Should the validity period for a conditional green card be changed?

[Ladylethal 12]

I'd say 3 years and if you're a spouse looking to naturalize you could skip removal of conditions and apply for naturalization instead.

I'm eligible for naturalization and plan to apply sometime this year (but life changes and a trip to Europe are putting it on hold, due to money).

[K and L 27]

i like it the way it is...i think 2 years is good for USCIS to see if somebody is committing a fraud or not...

If it's not fraudulent after two years, it probably won't be for three. So why not make the conditional card good an extra year? If it's fraud-based, three years may be enough time more to make them rethink doing it.

[Sc0tt28 26]

I think 2 years is fine as it is but that they should increase the time for naturalization.

[Jenn! 918]

It should be valid for 1 year. Require annual renewals. Hike up fees. It's a good way to raise money.

That would be fine if it weren't for the trouble that people run into renewing drivers licenses and such with an extension letter. It took almost a year for DH's I-751 to be approved - it would have been expired again by the time he got it.

[antda 13]

Hi Everyone,

In my opinion (and my vote)....

I think that the conditional green card should be valid for 3 years..

Then after the 3 year mark...

One can choose to:

1) Apply for a 10 year green card and remain a Permanent Resident, based on marriage to a USC spouse..

OR

2) Apply for Naturalization/Citizenship, based on marriage to a USC spouse

In either case, couples are required to submit paperwork and have joint evidence of legitimate marriages and go for interviews....

And both of paths would be more or less the same timeline and fees....

Those who are approved get to stay...Either as a permanent resident or citizen..

Those who are not approved get deported out of the country...

This makes the most financial and time sense...

Lol...For example, in my case..

I waited 10 months for a 10 year green card...

Which I only got to keep for 5 months before

I applied for US citizenship ASAP (I was tired of dealing with the USCIS....)

On my end, I could have saved $545 and saved all that time and stress in dealing with the USCIS then in the ROC stage (see my VJ timeline for more info...)

What a waste, the ROC is, indeed!

What do you think?

Ant

Edited March 14, 2010 by Ant+D+BabyA

[NickD 203]

Most stressful time for us during out process and besides wife carrying around that conditional card, that awkward one year extension notice. All started in 1986 under Reagan with the lottery and the only way to come here was with marriage. Some odd two million applied the first year with 90% of fraud. First thing that was done was to tightened up the requirements, we sure in the hell know about that, then a couple of years later the conditional card came along. Since they tightened up the requirements to bring a spouse or a spouse to be here the applications dropped to about 140,000 per year and has been that way for the last 22 years.

We are all guilty of fraud because of that initial government mistake and all guilty of crimes we did not commit. Fraud still occurs when an immigrant lies to her spouse to come here, but very little is done about it. That spouse can claim abuse and still get the ten year card and can further blackmail the sponsoring USC with that stupid I-864. The law certainly isn't designed to protect the USC against fraud, but if the USC is proved to be part of it, can get a $250,000 fine and five years in prison, that naughty spouse can clean up at our divorce courts and simply go back home if not deported first.

So exactly what is the purpose of that conditional card? Try and find anything on the internet where this conditional card has prevented fraud, way to many ways for the naughty to work around it. If fraud is detected by some strange means, the USCIS would have to admit to making an error during that extremely long delay and background check. The USCIS does not make errors as we already found out.

Wouldn't be so bad, including filling out that form, sending in a stack of evidence, and even paying the fee, if you could only apply for it the day after you got that damned conditional card because it takes the USCIS that long to process these cases. In the meantime running back and forth between your field office and trying to get an I-94 or an I-551 stamp in your valid foreign passport to stay here legally, keep your job, and even travel. Try to renew your drivers' license with an expired card or having to explain to everybody what in the hell a one year extension notice is.

It was a hell of a lot easier for me to get a top secret clearance for our military, was told I needed one, got it two weeks later. Heard later that the FBI was running around my hometown asking questions about me. I even invited the USCIS to come to our home, hell we have a king size bed and they can sleep with us. But that long miserable wait was stressful.

If my wife field service office had the same day oath, she would have had her ten year card for three weeks, but because of more USCIS playing around, she had it for seven weeks.

HEY USCIS, BEEN 19 MONTHS SINCE MY WIFE GOT HER USC, WE ARE STILL MARRIED AND PAYING TAXES TOGETHER, AND YOU STILL CAN MOVE IN WITH US AND OBSERVE FOR YOURSELVES.

[NickD 203]

Oh, and thanks for putting her country of birth in her US passport, she still has to maintain citizen in that country and carry a foreign passport. Thought all this madness would end with USC. Also thought as a veteran of a foreign war and a darn near perfect natural born citizen, wouldn't have to explain my love life to one of your kids at the field office that doesn't even know how to wipe their behind. Was a very humiliating experience. But I was nice for a change, really love my wife and did it for her and for me.