Green card approved but not received. Travelling in 13 days

[TMDM 15]

Hey all,

I have a question!

My GC was approved on July 10th, had my welcome notice on 17th July and since my status online has been at "welcome notice mailed". My lawyer has told me I should have the physical card by the end of this week but i'm beginning to get worried. I'm travelling back to the UK to visit my grandma who is unwell in 2 weeks and not sure how to do it if i don't receive the physical card. Can I use AP? or is this now invalid? If not.. will I get an infopass appointment on time? and would i have any problems at the US border with a stamp rather than a physical card?

Just a little scared as expected to have had the card by now!

Thanks everyone, i appreciate your help.

[arken 4,197]

AP is now invalid after GC is approved.

You might wanna schedule an infopass appointment ASAP and hope to get in time to get the temporary immigrant visa i-551 stamp before you travel. It will show you the availability of appointment dates online. Some people receive GC after months of getting approval for unknown reasons. Do not wait for GC, go for infopass.

[TMDM 15]

Thank You. I have just scheduled the appointment. The appointment is actually on the date we travel. Our flight leaves in the evening and the appointment is in the morning. No others were available.

It has options such as reason for appointment: Not received green card, Other services etc I just put not received Permanent resident card. Not sure if that was the correct one but i really hope we can get the stamp. We are travelling back to see my grandma who has been unwell and my family also.

Thanks all. Will bring my EAD/AP with me as they returned it to me after interview so i'm guessing they might want this after stamping my passport.

Edited July 27, 2015 by TMDM

[KierenHby 897]

Hmm.. that's odd. I must've thought the interviewing officer stamps the passport with an i-551 upon GC approval after the interview. I'm curious as to how else would someone show proof of legal status post-interview?

[Flyingpig80 0]

Hmm.. that's odd. I must've thought the interviewing officer stamps the passport with an i-551 upon GC approval after the interview. I'm curious as to how else would someone show proof of legal status post-interview?

Not necessarily. My green card was approved during the interview today and I didn't get i551, but I got an email this evening to confirm that my card is in production ?

[TMDM 15]

Nope no stamp. I've made an Info pass appointment for the day that I travel. The welcome notice also states it should come within 3 weeks of the notice which would be this Friday. It's making me question if i should even consider travelling.

I was approved, had CPO status and then Welcome notice mailed status all on the same day but there has been no update since.

[KierenHby 897]

Obviously you can't travel internationally without official documentation of Permanent Residency.

My curiosity still stands: Till the GC arrives, what is documentary proof of legal status after a successful interview to show for travel, for a job, to open a bank account, etc?

[TMDM 15]

Well this I understand. Which I why I have made the info pass appointment. Only proof of permanent residency without the card is going to this appointment and requesting your passport be stamped to show permanent residency. What concerns me is I have read it isn't a certainty that they will give it to you.

They gave me back my EAD/AP at interview after approval which i found strange as i've read that most people have theirs taken from them. Hope it's not a sign of anything. Though I know it is invalid now and can't be used for travel.

[KierenHby 897]

All the more strange as to what's stopping them from just stamping the i-551 on the passport.. on the day of a successful interview.

[Dave&Roza 748]

Hey all,

I have a question!

My GC was approved on July 10th, had my welcome notice on 17th July and since my status online has been at "welcome notice mailed". My lawyer has told me I should have the physical card by the end of this week but i'm beginning to get worried. I'm travelling back to the UK to visit my grandma who is unwell in 2 weeks and not sure how to do it if i don't receive the physical card. Can I use AP? or is this now invalid? If not.. will I get an infopass appointment on time? and would i have any problems at the US border with a stamp rather than a physical card?

Just a little scared as expected to have had the card by now!

Thanks everyone, i appreciate your help.

I do not understand why people say the EAD/AP card is invalid when the GC is approved. The EAD/AP card has an expiration date on it and is valid until that date--who will know whether you have a GC or not? There is nothing I can find in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) regarding the approval of the GC making the AP/EAD invalid nor is there anything about in the EAD/AP section about its validity changing. It is valid until its expiry date.

You have a valid EAD/AP. You show that to the airline people and they let you on the airplane. Since you are from the UK, your ability to be admitted to the US is not questioned. At your POE you will show the AP/EAD card and get paroled into the US. The CBP officer may see that you have an approved GC and may ask why you are not using it and you just state that it is still somewhere in the USPS system and you have yet to receive it. You may be sent to secondary inspection or you may not. Either way, you can travel on the AP/EAD until it expires even after you receive the GC, but why would you want to? With the GC you are admitted straight away with out having to go to secondary inspection so the process is easier and faster. So which would you use--the GC or AP/EAD?

You can see if at the INFOpass appointment they give you an I-551 stamp to make your return easier, but the USCIS is reluctant to give out the I-551 stamp these days. You can also ask them about the AP/EAD issue or may just maybe your GC will arrive between now and then and this will all be a non-issue.

Is your name on the mailbox and did you register it at the postoffice? I ask as we have had issue with my wife receiving mail at our address from time to time. It is usually with the substitute letter carrier, but it has happened.

Dave

[TMDM 15]

Dave,
Thank you for your informative response. It was USCIS directly when I called that said I can no longer use my AP for travel purposes and have to schedule an info pass appointment to obtain the stamp for travel purposes which is why I was under the impression I was unable to use it.

I hope they decide to give me the stamp. We have a connecting flight 2 hours after arrival so worry if we go to secondary we might miss this connecting flight. Let's hope it is a non issue.

My name isn't on the mailbox and I haven't registered it at the post office. My EAD/AP found me through USPS without doing this and my lawyer hadn't mentioned I needed to do this. With this being said, i'm still yet to receive any kind of update or tracking number from USCIS on the case status website so was under the impression it hasn't even been sent.

Truly hope it arrives before I leave as it will make things 100 times easier!

Thank you Dave

[Dave&Roza 748]

Dave,

Thank you for your informative response. It was USCIS directly when I called that said I can no longer use my AP for travel purposes and have to schedule an info pass appointment to obtain the stamp for travel purposes which is why I was under the impression I was unable to use it.

I hope they decide to give me the stamp. We have a connecting flight 2 hours after arrival so worry if we go to secondary we might miss this connecting flight. Let's hope it is a non issue.

My name isn't on the mailbox and I haven't registered it at the post office. My EAD/AP found me through USPS without doing this and my lawyer hadn't mentioned I needed to do this. With this being said, i'm still yet to receive any kind of update or tracking number from USCIS on the case status website so was under the impression it hasn't even been sent.

Truly hope it arrives before I leave as it will make things 100 times easier!

Thank you Dave

A quick questions about the person you talked to at the USCIS--was it the first person that answered the phone or did you ask for a Tier 2 human? I ask because the first person you talk to is as clueless as you are and that is why it is referred here on VJ as the MIS-information line. When you go to your INFO pass appointment, make a point of asking them about the AP/EAD card and please report back. I would like to know what they state because I cannot find a reference in the CFR about what happens to the AP/EAD once the GC is issued. No one is going to use their EAD/AP card with a valid GC as the GC supersedes the EAD/AP, but does it really become invalid before it expires?

Dave

[TBoneTX 43,058]

This was some years ago, but Mrs. T-B. was paroled in on AP while (unbeknownst to us) her green card was in the mail to her. At that entry, I asked the CBP agent if he saw anything about the green card's status, and he said that they couldn't tell that, from the information available to them.