Green Card not received

[rakosik 2]

We have had our AOS interview on 8/09/2012, and were approved on the spot. Received approval for I-130 and my Welcome letter on 8/14/2012. Thought that I was finally done and the worst is behind me. On the welcome letter I've noticed that even though we have been married for 11 years we are being given conditional GC and will have to do the ROC process in two years. I decided to call USCIS to find out why and that there must have been some kind of mistake but was informed by a very rude Level 2 officer that it doesn't matter how long I have been married, it's an individual matter and it is up to discretion of the interviewing officer to decide. I was told to wait for my actual card in the mail to see which one they decided to give me. I regret ever making that call because for some reason I feel it may have something to do with the issue I'm going through now.

I've received text/mail the same day that my card is in production. On 8/15 received a text stating that my card was mailed out and I should receive it in 30 days. I have never received a text that it was picked up by USPS, so after a week of waiting I called USCIS to get a tracking number. Unfortunately I have been informed that there was no tracking number available, which means that the card has either been sent without tracking number assigned (which is rare because USCIS started secure mail initiative last year)or that my card was never mailed despite of what the last update on my case says.

After 5 phone calls to USCIS and basically hearing to wait 30 days to see if the card is being returned back to them I had finally got a level 2 officer who started a service request for me, by sending a message to the officer who processed my case, He is suppose to contact Corbin, KY where my card was produced to find out what the status is. Off course this will take up to 2 weeks and no results are guaranteed, I may still hear that their records indicate that the card was sent out on 8/15 and because there is no tracking number available and the card is not returned back to them, they assume they processed it correctly and my only option is to file I-90 to replace it, pay another $450 and basically go through the same process again.

I don't know what to do anymore, and i'm so tired of waiting and dealing with this issue.

Just as a thought that this process my be finally over I now have to go through this whole nightmare, seems like there is no light at the end of this tunnel for me

Edited August 24, 2012 by rakosik

[JohnR! 5,495]

You may be letting anxiety take the best of you.

Your green card has been approved, and that is what really matters. It does take time for it to be mailed so my suggestion is relax and wait until you have a reasonable motive to worry.

I don't mean to sound dismissive nor do I take your comment lightly but there is nothing you can do to expedite the situation, so being patent is your only option. As you said yourself, the worst is over, and remember you're waiting for the green card, not a decision thereupon.

Keep calm, and carry on...

[rakosik 2]

Maybe you're right Gegel, maybe I'm exaggerating, just going by how quickly other people get their cards after receiveing "card mailed" notification, in most cases it takes 2-3 days so it is a little worrisome esspecially that I'm going out of coutry this Sunday and will have to travel using the I-551 stamp that I received during our interview, (which I hope will be OK) Hopefully you are right and I will get the actual card soon.

[JohnR! 5,495]

Maybe you're right Gegel, maybe I'm exaggerating, just going by how quickly other people get their cards after receiveing "card mailed" notification, in most cases it takes 2-3 days so it is a little worrisome esspecially that I'm going out of coutry this Sunday and will have to travel using the I-551 stamp that I received during our interview, (which I hope will be OK) Hopefully you are right and I will get the actual card soon.

The I-551 will do just fine so long as it is valid, for it is the same as the green card, for all purposes. Waiting for something in the mail is horrible but you need to keep reminding you that it is just a piece of plastic... Yeah, I know... Easier said than done...

[asdfg 18]

Maybe you're right Gegel, maybe I'm exaggerating, just going by how quickly other people get their cards after receiveing "card mailed" notification, in most cases it takes 2-3 days so it is a little worrisome esspecially that I'm going out of coutry this Sunday and will have to travel using the I-551 stamp that I received during our interview, (which I hope will be OK) Hopefully you are right and I will get the actual card soon.

Call USCIS and ask to speak to an Officer at Level 2. They will tell you that you may or may not get an actual USCIS officer and will transfer you to level 2 ( most of the time you get a supervisor on the call center floor but occasionally you will get an officer. I spoke to three USCIS officers when transferred to level 2 on three different occasions).

USCIS officer will be able to:

#1 - Confirm your current status on DHS database (petition approved or not etc.)

#2 - May give you the tracking number for the mailed item or will tell you that order is sent to card production center and you should wait 30 days before making any further inquiries.

30 days after "card production" notification is a time you must wait before you call them again about this issue.

Good luck.

