A-Number Discrepancy when filing ROC

[geogirl1214 0]

I came to the US on a CR1 in February 2019. I am still married to my wife. 

We submitted my I-751 to remove conditions on November 14, 2020 and we have the USPS signature confirmation from November 18, 2020. 

To this date we have not received the I-797 form, which I know many are behind on receiving. We paid with a cashier's check which the bank confirms has not been cashed. 

 

I called last week to inquire about the receipt number/status. The caller I spoke to said something about a possible mismatch with my A-number and asked me to verify my name with my social security number, which I did.  She stated she had no information about my case and I was told to email the lockboxsupport email address, which I did, and received a generic response about petitions taking longer than normal and to inquire again in 30 days if we had not heard anything. 

 

As my green card expires 2/7/2021, my wife suggested we make an InfoPass appointment. When we phoned today and talked to the representative, she stated that they do not take InfoPass appointments for this and again suggested we email the lockbox. I told her we had, and received a response to inquire again 30 days - she said that she would go ahead a Tier 2 representative return my call within 7 business days, and went to get more information to put that request in. 

 

When she did, she paused for a moment and stated that "since this is a VAWA case, maybe you should send a letter to the Vermont Service Center where the case is located..." and I was like wait....what?  This is not a VAWA case. I came here on a CR1. I am still married and I have never filed any VAWA cases at all. 

 

There was another pause as she did more checks, asked me to spell my name, my birthdate, etc. She then stated that the A-number I had given her does not correlate to my name, and instead is for a female who is filing a VAWA. 

I asked her if she wanted me to fax a copy of my green card to her, reflecting that the number I gave her was, indeed my A-number. My wife and I have verified that this same A-number is listed on my CR1 797 from August 2018, is handwritten by CBP in my passport, and appears on my greencard. 

 

She stated that this would definitely be problematic, but all she could do was ask the Tier 2 Representative to call me back within 7 days. She then confirmed when she reviewed the chart more thoroughly that they had received my I-751 packet but due to the A-number mismatch it was not able to be processed. (I got the feeling she told me this under the table). 

 

To give further background - prior to our CR1, we had applied for a K1 that expired while on AP and was returned to the US.  Neither my wife or I realized at the time that they assigned me an A-number during my K1 petition. 

When we filed the CR1, it asked if I had an A-number, and as we had forgotten that I previously had assigned one, so we stated that no, I had not received an A-number.  This was simply a complete omission - not an attempt to lie or cover anything up - we did state in the CR1 petition that we had applied for K1 and that it had expired. We didn't realize this until recently when we were going through all our immigration paperwork for the ROC that I had even been assigned one 4 years ago during our K1 attempt, but seeing as how the CR1/passport/green card all reflected the same (different) number, we used this number to file my ROC paperwork. 

 

So my questions would be ---

1. Has anyone ever heard of their A-number also being assigned to someone else?

2. If my green card expires, I'm aware my driver's license does too, and will not drive - but what about work? Technically we did file ROC, just haven't gotten a receipt. Would I be considered out of status/deportable? 

          I don't want to work illegally, especially if I decide to choose to apply for citizenship. 

3. If I do not hear back from a Tier 2 representative (or miss their call), is there anyone else someone can think of that may help me to get clarification on this? 

 

Does anyone else have suggestions, advice, or recommendations on things to try to get this clarified? 

I know this is somewhat of an unusual case - we just want to do things the correct, legal way, but would prefer to not be out of status in the US either. 

 

Thanks for any advice. 

  

[HRQX 4,145]

1 hour ago, geogirl1214 said:

Would I be considered out of status/deportable?

No. After the card's expiration you still have status. In regards to your current employment, they cannot ask you for updated card: https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/complete-correct-form-i-9/completing-section-3-reverification-and-rehires

Employers should not reverify:

• U.S. citizens and noncitizen nationals
• Lawful permanent residents who presented a Form I-551, Permanent Resident or Alien Registration Receipt card for Section 2. This includes conditional residents.
• List B documents

For new employment, it's complicated since you said your DL is about to expire. Each state handles status differently in regards to DL and ID. But with valid DL or ID, and an unrestricted SSN card you meet the List B+List C I-9 requirement.

[Thegirl 225]

Your DL does not become invalid if your green card expires. If the actual expiry date is valid you can still use it, you are still a legal permanent resident. My DL expires a few years after my Green card.