Hi all,
My spouse has just gotten a i-551. She has never been to USA.
On 551, there is a registration number. Is that her Permanent Residence/Residence Alien Card Number?(which is needed for travel agents) Or her resident alien card # will be issued after her arrival

Also , does any recent travelees know what custom / immigration form needs to be filled in the plane

johnsmith,

Your post is confusing. I-551 is the green card.

What is it that your wife really got?

Yodrak

I think he meant the visa on her passport. Since his wife is CR/IR, there is a remark on the the visa which reads: "UPON ENDORSEMENT SERVES AS TEMPORARY I-551 EVIDENCING PERMANENT RESIDENCE FOR 1 YEAR."

And to answer the original poster, The registration number on her visa is the same number that will be on her green card in which is the A#.

alohaspirit,

The last sentence of johnsmith's post indicates that his wife probably has not yet arrived in the USA, which would mean that her visa has not yet been endorsed to act as a temporary I-551. So I'm still wondering what she has that he thinks is an I-551. Perhaps he is thinking that the un-endorsed visa is an I-551.

Yodrak

I looked at copy of visa again.

It does state
"UPON ENDORSEMENT SERVES AS TEMPORARY I-551 EVIDENCING PERMANENT RESIDENCE FOR 1 YEAR."


what does it mean??

when filing customs form, does she check her box as resident or visitor???

Ah, I see. Your wife has a CR1 or IR1 and she's about to enter the states with it for the first time. It won't be an I-1551 until it is endorsed at her point of entry.

I don't know actually whether she should say visitor or resident. She's not really a resident until it's endorsed, but she won't be a visitor when she's actually entered the states. But I guess by the time she's going through customs she will be a resident - so... I'll let someone else say for sure.

Your wife will show her big brown mysterious envelope with her passport to the person directing people and she will be taken for immigration processing. Simple as that.

Now that we understand the situation, you might want to visit this thread, where the subject of how to enter the US on an immigrant visa is discussed. But briefly, she doesn't fill out an I-94, she does fill out the customs declaration and checks the "resident" box. Which line to wait in depends somewhat on the airport and may vary from time to time in the same airport. Best bet is to ask an officer who is directing people to lines, but if you don't see someone to ask, the "visitors" line generally works. There's a good chance the "citizen/resident" line may work as well.

BTW, this thread is far off topic in this removal of conditions forum. This forum is about filing the I-751 after you've had conditional LPR status for around 1 year and 9 months. POE topics are normally discussed in the "Moving here and your new life in America" forum.