[rakosik 2]

Thanks asdfg, I did that, my petition has been approved, I got the welcome letter and I-797 approval notice for I-130 in the mail, I also got the text/email that my card was mailed out to me and should receive it in 30 days. never received a text that it was picked up by USPS so that's why I called USCIS, spoke to couple of level 2 officers and they all said there is no tracking available that's why I'm worried, I now it has only been 8 days since they claim my card was mailed out but if it was send out it would have already gotten here, so it must be stuck somehere in the office or be still in production despite of what the last status update says. Last officer was kind enough to open a servise request for me to check where my card is, but we'll see if that helps.

[asdfg 18]

Thanks asdfg, I did that, my petition has been approved, I got the welcome letter and I-797 approval notice for I-130 in the mail, I also got the text/email that my card was mailed out to me and should receive it in 30 days. never received a text that it was picked up by USPS so that's why I called USCIS, spoke to couple of level 2 officers and they all said there is no tracking available that's why I'm worried, I now it has only been 8 days since they claim my card was mailed out but if it was send out it would have already gotten here, so it must be stuck somehere in the office or be still in production despite of what the last status update says. Last officer was kind enough to open a servise request for me to check where my card is, but we'll see if that helps.

IMHO It was premature to open SR, because they haven't failed to do what they promise to do ( they give 30 days from the update email until you get the card in mail and it is normal,posted for all AOS applicants timeframe , regardless of how fast others may get their cards in mail ).

The way it works is that there are set number of days that they should or promise to do specific tasks. Those days are plenty and may be more than enough to carry out the tasks outlined , but you must wait until after because any SR you raise within the scope of the normal/posted processing time may be dismissed for lack of the merits.

I know how it feels to be in your situation, but the good thing is they don't tell you "you must wait unknown number of days" , they clearly say "wait 30 days" so you know what is the maximum number of days it will take them to process the order. So, just relax and don't think about it for the next 22 days from now.

Most likely than not you will have your GC in mail much sooner than that.

It's also possible that there was some error made (you said your WN has 2 years conditional GC mentioned) and they may have caught the error before mailing the card out to you and may be trying to fix it. In any event, this is just an idle speculation. What matters is that USCIS made it clear that you will get the card within 30 days. Wait those 30 days before doing anything else.

Edited August 24, 2012 by asdfg

[rakosik 2]

I just got off the phoe with another lever 2 officer and found out that they found an erorr on my card during quality control so they card has been destroyed re-produced. I will hear from them if they need another set of biometrics from me (which I though they keep on their computers and I've attached two pictures with my application). Hopefully they will be done by middle of next week. still need to leave the coutry with just a stamp which makes me nervous

[asdfg 18]

Good. It's much better than if they mailed you 2 yr card and you had to apply for a replacement.

[rakosik 2]

I hope that this is the reason for the re-print, I hope the officer that I first spoke with regarding the conditional card issue requested a revision of my aplication and they determined that I do qualify for 10 year card insted of the 2 year one.

Hopefully they won't need anything else from me and will let me return to US on my stamp without any problems.

[asdfg 18]

I hope that this is the reason for the re-print, I hope the officer that I first spoke with regarding the conditional card issue requested a revision of my aplication and they determined that I do qualify for 10 year card insted of the 2 year one.

Hopefully they won't need anything else from me and will let me return to US on my stamp without any problems.

They will do what they will do.

Give it a time , 30 days as required, and if you don't get your card by then you may

call and request SR.

Until then relax and be ready to see your GC in your mailbox at anytime.

Good luck.

[Hypnos 6,576]

They do not have "discretion" in order to determine whether you receive a two year or ten year green card. If you have been married for less than two years when your case is approved (usually, but not always, on the interview date) then you receive a conditional, two year card; and if married for two years or more then you receive a ten year card.

No guessing, no arcane powers, no "discretion". The "officer" who told you that was full of #######.

If you do end up receiving a two year card make sure you return it to them as an error to make them produce a new ten year card for you.

Edited August 24, 2012 by Hypnos

[asdfg 18]

Hypnos is right, the USCIS officer does not have discretion over statutory rules, such as length of validity of GC issued after the interview.

At this point they will do what they will do. You have to wait 30 days and if you receive the valid, correctly dated card then there is nothing you should do other than moving on with your life.

If you do not get your card in 30 days or if it is not correct, then you know what you have to do.