Conditional resident card

[NickD 203]

The 10-yr GC is more important now, and I highly doubt that they will ask for it. If they usually need the 2 year GC, then they would devise a way to completely discomfort and interrupt our daily lives to return it...

Don't they have a form where you can send in $390.00 to get a copy of your expired conditional green card? I don't recall seeing such a form, maybe that will be next.

[CanAmCharlotte 0]

Don't they have a form where you can send in $390.00 to get a copy of your expired conditional green card? I don't recall seeing such a form, maybe that will be next.

Hehehe...good one.

[antda 13]

Hi CanAmCharlotte,

Likewise....I lost my expired 2yr card too...

It somehow it ended up in the trash....

And after we found out about it...It was too late....

It was on it's way to the town/county dump.....

This happened at about the time during the I-751 stage...Where my 2yr card had expired...

But I didn't get my 10yr card yet (stupid delays....)

So I had no green card at all for a few weeks....And I only had an NOA letter (which is useless without the card...)

So I went for an infopass appointment....And asked for a I-551 stamp...

It was funny when they said they wanted my expired 2yr card in switch/exchange for the stamp...

To which I had to say that I lost the card....

They wern't too happy about it...

But they gave me the I-551 stamp regardless (and didn't ask me to get a replacement)...

(lol...I was 8 pregnant at the time and needed to take final trip to Canada...guess they didn't want to mess with that..)

And complained as to how long they were taking for my 10yr card...

And about a week later..I got my 10yr green card 5 months green card in the mail...Go figure.....

Then when it came time for citizenship...

I just told them again that I lost the 2yr card and that I don't have it anymore....

And said (or thought about saying)..."I can't give you something that I don't currently have..." .....

And they had to accept that they way it was...

And as required, before the oath ceremony, I very reluctantly gave them back the 10yr card that I had....

And complained again as to how long they took for my 10yr card...

And complained that I only got to keep it/use it for 5 months.....

But they wouldn't let me keep it....Sigh......Oh well....

Oh well, all is forgiven I suppose.....I got a naturalization certificate instead....So be it....

No more green cards to worry about! Goodbye USCIS! Goodbye Green Cards!

(though I did take a photocopy of the green cards beforehand...for momento sake..so I still have those...)

As long as they had one valid 10yr green card to give them back..

They were happy with that..

So no worries about your lost 2yr green card...

As after all, "you can't give them what you don't have"....

As for any other immigration document that you do have...Yes..give that back to them..They want that...

And you still have time...So try searching for that 2yr green card again! You never know if you will find it somewhere where you least expect it....

Other than that...Keep your naturalization certificate in a safe place when you get it! Make a photocopy (one copy for 'personal use' is allowable, despite it saying it is illegal to copy...as told to me by an immigration officer) of it (just in case it gets lost/stolen/etc). Don't lose it! As that's another $450+ in costs and gosh knows how many weeks/months for a replacement.....

Hope this helps...Good luck with your situation and the rest of your journey too.

Ant

For the life of me I can't remember what happened to my conditional (2-yr) resident card when I got my permanent (10-yr) resident card. Were we instructed to destroy it? I remember some kind of letter came with the card but that's all I can recall. (I'd ask this question on the Removal of Conditions forum but those folks don't have their new cards yet.)

Thanks.

Edited August 8, 2010 by Ant+D+BabyA

[antda 13]

Wife certainly wanted to destroy her condition green card, got tired of explaining why it was expired and what in the heck is a one year extension.

One card she wanted to keep was her ten year card, namely because of all the aggravation we went through to get it, her application was "misplaced" when Emilio decided to transfer all the application from Nebraska to California. She only had it seven weeks when she had to surrender it, asked if they could punch a hole in it or something, answer was no. But that okay, I told her, still have a high res full color image of it of both sides where both sides are perfectly readable. A color copy of that is also stored away just in case the USCIS has some kind of fire.

NickD-Lol..I felt the same way too...wanted to destroy the 2yr conditional card...

