I-751 October 2016 Filers

[Laurynsan 1]

1 hour ago, dnp2014 said:

Contacted USCIS.. Tier 2 did not want to tell me anything.. they only want to speak to the applicant.. so I made my wife called them back. They can't verify why they send another biometrics letter after 11 months waiting.. Tier 2 said since you receive the letter you should attend the appointment. asked for details on the case.. she said pending 

 

 

I hate when they say that... is like ok... wait for 3 months more! But you know what... sane happened to my cousin, and they send her the NOA a month after the 2nd biometrics appointment 

Edited October 17, 2017 by Laurynsan

[dnp2014 44]

12 minutes ago, Laurynsan said:

I hate when they say that... is like ok... wait for 3 months more! But you know what... sane happened to my cousin, and they send her the NOA a month after the 2nd biometrics appointment 

They did take fingerprints 2 time already.. last one was Dec 2016. No notification so we felt everything was fine.. now pretty strange.. and they can't verify if the second one was accepted... major inconvenience is taking a day off from work 

Edited October 17, 2017 by dnp2014

[Laurynsan 1]

Q

Edited October 18, 2017 by Laurynsan

[Laurynsan 1]

Hi every one... I’m new here!! Just found this helpful website... I’m a late October filler, my NOA is dated on November 3rd 2016, bio dec 7th and nothing yet... getting crazy here!!! Any advise? Oh!! And VSC office... also I noticed that in August 31th where processing October 3... so is supposed to be November already not??? I have a friend with NOA 5 days before me, and got his approval letter on 9/28, same office... could be something wrong with mine???

Edited October 18, 2017 by Laurynsan

[dnp2014 44]

31 minutes ago, Laurynsan said:

Hi every one... I’m new here!! Just found this helpful website... I’m a late October filler, my NOA is dated on November 3rd 2016, bio dec 7th and nothing yet... getting crazy here!!! Any advise? Oh!! And VSC office... also I noticed that in August 31th where processing October 3... so is supposed to be November already not??? I have a friend with NOA 5 days before me, and got his approval letter on 9/28, same office... could be something wrong with mine???

They receive thousands of cases every month. A person 5 days before you received a reply does not mean something wrong. You probably will hear before December. 

[Laurynsan 1]

17 minutes ago, dnp2014 said:

They receive thousands of cases every month. A person 5 days before you received a reply does not mean something wrong. You probably will hear before December. 

Hopefully... thank you!!!

[dnp2014 44]

I hope some one can answer this.. 

 

GC Expiry 12/30/16

NOA1 10/11/16

 

We have appt  for fingerprint (3rd time) on 10/25/17. I am not planning to get the stamp due to busy schedule. There is no rush bec no international travel planned and my lender accepted the letter as a yr residency from GC expiry date.  I was thinking to wait out until December 2017 for the passport stamp (hoping approval bef December). 

 

Let say my case is pending after December and I don't get the stamp. Is there any issue going to USCIS in Jan/Feb 2018 for the stamp ? 

 

 

[nightingalejules 678]

38 minutes ago, dnp2014 said:

I hope some one can answer this.. 

 

GC Expiry 12/30/16

NOA1 10/11/16

 

We have appt  for fingerprint (3rd time) on 10/25/17. I am not planning to get the stamp due to busy schedule. There is no rush bec no international travel planned and my lender accepted the letter as a yr residency from GC expiry date.  I was thinking to wait out until December 2017 for the passport stamp (hoping approval bef December). 

 

Let say my case is pending after December and I don't get the stamp. Is there any issue going to USCIS in Jan/Feb 2018 for the stamp ? 

 

 

No, there shouldn't be an issue. Since your residency status doesn't change, and getting the stamp only provides you with proof of status, you should be able to just get it if and when you feel you need it.

[ilyak 79]

17 hours ago, nightingalejules said:

No, there shouldn't be an issue. Since your residency status doesn't change, and getting the stamp only provides you with proof of status, you should be able to just get it if and when you feel you need it.

Actually, legally, there is an issue if the OP's extension letter expires and he does not get the stamp. Here's a quote from paragraph 264 of the INA:

(e) Every alien, eighteen years of age and over, shall at all times carry with him and have in his personal possession any certificate of alien registration or alien registration receipt card issued to him pursuant to subsection 
(d) Any alien who fails to comply with the provisions of this subsection shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall upon conviction for each offense be fined not to exceed $100 or be imprisoned not more than thirty days, or both. 

