Has anyone been through this before??

[Marek 0]

Hi, I wanted to share our scenerio to you and ask you for your opinnion. I am a US citizen and my wife has a conditional green card. We traveled to Cancun on Vacation and did not realize that her green card was expired by a month. Upon reentry to US we we hassled and stuck in INS office at the connecting airport. Eventually we were let on our second flight home. Now she has an appointment at the INS office in our home town at the airport, they also confiscated the green card and are suppose to return it when she shows up. My question to you is, should I file the I 751 now or wait till the appointment. Also, what kind of consequences are we facing?? Thank you for your replys...

[Chica Yeyé 41]

You did not apply to remove conditions? I am not sure, but she might be out of status. and

Edited March 24, 2009 by *Len*

[wannabe_texan 0]

Wow - think you are lucky that she's back home - definitely caught a lucky break

On this one, my initial advice is to lawyer up, because the I-751 is one of those things where they don't always give you a reminder, and it has to be done. At their discretion (and a grovelling excuse letter from yourselves as to why you didn't file on time) they can accept a late I-751 - there have been others on this forum that forgot to file. But for the purposes of going to the appointment at your local office, I think a lawyer would be warranted.

From the Adjucator's Manual on USCIS's site:

• Approximately 90 days before the second anniversary of the date on which the alien obtained conditional permanent residence, the Service must (attempt to) notify the alien a second time of the requirement that the alien and petitioning spouse must file a petition to remove the conditional basis of the alien's lawful permanent residence. The notification will be mailed to the alien's last known address. However, failure on the part of the Service to provide notification (which can occur, for example, if the alien fails to notify the Service of a change of address) does not relieve the alien and the petitioning spouse of the requirement to file a joint petition within 90 days preceding the second anniversary date of the alien's conditional status. This notification is done on an automated basis by the Immigration Marriage Fraud Amendments System . (This system is known in some offices as IMFAS (“im-FASS”) and in others as MFAS (“MAY-fiss”).)

• Termination of Status for Failure to File . Failure to properly file Form I-751 within the 90-day period immediately preceding the second anniversary of the date on which the alien obtained lawful permanent residence on a conditional basis shall result in the automatic termination of the alien's permanent residence status and the initiation of proceedings to remove the alien from the U.S. Form I-751 may be filed after the expiration of the 90-day period only if the alien establishes to the satisfaction of the director, in writing, that there was good cause for the failure to file within the required time period.

http://www.uscis.gov/propub/ProPubVAP.jsp?...8ce159d286150e2

Edited March 24, 2009 by wannabe_texan

[Marek 0]

No, I did not. The green card showed up only 8 months ago, and I failed to look at the expiration date.

[alimar 0]

ohhh guys u didnt realize that her green card was expired and u didn't apply to remove her conditional residence. She is in a big trouble out of status. I guess you need to wait for the appointment and see what they are going to tell her. You should better contact a lawyer, to handle this hard situation. Good Luck!!!

[Chica Yeyé 41]

That right there is the center of your problem. She is indeed out of status and subject to deportation. Not knowing when the green card expires for whichever reason and/or failing to file for removal of conditions is not USCIS problem --- it is your responsibility and now you will have to deal with the consequences.

Retain an experienced immigration attorney. Pronto.

[Marek 0]

Thank you for all of the replys, we will see what happens..

[alimar 0]

Thank you for all of the replys, we will see what happens..

I am not sure but she is subject of deportation now, the appointment will be to ask her 2 things: voluntary leaving or deportation. You should better contact a very good lawyer.

[Chica Yeyé 41]

Thank you for all of the replys, we will see what happens..

I am not sure but she is subject of deportation now, the appointment will be to ask her 2 things: voluntary leaving or deportation. You should better contact a very good lawyer.

You are exactly right. She ought to have legal representation at the hearing.

[jasminelily 1]

Hi, I wanted to share our scenerio to you and ask you for your opinnion. I am a US citizen and my wife has a conditional green card. We traveled to Cancun on Vacation and did not realize that her green card was expired by a month. Upon reentry to US we we hassled and stuck in INS office at the connecting airport. Eventually we were let on our second flight home. Now she has an appointment at the INS office in our home town at the airport, they also confiscated the green card and are suppose to return it when she shows up. My question to you is, should I file the I 751 now or wait till the appointment. Also, what kind of consequences are we facing?? Thank you for your replys...

Now she has an appointment at the INS office in our home town at the airport - This obviously is a part of the deportation procedure. Don't go there without an immigration attorney and that attorney better be an excellent one. Why I say it has to be an excellent one? Because you have to pay the attorney no matter he/she is going to be successful to stop them from deporting your wife or not, so you better get a good one, not only a good one, an excellent one with higher successful rate. Would you rather get a bad attorney, pay him to fail and your wife gets deportation or would you rather spend some money to get an excellent attorney and your wife get to stay here? It's a decision that you and your wife has to make. I mean you could have some agreement/contract with the attorney, that's if the attorney agree to not to charge you if he/she fails (I'm not sure if that kind of attorney actually exist), and that agreement better be written to cover your further liability.

they also confiscated the green card and are suppose to return it when she shows up - Did someone tell you that they're going to return that expired GC? Or is it just your understanding or assumption?

Good Luck!

[Marek 0]

Oh #######, sorry for my language, but so far this does not look pretty:(

[Chica Yeyé 41]

Yup, that's what happens when we screw up --- things get nasty.

[alimar 0]

Oh #######, sorry for my language, but so far this does not look pretty:(

Yeah everybody in this forum know that she is in a very big trouble. I agree Jamisnelily you should better hire a really good lawyer, not way.

[jasminelily 1]

Oh #######, sorry for my language, but so far this does not look pretty:(

Yea, it doesn't look pretty. But it's not completely hopeless. Money cannot fix everything but you cannot fix anything without money. So spend some money on an excellent attorney.

Where is that airport? I mean which area/city are you in? May be someone here can refer you.

Edited March 24, 2009 by jasminelily

[Marek 0]

Guys, I am really hoping for the best. Why would they let her go and schedule an appointment if they wanted to deport her???

We were stuck in Chicago and live in Denver, CO.