Renewing I-90 and my horrible memory

[Kanadka 2]

So I was doing some research on the I-551 stamp and came across this:

 

"Now, USCIS is saying that even with a N-400 pending that everyone who requests an I-551 stamp has to have an I-90 pending, too. Even if you’ve already had an interview on your N-400 application and just need a final decision or are waiting for the oath ceremony to be scheduled – if your green card has expired and you need to travel outside of the US you have to file an I-90 and spend $365.00 in order to obtain that stamp that will allow you to re-enter the United States. That makes no sense to me."

 

Is this statement true? If so and I'm going to have to apply for my green card renewal along with my citizenship (and pay double), then I think I will hold off on the N-400 and just send off my 1-90 and then get my passport stamped with the I-551. (Note that my green card expires in 5 months and I will be traveling outside of the USA in July, September and December of this year).

 

 

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I  just found this on USCIS's website (my green card expires in May of 2018):

 

4. Question: Please clarify if the rules have changed for naturalization applicants to renew expiring green cards. According to the current “Guide to Naturalization” (p. 13), if the applicant files for naturalization at least 6 months before the green card is due to expire, they do not have to renew the green card. One of our local affiliates informed us that their USCIS office does not follow this rule, and routinely requires naturalization applicants to renew their green card, even if they have applied for naturalization at least 6 months before it expires. This is very burdensome for low-income applicants who struggle to pay the application fees. In addition, their local office will no longer provide a stamp in these applicants’ passports to allow them to travel when their green card expires while the N-400 is pending. Is this a national policy?

 

Response: The existing policy has not changed and the Guide to Naturalization continues to reflect the abiding USCIS policy on this issue. If one of our field offices is not following these procedures, please let us know s

Edited January 10, 2018 by Kanadka

[Going through 5,671]

2 hours ago, Kanadka said:

So I was doing some research on the I-551 stamp and came across this:

 

"Now, USCIS is saying that even with a N-400 pending that everyone who requests an I-551 stamp has to have an I-90 pending, too. Even if you’ve already had an interview on your N-400 application and just need a final decision or are waiting for the oath ceremony to be scheduled – if your green card has expired and you need to travel outside of the US you have to file an I-90 and spend $365.00 in order to obtain that stamp that will allow you to re-enter the United States. That makes no sense to me."

 

Is this statement true? If so and I'm going to have to apply for my green card renewal along with my citizenship (and pay double), then I think I will hold off on the N-400 and just send off my 1-90 and then get my passport stamped with the I-551. (Note that my green card expires in 5 months and I will be traveling outside of the USA in July, September and December of this year).

 

 

The key issue (which I highlighted in bold red above in your research), as I mentioned earlier in this thread---was that the green card had *already* expired by the time the person went to get their passport stamped....so yes, at the infopass they would be told to pay for a greencard renewal.  

 

This is why myself and another member stressed on the previous page to get your stamp done *before* your card expires.

 

Hey---completely up to you what you want to do---if you have the extra money to spend and it won't hurt you financially, then by all means...in the end, it's your journey/time/money and not anyone else's.

Edited January 10, 2018 by Going through

[JT4/25 38]

1 hour ago, Going through said:

 

The key issue (which I highlighted in bold red above in your research), as I mentioned earlier in this thread---was that the green card had *already* expired by the time the person went to get their passport stamped....so yes, at the infopass they would be told to pay for a greencard renewal.  

 

This is why myself and another member stressed on the previous page to get your stamp done *before* your card expires.

 

Hey---completely up to you what you want to do---if you have the extra money to spend and it won't hurt you financially, then by all means...in the end, it's your journey/time/money and not anyone else's.

this is very true.  I just had to spend another $550.00 for the I-90 because my husband let his GC expire while we wait for the interview.  Go get the stamp....it will be good for one year!  That way you dont have to spend both fees like we had too.

[Kanadka 2]

Well, of course, I never want to spend more money than I need to! 

 

It's always so easy for me to get confused on the wording of some of the documentation and I think that's what I did. My interpretation of this statement on the USCIS website:

 

"If the applicant files for naturalization at least 6 months before the green card is due to expire, they do not have to renew the green card."

• If I applied for my N-400 at least 6 months prior to the expiration of my green card, then no, I do not need to renew it, I can just go get the stamp.
• If I DID NOT apply for my N-400 at least 6 months prior to the expiration of my green card, then YES, I do need to renew it before I get the stamp.

The second bullet applies to me, so I assumed I had to do both (apply for N-400 and I-90) to get the stamp.

 

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Something else I read - would totally suck if my local office did this:

 

I went to the local field office, and applied for an I-551 stamp but the request was denied because they did not receive my citizenship application 6 months or more before my green card expired. I can't find any sources that this prevents you from getting a I-551 for this reason. I was wondering if this is a new thing, and if there is anything I can do about this situation.

 

Edited January 10, 2018 by Kanadka