mindthegap

Do not do this. You are not VWP or ESTA eligible as you are a permanent resident. If your original extension letter is still valid - you said you filed in May of 2021 and it should have been a 24 month extension letter at that time - then when accompanied by the expired card, yes you should* be ok to board a flight back to the US as long as it is before the expiry of that 24 month period. *disclaimer - I am not a lawyer. This is based solely on my own personal experience travelling with a denied I-751, and refiles, and personal knowledge of this, and you should seek your own qualified legal opinion.

Yes.

Nope. Must be paid. Will be rejected if you don't.

Not really. 1) you can file with a divorce waiver at any time. You haven't mentioned divorce, so I'll assume this is a regular joint filing. 2) joint filings can be filed late after that 90 day window, as long as they are accompanied by a request to excuse the lateness and that isn't clearly defined so is open to interpretation, so in practice, most, if not all, late filings are accepted without issue. You do have a perfectly valid reason for late filing here. You originally filed on time and it it is a re-file following denial which is a valid reason. Write a brief letter stating that, including the prior receipt number, and it will be accepted. Trust me man, I've filed three of these damn things now - it'll be accepted as long as you write a brief letter with it specifying why it is outside of the usual 90 day window.

It's a motion to re-open or reconsder with VERY narrow criteria for filing, and a specified time period in which to do so. It is NOT an appeal. A motion to reopen: must state new facts and must be supported by documentary evidence demonstrating eligibility for the required immigration benefit at the time you filed the application or petition. As in, if there was some pertinent documents that that you didn't file or include, or perhaps you didn't have at the time of filing, that would have changed the outcome, this would be the one to use. A motion to reconsider: A motion to reconsider must demonstrate that the decision was based on an incorrect application of law or policy, and that the decision was incorrect based on the evidence in the case record at the time of the decision. The motion must be supported by citations to appropriate statutes, regulations, precedent decisions, or statements of USCIS policy. In other words, YOU have to tell THEM, what laws, procedures or their own policies they violated by denying you. Yes, really, it is that stupid. Like I said, just file an I-751 as it's the path of least resistance and the same amount of money. You used to be able to request a service motion by writing or in person, or even over the phone, with USCIS for their errors and they would fix it. You didn't have to formally file anything. Nowadays, because they are so busy/inept/greedy/lazy, they don't even bother acting on such requests and thats IF you can actually speak to a human, so a possible way to do so is by filing an I-290B, BUT this has a narrow time window in which to do so, and costs money. My advice stands. Start preparing a new I-751, while trying to get an infopass over the phone on short notice (you may have to be economical with the truth to get one) AND writing a letter to the field office director marked urgent and getting it fedex'd there in the hope that someone with more than one brain cell actually reads it and does their damn job

