When does the Permanent Resident Clock Start?

[Larry and Maria 0]

We have searched for the unambiguous definition of "Permanent Resident" over the past couple years and still do not find any clear explanation and definition.

Does the date the Conditional "Green Card" was issued count as the start date for the clock running to apply after 3 yrs for Citizenship?

Or, does the 10 year resident card issuance date start the clock?

Can you point us to the USCIS Government page where the definitions are clearly stated?

Thanks!

Larry and Maria

[raymaga 25]

The date you were approved for Permanent Residency is the date you use to count forward 3 years for naturalization. You can actually apply 90 days before the 3-year anniversary date.

I see from your timeline that your AOS was approved on Jan. 17/07. That means you are eligible to apply for naturalization in October, 2009.

Edited October 12, 2008 by raymaga

[eau_xplain 2]

It's all on the USCIS website if you look for it.

Now That You Are A Permanent Resident

We have searched for the unambiguous definition of "Permanent Resident" over the past couple years and still do not find any clear explanation and definition.

Does the date the Conditional "Green Card" was issued count as the start date for the clock running to apply after 3 yrs for Citizenship?

Or, does the 10 year resident card issuance date start the clock?

Can you point us to the USCIS Government page where the definitions are clearly stated?

Thanks!

Larry and Maria

[NickD 202]

We have searched for the unambiguous definition of "Permanent Resident" over the past couple years and still do not find any clear explanation and definition.

Does the date the Conditional "Green Card" was issued count as the start date for the clock running to apply after 3 yrs for Citizenship?

Or, does the 10 year resident card issuance date start the clock?

Can you point us to the USCIS Government page where the definitions are clearly stated?

Thanks!

Larry and Maria

Regardless if I look at the Resident Since date on my wife's conditional or ten year green card, made scanned copies, they took these back, the dates are the same. Aren't they the same on yours? All USCIS forms insist on a mm/dd/yyyy format, but on her green cards, they use a mm/dd/yy format, wonder why they do that?

But that Resident Since date is when the clock starts ticking, clearing explained in the M-476 manual, worthwhile reading if you do not want to hire an immigration attorney.

[lucyrich 19]

Your green card has a "resident since" date written on it. That is the date when you became a lawful permanent resident according to the USCIS.

Whether your initial LPR status was conditional or not has no effect on your wait time for citizenship. If you go through the removing conditions process, your 10 year green card will have exactly the same "resident since" date as your original 2-year card. That "resident since" date is the important one for determining when you became a LPR.

Typically, if still married, you can file for citizenship about one year after you filed for removal of conditions, assuming you meet all of the many other requirements as stated in the M-476. You DON'T have to wait until you've had your ten year card for a certain time; you only have to wait until the required time has elapsed since your "resident since" date.

[NickD 202]

Your green card has a "resident since" date written on it. That is the date when you became a lawful permanent resident according to the USCIS.

Whether your initial LPR status was conditional or not has no effect on your wait time for citizenship. If you go through the removing conditions process, your 10 year green card will have exactly the same "resident since" date as your original 2-year card. That "resident since" date is the important one for determining when you became a LPR.

Typically, if still married, you can file for citizenship about one year after you filed for removal of conditions, assuming you meet all of the many other requirements as stated in the M-476. You DON'T have to wait until you've had your ten year card for a certain time; you only have to wait until the required time has elapsed since your "resident since" date.

Ha, my wife never received her ten year card until a month before her USC interview, then they took it back before her oath ceremony. Was a lot of money and work to get that card, just for a couple of months of usage.

Shouldn't they let us amortize the cost of that card and give us back 1-2/120 times our money back?

[payxibka 10,044]

We have searched for the unambiguous definition of "Permanent Resident" over the past couple years and still do not find any clear explanation and definition.

Does the date the Conditional "Green Card" was issued count as the start date for the clock running to apply after 3 yrs for Citizenship?

Or, does the 10 year resident card issuance date start the clock?

Can you point us to the USCIS Government page where the definitions are clearly stated?

Thanks!

Larry and Maria

Can't tell you a website but can tell you to simply look at her card.... it is clearly stated there

[akdiver 3]

This quite clearly addressed in the form instructions for the associated applications. Give them a read, you'll find your official answer.

