My husband just lost his wallet, which of course had his CR1 green card in it. We were just preparing all the evidence to send in to lift conditions, as it expires 5-29-07... and our luck would have it that I hadn't copied the front & back yet. I'm really losing it right now and I hope you all have some hopeful advice for us. I've read about filing the I-90 and it seems that it would be about the same process and amount of time & $ as the I-751.
Any help is greatly appreciated,
Abygail


P.S. Sorry, I meant to mention that I do have a copy of the front only.

Sorry about that
I would call USCIS and see what they think

I'll try calling USCIS...
Sorry if this is obvious, but since I don't have the card to look at, why is a copy of the back important? Is there info on the back specific to the individual, besides that scan bar, that would show up on a copy? I guess I'm getting at the thought of sending in our I-751 with the front copy I have and hope we'll get the NOA and letter extending for a year. Then we could find out what happens when losing card???

In addition to your front copy of the I-551 card, you can also suplement that with the Passport stamp given to your spouse during the AOS interview if available,!

Thank you sooooo much for the input. The passport stamp expired 11/05, would this still be good to use? Also, I have the notice from USCIS that came with the greencard.

I'm leaning towards going forward with our I-751 with just the copy of the front, maybe the addt'l stuff above too. Not sure I'd want to include any explanation yet, hoping that they would process as normal and we'd get the NOA and ext. letter. I'm also thinking on holding off on the I-90 replacement and then following up with USCIS after the I-751 is in to find out what we do???

And do everything in your power to try and retrieve that lost billfold! It may be in a location you have not looked or have been added to some store or business lost and found department, storage compartment.

Last yr I lost my wallet!! While I was phoning to cancel my credit cards, the operator mentioned that some one had called, stating they had my wallet!!! Wheewww Hopefully an honest person like that finds it.

I would file for the I90 immediately, assuming they will send you a receipt notice for that, too. Then send that receipt notice in with the I-751 and front copy of card. You can file for I 751 at any point within the 90 days prior to expiration, even if it's on the day prior of expiration. You don't want to *not* say something, I would find that way more suspicious than a lost wallet, if I was an immigration officer.

I would make an infopass appointment and talk to your local office... If it were me I would file for removal and not bother with the I-90 as it takes upto 6 months to get a new card with the I-90... ask the local office if once you get the NOA for removal if they can stamp your husbands passport with a I-551 stamp then it wont matter that you dont have the expired card...

Kez

OPPS duplicate post.....

Kez

Thank you all for the advice... believe me, we've looked & called everywhere for that wallet. I'm really torn on what to do still. I was literally ready to send in our I-751 by the end of the week and I'm so upset that I hadn't copied the back of the card (still not sure why it's important). And, what if I had sent it in, forgot to copy the back, and then the card was lost? I'm holding off on calling or scheduling an appt. till we decide what to do: send in I-751 anyway, or go for the I-90 (fees & biometric appt. twice).

In that case I would prob schedule an infopass appointment and tell them your dilemma. You need to let someone know that the card is lost, so that it is not being tampered with when the 'wrong' people find it. I understand the I-90 double fee and biometrics issue... not sure how quickly info pass appts are scheduled but maybe you have time to do that before the end of the 90 days.
Good luck!

Hope you can get this resolved soon!

Just to answer your Q's on what's on the back of the card - I'm looking at the back of mine now, and all there is that huge magnetic/holographic strip (which would do nothing on photocopy), but there is a bar code on the bottom, so I'm guessing that may be all that's important on a photocopy.

Here's a link to a picture of the back of the card (from the VJ gallery)

Hope this helps, and good luck!

Thanks again everyone - it does help!
I'll definitely schedule an appt., which probably won't be for awhile -
So, you all think I should hold off on submitting the I-751, and do the I-90?

Great, can't speak to anyone or schedule an info appt. - none are available in our area.

Sorry that I keep posting with questions, but I'm desperately trying to figure out what to do. Does anyone have an idea what would happen if I did send in the I-751 with only the front of the greencard copied? Would we still get the NOA, and ext. letter, and then maybe later they'd send an RFE? I could do the I-90 first, but I recall reading about somebody having problems with the biom. appt. where they were told they needed to to the I-751...

Sorry I can't be much help - did you try calling them on 1-800-375-5283? Frankly I would do the I90 (but that's just my opinion), because if you don't report it lost, its a misdemeanor for not carrying it. Perhaps you could try to PM Yodrak or Meaxana or one of those guru types, and ask them for advice....

Apologies I can't help more ...

I would file the I 751 with the evidence you have and at lease get the ball rolling.

