Couldnt get I-551 stamp on almost expired passport

[lesthatsri 9]

Hi guys

I've been trying to find information on this matter everywhere in the forums, and I can't find any cases similar to mine. I would like to have some advice in this matter.

 

I am currently pending on my removal of conditions, my original green card expired on September 2016 and I filed for removal of condition at the beginning of August 2016. My case is on the CSC. I know that many people is being delayed here. Right now, I received a notification from my employer that they will have to terminate me by September 5th if I can't show proof of my eligibility to work after this. When I did my original i-9 they didn't take in consideration my green card and extension letter, but instead, they did the verification with my state id and social security card (I don't know why)

 

Anyway, I scheduled my infopass appointment today and I went to the field office in Indianapolis, IN. Before coming in, I called customer service who told me that I could get an I-551 stamp to extend my extension letter until the ROC is processed. He also said that if my passport was expired or lost I could get an i-94 card with the same stamp. When I talked to the lady at the office, she said that she couldn't stamp my passport because it was going to expire on September 9th 2017, and that she couldn't give me an i-94 card with the I-551 stamp, because I am a permanent resident. I was shocked. I kept asking her and told her that I would be terminated if I couldn't provide my employer with a new green card. She told me to renew my passport first and get the stamp later, and that my ROC would take at least 45 to 90 days still. Now, is this correct? Or should I had insisted more? 

Right now, its almost impossible for me to get my passport within the time frame, as I don't have my ID from my original country anymore.

 

I feel as if the only choice i would have would be to be fired from my job and wait for my green card to arrive. Any ideas?

 

Thank you for any input,

 

 

[M*M 26]

Your Only option and easy thing to do is..

First Step is to renew the Passport immediately, you may be able to Expedite, goto your Passport Country Embassy and you should be able to do with a day or two.

Next step is to get the Passport with i551 Stamp

Next Step is to provide the proof to employer and Keep the Job

Next Step is to wait for your Condition to be lifted.

 

USCIS doesn't care about your employment, it is not there mistake nor they will change there policy. Don't waste any time thinking about is there is any short cut.  You still have time to get the above done.

 

Good Luck

 

 

[Suss&Camm 2,213]

First of all, your employer needs to read the employer handbook on verifying work authorizations.

https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/51-reverifying-employment-authorization-current-employees

It states both that an unrestricted ssn card is enough to reverify but also that:

"Reverification is never required for U.S. citizens and noncitizen nationals. Do not reverify the following documents after they expire: U.S. passports, U.S. passport cards, Alien Registration Receipt Cards/Permanent Resident Cards (Form I-551), and List B documents."

This is because your authorization to work doesn't expire with your document. It is not an EAD.

[mindthegap 2,605]

Your company is absolutely in the wrong - your status is unaffected whether you have a stamp or no stamp, and asking you to provide this and threatening you with termination is skating very close to the wire for them legal wise.

Take this up with your HR dept. immediately, and point out the wording at the very top of the I-9 form HERE:

 

'Anti-discrimination notice: It is illegal to discriminate against work-authorized individuals. Employers CANNOT specify which document(s) an employee may present to establish employment authorization and identity. The refusal to hire or continue to employ an individual because the documentation presented has a future expiration date, may also constitute illegal discrimination".

 

 

45 minutes ago, lesthatsri said:

When I did my original i-9 they didn't take in consideration my green card and extension letter, but instead, they did the verification with my state id and social security card (I don't know why)

 

Because that is the law....you have a list of documents you can choose from that fulfill the I-9 requirements, and the employer has no say in what is provided by you. This list is on the final page of the form linked above.

 

As you can see, state ID and SS card fulfills the I-9 requirements - period.

 

 

 

 

 

For your stamp, or proof of status, if you can't renew your passport quickly then you may realise that you have lost your passport.....

I suggest you then make another infopass and ask for a supervisor this time. If you have no passport, or an expired one, you can be issued an I-94 document as proof of status (I believe that you need to take two passport photos with you for this.). Having lost your passport may, in these circumstances, be beneficial to you, as USCIS basically doesn't give a ####### about you or your status or employment issues, so play them at their own game.

