Traveling without physical green card yet???

[Kay&Jeff 7]

hey everyone,

I hope this is the right place to post this but please move if not.

How long did it take you to get your actual green card in the mail?? ive been here over 5 mths now and still nothing.

My husband and I are going up to Canada in a few weeks and would like to have it to travel in and out of the US.

I've read if you have the I551 stamp in your passport you use that as your temporary green card but how do you know you have that stamp?

what does the stamp look like??

I would really like some help to work this out I dont want to travel and then not be allowed back in.

thank you

[Hypnos 6,576]

Did you pay the $165 immigrant visa fee?

What is your status in ELIS?

The endorsed immigrant visa in your passport acts as temporary proof of a green card for up to one year for all purposes, but you should have received your physical green card by now.

It's not clear what you filed and on what visa you entered, since your profile says IR-1/CR-1 but you posted in the Adjustment of Status forum.

Edited August 26, 2015 by Hypnos

[cococacao 14]

hey everyone,

I hope this is the right place to post this but please move if not.

How long did it take you to get your actual green card in the mail?? ive been here over 5 mths now and still nothing.

My husband and I are going up to Canada in a few weeks and would like to have it to travel in and out of the US.

I've read if you have the I551 stamp in your passport you use that as your temporary green card but how do you know you have that stamp?

what does the stamp look like??

I would really like some help to work this out I dont want to travel and then not be allowed back in.

thank you

Processing times for GC are different depending on your local office. You can check the times here https://egov.uscis.gov/cris/processTimesDisplayInit.doIt shows Chicago, IL as having an 8-9 mo. wait time right now unfortunately

AFAIK they don't do the stamp in the passport unless you ask for it (after you're approved, of course), and even then some IOs are reluctant to do it unless it's an emergency. DO NOT!!! leave the country without Advance Parole, green card, or passport stamp.

It'd help if you update your timeline to reflect your current situation.

Edited August 27, 2015 by cococacao

[MariaAndreas 9]

I have been waiting for Green Card in California for more than a year already. If it's very important trip to you, you can risk ONLY IF you have a valid Advance Parole, BUT you should know it is risky because in case your GC is denied (very hardly, but it happened with me, for example), you might not be allowed back in the U.S. then. I was stuck abroad for four months with my AP. However, one friend of mine traveled with her AP to Mexico for holidays together with her spouse while her GC was pending and was paroled back without issues.

It is your choice to risk it or not. I just gave you some examples. Of course, in most cases, AP works well.

[KierenHby 899]

If you entered on a IR\CR1, and have paid the $165 green card fee on ELIS, you should have received the physical GC by now.

At POE, the CBP would have stamped your passport with the i551. Check your passport, look for that stamp, and read over the details. There should be a "valid until" type of date.

And if the fee is already paid, contact ELIS and find out the physical GC production\delivery status.

Have you changed address?

[newacct 688]

I think the you posted in the wrong forum. Your profile and timeline say IR-1/CR-1 visa; meaning you are not doing Adjustment of Status.

Anyway, at the moment you entered the US with your IR-1/CR-1 immigrant visa, that visa automatically itself turns into a green card (I-551) valid for one year. You will see a line on your visa that says something like "upon endorsement serves as temporary I-551 evidencing permanent residence for 1 year". The "endorsement" is the entry stamp you got on entry. You don't need to get a separate "I-551 stamp" like some other people have to get, because you already have an I-551. You could have left on the next flight if you wanted to.

About not getting the plastic card for such a long time, that is a separate issue that you should look into.

[KayDeeCee 4,893]

~ Moved from AOS from Family Based Visas to Working & Traveling During US Immigration - topic is travel/entry with spousal visa, not AOS process ~