Which is why you are best to just file a fresh i-751 as odds on you will eventually have to anyway. IF you get the error corrected you can withdraw the second filing. As @Family mentions above, service motions for USCIS screw ups used to be addressed in a timely manner and fee free - this is not really the case any more. You could file an I-290B which is now late, it could be rejected or it could be accepted, and then you are in the waiting game for that, with no guarantees they will view it favourably at all. Given the cost the fresh I-751 is a path of least resistance, while concurrently trying to get them to fix this issue WITHOUT paying for an I-290b. Just prepare to file a new I-751 - you are legally permitted to do so, and should someone at USCIS actually reverse this you can then withdraw it (no refund unfortunately). It is strongly in your interests for a variety of reasons that you file this sooner rather than later. Congresspeople cannot intervene or overturn a USCIS decision. All they do is send your request to USCIS exactly as you have written it to your congressperson, and draw their attention to it. Whether someone acts on that is no guarantees - they’ve paid not one jot of attention to my congressperson requests after waiting YEARS and drawing their attention to clear procedural and legal errors and I know they were sent to USCIS as I can see them in my A# file in my FOIA response. Oh young grasshopper you have much to learn about USCIS and the horrible loop and phase you are about to enter following a denial. It's going to be a mess. It’s definitely buried in the legalese (I have it noted down and frankly can’t be bothered to dig it out right now) that they can, legally, correct it and reopen for cause or service error, and at zero cost. The problem, as always, is getting someone at USCIS to do what they are supposed to do. When you can’t even get an infopass appointment or speak to a non robot for over 30 days, what the hell chance do most people have here at getting it fixed? It’s a (removed) disgrace. [EDIT] - I decided to dig it out from my master folder: I cited this as part of my requests that were totally ignored. 8 CFR 103.5 (a) (5) “(5) Motion by Service officer (i) Service motion with decision favorable to affected party. When a Service officer, on his or her own motion, reopens a Service proceeding or reconsiders a Service decision in order to make a new decision favorable to the affected party, the Service officer shall combine the motion and the favorable decision in one action. (ii) Service motion with decision that may be unfavorable to affected party. When a Service officer, on his or her own motion, reopens a Service proceeding or reconsiders a Service decision, and the new decision may be unfavorable to the affected party, the officer shall give the affected party 30 days after service of the motion to submit a brief. The officer may extend the time period for good cause shown. If the affected party does not wish to submit a brief, the affected party may waive the 30-day period.”

You need to call and get an infopass to try to get them to correct it with a service motion as it is their error, and sadly a not uncommon one. You could try mailing in your request for a service motion due to their error, but good luck with that - I sent by fedex with signature required a detailed service motion request on two occasions pointing out serious errors and both were flatly ignored. Disgraceful. The tricky part will be getting an infopass on short notice. Again, a total mess. You may need to economical with the truth to get a short notice appointment here. Failing a service motion and getting them to correct the error, you would need to file a new I-751(and pay again, yes) In that circumstance, the sooner you do so, the better it is for you.

No

If it is within the 90 days preceding the expiry date of the card, yes. No. Not possible. You can request one. Whether or not it is successful - because USCIS's systems don't talk to one another - is the unknown. Whatever you don't don't just miss it. Pray that you get the letter saying that they have re-used prior biometrics and no appointment is necessary. There is no I-90 to be filed here. It is not applicable. Do not file an I-90. You must file an I-751, which requires both your signatures. The I-751 upon filing and acceptance gives a receipt, which comes in the regular mail to the US address given on the form (it cannot be an overseas address), and acts as an extension letter for the expired card for a specified period - currently 24 months. To board a flight back to the US she MUST have that original receipt/extension letter AND her expired card, so you will need to find a reliable method of getting it sent to her overseas, such as fedex or UPS with signature added. An expired card is usless without the receipt/extension letter and the extension letter is usless without the expired card. They are BOTH needed. No, a copy will not suffice, as the original is watermarked and this is checked by some people. In your circumstances I would suggest filing it 1 day after your 90 day window opens (and NOT before). This gives you several months leway for anything untoward to happen, such as for it to go missing, be rejected, the receipt doesn't arrive or whatever, as she is still able to re-enter the US with the card prior to expiry.

Build a time machine and go back in time and read the instructions for the I-90 for a start, where in the very first section of the very first page it very specifically says not to file an I-90 for a replacement of a 2 year permanent resident card. FORGET about the I-90. It was a waste of time, money, nothing will happen with it and you won't get a refund. So that is done. Forget it. You need to file an I-751 now, pay the fee+ biometric fee, include your evidence of bonafide marriage, AND include a letter stating why it is being filed late (you could include a copy of your I-90 receipt here, indicating you filed the wrong form in error). It will be accepted and a receipt issued - note that the receipt letter is valid for 24 months from the date of expiry of the 2 year card, and NOT 24 months from the date of the receipt letter.. So at some point you will need to get an I-551 stamp in your passport for continued proof of status and for travel purposes. You will then have to wait a couple of years for it to be adjudicated, and quite probably receive an NTA for an immigration court appearance in the meantime for which you should get a lawyer if that appears. In fact, given you had trouble understanding which form to file in the first place, and now have a denial letter and possible NTA on the way, I would say you do need a lawyer in this case. Bon chance.

