Time between green card expiration and ROC being granted

[cmhans 1]

Sorry if this is a stupid question.... My Permanent Residence card (green card) expires on September 29th 1017 and I am just about to send off my i-751 petition and evidence. From the discussions in this forum it seems it could take anything up to about 18 months for Removal of Conditions (ROC) to be granted. My question is, does that mean that after September 29th, for (up to) 18 months I simply do not have a green card?

[theanswerisdance 144]

13 minutes ago, cmhans said:

Sorry if this is a stupid question.... My Permanent Residence card (green card) expires on September 29th 1017 and I am just about to send off my i-751 petition and evidence. From the discussions in this forum it seems it could take anything up to about 18 months for Removal of Conditions (ROC) to be granted. My question is, does that mean that after September 29th, for (up to) 18 months I simply do not have a green card?

Yes and no. You still have possession of your 2-year green card, which will obviously be past the expiry date listed on it. So when you file I-751, you should receive two receipt notices (separately) in the mail shortly thereafter. One will be an appointment notice to do your biometrics, and the other will be what's commonly known as the extension letter, which explicitly states that they have received your I-751 and have extended your conditional resident status for one year. The extension letter, together with your expired green card, serve as your proof of continued legal status. So no, you don't get a new green card in the interim while ROC is pending, but you still need your old one carried with the extension letter as your proof on occasions where you need said proof (such as if you want to travel outside the U.S.).

[cmhans 1]

Thank you for the reply and info!