When do I need to move to USA after Green card approval?(merged)

[Stepp 0]

Hello,
I went to USA in February to get my I-551 (green card) processed. Once there, I stayed until February 20th and then left USA and returned to my homeland. When is the latest that I need to move to USA? I understand that I have to leave within 180 days, but
1) I have not been able to find a job in USA yet and have no finances to tide me over in USA.
2) Dept of Homeland Security sent my my Green card, but they made a mistake with my gender and have not sent me a new corrected card.

I would like to move to USA around November 2016. Also, how do I get them to correct the gender and send it back to me? I tried but they keep telling me to wait. I've already waited since March. It is now June!
Thank you

[Stepp 0]

Hello again,

my Green card has a mistake. It says I am female, but I am male. I informed Dept of Homeland Security vis their website 3 months ago, but they did not address the error. I contacted them again, but they said I need to wait until the first request is processed. Now I received that the issue has been resolved?! It has not been resolved. No corrections were made. It is urgent, I need to leave for USA soon. What should I do?

Thank you

[Lavender7 32]

How did you get your Green Card? Was it spousal, or lottery ? As far as I know you can't leave the States for longer then 6 months or maybe year tops, otherwise you will lose it. Since they expect you to live inside of the

US after you get your GC. I think you should try to settle there asap so you don't run the risk of loosing it in general. As for gender mistake should keep contacting those people who told you to wait. Just keep trying to reach them and find out what's going on.

[SalSterling 10]

Please make sure to return within 180 days. My mother just came back couple days ago after over staying 180 days but they stopped her at the airport and she had to wait 4 hours to see the officer who revoked her greencard but gave entry subject to Immigration Courts decision and now we have to hire an attorney and prepare a case so she can get her greencard back.

These days all the immigration laws are enforced so make sure to return within 180 days.

[IcezMan_IcezLady 582]

the green card is not for staying abroad.. you can do that when you become a citizen.

[mallafri76 1,012]

I recently got my green card in the mail and with it came a "welcome to the US" letter, which included a statement that said that if I was planning on being outside the US for longer than a year, I needed to apply for a reentry permit before leaving the US. Might be a difference between a conditional and permanent resident though, as I've seen people on VJ talk about six months.

What do you mean that you went to the US to get your green card but you understand that you had to leave after 180 days??? You haven't filled out your timeline so how did you get your green card; spouse, fiance, adjustment of status, diversity lottery??? If you went to the US to activate your green card, then that made you either a conditional or permanent resident, either way, you're allowed to stay in the US once you activate your green card.

[EmilyW 1,443]

If you are a lottery winner, the officers at the border do understand that we have to settle things at home after activating (selling property, cars, settling affairs etc). We were out of the country for seven (nearly eight) months after our initial activation and had no issues coming back in. Our officer just said 'Welcome home guys' and that was it. That we had one way tickets into the US probably helped. We also had an apartment lease, bank accounts, and mobile phone account to prove that we had not abandoned our GCs, although this was not asked for (it made me feel better to have it with me, just in case).

November 2016 should be fine. But maintain your ties in the meantime. Have a bank account. Address. Even if you're not in the US, you must still comply with all the requirements of being an LPR. And when you're coming back, come in prepared to prove to the officer that you are here to stay.

Re the gender issue, keep on trying. Your stamp in your passport is enough to admit you into the US but the sooner you get the GC, the easier it is in terms of getting a driver's license, work etc. You can do all of that with the passport, but it's just easier from a practical perspective.

Edited June 9, 2016 by EmilyW

[EM_Vandaveer 2,408]

I recently got my green card in the mail and with it came a "welcome to the US" letter, which included a statement that said that if I was planning on being outside the US for longer than a year, I needed to apply for a reentry permit before leaving the US. Might be a difference between a conditional and permanent resident though, as I've seen people on VJ talk about six months.

What do you mean that you went to the US to get your green card but you understand that you had to leave after 180 days??? You haven't filled out your timeline so how did you get your green card; spouse, fiance, adjustment of status, diversity lottery??? If you went to the US to activate your green card, then that made you either a conditional or permanent resident, either way, you're allowed to stay in the US once you activate your green card.

OP was saying he understood he had to leave his homeland within 180 days to go back to the US.

[arken 4,197]

The best way to save time was to apply for a replacement card (form i-90) at no cost when you first saw the error. Anyway, at this point it's best to make an INFOpass appointment at a local office and talk to them about their so called resolved thing.

It will definitely take lots of months to get a new card, if you need to travel soon, you can have an i-551 stamp on your passport from a local uscis office.

Edited June 9, 2016 by arken

[NikLR 13,227]

Your visa or your green card? If its your visa you need to contact the Embassy or consulate and DOS.

[JimmyHou 611]

Hello again,

my Green card has a mistake. It says I am female, but I am male. I informed Dept of Homeland Security vis their website 3 months ago, but they did not address the error. I contacted them again, but they said I need to wait until the first request is processed. Now I received that the issue has been resolved?! It has not been resolved. No corrections were made. It is urgent, I need to leave for USA soon. What should I do?

Thank you

The best way to save time was to apply for a replacement card (form i-90) at no cost when you first saw the error. Anyway, at this point it's best to make an INFOpass appointment at a local office and talk to them about their so called resolved thing.

It will definitely take lots of months to get a new card, if you need to travel soon, you can have an i-551 stamp on your passport from a local uscis office.

Arken is correct. You should have filed a I-90 to replace your green card.

When you say that you contacted them online, what do you mean?

Do you mean that you filed an online I-90? If so, then you've done what you need to and it can take several months (sometimes over 6) to get a new card. Do as Arken suggests and make an Infopass appointment so that you can get an I-551 stamp good for one year. This will prove your permanent resident status and you can use it to travel (same restrictions apply as if you had a physical green card). Take any receipt you got from filing the I-90 with you to the appointment. Then you'll just have to wait until you get the actual card.

If you have not filed an I-90, then you need to do so; I believe that the filing fee will still be waived (if I understand the instructions correctly).

Here are the instructions for the paper application, but I assume it's the same for the online form:

https://www.uscis.gov/i-90

Edited June 9, 2016 by JimmyHou

[NikLR 13,227]

It doesn't sound like the OP is even in the USA so I wonder if they have an immigrant visa not a green card (yet.)

[Unlockable 7,314]

OP has another thread stating he was in the US then traveled back to his home country.

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/598671-when-do-i-need-to-move-to-usa-after-green-card-approval/

[NikLR 13,227]

Holy moly. time to merge these threads.

[Stepp 0]

How did you get your Green Card? Was it spousal, or lottery ? As far as I know you can't leave the States for longer then 6 months or maybe year tops, otherwise you will lose it. Since they expect you to live inside of the

US after you get your GC. I think you should try to settle there asap so you don't run the risk of loosing it in general. As for gender mistake should keep contacting those people who told you to wait. Just keep trying to reach them and find out what's going on.

Thank you. I got my GC through my mother. As for returning to USA within 180 days. Is it okay to return right on the dot? I left USA in Feb 20th, so can I return to USA on August 20th?