And that's probably what happened...That I actually did do such...By throwing it out in the trash, without thinking too much about it until after the fact.....

Yup, pregnancy can make one do strange things.....Throw out an expired green card without thinking...lol....

I sure got more use out of the extension letter (10 months worth of use) than the 10yr card (5 months worth of use)...Go figure......

So yes, the 10yr one was the one I wanted to keep...but couldn't....Oh well....

At least I made photocopies of it, like you did...Just in case..

I find it funny too..

How the DMV lets me keep my former/prior driver's licenses..

And the SSA lets me keep my former/prior SSN cards...

And heck, I could even keep my former/prior Canadian passport.....

No questions asked...(other than making it invalid and asking..'do you want it back?'..to which I always say..'yes'...)

So what's the deal with the USCIS in wanting their douments back?...

I paid for my green card...Why can't I keep it?

Just punch a hole in it, cut the corner off, and/or make it invalid.....

Just a thought....

That's unbelievable, wow! I plan on keeping my naturalization certificate in my safety deposit box at the bank and have a copy in my own strong box at home. Other than that, I'll keep all my other documents for a few years but then I fantasize about burning the whole lot (except the NOA-type letters on Homeland Security letterhead).

CanAmCharlotte-Same here..I keep my naturalization certificate safely....

I have thought about burning my other immigration papers...But haven't done so yet..

Maybe one day, I'll get the big bonfire going in my rural/country backyard...

(btw..you're invited too when I get the fire going...)

But for now, I'll just keep the paperwork big pile, and show it to my son when he is old enough....

Maybe it will give him a better understand/apprecaition as to what mommy's US immigration journey was like...lol...

Ant

Edited August 8, 2010 by Ant+D+BabyA

[CanAmCharlotte 0]

I heard privately from another VJer from Charlotte (where I live) who just recently took the oath. He said they don't ask for the conditional resident card, just the 10-year one. Whew. I guess this procedure differs by location. And as Ant said, what would they do anyway--you can't get another conditional card once you have a 10-year card and you can't give them what you don't have. Funny how some offices seem to want them. People generally destroy expired cards of any kind (credit cards, driver's licences, etc.) as it unwise to have multiple cards floating around. Oh yeah, I forgot, we're talking about the USCIS here. Assume nothing, expect nothing, pray to the immigration gods, hope for the best.

[Kathryn41 3,205]

I just saw this topic . . .

I still have my 2 year conditional card. It is filed in with my other immigration documents - the expired EADs, APs, etc. At the citizenship ceremony all they were interested in was my 10 year card - nothing else. They gave me the nice new naturalization certificate in exchange for it - although I sure wish I could have switched the photographs! My 10 year card had the best photograph that I have ever had for anything official - of course, that was the one I got to keep the shortest length of time .

I have my naturalization certificate in a folder filed in our home office. I have several colour copies of it as well, including one in our Safety Deposit box - I needed the original to update my voters' registration recently. I need to get it back to the Safety Deposit box now.

So, don't worry about your 2 year card - it is a non-issue . Good luck with the interview.

Edited August 8, 2010 by Kathryn41

[Udella&Wiz 325]

Like Kathryn, I still have the 2 yr card filed somewhere with all the other immigration 'stuff'.

I don't think it really matters what you do with it since it's expired anyway....now I wouldn';t throw it in your regular garbage, I'd destroy it beyond recognition if I was going to dispose of it though.

[NickD 203]

Could start a post on some weird things an IO can say. Wife's IO told my wife she couldn't approve her unless she had something with both our names on it with 2008 for the date.

Without realizing that our federal and property tax bill was paid in 2008 even though it showed a 2007 year on it. She even showed a copy of our joint checking account check made out tot he USCIS in 2008 for the $675.00 fees, but was a copy printed off the internet and she wouldn't accept that. But fortunately I threw in all of our latest bank statements, so she accepted that. Even told her IO I was in the waiting room, but that didn't carry any weight.

Heard a rumor that if an applicant has an IQ greater than 9.99 they are ineligible to become an IO. Wonder if that is true.