So he has to have some proof of status on him or risk a misdemeanor conviction which will come up when he files his N-400. If his 797 expires, the I-551 stamp is the only available form of evidence of his status as a conditional permanent residence, so he should get it and carry his stamped passport on him at all times. While this may seem silly, there're anecdotal stories out there of LPRs getting detained by ICE during workplace raids after failing to produce any evidence of status. Getting the stamp and carrying your passport around, of course, means risking your most essential (and sometimes very hard to replace) document every day, just another wonderful perk that comes with the CPR status.

Edited October 20, 2017 by ilyak
Cleanup

[dnp2014 44]

6 minutes ago, ilyak said:

Actually, legally, there is an issue if the OP's extension letter expires and he does not get the stamp. Here's a quote from paragraph 264 of the INA:

(e) Every alien, eighteen years of age and over, shall at all times carry with him and have in his personal possession any certificate of alien registration or alien registration receipt card issued to him pursuant to subsection 
(d) Any alien who fails to comply with the provisions of this subsection shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall upon conviction for each offense be fined not to exceed $100 or be imprisoned not more than thirty days, or both. 

So he has to have some proof of status on him or risk a misdemeanor conviction which will come up when he files his N-400. If his 797 expires, the I-551 stamp is the only available form of evidence of his status as a conditional permanent residence, so he should get it and carry his stamped passport on him at all times. While this may seem silly, there're anecdotal stories out there of LPRs getting detained by ICE during workplace raids after failing to produce any evidence of status. Getting the stamp and carrying your passport around, of course, means risking your most essential (and sometimes very hard to replace) document every day, just another wonderful perk that comes with the CPR status.

 

The letter is valid one year from GC expiry date ?? This is what USCIS staffs tell everyone.. The letter was revised recently to include it 

 

GC Expire 12/30/16  so won't be an issue until Dec 30, 2017 ?? 

[ilyak 79]

5 minutes ago, dnp2014 said:

 

The letter is valid one year from GC expiry date ?? This is what USCIS staffs tell everyone.. The letter was revised recently to include it 

 

GC Expire 12/30/16  so won't be an issue until Dec 30, 2017 ?? 

Yes,  all evidence says that the letter should be valid for 1 year after your initial CPR status is set to expire -  meaning, the date on your green card. However, there's definitely a lot of confusion even among the USCIS officers around this. Just look through this thread to see how many contradicting responses VJ members received, some from Tier 2 agents and case officers at INFOPASS appointments. In the end, whether the (admittedly low) risk of running into an illiterate ICE agent is worth the time to get the stamp is your decision. Personally, I would probably get the stamp before the year since the date of the letter runs out, but your case may differ. FWIW, INFOPASS appointments are widely available in my area, and I do not have to travel too far to get to the nearest field office. When I got my passport stamped, I was able to sign up for the next day and the whole affair took about 4 hours, out of which 3 were travel.

[mindthegap 2,590]

19 hours ago, dnp2014 said:

 

Let say my case is pending after December and I don't get the stamp. Is there any issue going to USCIS in Jan/Feb 2018 for the stamp ? 

 

 

No. No legal requirement to obtain a stamp, nor in my personal experience any issue with a a gap between the expiry of a previous extension letter or stamp (I am on my fourth) and a new one.

 

 

 

1 hour ago, ilyak said:

Actually, legally, there is an issue if the OP's extension letter expires and he does not get the stamp. Here's a quote from paragraph 264 of the INA:

(e) Every alien, eighteen years of age and over, shall at all times carry with him and have in his personal possession any certificate of alien registration or alien registration receipt card issued to him pursuant to subsection 
(d) Any alien who fails to comply with the provisions of this subsection shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall upon conviction for each offense be fined not to exceed $100 or be imprisoned not more than thirty days, or both. 

So he has to have some proof of status on him or risk a misdemeanor conviction which will come up when he files his N-400. If his 797 expires, the I-551 stamp is the only available form of evidence of his status as a conditional permanent residence, so he should get it and carry his stamped passport on him at all times. While this may seem silly, there're anecdotal stories out there of LPRs getting detained by ICE during workplace raids after failing to produce any evidence of status. Getting the stamp and carrying your passport around, of course, means risking your most essential (and sometimes very hard to replace) document every day, just another wonderful perk that comes with the CPR status.

 

 

I have posted on this subject before somewhere when the requirement to carry was discussed.

 On the face of it, from the quote above, it looks like a slam dunk that you must carry something at all times. However, delve a little further in to the law, and it gets a little less clear.

 

It could be argued that since no valid 'alien registration card' nor 'certificate of alien registration' has been issued after the expiry of the GC, during the initial 1st yr ROC, or following the 1st year, than there is none that can be carried.

 

Note:  A 'Registration Certificate' is defined in 264.1 - HERE

Amongst many other documents, it lists the I-94 (not applicable), I-766 (not applicable), and of course the I-551 (expired). It does not mention a temporary I-551, only an I-551 card.

