Form I-551

[BritUS 0]

I went through San Francisco Immigration at the airport last week, on my way to another US state. I am from the UK and handed over my immigration visa envelope etc. The guy said all was fine. I had to ask for my ID back as he forgot to return it to me. Then, as I walked away, I realised he had kept my passport, which I had to go back for. I was not reassured that he knew what he was doing, to say the least! He told me to find and download the green card I-551 form, and to complete it and post it. On the instructions for my entry to a US port, it said that Immigration would ask me to fill in this I-551 as soon as I entered the port, which confused me. So I am now in the US, I can't find the form online, and I am wondering whether that guy at Immigration did the right thing and knew what he was talking about. Should I have filled in the form at the airport, which the US embassy in London told me would happen?

Your suggestions and help (and maybe a link to the form if you can find it) would be very much appreciated, thanks!

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

Wow, no, that's not right. I-551 is the name for the GC. What visa did you enter on?

[BritUS 0]

Wow, no, that's not right. I-551 is the name for the GC. What visa did you enter on?

Big oops!!!! Apologies, I messed up, not Immigration! Well, the US Embassy may have messed up or mislead me.... the form I need is an I-751, which I have now found. The instructions on the Embassy paper said when I enter US, I will be asked to fill in I-551. That had confused me. I wasn't asked to fill in anything. So that paper is incorrect.

Anyway, I now have the correct form, the I-751, so sorry if I caused any hassle, thanks for your response! Oh, visas are fun!!!!

[Moomin 292]

I went through San Francisco Immigration at the airport last week, on my way to another US state. I am from the UK and handed over my immigration visa envelope etc. The guy said all was fine. I had to ask for my ID back as he forgot to return it to me. Then, as I walked away, I realised he had kept my passport, which I had to go back for. I was not reassured that he knew what he was doing, to say the least! He told me to find and download the green card I-551 form, and to complete it and post it. On the instructions for my entry to a US port, it said that Immigration would ask me to fill in this I-551 as soon as I entered the port, which confused me. So I am now in the US, I can't find the form online, and I am wondering whether that guy at Immigration did the right thing and knew what he was talking about. Should I have filled in the form at the airport, which the US embassy in London told me would happen?

Your suggestions and help (and maybe a link to the form if you can find it) would be very much appreciated, thanks!

No, the CBP officer should've "filled" it in, not you. It's a stamp given at POE in your passport which serves as the temporary greencard until you receive the greencard in mail to prove your status. You entered as a CR1 or how..?

EDIT: Just swa your response before I posted. Yeah, i-751 is ROC.

Edited August 4, 2012 by moomin

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

Big oops!!!! Apologies, I messed up, not Immigration! Well, the US Embassy may have messed up or mislead me.... the form I need is an I-751, which I have now found. The instructions on the Embassy paper said when I enter US, I will be asked to fill in I-551. That had confused me. I wasn't asked to fill in anything. So that paper is incorrect.

Anyway, I now have the correct form, the I-751, so sorry if I caused any hassle, thanks for your response! Oh, visas are fun!!!!

What visa did you enter on? In any case, you do not file this form now.