As per the topic title, I don't wish to upset anyone....but I do have a genuine question, as I really can't understand the point of everyone getting all upset and impatient at the removing of conditions taking so long.

I mean...we are TOGETHER at this point....and all we are really doing is waiting. Most of us have the receipt already, so the GC has been extended, so the PR can do whatever he/she could before with no interruption....what's the big issue?

When we were all waiting for approvals to be *reunited* THAT I could understand...but I just don't see why people get all riled because it's taken so long (even a year, etc) to get a new GC.

To those who might say...I don't want to be in limbo or I want to just move on with my life and not worry about immigration...you're not in any sort of "limbo" and once you have that receipt, there's nothing you DO have to worry about. Get the bio letter, go do it, and then wait some more! Wait, wait, wait...the USCIS theme.

Anyway, I do realize, with the paragraph above, no one actually even said that I was just trying to "preanswer," I guess, responses I thought might be forthcoming.

Again, no offense intended....just honest bewilderment! Comments?? Michelle

I guess I just don't worry much about that. We have a legit marriage (as most everyone here) and we have plenty of evidence...perhaps more than some, I'm sure much less than others. I guess I'm just not worried because they have no reason to not allow Craig to stay so I don't fret about it.

I do understand your point, however. Thanks for the answer...everyone is different with worry levels, etc. M.

For TSC it seems that they officially lie with their published processing times, in their replies to senator inquiries, in their replies to service requests.... Every single information request produced a different processing time projection. This IS what is making me mad about waiting and waiting, getting lied at and not knowing if and when my case, which I paid good money for a long time ago, receives any service at all. BTW, my case has been out of official processing times for a good 3 months now...

And while in theory it is correct that you shouldn't have any problems with the NOA1 alone, there is numerous reports where it has caused problems in the past - e.g. DLs not granted on the grounds of NOA1. It also causes problems when applying for new jobs (and not all employers know all the details about removing conditions - and I am yet to encounter that brave person to lecture their prospective employer on immigration law).

I'm guessing that most people applying for green cards believe that they have a legitimate marriage and that they have sufficient evidence to prove it. However, the criteria for the awarding of the green card is not based upon the submitters' beliefs in regard to the sufficiency and/or quality of evidence, but on the governmental reviewers' evaluations and determinations. I have read of people submitting a multitude of evidence receiving RFEs, for example, for not including tax transcipts although they submitted 1040s. For many of us, the process is worrisome and the worry doesn't cease until we have the green card firmly in hand.

and I am yet to encounter that brave person to lecture their prospective employer on immigration law).

Peggy,

In your email of 9/21 you said I could contact you if I had any questions. I do have some questions regarding the I-9 Form. For your convenience I attached a copy of this form to this email.

Due to an increase in processing fees on July 30th, 2007, the USCIS has received a tremendous number of applications and thus, is currently behind schedule with the initial processing of these applications, which would include my own application as well. Having said that, the likelihood that I will receive the necessary Notice of Action, which would extend my current Permanent Resident Card for an additional year, before the expiration of my current card, is very slim. For clarification purposes I would like to state that the expiration of my current Permanent Resident Card does not change my status as a Permanent Legal Resident as well as my authorization to work.

In order to avoid having to resign my employment I wanted to inquire if there were any other possibilities for me to prove my legal authorization to work?

According to Form I-9, Section 2 - Employer :

... "Employers must complete Section 2 by examining evidence of identity and employment eligibility withing three (3) business days, they must present a receipt for the application of the date employment begins. If employees are authorized to work, but are unable to present the required document(s) within three business days, they must present a receipt for the application of the document(s) within three business days and the actual document(s) within ninety (90) days. " ...

Would this apply to my situation? I have already provided a copy of my application, together with the mailing receipt. Once the return receipt arrives, I would also be able to provide that as proof of application.

Furthermore, according to Form I-9, Section 3 - Updating and Reverification:

..."Employers must reverify employment eligibility of their employees on or before the expiration date recorded in Section 1. Employers CANNOT specify which document(s) they will accept from an employee."... "if a current employee's work authorization is about to expire (reverification), complete Block B and:" ... "examine any document that reflects that the employee is authorized to work in the U.S. (see List A or C)."

Under List C of the "Lists of Acceptable Documents" (Page 3, Form I-9), Item 1. states a "U.S. social security card issued by the Social Security Administration (other than a card stating it is not valid for employment)" to be an acceptable document that establishes employment eligibility.

As a Permanent Legal Resident I can request a Social Security Card without the annotation "Valid for Work Only with DHS Authorization". If I can provide said Social Security Card, would this be an acceptable form of proof of employment eligibility?

I hope there is a possibility for me to avoid having to resign my employment, should I not receive the needed document, which would establish my authorization to work, in time.

