Grey Wolf

Pakistan is likely going to be on the orange list at worst or yellow list. Unlikely that it would be on the red list. Any how would that affect Green card holders? Thank you for your responses.

So I have received my physical green card. I foresee a trip of no more than 3 months out of the country to UK and Pakistan, starting May. But once I return in say in August, I am going to have to structure my life differently. I do foresee unavoidable frequent trips out of the country to UK and Pakistan - UK because I have some professional commitments as a barrister there and Pakistan primarily because of my elderly parent who is living alone there but also because my own neurosurgeon is based there and I do trust him most for follow ups on my brain tumor. Do you think it is a good idea to get a re-entry permit just in case (even though I don't see any trip beyond at most 4 months - or may be a total of 5 months in a single year broken down at two different times of a year)? I have gotten conflicting information on this, so following are my questions, if you would show the usual kindness and answer them: 1. Can you come and go during the period of the re-entry permit or is it a single entry kind of thing? 2. How long are re-entry permits valid for? 3. How long does it take for re-entry permits to be issued and is it possible to have it delivered at the Embassy/Consulate in Pakistan? 4. I understand that the longest you can stay out of the country is 2 years? Is that correct? 5. How many times can a re-entry permit be renewed? In short is the re-entry permit worth it? Just so that you know my ties with the US are that my spouse and both my daughters would be living here. Are there any other ties I should establish. I thank you as usual for your consideration and kindness.

My status on USCIS website shows this below. How long after this should I expect to get the physical green card? Asking to firm up my travel plans to UK and Pakistan. A poster on the other thread says 3 to 6 weeks. Do other posters agree? Is it safe to make travel plans for the first week of May? Sorry to keep asking these questions, but like I said earlier, the advice I get on this forum is almost always on point. Hence I lean on it for these questions. Card is Being Produced. "We have approved your Form OS155A Immigrant Visa and Alien registration, Receipt number ______. On March 21, 2025 we ordered your card to be produced. We will mail your card to the address you gave us."

Thank you. Puts my mind at ease. This morning I checked my Green card application status and it says: "We have approved your Form OS155A Immigrant Visa and Alien registration, Receipt number ______. On March 21, 2025 we ordered your card to be produced. We will mail your card to the address you gave us." How long after this, should one expect the physical green card to arrive?

She is 78. Her support system comprises mainly household staff, a driver and a guard. Green cards for the wife and daughters arrived which is when we realised that I had forgotten to pay my immigrant fee. Super dumb. I paid that on March 15. It says 90 days. What's the likelihood of it arriving before June 15th? I need to appear before the British parliamentary committee on 6th May about religious persecution of minority groups in Pakistan but I might have to send my apologies. Was originally planning on travelling to the UK and then Pakistan. Do you think I should risk it with CBP I551 stamp?

We moved Christmas day in 2024. Our daughters are 20 and 19.

Thank you for this. Is the returning resident permit the same as a re entry permit? I understand that it takes time to be approved, but it can be delivered at a consulate in the home country?

erratum built not build.