Thank you for the responses! I've tried calling, but can't seem to get through to speak to anyone without a case/receipt number. I'm understanding that even if we sent the I-90, we'd still have to wait ~month for a NOA/receipt, just like with the I-751. And, if I send the I-751 and then want to report it lost, I can't imagine they'd tell me to do the I-90 too? Maybe I'll have some luck and be able to schedule an infopass appt. (still none available). My husband still thinks we can just call somebody or go in to report it, just like that. Thanks again for the opinions!

Abygail,

If you're reasonbly certain that the wallet and card are not likely to be found I would have your husband apply for a replacement card right away.

And whenever he's ready to apply for removal of conditions, send whatever he has to send - one cannot send what they do not have. If all he's got is a photocopy of the front of the card, he should include an explanation for why he's sending the front only.

Stop worrying about the things that you have no control over and start doing the things that you can do.

Yodrak

Any idea how long it would be to get some documentation from the USCIS on the replacement, so that this could be included with the I-751? (I'd like to file for the I-90 electronically to speed things up, but need another credit card first.) I wish we could still apply to remove conditions with what we have, and then report it lost somehow.
Thanks for the help,
Abygail

When you file an I-90 on-line you get a reciept for it instantly.... you could then print off an extra copy of the reciet and include that with your I-751...

Kez

I guess it would be worth the double fees just to have a receipt in his possesion... so would the I-90 be cancelled once the I-751 is being processed? Sorry, I keep thinking having the I-90 and I-751 in almost concurrently will just complicate things (i.e. applying for a replacement card that will be expired, scheduled for biometrics back-to back)?

If you feel they way your are going is wrong then why not go talk to your local office.... if an infopass is not available then try a walk-in you may have to wait around for a long time but at least you would get to talk to an immigration officer and they maybe will have the answers you are looking for....

Kez

Some good news - I was finally able to schedule an infopass appt. for a week from now. Think the I-90 could wait till talking with an immig. officer? The appt. is at their cust. serv. ctr., not their field office which is where I'm understanding they process id cards / passport stamps with form I-797 or approval notice (we don't have anyway). So, we'll see what they say at the customer service center.... and don't get me wrong, I appreciate all of your answers and advice!!! BTW, the office locations here say you must schedule an appt. (we'd be waiting all day in Miami & still might be with an appt.)


I guess my confusion is partially from USCIS' instructions for the I-90:
E-File this form to replace a "Green Card."
Note: Do not use this Form I-90 if you are a conditional resident and your status is expiring. You must apply accordingly to remove the conditions:
If you became a conditional resident through a marriage to a U.S. Citizen or permanent resident, submit Form I-751, Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence

Thank you again to everyone, and please excuse all my ramblings.

That is because if you have a 10 year unconditional Greencard you use the I-90 to renew it.... they are advising you that if you are trying to renew a 2 years conditional Greencard you must file form I-751... not the I-90

Kez

That's what I was thinking, thanks for the response.
I keep going back and forth on this, but I guess now I either need to be patient for a week till the appt. or decide which to go forward with('do what I can do'). This is especially driving me crazy since we had just finished gathering all our evidence and could have submitted the I-751 tomorrow.

Ok, here's how the Infopass appt. went---
We didn't get past the officer at the front door, since she said there was nothing they could do for us (stamp passport) till we have a pending case. When I first explained our situation, she said that there was no point in filing the I-90 and paying the fee because they wouldn't process it with the card expiring anyway, and to send in the I-751. I pointed out that the I-751 instructions said to include a copy of the front and back and she suggested including an explanation with our I-751 submission that also questioned if we need to do the I-90 as well. She asked when the wallet was lost, and was thinking we could send a copy of a police report (couldn't file one without proof of id theft). I asked if sending the I-751 without doing the I-90 would result in our case being denied. Again, no answer, but pointed out that we could file the I-90 electronically and pay the fee if we wanted to.
Still undecided...

Whatever you do, do it BEFORE the official expiry date of the greencard. Remember that when I751 removal of conditions is not filed before the expiry of a conditional greencard that this can be the result according to I751 instructions:
"If the petition is not filed, you will automatically lose your permanent resident status as of the second anniversary of the date on which you were granted conditional status. You will then become removable from the United States. ..."

I agree with this advice.

Good luck whatever you choose to do, Abygail.

Any updates on this situation? I am so sorry for you. You must be stressing like crazy!! I am sure it will all work out in the end. Hang in there!

Please see the update below; I know it's not much of one & that we just need to make the choice and move on.
Thanks to all for the support and input.

