Not receiving Extension Letter

[Mooon 0]

Dear Visa Journey members,

We filed the ROC on April 30 and so far we have not received the Extension Letter (NOA) yet. We have already received the Biometrics Letter though.

We tried to call USCIS and talked to them extensively (with the Manager) however they insisted on not sending out another NOA. (I wonder if they even sent it out in the first place because there is no way to track it). We have these questions below that we already tried to search on Visa Journey but couldn't find the answers. I would be very greatful if experienced members could help:

1. Will Infopass issue us an I-551 stamp even our Green Card has not yet expired (will be expired on July 15)?

2. We are very worried because if they will not issue an I-551 stamp until the Green Card expired then how we should provide proof to CA DMV Department to maintain my driver license? The driver license is very important as I commute from work to home everyday and I also need this as an ID for daily activities.

3. If they issue the I-551 stamp before the Green Card expired, would the stamp be enough as proof for DMV CA? Do we only need to send a copy to DMV or we need to be present at DMV ourselves? Is there any other documents DMV require?

4. Has anyone (whose nationality would require visa to enter Canada) had problem enter Canada with I-551 stamp? We are traveling to Canada in September and we are worried if the new Green Card would not arrive by then and we need to show them the I-551, would it be sufficient for Canadian Officers?

Thank you very much in advance for answering and we are looking forward to the answers.

[engineer21 51]

Dear Visa Journey members,

We filed the ROC on April 30 and so far we have not received the Extension Letter (NOA) yet. We have already received the Biometrics Letter though.

We tried to call USCIS and talked to them extensively (with the Manager) however they insisted on not sending out another NOA. (I wonder if they even sent it out in the first place because there is no way to track it). We have these questions below that we already tried to search on Visa Journey but couldn't find the answers. I would be very greatful if experienced members could help:

1. Will Infopass issue us an I-551 stamp even our Green Card has not yet expired (will be expired on July 15)?

2. We are very worried because if they will not issue an I-551 stamp until the Green Card expired then how we should provide proof to CA DMV Department to maintain my driver license? The driver license is very important as I commute from work to home everyday and I also need this as an ID for daily activities.

3. If they issue the I-551 stamp before the Green Card expired, would the stamp be enough as proof for DMV CA? Do we only need to send a copy to DMV or we need to be present at DMV ourselves? Is there any other documents DMV require?

4. Has anyone (whose nationality would require visa to enter Canada) had problem enter Canada with I-551 stamp? We are traveling to Canada in September and we are worried if the new Green Card would not arrive by then and we need to show them the I-551, would it be sufficient for Canadian Officers?

Thank you very much in advance for answering and we are looking forward to the answers.

I saw another member recently posted here about going to the local office with the bio letter in hand asking for the stamp. I'm pretty sure it's in the ROC may filers thread.

This member got the stamp in the passport and was able to do the biometrics early too. I suggest you look in the last few pages of may filers thread.

Not sure about Canada, but I had the same question with Mexico where last year I just went using my greencard. This year we'll be going after the card expires and the Mexican consulate had advised me to apply for a tourist visa. Canada may be more familiar with the US immigration though.. And I think the stamp might be more widely known/recognized too.

Hopefully someone else with actual experience with this will come along..

[Noth 4]

the only thing i know for sure is that the stamp or the letter or GC is used to reenter the USA. so if your nationality requires a visa to go to a country, you should get it regardless.

as for DMVm, i don't know but i would go in person to renew. this is such special case that i wouldn't trust doing it on the internet.

hope this helps!

[zenaxe 22]

Dear Visa Journey members,

We filed the ROC on April 30 and so far we have not received the Extension Letter (NOA) yet. We have already received the Biometrics Letter though.

We tried to call USCIS and talked to them extensively (with the Manager) however they insisted on not sending out another NOA. (I wonder if they even sent it out in the first place because there is no way to track it). We have these questions below that we already tried to search on Visa Journey but couldn't find the answers. I would be very greatful if experienced members could help:

1. Will Infopass issue us an I-551 stamp even our Green Card has not yet expired (will be expired on July 15)?

2. We are very worried because if they will not issue an I-551 stamp until the Green Card expired then how we should provide proof to CA DMV Department to maintain my driver license? The driver license is very important as I commute from work to home everyday and I also need this as an ID for daily activities.

3. If they issue the I-551 stamp before the Green Card expired, would the stamp be enough as proof for DMV CA? Do we only need to send a copy to DMV or we need to be present at DMV ourselves? Is there any other documents DMV require?

