1-551 in expired passport? 1-551 document alternative?

[Ciele 0]

I'm not sure if I'm posting this in the right place. It seemed the best fit for my question.

My husband (Canadian) came to the U.S. on an employment visa. I came with him. We filed AoS based on marriage, even though he was not here on a family-based visa. We were approved and he received his GC not long afterward. We had been married longer than two years and there are no conditions on his PR.

His passport expired one month prior to the GC interview. We chose to wait to renew it since we could not do so at the Canadian embassy and would have to mail it in. We were afraid that if we didn't have his passport at the interview we would be denied PR. His received his GC and took it to work where they needed a copy of it on file. We are fairly certain that it was there that the GC vanished (and I won't go through all the messiness involved in that).

Right now we are trying to buy a house. Our credit and income checks out, everything except the fact that we do not have the GC. We gave the loan officer a copy of the USCIS welcome letter that contains his Alien number and the loan officer said that if the underwriter kicks the application back for lack of a green card, then my husband can go get the stamp in his passport. The loan officer knows the passport is expired. I have my doubts that USCIS would stamp an expired passport. We want to send the passport in now for renewal, but in the event the underwriter demands the stamp and USCIS were willing to stamp it, we wouldn't have it.

I have heard that in some cases if you bring two passport photos with you, USCIS can create a stamped document containing a photo. Will they stamp an expired passport? If not, what is the name of this document and how do I find out more about it? We would apply for another GC but in the event the loan goes through, we would not be present at this address to receive it. Thank you.

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

You need to file for GC renewal immediately. Hopefully you also filed a police report. You can file a change of address while the renewal is processing. A welcome letter is not a GC.

Edited February 4, 2012 by Harpa Timsah

[Ciele 0]

We fully intend to apply for another GC. Right now my main concern is the passport and the stamp, but thank you.

[Little_My 464]

How long does it take to get the passport renewed..? I am not familiar with the particularities about renewing a Canadian passport abroad, but I do know that Finland (and several other countries) offer all sorts of ways to expedite the process by paying a higher fee for the renewal. I could get my passport renewed here in about 10 days - regular processing is 2-3 weeks, which isn't that long either. I would say that the best course of action for you to take right now is to apply for a new GC ASAP, get the passport renewed right now, and if the passport comes back first, go and see if you can get the I-551 stamp while you are waiting for the new GC.

[Ciele 0]

20 days is the fastest time. That doesn't include mailing which, on average, is going to be 4 days there and 4 days back. That's nearly a month all together. We were going to send it off today but the loan officer sent an email telling us to wait. Normally, I would assume that a loan officer knows absolutely nothing about immigration matters, but this particular man is an immigrant himself and specializes in obtaining loans for immigrants so...*sigh*

Normally I'm a pretty good researcher, but for the life of me I can't find anything but vague references to this elusive document alternative. Usually people on forums who have successfully gotten it done. Oh well. Hopefully our loan officer will tell us more, but waiting over the weekend is excruciating.