Call USCIS. Say infopass, specify it is urgent due to being required for employment proof (it isn’t urgent but they don’t know that) and hopefully that gets you a quicker call back appointment than the joke it has been for some time of 30 days plus for a call back. Once that extension letter has expired DO NOT LEAVE THE US until you have got an i-551 stamp in your passport at an infopass appointment. I can’t stress this enough. As for continuing to work; 1) your right to work does not expire when your 24 month extension does. Your status as a LPR remains the same. 2) if asked for anything by HR, ignoring the fact that they legally really shouldn’t be (although I personally would push back on that, depends how much time and energy you have to do so) just show them an unrestricted SS card and a valid state ID, which fully complies with and fulfills I-9 requirements for employment purposes as a list B+C document. Nothing else needs to be shown or produced to your employer or discussion entered into.

101%. A steep and completely unjustifiable increase, and massively out of proportion to the other proposed fee increases. Speaking of which, the I-290B fee is also increasing, as is the N-400......and also the I-130 and I-485 for any possible future relative petitions. However, the biometrics fee is decreasing, from $85 to $30. How kind of them. Note that these are all proposed increases, not confirmed as yet. I look forward to getting rinsed by USCIS for my inevitable future filings.

You can file now, or at any time, if you are filing solo as a divorce/abuse waiver. But if filing jointly, no, it cannot be filed prior to the 90 day window preceding the card expiry.

Try it, but preferably not at pre-clearance in DUB who know their stuff. Rely on airline staff checking immigration documentation being clueless, and then you will get admitted at secondary at immigration in the US when they run your details to verify your status after you clearly tell them it is a copy as the original was stolen. Get a police report to verify this. Expect some grumbling but you will be stamped in as normal after they verify. Worst case, you have to get a boarding foil (you need an 1-131A not an I-131 - and the price is as you correctly state, $575 with no biometric fee) but try it first without that hassle. There is also the option of a land border. Get to an infopass for an I-551 stamp after you get back stateside. Because it is watermarked. Officially you require the original watermarked copy to be presented with the expired card for boarding a flight back to the US.

One form, signed by both. One cheque, one biometrics. Lots of evidence.

Yep

If your 2 yr card expired more than 18 months ago, then they would have been correct. In such a situation you would have been stuck, at least until you visited a US embassy for an I-131A boarding foil ($575) to return back to the US. However, if the card did expire in September 2021 as you say and you have an 18 month extension letter, then no, they were incorrect, as the letter extends for exactly 18 months from the date of expiry on the 2yr card, which would put you at expiry in (back of cigarette packet maths) march 2023. With the expired card and a valid (original, watermarked) extension letter, you are permitted boarding back to the US on any carrier, as confirmed in the carrier information guide. After that date, then yes they would be correct. Because the card/extension letter are proof of status and not the status itself. While the I-751 process is underway you remain a LPR until approved, or an immigration judge says otherwise. Even with an I-751 you remain a permanent resident until an immigration judge says otherwise. At no time have you been an illegal during the I-751 process, regardless of expired extension letters or not. Because USCIS suck and have massive backlogs entirely of their own making. if it helps, they used to be 12 month extension letters, then 18, and now I believe recently (and someone correct me if I a wrong) 24 months ones appear. You call USCIS, say 'infopass' to the automated idiot, speak to a tier 1 idiot, who will schedule a call back from a tier 2 idiot at a completely random time, who will schedule your appointment with another idiot at your nearest USCIS office to issue you an I-551 stamp in passport. This is a temporary permanent resident stamp and acts as proof of permanent residence and is sufficient for travel to the US. They are issued for twelve months at a time and can be renewed around a month or so from expiry. They are currently a massive pain to get. despite being legally entitled, some could argue required, to have one. No further extension letters are issued, so an I-551 stamp is your main option. You try to plan ahead so you aren't in such a situation and you have valid documentation at all times. . But if you were in such a situation, because life, you can get an urgent (like, same day in some cases) infopass appoinment in genuine short notice emergencies, but best to avoid being in that situation if you can at all help it.