4. Has anyone (whose nationality would require visa to enter Canada) had problem enter Canada with I-551 stamp? We are traveling to Canada in September and we are worried if the new Green Card would not arrive by then and we need to show them the I-551, would it be sufficient for Canadian Officers?

Thank you very much in advance for answering and we are looking forward to the answers.

We are in the same boat; my green card expires mid August so have time. I submited our 751 package and it was received May 16th; I haven''t received the NOA1 extension etc; but have received the biometrics letter. You're further ahead because you spoke with a manager. I called and got a tier 2 response but basically the guy advised to sit around and wait some more. Apparently they have record of being extended and he read it out to me but for some reason wants to me wait although he said something about June 1st being the date on the NOA etc.....so it doesn't take long because the postal service is really quick here. Biometrics letter came within two days of issue date. But he advised I should wait to Friday then call again. That call took about an hour and a half between the first wait, first assist, then 50 minute wait and then talking to the guy who said to wait some more. I have no idea why they can't simply issue another notice. We can't do anything more with them even if we had two of them. they are related to one case with one case number and your alient number on it.

That said, you need the extension for the year while the case is processed and it's takingn a long time. You can get the info pass, and yes someone did do that on the May filers forum...have a look. They got an info pass appointment and got the stamp. The stamp gives the exact same authority as the NOA1....once you get that you can travel just like with your g/c and you can work etc. It's just an extension of the same authority you have with the permanent resident card.

the person who got the stamp ended up with a walk in biometric appointment as well. I don't expect anything in the mail because it's way too far gone. it was either never sent or it was misdirected by the post office. either way, nothing in hand. So i'm calling on Friday to figure out what to do next. The info pass is the option it seems.

I plan on traveling to Canada before my g.c expires but again the NOA1 or I 551 stamp gives the extension is my understanding.

the only thing i know for sure is that the stamp or the letter or GC is used to reenter the USA. so if your nationality requires a visa to go to a country, you should get it regardless.

as for DMVm, i don't know but i would go in person to renew. this is such special case that i wouldn't trust doing it on the internet.

hope this helps!

Is your understanding that the I 551 is only for travel or to cover work authorization as well as travel and ability to stay?

[Hugglebuggles 60]

As an American PR, you don't need a visa to travel to Canada. Canada should be familiar with the stamp and what it means, so I wouldn't worry too much about that.

[Mooon 0]

Dear All,

Thank you very much for your help. I did look into May filers thread and still could not find the exact answer for my number 1 and 2 questions:

1. Will they give out I-551 stamp even my Green Card not yet expired? I am afraid that I will wait hours for Infopass and they will not issue the I-551 because my GC is not expired.

2. How to renew the driver license with the I-551 stamp?

Thank you very much if anyone could give me an answer since we are very stressful right now.

[engineer21 51]

Dear All,

Thank you very much for your help. I did look into May filers thread and still could not find the exact answer for my number 1 and 2 questions:

1. Will they give out I-551 stamp even my Green Card not yet expired? I am afraid that I will wait hours for Infopass and they will not issue the I-551 because my GC is not expired.

2. How to renew the driver license with the I-551 stamp?

Thank you very much if anyone could give me an answer since we are very stressful right now.

Hi Mooon, the member I'm talking about posted on page 38 or the i-751 May 2012 filers thread. The member is KataandFreddy whose green card also has not expired (according to their timeline).

This is the post:

Posted Yesterday, 02:38 PM

Okay!!!! so! I just got back from my appointment. As some of you remember, I called the Customer Service Center because we have not received our Extension Letter, and we did received the Biometrics Appointment Letter. The agent that took my call suggested an info pass online and that is what I did and I AM VERY HAPPY I did so.

I arrived 15 minutes early and got my passport stamped with the one year extension.

Not only that, but I asked if they would take my biometrics also, and THEY DID!

I really hope the original Extension Letter does arrive in the mail, just to be on the safe side, but for now? I'm coooool! Hahahaha! Hope this info is useful guys!

<3 <3 <3 yuuuupeeee!!!!

I think the infopass is worth a try, considering this recent success.

Driver's License is a whole other thing.. DMV rules do vary from state to state.

But my guess is if you have the stamp confirming that you status has been extended, they should at least extend the license for a year.

I have renewed mine several times online (good ole massachusetts - they actually prefer that you do it online and not bother them in person) No documents needed for renewal for me.

