i551 stamp expires in Feb 2023 but may stay oversea pass that

[aznhouston 130]

Guys,

 

I have a question on how to proceed with this situation.

I got robbed of my wallet in Feb this year, and got an i551 stamp in the passport, the stamp is expiring on 21st Feb, 2023. I need to to visit my country Vietnam and help my parents with some stuff early December and may have to stay well beyond the expiration of the stamp. I called USCIS today to get another stamp but they said I can only request an Infopass Appointment if it's within 60 days of expiration.

Is there any other way I can get this stamp earlier? Or is there some paperwork that can help me get back to the US if I have to stay beyond the expiration on the i551 stamp?

 

TIA

[Mike E 11,739]

It’s looking like I-131a once you are over seas and your stamp expires. 

[OldUser 6,650]

You have an option as suggested above, or the other two:

 

- Keep trying to get a stamp in November. Try different field offices, show them proof of travel. Maybe they could accomodate you and issue the stamp.

- Break down your trip into two. Come back to the US in January, get a stamp and go back to Vietnam.

 

As you said, you may need to stay well beyond the expiration, so I think the last option may be helpful, though expensive. No guarantees you would get the stamp. If you do manage to get a stamp in January, it kind of helps with breaking your long stay outside of the US so you don't get in a trouble for spending too much time overseas.

[mindthegap 2,590]

You CANNOT get an I-551 stamp overseas. 
A boarding foil via the consulate/embassy is an expensive ($575), time consuming, pain in the a** that you can do without, so you need to get it before you go. 
 

When you call again and they ask you if your current stamp expires within 30 days just say yes - the phone people really don’t know this and the people at the appointment don’t care too much and will be happy to cancel your current stamp and issue you a new stamp earlier than normal if you show you will be travelling during the expiration period.

If you do get the ‘no appointments available’ bs which seems to be common now, then call again and state it is urgent imminent travel for an urgent reason. 
 

I simply can’t believe this rubbish that USCIS are making people jump through for these goddam stamps that you are legally entitled to (could be argued to required to have). I dread doing this rubbish every year, and I’ve had twelve of these stupid stamps now. 
 

 

Oh, and when you renew your passport, the stamp remains valid in the cancelled one when presented with a new valid passport. 

Edited October 21, 2022 by mindthegap