Crucially, the I-797/I-797C is not listed, and as you are not permitted to file an I-90 either, that is another possible document/receipt removed.

Also in that list:

 (c)    Replacement of alien registration. Any alien whose registration document is not available for any reason must immediately apply for replacement document in the manner prescribed by USCIS.  

 

Therefore, by having an expired document, but by applying for a replacement alien registration card, (which, by filing the I-751 on time you have done), your legal obligations have been fulfilled.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited October 20, 2017 by mindthegap

[Sol De Vries 1]

Hi fellow journey folks,

 

I have a question regarding the interpretation of the sentence "Your conditional resident status is extended for a period of one year."

 

My Bank is arguing that my conditional resident status expires one year following the receipt date on the I-797 NOA following my I-751.

 

Instead I would like to argue that it extends my status by one year following the expiration date on my Green Card.

 

Does anyone have, or know of, an authoritative source confirming my interpretation? Maybe a later revision of Form I-797 after 01/31/05?

 

Thanks!

[ilyak 79]

33 minutes ago, mindthegap said:

I have posted on this subject before somewhere. On the face of it, from the quote above, it looks like a slam dunk that you must carry something at all times. However, delve a little further in to the law, and it gets a little less clear.

 

It could be argued that since no valid 'alien registration card' nor 'certificate of alien registration' has been issued after the expiry of the GC, during the initial 1st yr ROC, or following the 1st year, than there is none that can be carried.

 

Note:  A 'Registration Certificate' is defined in 264.1 - HERE

Amongst many other documents, it lists the I-94 (not applicable), I-766 (not applicable), and of course the I-551 (expired). It does not mention a temporary I-551, only an I-551 card.

Crucially, the I-797/I-797C is not listed, and as you are not permitted to file an I-90 either, that is another possible document/receipt removed.

Also in that list:

 (c)    Replacement of alien registration. Any alien whose registration document is not available for any reason must immediately apply for replacement document in the manner prescribed by USCIS.  

 

Therefore, by having an expired document, but by applying for a replacement alien registration card, (which, by filing the I-751 on time you have done), your legal obligations have been fulfilled.  

3

3

Excellent point and great research, thank you. I went ahead and read 264.1, and after thinking about your reasoning, I mostly agree with the interpretation that the OP is under no obligation to carry anything valid on its face after the initial year. At the least, this issue can be argued, so a good attorney should have no trouble placing any resulting case into 'so not worth it' category. Also, AFAIK, the USCIS does not really distinguish between the full-size I-551 stamp and the physical card - on their website, they tend to only refer to a visa stamped with an oval admission stamp as the 'temporary I-551'. Finally, it can also be argued that the I-751/CRI-89 is not an application for a replacement document per se, although it does end up sorta fulfilling this function despite the fact that the 797/797C is not listed in item 1. So there's really no clear form/process that could serve as an acceptable application for a replacement document for CRs in the ROC process. (Arguing against myself here, though, could setting up an appointment to get the I-551 stamp could possibly be construed as applying for a replacement document?)

 

With all of this in mind, I would say that I personally would be inclined to interpret the legal ambiguity from a 'better safe than sorry' perspective, especially based on the US law enforcement's record with slam-dunk reasoning. In the end, under most circumstances, getting the stamp is not a terribly complex or expensive process, especially when compared with the possible (if improbable) cost of not doing so.

 

On a completely unrelated note, just got my informed delivery digest, and there's a letter from the USCIS! Looks like it's printed on the same kind of watermarked paper as the extension letter/NOA, so probably not an RFE... Come on, mailman!

Edited October 20, 2017 by ilyak
Cleanup quote

[mindthegap 2,590]

8 minutes ago, Sol De Vries said:

Hi fellow journey folks,

 

I have a question regarding the interpretation of the sentence "Your conditional resident status is extended for a period of one year."

 

My Bank is arguing that my conditional resident status expires one year following the receipt date on the I-797 NOA following my I-751.

 

Instead I would like to argue that it extends my status by one year following the expiration date on my Green Card.

 

Does anyone have, or know of, an authoritative source confirming my interpretation? Maybe a later revision of Form I-797 after 01/31/05?

 

Thanks!

Latest versions of the I-797C have been updated to clarify - here is mine from the past few weeks:

 

Also see here, the carrier guide - specifically page 38 -  for documentation for carriers flying to the US, and is CBP current policy, and states it in fairly clear terms:  https://www.cbp.gov/sites/default/files/documents/Carrier Information Guide- English.pdf

Edited October 20, 2017 by mindthegap