Ok, the time has come for me to start my I-751

[jodee 30]

Ok,..Brief review of my story

Moved to California thanks to K1 in Dec 03

Married February 04

Moved to Germany thanks to US military orders March 04.

Returned to the US for 3 months in July 04 to do AOS,..all my mail was going to my In-laws.!

Came back to Germany, made a few trips home to Australia, but always returned here.

Its now time to start lifting conditions, and I start to panic, what the hell do I do??

After looking over paperwork it states that if your overseas due to US Government orders, you can simply apply to lift conditions upon return on orders to the US, as long as its within 90 days of return. Ok, so that was a relief, be it for all of 30 seconds. My CPR will still expire, and so will my Green card, which technically means I have abandoned my residency. What happens if I want to return to the States for a holiday to visit my hubbys family before we officially go home??

So, I ring the USCIS office in Frankfurt. Got a lovely man named Tom, who helped me incredibly. He advised me to still lodge the I-751, along with a copy of the mil orders, and all other relevant "proofs" , that go with it. He said that once they see the mil orders they will either process it and approve it straight away, or simply file it away till we return stateside. If the later is the case, they will send an acknowledgement saying the paperwork is on file, and to simply notify them once we return to the States.

If I do want to return to the States in the interim, I can simply, once again, take my Military Id card, a copy of the orders, and a printout of 8 CFR 211-1 A6. he said if the guys at POE try to give me a hard time, throw the copy of the CFR at them, and they have to allow me in country.

Got off the phone feeling a whole lot better, knowing my life wont be on hold again,....

Hope this helps some of the Military folk out there, who may face the same situation,...

Jodee

[eau_xplain 2]

very valuable info Jodee! Thanks for sharing!!

[meauxna 15]

So, I ring the USCIS office in Frankfurt. Got a lovely man named Tom, who helped me incredibly. He advised me to still lodge the I-751, along with a copy of the mil orders, and all other relevant "proofs" , that go with it. He said that once they see the mil orders they will either process it and approve it straight away, or simply file it away till we return stateside. If the later is the case, they will send an acknowledgement saying the paperwork is on file, and to simply notify them once we return to the States.

hey, jodee! Time flies!

I like Tom's idea here. I think the NOA could be generated automagically and sent to your address of record. That NOA + your expired Green Card = valid travel and proof of status document.

The NOAs usually go out within a week or two of receipt of your I-751, so you'll know pretty quickly what they're going to do with your app.

m

[Stefanie 1]

Hey Jodee,

I talked to an immigration officer again during one of our "Germany meetings" here on-post and they told me the exact same thing. I am so relieved now. Because just like you, I thought I would lose my residency status.

So it's all good! Thanks for your message btw!

Stefanie