Hi,

Question for other UK forum users who have entered the US an immigrant visa, how long did it take after your POE to get the green card and SSN in the post?

I ask as I assumed both things were pretty much immediate (i.e. a few business days after POE). I just wanted to check in here and see what other people's experiences were. Also, if I don't have the Green Card and only have the activated CR-1 visa in my passport, am I likely to be given a grilling by immigration when I come back to the US after spending Christmas in the UK.

The green card tends to take about six weeks or so. If you don't have your SSN two weeks after entering, you should go to a SSA office to inquire about it.

You're perfectly fine to travel with the temp green card (ie, the endorsed IR1 in your passport) for a year after endorsement. I would think it would be rare that an immigration officer would not know what it was, and if it was early on, they would probably realise your green card just hadn't come in the mail yet and might not even question it. If you get questioned, you would just say that your actual card hadn't come in the mail before you left for your trip.

Check my timeline for the exact times, but it was a little less than 4 weeks until my hubby and son go their GC after we were approved. The volume of mail is going to be going sky high soon due to the holidays so bare in mind that could possibly delay mail. I'd optimistically look for it to arrive about the first week of December though

27 days for the boy's to arrive, and that included Labor Day.

Thanks for the responses everyone it's given a much better grip on the timescales.

Anyway, back to waiting in for the Sears repairman to turn up and fix our oven. This'll be the fourth time one of us has waited in all day for a repairman to turn up. On the previous three occassions no one showed up nor did they have the courtesy to tell us they wouldn't be able to turn up. Just thought I'd mention it in case anyone was thinking of shopping with Sears.