I hear you and you are right, as that was obviously the right think for you to do with your circumstances at the time. I mean, either way the OP is in for some expensive paperwork and lengthy wait…. I and others are just presenting the possible options for them to resolve their mess, some of which are messier than others. If they want to be together, in the US, while it’s being sorted (which may take years) , then land border entry is the way to go and deal with the complications and paperwork once in. If they are happy to be separated, or both remain overseas, or perhaps have very frequent trips, then a fresh IR-1 would be the way to go, which may take years. No one but the OP and her husband know which is more appropriate for them and their family.

The rest of your post is good, but this part isn't. A denied I-751 is not appealable. You can file an I-290B motion to reopen (based on incorrect application of the law) or motion to reconsider (based on evidence not taken into consideration), but they have an extremely narrow scope of applicability, which would never include a missed (mandatory) biometrics appointment let alone six of them - and it's not an appeal. Her husband does still have status. Despite the denial letter, he still remains a LPR - albeit with presumed abandonment - and is entitled to due process, a hearing with an immigration judge, and a i-551 stamp while any proceedings are underway, up until the point of an order of final removal by an immigration judge, which is the point that he is no longer a permanent resident. Until that is made, either in person or in abstentia, then he is a permanent resident. As further evidence of this, the court case checker I posted previously came back ok for them. He can file a new I-751, which he couldn't do if he was no longer a permanent resident. The problem is, he is outside the US, with no way of obtaining an I-551 stamp outside of the country, not technically eligible for an I-131A, and a headache of applying for an SB-1, which is why my advice, and others advice, is to get on a plane to Canada or Mexico, and walk up to a land border (NOT a pre-clearance in an airport) with a large grilling headed their way and once in the country, either file a new I-751, or a new I-130 and I-485 for IR-1 from within the US on the basis of the prior denial. If that doesn't work - and it really should - then there are other options available to them to explore...but the path of least resistance should be attempted first, which is a land border.

I don't trust me. Not sure why anyone else would

Happens a lot. I also had interview notices and stuff sent to an address two moves ago, despite doing the AR-11 AND phoning to confirm it had been done. I've also phoned them and when they ask me to confirm my address they say that's incorrect, and then when I give them an old one they confirm that is the one showing on their system. Parts of USCIS own systems just don't talk to one another, so you can get old addresses just still existing and being used. It's a disgrace.

Should be fine. You have attn I-751 and the box number on it and it is the correct address. Don't sweat it. Just watch for your cheque being cashed or card being charged and then you can relax.

That is good. That means he is still - legally - a permanent resident, albeit one with now a presumed abandonment due to the length of time outside of the US. However, this is an accusation, and can be defended in immigration court if neccessry, and as previously posted, a LPR has an absolute right to due process and a hearing with an immigration judge. For an SB-1 he will have to prove: 1) He had the status of a lawful permanent resident at the time of departure from the United States (no issues there); 2) He departed from the United States with the intention of returning and have not abandoned this intention (you and your children being there, still maintaining a residence, bank account etc is part of your evidence for this) ; and 3) He is returning to the United States from a temporary visit abroad and, if the stay abroad was protracted, this was caused by reasons beyond your control and for which you were not responsible (in this case, COVID and covid related issues.....this is absolutely your saving grace here for such an extended absence). However, you are also missing one very crucial point. If you are are doing any other course of action besides an IR-1 from scratch, you WILL need to file a fresh I-751. That denied I-751 CANNOT be reopened or appealed, and a fresh one is required. Doesn't matter if it is now, or later at immigration court (because an NTA and hearing will happen eventually) - at some point an I-751 will need to be filed and adjudicated to avoid termination of status at a later date. You should consider filing the new I-751 now. By filing the new I-751 now, you are demonstrating further ties to the US and an intent to resolve your removal of conditions issue and remain as a permanent resident. It also gives you current pseudo-proof of status in the form of the I-751 receipt which may be useful for the SB-1. Something for you to think about. If he is eligible for entry to Canada (or Mexico if not), I'd be honestly considering trying a flight to there first and then approaching a land border first, as it is quickest method, and the path of least resistance and hassle. This would also be a lot easier having filed a fresh I-751 and having that receipt in hand. Then you could go for the SB-1 if that didn't work out....

