How close to the expiration date of GC can you file I-751?

[qxtip79 0]

Hello,

I am a US citizen and my wife has her conditional green card which expires toward the end of August.

Our window of when we can file I-751 petition is a little tricky. We live on the East Coast, but we will be in California for the summer (May - beginning of Aug) due to my work.

I am considering waiting until middle of August (when we will be back on the East Coast in our home) to file the I-751 petition. Does USCIS look at the postmarked date on the petition to determine if the application is on time? OR Does the petition have to be processed before my wife's GC expires?

I'm concerned about filing the petition during my temporary stay in California, but at the same time I do not want to cut it too close to the expiration date.

Thank you in advance for any advice.

v/r,

Jin

[MaryandMian 1]

When my husband went through his POE he was given a half sheet of paper and it had the date of his POE and it is marked for him to file 90 days before his greencard expires. I would try and have the petition sent in to prior to the green card's expiration.

[YuAndDan 153]

You can file the I-751 anytime within 90 days before the CR-Green-Card expiration. The card probably will expire before adjudicate on the I-751. I-751 takes up to a year and sometimes more to process.

You will receive a letter I-751 NOA1 that will extend the green-card for 1 year.

http://www.visajourney.com/timeline/profile.php?id=3712

Edited March 6, 2008 by YuAndDan

[qxtip79 0]

When my husband went through his POE he was given a half sheet of paper and it had the date of his POE and it is marked for him to file 90 days before his greencard expires. I would try and have the petition sent in to prior to the green card's expiration.

Thank you very much for the quick reply.

To clarify my question... Would it be okay for me to file the I-751 ONE WEEK before my wife's green card expires? As explained above, it will be tricky for me to file the petition 90 days before expiration.

[YuAndDan 153]

When my husband went through his POE he was given a half sheet of paper and it had the date of his POE and it is marked for him to file 90 days before his greencard expires. I would try and have the petition sent in to prior to the green card's expiration.

Thank you very much for the quick reply.

To clarify my question... Would it be okay for me to file the I-751 ONE WEEK before my wife's green card expires? As explained above, it will be tricky for me to file the petition 90 days before expiration.

Why can you NOT file it before then? What if USCIS has a problem with your paperwork and sends it back to you, or what if the petition gets lost somehow? Filing a week before can be risky.

You can file it from California before returning to your home on the east cost, just use your east cost address on all the forms.

[MaryandMian 1]

Dan is correct that would make it too risky waiting for the last minute before you file.

[eau_xplain 2]

USCIS will still accept and process the application if you send it one week before, even one day before the conditional GC expires. It is okay as long as your wife does not worry too much that there will be a period of time that her GC has expired but she does not have the extension letter yet.

[Jasman0717 8]

It is a good idea to keep your status so file early enough to allow the USCIS to process the extension NOA for you. That is why they recommend looking to file once you get inside the 90 day window.

[qxtip79 0]

It is a good idea to keep your status so file early enough to allow the USCIS to process the extension NOA for you. That is why they recommend looking to file once you get inside the 90 day window.

Thank you very much for all your replies. I will try to file the petition as early as possible.

Jin