Good luck, and let us know how it goes

[Noth 4]

Is your understanding that the I 551 is only for travel or to cover work authorization as well as travel and ability to stay?

my understanding is that the stamp and/or letter and/or green card confirms that you are a legal resident of the united states. when you travel abroad you will be required to prove that you are lawful resident upon entry on the US ( however, when i went to Mexico, i was required to provide the info before departing and upon re-entry) so regardless, when you go to a foreign country, you still need to check if your nationality requires to get a visa to go that particular country. for example, I'm French so i don't need a tourist visa to go to Brazil but my Husband does ( because he's a US citizen)

does that help? hope it does!

edit: Sorry i realize that i didn't answer your question: yes stamp/ extension letter covers work authorization and travel, but only on the US side if you will (and ability to stay of course since that's the purpose of the whole thing)

Edited June 15, 2012 by Noth

[zenaxe 22]

my understanding is that the stamp and/or letter and/or green card confirms that you are a legal resident of the united states. when you travel abroad you will be required to prove that you are lawful resident upon entry on the US ( however, when i went to Mexico, i was required to provide the info before departing and upon re-entry) so regardless, when you go to a foreign country, you still need to check if your nationality requires to get a visa to go that particular country. for example, I'm French so i don't need a tourist visa to go to Brazil but my Husband does ( because he's a US citizen)

does that help? hope it does!

edit: Sorry i realize that i didn't answer your question: yes stamp/ extension letter covers work authorization and travel, but only on the US side if you will (and ability to stay of course since that's the purpose of the whole thing)

Hi Noth, thanks for your reply; and yes, it does help. I'm looking to make an infopass appointment because there is no extension coming in the mail. It would have been here by now lol....

[juliava 80]

Here is another proof that infopasses work in this case:

Check out post #400. The username is AntipodeanPhil and he is a March filer:

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/352022-i-751-march-2012-filers/page__st__390

[zenaxe 22]

Got an infopass and received an I 551 stamp, extended for six months because my passport expires in December. Have to get a new passport and another stamp if the case isn't complete and green card in hand by Dec 2012....likley not given all the posts I'm reading.

[Mooon 0]

Dear All,

Thank you very much for the clear answer on Infopass appointment. How about renewing California Driver License with I-551 stamp?

Has anyone tried to renew Driver License with DMV? Could you give some advice? I am worried that they will reject the I-551 stamp and the Driver License will be expired and I will have to retake the entire driving test again. On top of that I cannot drive to work. So please help?

[zenaxe 22]

Dear All,

Thank you very much for the clear answer on Infopass appointment. How about renewing California Driver License with I-551 stamp?

Has anyone tried to renew Driver License with DMV? Could you give some advice? I am worried that they will reject the I-551 stamp and the Driver License will be expired and I will have to retake the entire driving test again. On top of that I cannot drive to work. So please help?

I'm going to have to do the same thing with the stamp in August....should be just fine because the stamp is solid proof....I got my first license here without the green card and with the passport and I 551 in the first place. I wouldn't sweat it because it says this is an extension of the green card.

[Mooon 0]

Thanks Zenaxe. However which state are you in? If you got a California driver license with I-551 stamp, which DMV office did you go to? And besides passport with I-551 stamp, current driver license what other documents do I need to bring with me to DMV?

For the Infopass, I have the 2 passport photos as they require on the website. Are there other documents I need to bring with me to get the I-551 stamp (besides green card, driver license)?

Edited June 23, 2012 by Mooon

[zenaxe 22]

Thanks Zenaxe. However which state are you in? If you got a California driver license with I-551 stamp, which DMV office did you go to? And besides passport with I-551 stamp, current driver license what other documents do I need to bring with me to DMV?

For the Infopass, I have the 2 passport photos as they require on the website. Are there other documents I need to bring with me to get the I-551 stamp (besides green card, driver license)?

I'm in Arizona. I got my first license with the stamp and it was only valid for one year because I didn't have my green card or SSN. When I got my green card six week later I didn't change anything until the following year when my license expired. They would only then give me a license for another year which coincided to the expiration of the green card. So in August I have to return to the DMV and show them my stamp which means the DMV will only give me a license until Dece 18th....unless I get the NOA and i'll bring that document and buy me more time. It's a stupid pain in the A@@ by not getting this NOA, total booolshite.

For my info pass I brought my biometrics letter in case I do have that done...but they wouldn't allow it as they were busy. I brought my driver's license and green card and my passport so they could stamp it. That's it.