Received 10 yr GC instead of Conditional 2 yr card

[nadia&sameer 12]

Hi,

My husband just got his AOS approved. He came on a K1 visa and we have been married less than 1 year. His GC arrived, but is for 10 years, not the 2 year conditional card he should have gotten. What is the best process to get this fixed? I really can't afford to take more time off from work to do another infopass appointment as they lost his medical a few months ago and I had to take time off to redo and then more time off for the infopass to get it fixed. Can we get this resolved over the phone or by email? Can he just keep the 10 yr card as long as we file to remove conditions before his 2 years is up or will we have trouble removing conditions with a 10 year card?

Please only reply if you have first hand knowledge of this issue. Thanks for your responses!

[Hypnos 6,576]

You cannot keep the 10 year green card. It is a USCIS error, and will come back to bite you in the future should you simply do nothing.

File an I-90 (no cost due to a USCIS error) and attach the original green card and a written explanation that you have been married for less than two years but received an unconditional 10 year green card in error. They will issue the correct two year conditional green card.

Do not listen to anyone who says to do nothing and just keep it; no doubt someone will propose that here shortly.

Edited January 24, 2015 by Hypnos

[mymarley 14]

a friend of mine received also a 10year gc...they called uscis but answered them that they really did it 10years no mistakes... i wish i can received 10years gc too... lol

better to cALL USCIS first..

Edited January 24, 2015 by mymarley

[apple21 953]

You should file i90.

[nadia&sameer 12]

You cannot keep the 10 year green card. It is a USCIS error, and will come back to bite you in the future should you simply do nothing.

File an I-90 (no cost due to a USCIS error) and attach the original green card and a written explanation that you have been married for less than two years but received an unconditional 10 year green card in error. They will issue the correct two year conditional green card.

Do not listen to anyone who says to do nothing and just keep it; no doubt someone will propose that here shortly.

Thanks Hypnos. I follow your posts on this site and I know you know what your talking about. I figured we'd have to do something. Just wasn't sure what. From my understanding his EAD/AP card is no longer valid since he has been approved for a GC. Is that correct? My husband is starting a new job the beginning of Feb. Can we give them the 10yr card for their file? I don't want to do anything illegal, but he also needs to be able to work.

[Hypnos 6,576]

Correct, his EAD is no longer valid.

To show work authorisation, you could file the I-90, then once you have the I-90 receipt NOA you could make an Infopass appointment at your local office. Take your valid foreign passport and show them the I-90 NOA and they would be able to give your husband an I-551 passport stamp (probably valid for around six months - you can renew it if necessary) that would be proof of LPR status for all purposes, including international travel and employment.

Edited January 25, 2015 by Hypnos

[nadia&sameer 12]

a friend of mine received also a 10year gc...they called uscis but answered them that they really did it 10years no mistakes... i wish i can received 10years gc too... lol

better to cALL USCIS first..

That is great for your friend. I know my husband does not qualify for a 10yr card so I am sure it is in error. A friend of a friend also got a 10yr card several years back. He didn't remove conditions bcz he thought he was safe. When he went to become a citizen he not only found out he cannot become a citizen, but that he is actually in the country illegally because he didn't remove the conditions. It has been a huge mess for them so I want to make sure not to make that mistake!

You should file i90.

I will definitely file the I90. Any idea how long it will take to get a new card?

[Hypnos 6,576]

I believe current processing times are around 6 - 10 months for an I-90.

The story about your friend is exactly what I was talking about above. If you don't file for RoC when you are meant to - even if your green card says you have legal status - you lose LPR status and become deportable.

Edited January 25, 2015 by Hypnos

[nadia&sameer 12]

Correct, his EAD is no longer valid.

To show work authorisation, you could file the I-90, then once you have the I-90 receipt NOA you could make an Infopass appointment at your local office. Take your valid foreign passport and show them the I-90 NOA and they would be able to give your husband an I-551 passport stamp (probably valid for around six months - you can renew it if necessary) that would be proof of LPR status for all purposes, including international travel and employment.

Ugh...thanks. I was hoping we could get away with not having to do another infopass appointment. They lost my husbands medical paperwork so we've had to take a ton of time off getting everything redone and going to infopass appointments to get things in writing that they received the documents. Was hoping to not have to go in again!

What should we do regarding the job he is supposed to start the beginning of Feb? I'm sure we won't be able to get the NOA receipt and an infopass appointment before he begins. Can he give them the 10yr card then updates it as soon as we get the I551 stamp? He could just show them his EAD card, but that's not vaild now either. I don't want to do anything illegal, but I also don't want him to lose out on this job because USCIS once again screwed up our case.

[apple21 953]

I will definitely file the I90. Any idea how long it will take to get a new card?

Mine took 6 months.

Edited January 25, 2015 by apple21

[Hypnos 6,576]

In that situation I'd probably just show them the ten year card as his employment authorisation. It's not like the card itself isn't valid, it's just that it's only valid for two years instead of the ten years it states on the card itself.

After showing the employer the card to verify his status that's when I would file the I-90, and then obtain the passport stamp once you have the NOA.

[nadia&sameer 12]

I believe current processing times are around 6 - 10 months for an I-90.

The story about your friend is exactly what I was talking about above. If you don't file for RoC when you are meant to - even if your green card says you have legal status - you lose LPR status and become deportable.

Yes. I guess I was hoping we could keep the 10 yr card and just file RoC when we were supposed to, but it sounds like we can't do that. I can't believe how many things they screw up. They started off by sending our file to the wrong country, then lost his medical, now sent the wrong card. I know their mistakes become our problems, but it's just getting frustrating to deal with them. I'd be fired at my job if I screwed up as many things as they have!

Thank you very much for the advice. We'll just suck it up and do what we need to do.

[nadia&sameer 12]

In that situation I'd probably just show them the ten year card as his employment authorisation. It's not like the card itself isn't valid, it's just that it's only valid for two years instead of the ten years it states on the card itself.

After showing the employer the card to verify his status that's when I would file the I-90, and then obtain the passport stamp once you have the NOA.

Ok. That helps a lot. I just wasn't sure if it was illegal to do that since we know the card isn't right. But since the card is valid we'll just make sure we update things with the company before his 2 yr card would be up and we should be fine.

Thanks again!

[nadia&sameer 12]

Mine took 6 months.

Thanks for the info. I guess all we can do is send it in and wait.

[dhlunar 25]

What should we do regarding the job he is supposed to start the beginning of Feb? I'm sure we won't be able to get the NOA receipt and an infopass appointment before he begins. Can he give them the 10yr card then updates it as soon as we get the I551 stamp? He could just show them his EAD card, but that's not vaild now either. I don't want to do anything illegal, but I also don't want him to lose out on this job because USCIS once again screwed up our case.

In terms of proving status in order to start a new job, here is the information from the I-9 guide to Employers:

Employees who attest to being a lawful permanent resident in Section 1 of Form I-9 may choose to present a valid Form I-551, Permanent Resident Card, for Section 2 (or Section 3, if applicable) . A lawful permanent resident is not required to do so, however, and instead may choose to present a List B and List C document combination, e .g ., state-issued driver’s license and unrestricted Social Security card.

Edited January 25, 2015 by dhlunar