Should you have any questions for me in the meantime, please feel free to contact me as well.

Thank you,

Andreas

Let me put it to you this way:

1. My wife can't apply for a new job because HR people are not familiar with the concept of extension letter and would rather err on the side of safety and hire someone with an unexpired greencard. That's forgone career advancement and salary.

What annoys me is the biometrics game we have had to play with USCIS. We haven't even been able to move on from that point yet. We waited awhile to get a biometrics notice, then he went and got it done, then got another biometrics letter because his fingerprints didn't work...went again, and then got an RFE because they didn't work again. Now we had to send in a police report. So we aren't able to just sit back and wait yet, due to the fingerprint problem. So we are constantly dealing with USCIS so far, no just waiting around for it to happen. It seems every couple weeks we are getting a letter asking for something else and it's getting old!
If that part gets resolved, we are fine waiting for the approval. It just can get irritating because it reminds you how inconsistent USCIS service centers are. People who sent in their apps months after us, got their bio appt really fast and already got approved, while we are waiting in biometrics limbo. LOL SO it's hard not to get annoyed about it sometimes. And then there are those of us lucky to get transferred to CSC while many at TSC and others are waiting much much longer. It's the inconsistency of it all that's aggrevating.

Also Suj feels a little uncomfortable visiting India with only the receipt and stamp in his passport(which he'd have to get at our local office) and would much rather have the actual card before he visits India again so they don't question his status over in India.

I did! Well, it was my current employer but still, I had to basically do the dirty work for them and find out what my options were. They had no clue about USCIS or the I-9.

I was told I'd have to resign my position as soon as my conditional GC expired, if I could not provide a copy of my new GC.

After doing all the necessary research (this was pre VJ times, otherwise I would have known right away) I sent them an email, asking if certain rules applied to me, so I could keep my job.

If I hadn't looked into it, I would have lost my job.

This is the email I sent to HR:

I just think it makes a huge difference if you already have the job, and the company wants something from you (i.e. valid GC), as opposed to when you are dealing with a prospective future employer. In the latter case you are undoubtedly in a way weaker position - as you want employment from them, while they still have a pool of candidates to fall back on, should you (the one with questionable papers) not be able to produce the desired papers on time.
You get the difference?

Well as someone still waiting to be reunited. I don't even get a tizzy over that. Neither does my fiancée. Whining is not going to speed anything along any more than honking a horn in traffic jam. It only creates more useless anger and frustration.

I know once my fiancée gets her, the USCIS can drag their feet all they want. She's here! It's not like they send your loved back to their native country in between each step.

I do get the point, however, if you are able to provide proper documentation, like in burs' case, (proper documentation does not mean a GC, it can also be a valid DL and a SSC w/o annotation, or an expired conditional GC with NOA, etc.) and they don't hire you based on the fact that you can't show them a valid GC, than that is discrimination in my opinion.

If I was looking for a job and a prospective employer told me they wouldn't hire me because I can't provide a valid GC as proof of employment eligibility (an that's what it's all about), I would take that I-9 and throw it in their face. After all, you have to proof that you are authorized to work, not your immigration status.

Yeah, picking a fight with your future employer is a sure way to get hired.... and I doubt they would tell you that they didn't hire you because of your immigration status, of course they'd just pick something else... it's not like they're that stupid.

I just think it makes a huge difference if you already have the job, and the company wants something from you (i.e. valid GC), as opposed to when you are dealing with a prospective future employer. In the latter case you are undoubtedly in a way weaker position - as you want employment from them, while they still have a pool of candidates to fall back on, should you (the one with questionable papers) not be able to produce the desired papers on time.
You get the difference?

How about you just wait till you get to our stage, and when your wife sits around at home for a couple of months because her DL expired and she can't get a new one, as well can't change jobs for a couple of months.... we shall talk again....

...
I mean...we are TOGETHER at this point....and all we are really doing is waiting. Most of us have the receipt already, so the GC has been extended, so the PR can do whatever he/she could before with no interruption....what's the big issue?
...
To those who might say...I don't want to be in limbo or I want to just move on with my life and not worry about immigration...you're not in any sort of "limbo" and once you have that receipt, there's nothing you DO have to worry about. Get the bio letter, go do it, and then wait some more! :angry: ;) Wait, wait, wait...the USCIS theme.
...

Germerican,

Nothing happened in my wife's employment, I am sorry if I've thrown you off. She is currently employed and it took little effort to explain things to her current HR folks, they were understanding. And while she hasn't applied for a new job yet, it's pretty much a sure bet that if it comes down to two candidates and one of them having an expired green card (with the extension letter), that person is going to be at a disadvantage. I don't think there are any merits for a lawsuit here, however. Any company is interested in a steady employee. But what if that person's petition to remove conditions is denied and that person is deported. As a company you loose because you lost that employee and you haven't hired the other candidate who otherwise would not have had those problems. You can't blame them for having their doubts in hiring you. That's what I am talking about. It's not just the wait.

