How Do I Answer This Question At The POE?

[ADMIRE 3]

Hi, Pls can anyone help answer this question urgently?

By the grace of God, I shall be entering the USA in less than 48hrs and I read somewhere that the immigration officers at the Point of Entry wld ask how long i have been married to my husband and i dont which answer to give them because:

the embassy made asked us to redo our marriage because the original divorce my hubby had was not acceptable by them and thus made our first marriage null and void. So he had to file another divorce then we got married again, and now i have the immigrant visas and wld be travelling in less than 48hrs and dont know which date to quote.

If i say the first date, then I qualify for the IR1 green card. The second date was just this Dec 2010 and so my green card would be CR1.

It was just that one I-130 petition we did. PLS HELP.

[HeatDeath 430]

I would definitely quote your second marriage date. The consulate issued the visa on the basis of that date and if you quote a different date, it could come back and bite you.

You can schedule an Infopass appointment with USCIS once you are admitted to hash out, with an IO, whether you should get a 2 year or a 10 year card, but the border officer won't want to be bothered having that discussion, and isn't really the right person to be making that decision anyways. Giving them the most recent date is the safest thing to do to get yourself through the border with the minimum risk of A ) future scrutinizing of that declaration, and B ) hassle at the border. Remember, CBP officers have the ability to declare the whole thing null and void if they feel hassled, argued against, or confused. Best to get through the border and get your conditional PR status safely locked in. You can argue about whether or not you should be a conditional PR or an LPR once your PR status - of any kind - is guaranteed and locked in.

If you are, in fact, entitled to get a 10-year card right away, you can have that discussion with an IO once you're in the US and you don't need to worry about a CBP officer getting testy and cancelling the whole thing. To my mind, it's the option with the fewest question marks for safety.

[ADMIRE 3]

I would definitely quote your second marriage date. The consulate issued the visa on the basis of that date and if you quote a different date, it could come back and bite you.

You can schedule an Infopass appointment with USCIS once you are admitted to hash out, with an IO, whether you should get a 2 year or a 10 year card, but the border officer won't want to be bothered having that discussion, and isn't really the right person to be making that decision anyways. Giving them the most recent date is the safest thing to do to get yourself through the border with the minimum risk of A ) future scrutinizing of that declaration, and B ) hassle at the border. Remember, CBP officers have the ability to declare the whole thing null and void if they feel hassled, argued against, or confused. Best to get through the border and get your conditional PR status safely locked in. You can argue about whether or not you should be a conditional PR or an LPR once your PR status - of any kind - is guaranteed and locked in.

If you are, in fact, entitled to get a 10-year card right away, you can have that discussion with an IO once you're in the US and you don't need to worry about a CBP officer getting testy and cancelling the whole thing. To my mind, it's the option with the fewest question marks for safety.

WELL SAID. thank you so much really do appreciate your frank response. Makes all the sense.

[RICARDO4EVA2 194]

agree - the second date.

[HeatDeath 430]

So, how did PoE go?

[RICARDO4EVA2 194]

So, how did PoE go?

entry date changed to april 20, 2011

[ADMIRE 3]

entry date changed to april 20, 2011

Richardo4eva, thanks for making me see that error of my date of entry at POE. Tis actually March 20th and not April, which means, yes, am in already. came in Monday.

HeatDeath, sorry for not giving the feedback. Yeah POE was cool. Officer did not ask me any question. He fished out all he wanted from the envelopes I gave to me. I still dont know hich date he chose cos it isnt indicated on my passport. So, I wld have to wait till when the GC arrives to know. All I got was an i-551 stamp on the visa, and he said to wait for the card in the mail. But that the stamp is as good the real card.

I spent about 3 hours from landing to getting outside cos the officer was the only one attending to us all.

We landed 5.30 am.

[RICARDO4EVA2 194]

Richardo4eva, thanks for making me see that error of my date of entry at POE. Tis actually March 20th and not April, which means, yes, am in already. came in Monday.

Welcome to the USA

[ADMIRE 3]

Richardo4eva, thanks for making me see that error of my date of entry at POE. Tis actually March 20th and not April, which means, yes, am in already. came in Monday.

HeatDeath, sorry for not giving the feedback. Yeah POE was cool. Officer did not ask me any question. He fished out all he wanted from the envelopes I gave to me. I still dont know hich date he chose cos it isnt indicated on my passport. So, I wld have to wait till when the GC arrives to know. All I got was an i-551 stamp on the visa, and he said to wait for the card in the mail. But that the stamp is as good the real card.

I spent about 3 hours from landing to getting outside cos the officer was the only one attending to us all.

We landed 5.30 am.

Hey Ricardo4eva and HeatDeath......the GreenCard came in on friday, and guess what? It is dated for the next 10 years! which means they chose to work with my first wedding date! Feels so good to not have to deal with removal of conditions and all that in the next 2 years!! Feels good.

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

Hey Ricardo4eva and HeatDeath......the GreenCard came in on friday, and guess what? It is dated for the next 10 years! which means they chose to work with my first wedding date! Feels so good to not have to deal with removal of conditions and all that in the next 2 years!! Feels good.

That GC is incorrect, and I would strongly suggest that you turn it in for a 2 years card. Your first marriage was null and void, and therefore you are required by law to remove conditions in 2 years. The card you got was a mistake. People here have had that happen to them, and they think they are "free and clear" and then ICE shows up at their house with a deportation order for failure to remove conditions. Your first marriage was null and void - you have been truly married for less than 2 years - you still need to remove conditions.

See this post by Kathryn41 for instance on the same subject (and the whole thread):

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/301947-10-yr-gc-without-removing-of-condition/page__view__findpost__p__4569014

[HeatDeath 430]

Agreed. I wouldn't take the 10-year card for granted - it may be an error.

I stand by what I said earlier - Now that you are safely in the US, and you are definitely a PR of some kind, you need to schedule an Infopass appointment and have a sit-down face-to-face with an immigration officer to figure out exactly which length of GC you should have.

If an IO, sitting down with you, rules and signs off that the 10 year card is legit, then you're ok. If not, then you need to get that card corrected to a 2-year. Either way, you need to talk to them.

[Harsh_77 718]

Your first marriage was null so there was no marriage, you should work with your second marriage date. If they have sent you a wrong card and if this ever comes up it is your responsibility to get it fixed.

Just like if they typed a wrong spelling of your name the burden is on you to provide the correct information.

[ADMIRE 3]

Your first marriage was null so there was no marriage, you should work with your second marriage date. If they have sent you a wrong card and if this ever comes up it is your responsibility to get it fixed.

Just like if they typed a wrong spelling of your name the burden is on you to provide the correct information.

ok. thanks for the info. wld work on it - promise.