Mother arrived on IR5 visa on Dec 1, no Green card yet

[slider100 8]

Hello everyone,

My mother arrived on an IR5 visa on Dec 1. POE was Newark, the CBP stamped the passport and confirmed her address in the US. I paid her immigrant fees on Nov 29th, before she left for the US. Does anyone know how long it takes to get the physical green card in the mail? We haven't received a welcome letter. I tried to inquire online but it asks me to enter the code they send in the mail to create a USCIS account. 

Thank you! 

[mam521 2,120]

It's a crapshoot.  Some people get it within a month, ours took nearly 180 days.  I send an inquiry to USCIS after 90 days, but it wasn't very fruitful.  I believe it states on the USCIS website that you have to wait 90 days before sending an inquiry.  

 

The visa in her passport with the validation stamp serve as her greencard for up to a year.  She can apply for a SSN and get a DL if she drives.  If it gets closer to that year and you don't have the card, you can set up an infopass appointment to renew the stamp. 

[slider100 8]

Thank you, I appreciate the inputs. She did receive her SSN within a month, it was filed concurrently with the application. She needs a GC to open a bank account so I wanted to get an estimate. 

Did you ever receive a Welcome letter? Something acknowledging that the GC file is processed. 

Thanks again! 

[Chancy 6,243]

*** Moved from Bringing Family of USC forum to Moving to the US & Your New Life In America forum -- OP's mother already entered the US with IR5 visa ***

 

On 2/1/2022 at 8:48 AM, slider100 said:

Does anyone know how long it takes to get the physical green card in the mail?

 

As mentioned above, if the plastic GC doesn't arrive in the mail after 90 days of US entry, contact USCIS to log a ticket for "Out of Normal Processing Time".

 

Check the recent comments in the thread below.  Nowadays, it seems common for the GC to be delivered after 90 days.

 

 

On 2/1/2022 at 10:30 AM, slider100 said:

She needs a GC to open a bank account

 

Her IR5 visa + CBP entry stamp serves as her temporary GC for 1 year after US entry.  Did she already try opening a bank account and the bank refused her because they did not understand that she has a GC in her passport?

 

I understand that different banks have different requirements for opening accounts.  In my case, both banks I went to were fine with me not having my plastic GC.  One is a credit union, which did not even ask for my GC at all.  The other was Chase Bank.  They seemed used to accepting endorsed immigrant visas as one of the ID documents for opening accounts.