Received two Greencards - one from approved ROC and one from approved I-90 - What now?

[Kürbis&Tannenbaum 21]

Hi Visajourney,

 

I'm looking for some advice on what to do if I received 2x a 10-year greencard with the expiration dates being approximately 2 months apart. I'm not sure which one is valid, and I'm assuming it will matter in 10 years if I have to renew.

 

Backstory:

 

Back in October 2020, after a successful AOS interview, I was granted a greencard. However, the USCIS made a mistake and gave me a 10-year greencard instead of the 2-year conditional one that you'd get if you got married on a K-1 visa. (Greencard category IR6 instead of CR). Upon researching and consulting visajourney, I filed an I-90 to correct the mistake and explained that I should have gotten a 2-year GC.

 

I didn't hear back. Then, in summer 2022, we filed for ROC, and referenced the pending I-90 case.

 

Then, this year in May (2024), my ROC case was approved and they mailed me a 10-year GC with an expiration in May (ten years from now).

 

Upon receiving the new GC in May 2024, I sent a letter to the I-90 case cancellation address via tracked mail to cancel my pending I-90 case, and at the same time also uploaded a signed copy of said letter to the USCIS online account as "additional evidence" to the pending I-90 case. I never heard back, until July 2024, when they updated the USCIS online case status to say that my I-90 case was approved and my GC is being printed... And about 2 weeks later, I received a second GC in the mail, this one is also a 10-year GC, but with an expiration date in July (ten years from now).

 

I closely compared them and the details are mostly the same. The only differences that I found are:

- the expiration date (both are 10 years from now, but different MM/DD)

- the 8-digit number on the back of the card (top left corner)

- the machine-readable letter/number combination on the back of the card (one of them has my I-90 case receipt, and the other has my ROC case receipt)

- some of the numbers in the second line of the machine-readable part on the back of the card in line #2.

- one card is "paler" than the other one, but I think that's just a printing issue and not relevant, haha.

 

Long story short - which GC do you think would be the "valid" one, or are both valid? Personally, I feel like the one that was issued more recently should the the valid one, voiding any previous cards, but some of my family members disagree, arguing that the one that's tied to the actual ROC case should be the valid one (which is the "older" one from May).

 

I am even debating driving to the local USCIS office with both GCs and just showing them to the person at the door and ask nicely to be let in, because I need to know which document is valid, lol.

 

I appreciate any advice.

 

Thank you!!

[OldUser 6,922]

This is a very interesting story.

Does the "Resident Since" date match on both cards?

 

If yes, I'd say GC based on approval of ROC is the correct one (expiring May 2034). The one that came later based on I-90 is not correct. USCIS should have not given you 10 year GC when you requested correction to 2 year GC.

 

None of this matters much if you Resident Since date is correct and match on both cards and if you apply for citizenship before they expire.

Edited October 14 by OldUser

[Kürbis&Tannenbaum 21]

35 minutes ago, OldUser said:

This is a very interesting story.

Does the "Resident Since" date match on both cards?

 

If yes, I'd say GC based on approval of ROC is the correct one (expiring May 2034). The one that came later based on I-90 is not correct. USCIS should have not given you 10 year GC when you requested correction to 2 year GC.

 

None of this matters much if you Resident Since date is correct and match on both cards and if you apply for citizenship before they expire.

Thanks for your reply! Yes, the "Resident Since" date matches on both cards; it's set to Oct 2020. I also figured that's probably the most important part of it, and I'm glad that there is no mismatch in that regard.

I might not actually file for citizenship, so I wonder if in 10 years I need to renew, I should just file in time for the "earlier" (May 2034) expiration date to be on the safe side.

 

I'm also not sure if I'm now expected to travel with 2 GCs. I picture an awkward situation at Customs where I hand them one GC and then it tells them it's not valid and then I'm like "Hold on, I've got another one, try this one."   My dad thinks that's an easy way to look suspicious...