In theory, yes...but if I was in the same situation, I wouldn’t be trying to argue with pre-clearance in a third country, I’d be walking in after landing at Toronto, Montreal or Vancouver, armed with lots of INA pages and legalese printed for quick reference in the impending grilling. That’s assuming you can even get to pre-clearance as it’s usually after check in & security, which you can’t get past without having appropriate documentation. You also have to remember as well that the airline gets massive fines for letting anyone board without verifying documentation according to the carrier information guide which is held and referenced on their systems - something I definitely know as it’s such a mission with my stamps, as they always ask if I have a card (yes, it’s expired), if I have have an extension letter (yes, three, all expired) and then when I explain the stamp is an I-551 and they find it on their system, they have to work out what date to put in for the PR card expiry date (which, for anyone reading, is the stamp expiry date). Best case it works. Worst case is it doesn’t work, and you get some horrible detention in a third country before removal back to the country you boarded from because they can’t release you because you don’t have an entry visa for that country because you were supposed to be only transiting. Denying someone with an issue is far easier in a third country at a distance from US soil, than letting them fly to the US and then having to detain them and remove them (regardless of the questionable legalities of that), so pre-clearance wouldn’t be my choice for that reason alone. Just another element that further complicates it.

For clarification, until an immigration judge issues an order of removal following a denial which formally terminates the status, he remains a LPR. Put his A# into this link HERE and see what comes back. If there is a termination notice on file, then an IR-1 is the way to go. If nothing found, then the denial was issued but they remain a LPR as no following action of NTA, court case and ruling in abstentia has occurred. However, unfortunately, despite remaining a LPR in this situation, airlines do not allow people to board with an expired 2 year card and an invalid extension letter. And you can't obtain an i-551 stamp outside of the US either, even though he is entitled to one. So, you find yourself in limbo and a catch 22. So either 1) try a land border - canada or mexico - with the expired card and prior receipt - will be a fair bit of hassle, but should eventually be let - possibly paroled - in once they run the A# and see a denial with no refile and pending case, as all LPRs are entitled to a hearing with an immigration judge and due process. or 2) File and pay for a fresh I-751 from within the US with a US mailing address. Get receipt and extension letter. Send that to him. As the letter is useless with a card that expired three years ago he then needs to go to the embassy for a I-131A boarding foil ($575) and go through that process to get a document to permit boarding a flight back into the US. Covid stuff is a reasonable excuse for extended periods out of the country beyond what would normally be permitted or 3) an SB-1 if applicable. Again, covid stuff is a reasonable excuse for extended periods out of the country beyond what would normally be permitted, but there are limits to how far you can push this reason. or 4) file an IR-1 and start from scratch. Following a recent clarification and some case law - see HERE - you can adjust status now after a denial but without having to wait for an immigration judges ruling and formal termination of status, so it follows that that should also mean it should be applicable to an IR-1 instead of an i-130 & i-485 adjustment in country, but it will require a fairly competent lawyer to do so. I am not your lawyer so please seek your own qualified legal opinion as to whether this is applicable in your circumstances before taking any action. Broadly, those are your options.