Kazan' dude - good luck with everything.

Well, I'm not too worried about those things. Plenty of ways to work under the table and a DL is good for 4 years. I hardly think any paper would take that long. Even if it does, big deal. I can find a way for her to get to work.

As per the topic title, I don't wish to upset anyone....but I do have a genuine question, as I really can't understand the point of everyone getting all upset and impatient at the removing of conditions taking so long.

I mean...we are TOGETHER at this point....and all we are really doing is waiting. Most of us have the receipt already, so the GC has been extended, so the PR can do whatever he/she could before with no interruption....what's the big issue?

When we were all waiting for approvals to be *reunited* THAT I could understand...but I just don't see why people get all riled because it's taken so long (even a year, etc) to get a new GC.

To those who might say...I don't want to be in limbo or I want to just move on with my life and not worry about immigration...you're not in any sort of "limbo" and once you have that receipt, there's nothing you DO have to worry about. Get the bio letter, go do it, and then wait some more! Wait, wait, wait...the USCIS theme.

Anyway, I do realize, with the paragraph above, no one actually even said that I was just trying to "preanswer," I guess, responses I thought might be forthcoming.

Again, no offense intended....just honest bewilderment! Comments?? Michelle

Yeah, working illegally ("under the table") is the way to go. Too bad I don't work in any profession that would allow for that. And I've had only a total of 3 DL's now in the past 3 1/2 years, and it will expire again next year May.... that much for your utopia of DLs being good for 4 years. I hope you never get a rough awakening from your dreams.... Keep sleeping.

Our plan at the time was to move our primary residence to China in mid 2009, so we didn't want to be messing with USCIS during that time.

tweety, why do your DL expire so quickly??? Possibly your state...I dunno. Mine was good for 4 years when I first got it, but it recently changed to 8 years. As of my bday in 08 I will have to get a new one...haven't had to since 2000. It must be the state.... M.

Yeah, working illegally ("under the table") is the way to go. Too bad I don't work in any profession that would allow for that. And I've had only a total of 3 DL's now in the past 3 1/2 years, and it will expire again next year May.... that much for your utopia of DLs being good for 4 years. I hope you never get a rough awakening from your dreams.... Keep sleeping.

I have to agree. The "plenty of ways to work under the table" comment is pretty stupid. Do you really want to go through all that trouble of obtaining a visa, only to have them sent your fiancée back when they catch her working illegally? If so, you might as well forget about the visa and just have her come over without a visa right away. (Disclaimer: This last comment is pure ironie!!!)

@tweety: I can understand your frustration and hope your case gets approved ASAP!

This happened to us at the AOS stage. Man, what a pain! Good luck with the police report, it was really easy to get here and we picked it up the same day.

Nice wishes to you to, geez! These forum is getting more and more rude lately.

You do not know me or my situation. If I have a way to find under the table work for my fiancée that is hardly stupid. It's being resourceful. Excuse me all to Hell for thinking life is just a little to short to get all worked in a froth over delays. This is the govenment we are talking about and they have always worked at a snail's pace.

What does knowing you or your situation have to do with not condoning illegal actions? To be quite honest, you might as well tell me you are going to rob a bank to pay your taxes, after all it's the IRS who you are dealing with and that makes it okay. I would feel exactly the same about that situation as I feel about working illegally.

And by the way... I came over here on a K-1 and wasn't able to work for a long time. My wife had just finished college and had to support us on an entry level salary. That time really sucked but guess what, we had no other choice and had to wait for my work permit before I could financially contribute something. Luckily we knew this would happen before we applied for the K-1 and were able to save up a bit.

Robbing a bank is a bit different from working under the table, don't you think? The last time I looked, the police don't start chasing and shooting at you for working on a cash basis at a friend's business. There are many ways to work independently. No one said anything about not paying taxes.

Most definately. Apparently that's what happened in burs' case. And yes, some employers are that stupid! After all some aren't even familiar with the I-9. A form that every new employee hast to fill out.

Why not pick a fight with a potential employer? Maybe it'll impress them to see how determined you are!

The point I was trying to make is that both is illegal. I don't think USCIS and ICE will come after you for helping out your friend, who in return hands you a couple of bucks, either. (Provided you don't help your friend 40 hours a week ) Even though I think helping a friend in exchange for money might be considered illegal as well, if you aren't authorized to work. However, you were basically hinting that you were going to let your fiancee work illegally and as a law-abiding permanent resident I just shrug when I hear something like that.

Anyway, I wish you the best of luck and hope everything works out for the two of you and you won't have to turn into Bonnie and Clyde!