I want some advice from the people more experienced along the US immigration journey- hopefully without being judged and talked down to as is the wont of some on this forum. What I am going to share with you is a personal struggle with the immigration issues. Let me give you the background. Please bear with me. My wife and I, both Pakistanis, met in college in the US in 1999. We graduated, returned to Pakistan and married each other to build a life in that country. This was 2002 and 2003 for me and wife. We build a pretty ok life for ourselves, but I faced several health challenges namely a life threatening brain tumour for which I went through two awake craniotomies in 2017 and 2020. Then Pakistan's economy slowed down and this is significant. I will come to it in a minute. Unrelated to our life in Pakistan, my brother in law who had become a US citizen some 25 years ago, sponsored us for F4 visa in 2005. We thought of it as a back up option. Meanwhile our daughters grew up and naturally the question arose of where they should go to school. My wife and I quickly realized that while my parents had managed to educate me in the US, Pakistan's economic conditions no longer afforded us the same opportunity to educate our daughters in the US, especially since my own career had stalled because of my illness. Meanwhile our immigrant visas came last year and we moved in time to the US to educate our daughters here. The idea behind this immigration is two fold: to give our daughters the opportunity to become US citizens so that they have options - Pakistan has been declining for a while and one can never be completely certain of its future. Secondly like I said to educate them in the US. As a barrister, I have great regard for the US first amendment and therefore moving back here has an ideological component i.e. my belief in secularism and freedom of speech and expression. Indeed that has been my main preoccupation as a lawyer in Pakistan- at least the human rights part of my practice. FYI my full name is [deleted by VJ Moderation]. You can look me up - I am not posting this here to show off but to give you an idea of where I am coming from. Now I come to the second part of the challenge. My father passed away in 2007. My mother, a medical doctor by profession and therefore a very independent woman otherwise, is nonetheless old, alone, a cancer survivor who recently survived hip surgery as well. She is living alone in Pakistan. I am her only child. Obviously till (or if) I become a US citizen the question of her moving here does not arise. Frequent travel is also not possible for her given her ailments. So my ask of you is to advise me as to how can I structure my immigration journey in a way that I can continue to visit my mother in Pakistan and therefore maintain ties to that country (maybe even contribute in some pro bono capacity to the human rights space there), without jeopardising my residency in the US and remaining on the citizenship track hopefully (though I must add that citizenship is not necessarily my first priority). Please bear in mind that Pakistan will be either on the yellow or the orange list later today. I do hope you will take this post in the spirit it is intended and I hope I am not opening myself up for ridicule. It is just that I have gotten some good advice on this forum over the years and given all that is going on with the current administration, I am slightly desperate - desperate enough to open up here in this manner.

So just to confirm, you don't foresee any problems re-entering the country on the I551 stamp till December 2025. Everyone I speak to says that I shouldn't risk it without the physical green card.

Three months tops. As for restrictions on Pakistan, it is going to be on the Orange or Yellow lists.

I paid the US immigrant fee on March 15 2025. Had entered the country on December 24, 2024. I am expecting the physical green card to arrive in June. I urgently need to travel to Pakistan and the UK (it is unavoidable - family reasons) before that. I do have that stamp on my passport with an endorsement making it proof of my residency till December 23, 2025. What are the chances that I won't be allowed back in the country on that stamp, given what is going on with this current administration. My second question is whether travelling outside the US would pause my physical green card printing? The idea here is that if the Green card comes while I am in Pakistan, it could be Fedex-ed to me in Pakistan or maybe my wife can also travel to Pakistan and bring it. So is the printing paused when you leave the country?

Thank you. Thank you.

So question: Does one have to wait for the physical Green card to arrive or can one start working legally right away upon arrival?

I am happy to report that visa for the fourth person (i.e. me) has been issued and passport has been picked up.

Hi ... So I am the derivative applicant who is still in Administrative processing. On 16th September the Embassy sent an email which read: My passport is already with the Embassy. It has been 11 days since this email and no news. Meanwhile the defendants in the writ of mandamus have sought additional time for reply. Would one continue to remain in limbo?

Update: Daughter's finger printing and oaths done. However they have returned the passports unstamped saying that they cannot retain the passports beyond a certain time. The officer said that there is only one step left and that the approval needs to come from Washington. When asked about a timeline, the person said "Washington is a mystery to us". Asked us to sign up for a courier service. Very disappointing. Any thoughts?

Thanks. Your response is very encouraging.

The Embassy has now asked my younger daughter to come in for "finger prints" and "oaths" at the Embassy. Does anyone know what this is about?

Thank you for your response.

Thank you. The status has remained unchanged- says refused with the statement about administrative processing. Is there any limit on how long the Embassy can keep the passports? My daughter was supposed to start College in the States today.... and now she is thinking of going to Canada instead where she applied as a back up. Would it be alright to retrieve her passport at this stage? Would that affect our case?

We had our medicals in June. The US Embassy has had the passports since late June. As mentioned earlier two of us had DS5535s sent out on July 20th which were filled out and submitted on July 21st. CEAC reopened our DS 260s which were completed by us. Updates on CEAC track passport showed up on July 31st, August 2nd, August 9th, August 10th and August 11th (LUD). Is there any chance we would get our visas this month?

The CEAC portal says "Incomplete" for two of us and "reopened" for two of us. No email or instructions received. Should we be worried?

Got it. Thanks.

Thank you. That is very interesting. Might just file pro se.