 

 

You have also realised that many USCIS employees make it up as they go along, and really do not have a clue what they are doing, along with the scores of inconsistencies that are commonplace. 

Edited August 9, 2017 by mindthegap

[lesthatsri 9]

37 minutes ago, Suss&Camm said:

First of all, your employer needs to read the employer handbook on verifying work authorizations.

https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/51-reverifying-employment-authorization-current-employees

It states both that an unrestricted ssn card is enough to reverify but also that:

"Reverification is never required for U.S. citizens and noncitizen nationals. Do not reverify the following documents after they expire: U.S. passports, U.S. passport cards, Alien Registration Receipt Cards/Permanent Resident Cards (Form I-551), and List B documents."

This is because your authorization to work doesn't expire with your document. It is not an EAD.

Thank you so much for your input. I thought so too... like why my company is making me re-verify my documents when my green card and extension letter should have been an item from column A. I didn't know about this rule, as I never had this issue before, but it is very helpful. I will come back and talk to HR again about it. 

 

I can't renew my passport that easy. Unfortunately, my embassy sucks big time. Just to get my original country ID card it takes 45 days processing time and I have to go in person to request it and then to pick it up... without this ID I can't get a new passport. Then the passport takes another two weeks. >.< So by the time I get it, i will probably have my new green card already.  

 

31 minutes ago, mindthegap said:

 

For your stamp, or proof of status, if you can't renew your passport quickly then you may realise that you have lost your passport.....

I suggest you then make another infopass and ask for a supervisor this time. If you have no passport, or an expired one, you can be issued an I-94 document as proof of status (I believe that you need to take two passport photos with you for this.). Having lost your passport may, in these circumstances, be beneficial to you, as USCIS basically doesn't give a ####### about you or your status or employment issues, so play them at their own game.

 

 

You have also realised that many USCIS employees make it up as they go along, and really do not have a clue what they are doing, along with the scores of inconsistencies that are commonplace. 

5

Actually I did lose my passport (or I thought I did, and then I found it yesterday) I thought it would have been easier for them to just add it to the passport than to give me a new card... it kills me because I was there waiting for hours (and is a 2hr drive from home with baby and husband) and I didn't get what I needed. :/ I even pointed out to the official that USCIS customer service told me that I could get the I-94 card with the stamp and she told me that "they didnt know what they were saying because they cant see my real status when i call them over the phone".. and i was like... what?!

 

Thank you!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[shell20 746]

3 minutes ago, lesthatsri said:

Thank you so much for your input. I thought so too... like why my company is making me re-verify my documents when my green card and extension letter should have been an item from column A. I didn't know about this rule, as I never had this issue before, but it is very helpful. I will come back and talk to HR again about it. 

 

I can't renew my passport that easy. Unfortunately, my embassy sucks big time. Just to get my original country ID card it takes 45 days processing time and I have to go in person to request it and then to pick it up... without this ID I can't get a new passport. Then the passport takes another two weeks. >.< So by the time I get it, i will probably have my new green card already.  

 

Actually I did lose my passport (or I thought I did, and then I found it yesterday) I thought it would have been easier for them to just add it to the passport than to give me a new card... it kills me because I was there waiting for hours (and is a 2hr drive from home with baby and husband) and I didn't get what I needed. :/ I even pointed out to the official that USCIS customer service told me that I could get the I-94 card with the stamp and she told me that "they didnt know what they were saying because they cant see my real status when i call them over the phone".. and i was like... what?!

 

Thank you!

 

 

 

Whoever told you at the field office that you cannot have a stamp should be sacked, passport or no passport you can have a stamp, an i551 stamp in a card if your passport is expired. I know this as I am in removal of conditions and I had my GC stolen. I went to the field office they refused to stamp my passport without a pending i90, my husband made a complaint.   Why pay out for a stolen card when it would expire shortly and be cancelled out by removal of conditions.   Any way the manager of the field office in Pittsburgh wrote to us to tell us to come in for a stamp, an i551 stamp and if my passport was expired to bring two photos with me so they could put it in a card. I would most definitely make a complaint and also I would tell HR that they are treading a fine line as regard to the law.

