Looking to travel but green card expired

[peachtree 7]

Hi, first time posting. I am posting / helping a friend who has a conditional green card that already expired (October 2015). She already file the I-751 in July 2015, her case# status online still says "we received your Form CRI-89, Petition to Remove Conditions of Permanent Resident Status Received". It's been 6 months and the status is still the same, her service center is CSC.

Now she wants to go visit her sick grandpa back at her country, but she does not have anything valid to enter back into the states. My research show that she was supposed to get an NOA or some sort that extend her expired green card for another year. She did not get that, she only got an NOA letter for biometric appointment, which she already done back in July. The letter says nothing about extension, only details about showing up at the biometric office. It just seem like she never got the receipt for the I-751, just straight to the biometric appointment letter. Online show they received her application on July 1st, and her biometric letter show notice date July 11, just 10 days apart. She was hoping to get her 10 year green card by now, and looks like it might not happen anytime soon.

Her current passport with her country also expired, but we was able to get a stamp for extension by a consular here in the states that represent her country. This will allow her to enter her country. I read that she can get an I-551 stamped on her passport, the problem is once she get to her country she will renew her passport, which mean she can lose that I-551 stamp? This is driving her crazy that she cannot find a way to get back into the states. Are there any other option for her to get some kind of re-entry into the states with an expired green card?

[Darnell 8,479]

do they take the passport or no , when it's renewed at her home country ? if no, she can show both passports when returning.

[peachtree 7]

That's a good question. They may not. I will let her know. Thanks.

[Pinkrlion 2,724]

She can request another NOA1

[NickD 203]

She definitely needs a current valid passport, depending on the country she visits, has to be good for at least six or more months.

She needs to make an infopass appointment at her assigned USCIS office and get an I-551 stamp in it.

Every important document we received from the USCIS just looked like bulk junk mail, untraceable, had to be very careful wasn't tossing it in the trashcan because we get tons of junk mail. Would think what they charge for fees, could send it registered mail with a signed receipt.

Was shocked when we received that stupid one year extension letter, and it said my wife had to carry this with her, how dumb can they get? Where are the green cards? Scanned that instantly and made back up copies, actually did this for anything we received from them. And misplacing a green card is tantamount to losing a diamond ring for the price they want for a replacement and also takes them about six months just to do this.

And you have no proof in the meantime you are an LPR.

That one year extension is way too large to be folded up in a guys wallet, and very easy for a woman to lose her purse, stepdaughter left her purse in her locked car, somebody broke her window and took it. Probably shouldn't say this, all they got was a colored practically identical copy. But were never asked to see it, if questioned about this, was prepared to state how expensive and long it takes to get a replacement.

Did have to take the original along for trips abroad, but I carried that safely in a waterproof plastic envelop and our military also thought me how to kill with my bare hands if anyone tried to take it. Easy to steal from a 5' 2" 120 pound woman.

Ha, we had an attempted robbery in Caracas, that kid would rather run than fight. If they got her one year extension notice, she would have been stuck in that hellhole of a place.

[peachtree 7]

Thanks for the input guys. I did call USCIS this morning, they said she should have gotten the first NOA, which is the receipt of payment and extension. Unfortunately they cannot send a second notice. They told us to make an infopass appointment to get an I-551 stamp on the green card.

Now my friend is saying that she went through an attorney. We wonder if the attorney has that first NOA letter. We are going to reach out to him next week.

[peachtree 7]

So we called the attorney and he does have it. We are picking it up next week. Thanks for all the input guys.

[NikLR 13,232]

Im glad to hear she was able to get her NOA1. The lawyer should hve given that to her when they got it because that is her legal status document currently.

It's a good thing she has you as a friend.

[Leo7777 243]

So we called the attorney and he does have it. We are picking it up next week. Thanks for all the input guys.

Another reason to avoid attorneys.

Some people here are always thinking or writing that attorneys help speed things up.

Others know this is not true because more often than not they slow things down; and they make clerical errors that the first party would not make for themselves.

Edited January 24, 2016 by Leo7777