What are the odds of getting the I551 stamp?

[~krakatoa~ 27]

I had my AOS interview in SF. I asked for the stamp and brought in the flight itinerary and paper tickets (for the supposedly weekend getaway to Hawaii) but the adjudicating officer didn't stamp my passport. His words were, "We don't do that anymore in SF. Besides, you won't have to wait too long for your conditional GC to arrive." In other words, we didn't go to Hawaii and waited for the GC. But I heard some people were able to get their I-551 stamps onto their passports. So it depends on your adjudicating officer. Make a go for it and maybe you'll luck out than I did.

Edited November 21, 2007 by mysticbluerose

[payxibka 10,045]

I had my AOS interview in SF. I asked for the stamp and brought in the flight itinerary and paper tickets (for the supposedly weekend getaway to Hawaii) but the adjudicating officer didn't stamp my passport. His words were, "We don't do that anymore in SF. Besides, you won't have to wait too long for your conditional GC to arrive." In other words, we didn't go to Hawaii and waited for the GC. But I heard some people were able to get their I-551 stamps onto their passports. So it depends on your adjudicating officer. Make a go for it and maybe you'll luck out than I did.

Not only for your reasons stated above but the I-551 stamp would not be needed to go to Hawaii as that is a state.

[~krakatoa~ 27]

I had my AOS interview in SF. I asked for the stamp and brought in the flight itinerary and paper tickets (for the supposedly weekend getaway to Hawaii) but the adjudicating officer didn't stamp my passport. His words were, "We don't do that anymore in SF. Besides, you won't have to wait too long for your conditional GC to arrive." In other words, we didn't go to Hawaii and waited for the GC. But I heard some people were able to get their I-551 stamps onto their passports. So it depends on your adjudicating officer. Make a go for it and maybe you'll luck out than I did.

Not only for your reasons stated above but the I-551 stamp would not be needed to go to Hawaii as that is a state.

I'm sorry for the error but it was for Canada. I stand corrected. My co-workers and I were talking about Hawaii and I could not edit anymore the previous post.

Edited November 21, 2007 by mysticbluerose

[pushbrk 12,883]

Sorry I thought that was implied, I know the domestic travel regulations (or lack thereof)

We are traveling to Canada.

Our interview is in Santa Ana CA

It's far more reliable to ask and state directly than to rely on implication. If you have the opportunity to ask this question at your interview, you would be wise to actually mention Canada. That said, although the stamp will get you back into the USA, there's no guarantee the Canadian border folks will understand the stamp is a substitute for a green card. Depending on your spouse's country of origin, they may need a visa to enter Canada.

[athena_ny 1]

Sorry I thought that was implied, I know the domestic travel regulations (or lack thereof)

We are traveling to Canada.

Our interview is in Santa Ana CA

It's far more reliable to ask and state directly than to rely on implication. If you have the opportunity to ask this question at your interview, you would be wise to actually mention Canada. That said, although the stamp will get you back into the USA, there's no guarantee the Canadian border folks will understand the stamp is a substitute for a green card. Depending on your spouse's country of origin, they may need a visa to enter Canada.

I agree with the rest of your post but: http://www.cic.gc.ca/EnGLIsh/visit/visas.asp - this shows that US permanent residents do not need visas to enter Canada, seemingly regardless of country of origin.

[Cassie 8]

Sorry I thought that was implied, I know the domestic travel regulations (or lack thereof)

We are traveling to Canada.

Our interview is in Santa Ana CA

It's far more reliable to ask and state directly than to rely on implication. If you have the opportunity to ask this question at your interview, you would be wise to actually mention Canada. That said, although the stamp will get you back into the USA, there's no guarantee the Canadian border folks will understand the stamp is a substitute for a green card. Depending on your spouse's country of origin, they may need a visa to enter Canada.

I agree with the rest of your post but: http://www.cic.gc.ca/EnGLIsh/visit/visas.asp - this shows that US permanent residents do not need visas to enter Canada, seemingly regardless of country of origin.

Brad is the Canadian in the relationship, if I remember correctly, so that's not a problem. What will be a problem is proving that he has been approved as a permanent resident if he doesn't get the passport stamp, because he will not have an approval notice in hand. And it's not the Canadian Customs peeps that he will have to worry about, it's the US border agents on re-entry to the US.

[pushbrk 12,883]

Sorry I thought that was implied, I know the domestic travel regulations (or lack thereof)

We are traveling to Canada.

Our interview is in Santa Ana CA

It's far more reliable to ask and state directly than to rely on implication. If you have the opportunity to ask this question at your interview, you would be wise to actually mention Canada. That said, although the stamp will get you back into the USA, there's no guarantee the Canadian border folks will understand the stamp is a substitute for a green card. Depending on your spouse's country of origin, they may need a visa to enter Canada.

I agree with the rest of your post but: http://www.cic.gc.ca/EnGLIsh/visit/visas.asp - this shows that US permanent residents do not need visas to enter Canada, seemingly regardless of country of origin.

Yes, a US permanent resident can enter Canada without a visa and yes the I-551 stamp indicates the person is a US permanent resident. What I said was there is no guarantee the Canadian border folks will understand the stamp is a substitute for the green card. If they don't see it as a green card then it won't help.

I'm not willing to make any assumptions on which country the beneficiary is coming from. If Canada, then of course they won't have any trouble entering Canada and the US folks will understand the stamp.

[bradcanuck 1]

Calm down Pushbrk. Thank you to those that answered, I got the info I needed.

Cheers.

[SHELLYandFCO 0]

Good luck Bradcanuck!