 

 

 

 

[lesthatsri 9]

I decided to contact the DHS about the I-9 verification through email to send a copy of my employer and see if I can keep my job. Thank you so much! 

1 hour ago, shell20 said:

 

Where do you send a complaint? Should I just call USCIS customer service? I am definitely not looking forward to go back to Indianapolis but I will do it if they would give me proof of my status. It sucks, that their delayed processing time affects my life!!!!!! I wish their letters would last until you get the actual card. 

[shell20 746]

36 minutes ago, lesthatsri said:

I decided to contact the DHS about the I-9 verification through email to send a copy of my employer and see if I can keep my job. Thank you so much! 

Where do you send a complaint? Should I just call USCIS customer service? I am definitely not looking forward to go back to Indianapolis but I will do it if they would give me proof of my status. It sucks, that their delayed processing time affects my life!!!!!! I wish their letters would last until you get the actual card. 

We put ours in writing to the Manager of the Field Office. It took around 2 weeks for a reply, which asked us to go back for the stamp that should have been given in the first place. We received a letter from the manager which said bring your passport and if expired bring 2 passport photographs.  If you look at the USCIS they need to address all complaints in a satisfactory manner, which they did in our case. We even received a follow up call from the manager. I would google the Managers name for Indianpolis rather than ring the mis-information/disinformation line.  They will reply to your complaint its USCIS policy, so the sooner you write the sooner you can resolve this without going home to get your passport. Good luck.

[AK_2014 113]

19 hours ago, lesthatsri said:

When I talked to the lady at the office, she said that she couldn't stamp my passport because it was going to expire on September 9th 2017, and that she couldn't give me an i-94 card with the I-551 stamp, because I am a permanent resident.

That's crazy. I've read a few cases of people here on VJ who have done exactly that, gotten an i-94 card by bringing in two passport photographs (because their passports had already expired, not that they were about to expire, but that's basically the same thing??). Probably not logistically possible to try to get an InfoPass somewhere else and see if they will do it there?

[Ketsuban 1,034]

Ask HR to provide you with a written statement that they will terminate your employment if your Green Card expires and you do not have an I-551 stamp. Then when they do, report them to the relevant government body (department of labor?). Make sure to let HR know they are violating federal law.

 

My employer verified me with my driver's license and SSN. I don't think they even know that my GC is expired because they've never asked to see it and legally aren't allowed to demand to see it in preference to other identity validation documents.

[DeenieRN 16]

My passport expires october 2018 and the USCIS agent at my infopass appt nearly wouldn't give me a I-551 stamp, she said that 6 months before my passport expires I need to get a new passport and a new stamp because my stamp will be obsolete if I have less than 6 months on my passport.... I swear each agent makes up their own rules

 

(ROC Aug 2016 filer CSC, Divorcee Waiver and expert in waiting...)

[lesthatsri 9]

Update: I contacted i-9 central - call center - they told me that my expired green card + i-751 receipt notice were only a document from List C and that I need a List B document (id with photo) to complete the i-9 verification, which is why the employer did it like this. They told me that I need to get the stamp to continue my employment after my green card expired  @.@

They told me that because I was a conditional resident... i was hoping to get some information to show my employer from them, but i got nowhere. 

 

I scheduled a new appointment to the USCIS field office for next week and i will be going there to get that stamp one way or another, I feel so bad that I was already there and missed my opportunity. 

 

 

[lesthatsri 9]

I went back to the Indianapolis field office and I just realized I'm going to see the same lady that denied me the stamp last time. Hopefully this time I don't have any issues. I will insist to get the i-94 card or talk to a supervisor. 

[mindthegap 2,605]

1 minute ago, lesthatsri said:

 talk to a supervisor. 

Is the correct course of action.

 

 

[lesthatsri 9]

Ugh.. the lady talked to the supervisor, and they only granted me one month card >.> I was planning on going to Chicago to extend my passport anyway tomorrow. it just takes a long time. If USCIS wouldn't take that long to process by case I wouldn't be asking for these stamps.