I would go ahead and file the I-751 with a copy of the front of the green card. When you copy the back of the green card..all that comes up is a black/white picture of nothing. If you have a family memeber that has another green card in their possession, just use theirs to copy the back of it. No personal information s uch as name, date of birth or photo is on it, unless you do color printnig which may show the hologram that is printed.

I think you should not file an I-90 because it will be nothing but a waste of money for you. We got our I-751 approved in 2 months. As long as you can provide evidence of a bona fide relationship, i dont think you should worry too much about this green card thing. Believe me, these people have millions of applications to look at every day and th ey will not stop yours and realize that there is something "fishy" about the back of your green card.

I guess you will now have some paranoid pple going against this

Thanks for the input. At the moment we're leaning towards sending the I-751 without doing the I-90. I also was able to get through on the phone with USCIS and was told about the same thing as at the Infopass appt. They're not sure, but that it was up to our discretion and that of the reviewing case officer. She also agreed with the infopass appt. rep. (include an explanation and ask within it to be advised if we need to do the I-90 still). For this route, I've got proof that we've opened new accounts, new cards, filed fraud alerts, and we'll be filing a police report today (a week late due to some bad info from the clerk at the station).

hi Aby & thanks for your PM to show me this thread.
Speaking strictly from my own personality and how I would tend to handle such a thing, I'll say that you seem to have the same kind of common sense as I do. Normally I'm loathe to disagree with Yodrak because when I do, but look more carefully, I see my error. However, I wonder if Y saw your I-751 filing date and took that into account.

It's well documented that I-90 takes the better part of a year from filing to new card. As you know, you'll have a new card before that via the I-751 process.
I would not have much issue with the missing copy of the back of the card, but I'd probably put in a note where that page would be, explaining the situation. Evidence of the steps you've taken since the loss (new accts, police report etc) can be back up evidence.

This is a case where the letter of the law vs the spirit of the law vs practicalities collide a bit. You may want to do a little risk/benefit analysis of your own and ask yourself 'what is the worst that could happen' as a result of not filing I-90. We already know the risk of not filing I-751 on time (fatal) but the I-90 requirement? Might be time to apply the Jesuit principle* IF/WHEN it comes up.

Based on what you were told at your non-InfoPass and my own experience, once you have your I-751 NOA extending status for a year, you *should* be able to get a passport I-551 stamp in his passport as your required (remind them) evidence of status. We had to get one while waiting for the new card production (had to turn in the expired card at approval and place order for new one--it's a bit different now). Don't be surprised if the stamp is valid for less than one year.

Common sense got me through a lot of this process when I didn't have anyone to ask and nowhere to look it up.

*"it's better to beg forgiveness than to ask permission"

dipumiah,

There's a bar code on the back of the I-551 as well, below the hologram.

Yodrak

meauxna,

I recognize that the I-90 would not get acted on in time to be of any use, but I would submit it anyway so as to document that the card was lost should there be an RFE for a photocopy of the back of the card or for the card itself. An expensive way to document, for sure - so a matter of personal preference.

Yodrak

Meauxna, thank you so much for weighing in!

I think you'll all be glad to know we sent our I-751 off today... so, no more indecisiveness from us, and no looking back now. We ended up including an explanation in place of the copy of the back of the green card. I hope our examiner will use the same logic we did. Not sure what the worst could happen for not filing the I-90 is, but hopefully we don't find out. I'm looking at it as though our case & situation is on their desk now, and they've got about 2 months to let us know before the card expires anyway. We definitely plan on getting my husband's passport stamped once we receive the NOA.

Thanks again to everyone who offered feedback!

Glad you got it out of your hands. Will keep my fingers crossed for you that it gets processed without a hitch!

I posted this on another thread last night, but probably should have added it here--- I was wrong and I am looking back now. The other thread had a question about filling in the blanks on the I-751 form and I realized I didn't fill in all the blanks! I'm really nervous now, wondering what will happen with our petition. I know, I know, I should have followed the instructions- guess I was too focused on the lost green card situation. Anybody know what will happen now, will they deny it? I should have filled in n/a for other names, my A#, & kids.
Thanks for any help to calm my nerves!

Abygail,
I can guarantee that one of two things will now happen:

1-you will get an RFE

2-your case will process exactly like normal

I imagine that you will be able to deal with either of those outcomes.

Sit back and think good thoughts, since there is nothing else you can do about it in this moment.

Thank you - you're right - I'll try to calm down (I even started another thread ).

and IF u do get a RFE, just maybe they wil have the info on how to properly rectify the situation. Best of luck