USCIS last week and they told me that nothing has been lost in the mail---he reconfirmed that nothing was sent and for me not to worry. Whaen I asked how long he said call back in 30 days if it still hasn't arrived.

I'm hoping her visa acts as a I-551 temp green card as it is written (and immigration told us) because all she has is an entrance stamp with the date of entry and CR-1 written as the status. We are in Costa Rica at the moment and I'm a little worried when we return to the US---though customs and immigration at Miami confirmed it was OK to travel. She did not recieve a I-551 stamp. More worried on her being given a boarding pass to leave C.R. then being admitted in the U.S.

Original port of entry was Miami.

Wow wayn, Let me know how this goes, I will try to see about this too!

James

[wayno 9]

The CR-1 visa she recieved clearly states " upon endorsement serves as a temporary I-551 valid for one year". When my wife arrived in Miami and went through immigration the OP said there would be no problem traveling while waiting for the green card.

Fast foreward 1 month and the job comes through for me in Costa Rica.

Picking up our boarding passes in BWI the wicked witch of the west (er East) gave my wife a hard time for not having a green card. (this was the first flight of the day 6:00AM) She pointed to the blank page in her passport and said there must be som ething stamped--taking up the whole page--that shows an endorsement and that her entry stamp was not valid. It is not an endorsement (even though it is written in CFR1)

We got on the plane anyway and continued on to Miami. Our plan was to talk to someone in immigration in Miami and if they said she SHOULDN'T travel I'd back out of the job and we wouldn't continue on to Costa Rica.

After running down to the far end of the airport, where the private plane and/or yacht crews check in I asked an actual immigration officer whether my wife could travel. He pointed to the phrase " Upon endorsement serves as a temporary I-551 valid for one year and said she is good untill 10/2010. When I emplied why I was worried he said the person giving us a hard time in BWI "was only an employee of an airline----nothing to do with immigration" . And then pointed to that phrase on her visa that stated "Upon endorsement Bla bla bla.

That is where my worry lies. It may be a totally legal endorsement as far as customs and immigration is concerned-----But the "employees" of the airlines have all the power of granting a boarding pass or not! And when in another country they can't go down the hall and ask an actual customs and immigrations officder because it is in a different country.

It is all up to the eduacation of the airline attendent behind the counter!

[milimelo 4,479]

wayno,

I traveled with CR-1 stamp and while there were questions asked at Vienna airport, once you point out to them that it is endorsed and acts as a temp card, they back off and you board the plane without any problems. Don't let anyone intimidate you, you know what things are.