[OldUser 6,922]

11 minutes ago, Kürbis&Tannenbaum said:

Thanks for your reply! Yes, the "Resident Since" date matches on both cards; it's set to Oct 2020. I also figured that's probably the most important part of it, and I'm glad that there is no mismatch in that regard.

I might not actually file for citizenship, so I wonder if in 10 years I need to renew, I should just file in time for the "earlier" (May 2034) expiration date to be on the safe side.

 

I'm also not sure if I'm now expected to travel with 2 GCs. I picture an awkward situation at Customs where I hand them one GC and then it tells them it's not valid and then I'm like "Hold on, I've got another one, try this one."   My dad thinks that's an easy way to look suspicious...

You should only carry the one with May 2034 expiration.

 

You can apply for renewal 6 months before in expires, unless the rules change in the future.

 

As to the second card, you can either keep it in a safe place just in case or send back to USCIS with letter explaining in detail why you don't need it. The address is on the card.

Edited October 14 by OldUser

[Scandi 4,172]

How nice to have two greencards, that way you can carry one and still have another safely at home to use if you lose the first one. Those cards are expensive. 

[top_secret 2,453]

Just thinking out loud, and not claiming any knowledge on the subject, but if one card is "correct" according to all actual circumstances and the other card is not, shouldn't the incorrect one be returned to USCIS with a letter pointing out their mistake?  Just because USCIS makes a mistake does not absolve the beneficiary of the mistake.

[OldUser 6,922]

12 minutes ago, top_secret said:

Just thinking out loud, and not claiming any knowledge on the subject, but if one card is "correct" according to all actual circumstances and the other card is not, shouldn't the incorrect one be returned to USCIS with a letter pointing out their mistake?  Just because USCIS makes a mistake does not absolve the beneficiary of the mistake.

AFAIK there is no rule forbidding somebody to keep 2 GCs at a time. In fact, many do keep two cards due to conditional card and permanent GC.

 

I removed my conditions on GC, and still have expired GC + extension letter extending its validity.

 

OP can return GC during naturalization or next GC renewal, but I am not aware of requirements to return second GC.

 

As long as OP doesn't lend it, sell it or misuse it, it's just another proof of status.

Edited October 15 by OldUser

[Kürbis&Tannenbaum 21]

Thanks all for your responses, I really appreciate it!
Something I'm still iffy on is owed to the fact that I don't know if a newly issued greencard invalidates the previously issued one. I know that the expiration dates state that both cards should be valid until 2034, but I'm worried from a system-readable standpoint.

 

Such as, if you get a new credit card, once you activate it, the previous one is invalid and can no longer be used. Similarly, I wonder if that's a thing with greencards, because they do run them through their system when you travel, I thought. And so, my remaining worry is that if I travel with only one greencard (let's say the one that's associated with the approved ROC case), that they run it through, and it dings and they tell me that it's not valid and I'm not allowed to enter... Maybe this is an unwarranted fear, but I guess I don't really understand the "behind the scenes works" of the digital document check.

[OldUser 6,922]

6 minutes ago, Kürbis&Tannenbaum said:

Thanks all for your responses, I really appreciate it!
Something I'm still iffy on is owed to the fact that I don't know if a newly issued greencard invalidates the previously issued one. I know that the expiration dates state that both cards should be valid until 2034, but I'm worried from a system-readable standpoint.

 

Such as, if you get a new credit card, once you activate it, the previous one is invalid and can no longer be used. Similarly, I wonder if that's a thing with greencards, because they do run them through their system when you travel, I thought. And so, my remaining worry is that if I travel with only one greencard (let's say the one that's associated with the approved ROC case), that they run it through, and it dings and they tell me that it's not valid and I'm not allowed to enter... Maybe this is an unwarranted fear, but I guess I don't really understand the "behind the scenes works" of the digital document check.

The second GC was issued in error.

[Kürbis&Tannenbaum 21]

4 minutes ago, OldUser said:

The second GC was issued in error.

Okay, I see what you meant now earlier with the May greencard being the "real" one. I'll use that one for travel. Thank you, I appreciate it!