I-551 stamp & pending I-751 application

[coderjay 0]

Hi folks,

My I-751 is in processing and I have the NOA stating that the conditional residency has been extended for a year. My conditional GC expired Aug 10. I am planning to travel to India in Nov.

Although I have read in several places that you can travel with the expired GC plus the extension letter, I am still a little paranoid about the situation. I do not want any ugly situations on my return trip either in India (from people who check the documents but do not recognize the NOA as a valid document) or the US. What have been your experiences traveling with the NOA + expired GC? Specifically, does anyone have any good/bad experiences traveling from India to share?

The option I am considering is to go to the local office in Seattle and see if I can get a I-551 stamp. I realize I need to get an infopass appt, but the only choices on there are for "a new perm res who has not received a card" and a bunch of other choices that do not apply to my situation. Has anyone gone to get their I-551 stamped while 751 is in processing? Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

[Kez/JWolf 6]

They do not normally give the I-551 stamp because the NOA1 extension letter is all you need along with your expired Greencard to be able to travel... it is not up to the airline s at check-in desks to decide who can and can not enter the USA... it is the CBP officer at your POE that makes that desision... if you had problems at the check-in you should always ask for a supervisor and they can contact CBP/homeland security if they need to clarify your greencard/extension letter...

Kez

[Dakine 26]

I'd rather have the stamp in the passport also. Letters can get destroyed and lost easier.

Make LOTS of copies of the letter just in case.

Don't know if they will except copies tho.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

We made an appointment at the local office for Nani to have her passport stamped so we won't have to worry about this stupid extension letter when she goes on her trip at the end of this month. When making the appointment, we selected that "a new perm res who has not received a card" option for the appointment and it worked well. This was at the Tampa Sub-Office, though, and I understand that some local offices are rather difficult with this type request. The only way to find out is to make an appointment and give it a try.

Good Luck!

[sam11 0]

We made an appointment at the local office for Nani to have her passport stamped so we won't have to worry about this stupid extension letter when she goes on her trip at the end of this month. When making the appointment, we selected that "a new perm res who has not received a card" option for the appointment and it worked well. This was at the Tampa Sub-Office, though, and I understand that some local offices are rather difficult with this type request. The only way to find out is to make an appointment and give it a try.

Good Luck!

can any of you tell me what the extension letter is and how i can apply for one?

thanx

[eau_xplain 2]

can any of you tell me what the extension letter is and how i can apply for one?

thanx

Have you received the NOA stating that your conditional residency has been extended for 1 year? That is your extension letter.

Edited September 5, 2007 by eau_xplain

[RichardS 0]

My friend who is an ex-USCIS adjudicator told me to make an infopass appointment and attempt to obtain the I-551 stamp ANYWAY even though you have the NOA letter. He said the the stamp was best to have BUT don't be surprised if they said "no!" He feltthat the trip was worth the effort anyway!!

Good luck...

[coderjay 0]

Thanks for all the help and suggestions!. I set up an appt and got the passport stamped. No problems at all.

Used infopass to set up an appt with "new permanent resident..." option. When I got to the office, I was asked if I was there to get a stamp. I said yes, got a number and waited about 15 mins. When my number was called, I talked to the officer and she said.."We can give you a stamp". That was it. Took me all of 40 mins from getting into the DHS local office to getting out with the stamp. My local office is Seattle, btw.

On the USCIS website, you can search for your local office. When mine came up, one of the services listed was I-551 stamping. On that webpage they also ask for 2 passport photos. I was not asked for any photos.