question about green card and ss card

[Captain Oates 911]

I have been told that the A# is the registration number - does anyone know if this is so?

The A number is indeed the registration number on the immigrant visa which serves as the temporary I-551; just add the A.

Regarding problems with the stamped visa being recognized as the temporary green card, it says so right on the visa -- albeit in very fine print -- that this serves as a temporary I-551 valid for one year. So this should not be any issue for anyone who can read.

At the POE, the officer told my wife that currently it may take three to four months for the green card to be issued because of USCIS being overloaded with cases.

I don't think POE officers know the schedules of the issuing office in Texas and I prefer to look at the signature timelines of vj folk and they are saying up to 7 weeks (usually) at the moment..

Why cant they endorse the visa :

'THIS VISA ACTS AS A GREEN CARD FOR 12 MONTHS'. It just goes on about 551 which means nothing to all these other agencies.

It is always the same with lawyers and technical people - they use their own geek language and so the real world is messed up by them

Computer programers are also a perfect example - ivory tower mentality

[Chris Parker 11]

For any that have experienced the CR-1. Is the date they mail out the green card and social security card based on having visa issued or when you go through POE? Planning on spending a couple of months in Manila visiting wife's family and friends and don't want these laying around the post office. Thanks

How the process is supposed to work is described in much deep detail here:

RM 00202.315 (SSA-POMS)

https://secure.ssa.gov/apps10/poms.nsf/lnx/0100202315

If you haven't gotten you SSA card in 10-14 business days after arrival, go to the SSA office to apply for it. Even if the visa data was transmitted to SSA, SSA may not be able to issue an SSN card with it if without your intervention if any visa data entered by the consulate on the MRIV record is incomplete, invalid, or your name/DOB closely matches someone else.

Edited February 6, 2008 by Chris Parker

[Chris Parker 11]

Why cant they endorse the visa :

'THIS VISA ACTS AS A GREEN CARD FOR 12 MONTHS'. It just goes on about 551 which means nothing to all these other agencies.

If I had chosen the message, I would have written:

'UPON U.S. ADMISSION, SERVES AS I-551 TEMPORARY EVIDENCE OF LAWFUL PERMANENT RESIDENCE FOR 1 YEAR'

Also, I would include an 'A' in front of the registration #.

Local Dept. of Social Services grudgingly accepted the visa and admission stamp as a 'green card', but only after asking more than once after seeing it, "have you applied for a green card?" and being told "no, she already has status as a permanent resident as of her admission date", but I'm sure they are going to manually send it in with a G-845S for verification before giving final approval of the public benefits applied for, especially since they didn't bother next asking for A#.

[Captain Oates 911]

I went to the SS office a month after landing - they said 2 weeks to the card..

I then chased them every week - but nothing happened until the GC was produced

I wrote every week and phoned them and left messages etc

Good job I had a restricted ss card from k1 otherwise i would have been without bank accounts/credit cards/driver's license / car/car insurance etc etc

Feel sorry for recent immigrants

[Chris Parker 11]

I went to the SS office a month after landing - they said 2 weeks to the card..

I then chased them every week - but nothing happened until the GC was produced

I wrote every week and phoned them and left messages etc

Good job I had a restricted ss card from k1 otherwise i would have been without bank accounts/credit cards/driver's license / car/car insurance etc etc

Feel sorry for recent immigrants

Guess it was worth the 1+ hour wait we endured in the airport waiting for new immigrant processing---seemed unfair to watch other people coming after us & going before us, but then again, maybe they only gave those people a sloppy job?

[Captain Oates 911]

Guess it was worth the 1+ hour wait we endured in the airport waiting for new immigrant processing---seemed unfair to watch other people coming after us & going before us, but then again, maybe they only gave those people a sloppy job?

We did that too but it did not speed up the ss card

most people report that asking for a ss card on the immigrant visa form has no effect