Currently overseas with expired GC and no I-551

[rico21rod 1]

Regarding my spouses situation:

 

Currently expired GC.

I-797 NOA 18 month extension expired two months ago.

Reentry Permit I-131 has been pending since September 2021.

Could not get infopass i-151 because we were already overseas 5 months prior to expiration and you cant get stamped until 60 day window.

 

Arrived in S. Korea - Feb 2022,

I-797 expired - SEP 2022.

 

We are currently in S. Korea. We came while I was separating from the military stateside.

My wife had labor here and the baby had some health issues which forced us to remain here longer than expected while we got that figured out.(We are able to get medical letters as proof)

 

1. Does this apply to my situation?

We recommend that you file Form I-131 while you are in the United
States. However, you do not have to be in the United States for
USCIS to approve your Form I-131 and issue
a reentry permit to you if your biometrics (photo, fingerprints) have
been obtained. You can indicate on your Form I-131 that you want
USCIS to send your reentry permit to a U.S. Embassy, consulate
or a DHS office overseas, so you can pick it up from one of those
facilities.

Since we applied for reentry well before traveling, we should be covered as long as it gets approved, right? I recall submitting info to pick it up from the embassy in seoul whenever it is ready.

 

2. Her GC is expired, should we travel back to the states to try and get an I-151 in the meantime? We're thinking of trying to fly back soon to get this sorted out.

1. What challenges will we run into, being that we have the reentry pending but the GC is not valid. Do we need to apply for a boarding foil just to cover us to get back to the states for an infopass appointment?

 

I'm currently in a military veteran training program with microsoft and we're planning on heading back to the states when this is finished in Feb.

Around that time, my baby will be almost 1 year and she will be done with her medical treatments.

[Chancy 6,241]

13 minutes ago, rico21rod said:

What challenges will we run into, being that we have the reentry pending but the GC is not valid. Do we need to apply for a boarding foil just to cover us to get back to the states for an infopass appointment?

 

Your wife will not be allowed to board a plane to the US with an expired 2-year GC and an expired extension letter.  Pending re-entry permit will not be enough.  Without an approved re-entry permit, she will need a boarding foil to be able to fly back to the US.  Instructions for boarding foil application at the US embassy in Seoul -- https://kr.usembassy.gov/immigrant-visas-boarding-foil/

 

[rico21rod 1]

6 minutes ago, Chancy said:

 

Your wife will not be allowed to board a plane to the US with an expired 2-year GC and an expired extension letter.  Pending re-entry permit will not be enough.  Without an approved re-entry permit, she will need a boarding foil to be able to fly back to the US.  Instructions for boarding foil application at the US embassy in Seoul -- https://kr.usembassy.gov/immigrant-visas-boarding-foil/

 

Ok that's what we were thinking, thank you for validating that for us!

 

Once we get the foil and fly to the states and get an I-151, we will have another year buffer while the case is still pending, right?

 

After getting the stamp, we will need to return to korea for another month or 2 to get everything situated before going back to the states so I want to make sure we aren't doing anything that will cause red flags.

 

Also, Will we run into any issues getting an I-151 with an expired GC? It's as easy as setting it up an appointment and visiting an office?

 

Thanks for any insight!

[Chancy 6,241]

3 minutes ago, rico21rod said:

After getting the stamp, we will need to return to korea for another month or 2 to get everything situated before going back to the states so I want to make sure we aren't doing anything that will cause red flags.

 

Why not just wait until your family is ready to return to the US for good?  No red flags even if she returns to the US, then flies back to SK soon after getting an I-551 stamp.  But it just seems like a waste of trip to me, assuming the I-551 stamp is the main purpose.  Her extension letter is already expired anyway, so she will need to get a boarding foil regardless of the timing of your next trip.  She remains an LPR even with an expired GC, and you have medical documents to show that the extended stay was not entirely under your control.

 

[rico21rod 1]

2 minutes ago, Chancy said:

 

Why not just wait until your family is ready to return to the US for good?  No red flags even if she returns to the US, then flies back to SK soon after getting an I-551 stamp.  But it just seems like a waste of trip to me, assuming the I-551 stamp is the main purpose.  Her extension letter is already expired anyway, so she will need to get a boarding foil regardless of the timing of your next trip.  She remains an LPR even with an expired GC, and you have medical documents to show that the extended stay was not entirely under your control.

 

What you're saying makes a lot of sense and would definitely save us some money in the end. I think my concern was that we were trying to just fly and get the stamp prior to being out of the country for a year. My interpretation was that being out of the country for one year is a big problem.

[Chancy 6,241]

4 minutes ago, rico21rod said:

My interpretation was that being out of the country for one year is a big problem.

 

It would be a problem if your wife had no valid reason for staying away for that long.  Your baby's health issues requiring ongoing medical treatments is a good reason.

 

[rico21rod 1]

14 minutes ago, Chancy said:

 

It would be a problem if your wife had no valid reason for staying away for that long.  Your baby's health issues requiring ongoing medical treatments is a good reason.

 

Great thank you so much for your help! Definitely eases some anxiety.

 

Take care!