[Larry and Maria 0]

Thank you for all the answers.

Yes, we looked at the M-476 Guide before asking.

The 2 years "green card" only says "Resident" for the date.

No 10 year "green card" yet so there's no other card to compare with.

We like most of you, have spent quite a bit of time searching USCS docs and VJ "Guides" over the past three plus years to get answers to questions.

Some of the info on VJ we've actually found to be out of date.

In all the documentation, we've not see a definition that clarifies the difference between "Conditional" Permanent Resident and Permanent Resident with "Conditions Removed" affects "Resident" dates.

That was the question we were looking to find an answer for in all the USCIS docs.

For example, a good place would be Page 22 of M-476; it's not there.

Maybe it's somewhere and we just didn't find it.

What we were trying to avoid was filing before it was time and causing a "gotcha"!

It seems odd that the designation "Conditional Permanent" and "Permanent without Conditions" is the same, at least as far as the date goes.

It seems the real "Permanent Resident" Date would be the date the 10-year "green card" is issued with no "conditions".

Thanks again for taking the time to have responded; we appreciated it.

[diadromous mermaid 36]

A Conditional Permanent Resident is a Permanent Resident.

Thank you for all the answers.

Yes, we looked at the M-476 Guide before asking.

The 2 years "green card" only says "Resident" for the date.

No 10 year "green card" yet so there's no other card to compare with.

We like most of you, have spent quite a bit of time searching USCS docs and VJ "Guides" over the past three plus years to get answers to questions.

Some of the info on VJ we've actually found to be out of date.

In all the documentation, we've not see a definition that clarifies the difference between "Conditional" Permanent Resident and Permanent Resident with "Conditions Removed" affects "Resident" dates.

That was the question we were looking to find an answer for in all the USCIS docs.

For example, a good place would be Page 22 of M-476; it's not there.

Maybe it's somewhere and we just didn't find it.

What we were trying to avoid was filing before it was time and causing a "gotcha"!

It seems odd that the designation "Conditional Permanent" and "Permanent without Conditions" is the same, at least as far as the date goes.

It seems the real "Permanent Resident" Date would be the date the 10-year "green card" is issued with no "conditions".

Thanks again for taking the time to have responded; we appreciated it.

[NickD 202]

A Conditional Permanent Resident is a Permanent Resident.

Thank you for all the answers.

Yes, we looked at the M-476 Guide before asking.

The 2 years "green card" only says "Resident" for the date.

No 10 year "green card" yet so there's no other card to compare with.

We like most of you, have spent quite a bit of time searching USCS docs and VJ "Guides" over the past three plus years to get answers to questions.

Some of the info on VJ we've actually found to be out of date.

In all the documentation, we've not see a definition that clarifies the difference between "Conditional" Permanent Resident and Permanent Resident with "Conditions Removed" affects "Resident" dates.

That was the question we were looking to find an answer for in all the USCIS docs.

For example, a good place would be Page 22 of M-476; it's not there.

Maybe it's somewhere and we just didn't find it.

What we were trying to avoid was filing before it was time and causing a "gotcha"!

It seems odd that the designation "Conditional Permanent" and "Permanent without Conditions" is the same, at least as far as the date goes.

It seems the real "Permanent Resident" Date would be the date the 10-year "green card" is issued with no "conditions".

Thanks again for taking the time to have responded; we appreciated it.

For the N-400, you must be a lawful permanent resident since the date your conditional card was stamped with that date, as it expires exactly two years later on the day before your 2nd anniversary date, you can go back two years and add one day for the day you first became a lawful permanent resident.

Can also be a LPR with an expired conditional card as long as you have that one year extension notice, an I-551 stamp in your current valid foreign passport, OR an infopass issued I-94 pass.

Have to admit to being only 99.7% sure of my wife's LPR status before risking 675 bucks, so called my immigration attorney, no charge, he said he was 100% sure as my wife had a soon to expire one year extension notice. We sent it in, no problems and that was precisely 90 days before her 3rd anniversary plus a day's grace, make that 89 days.