Travel outside the US

[Dan T 8]

Let me first state that as an American I am down right embarrassed that our immigration process is so cumbersome and expensive. I am torn between feeling anger towards those that would break our laws for financial benifit with no notion of assimilation and feeling empathy for those that would have followed the law and integrated into American society if not for this assinine process they have set up for people. Why there seems to be a political motivation for condoning non-English speaking people jumping a fence is beyond me. If anyone knows of organizations that are in place that are in need of volenteers to assist potential immigrants from English speaking, or other European, countries please let me know. There is no political favoritism towards people from these countries and being that my wife is Irish this particular segment draws my empathy the most. My wife moved here to be with me because we were in love and had no need for financial benefits that were not available in her home country. My heart goes out to people born into poverty and have come to this country for a chance at a better life, but I have 2 demands that our government is too politically correct to articulate publicly, respect our laws, and assimilate to the American culture. Why is this so hard for people particularly of Spanish speaking countries to our south? The census form came in to languages, English and Spanish, am I the only person in America that can see what's wrong with that?

With that rant aside I do have a question/situation that I hope the forum may assist with. I do not have exact dates of my so-called journey but I was married on 8-17-07, had conditional residency granted in 02-08 and have gone for the 2nd biometrics scan that is part of the removal of conditions. My wife's conditional status was extended for 1 year while the beurocrats justify their employment by delaying the processing either on purpose or by incompetancy. Her grandfather in Ireland just had his 90th bday last year and while he is in good health 90 is a very precarious age and death is always a breath away, as he reminds her every time they talk. My question is, if he were to pass while we are in this limbotic phase of immigration would she be allowed to return for the funeral and then return with me to the US.

[Otto 83]

My question is, if he were to pass while we are in this limbotic phase of immigration would she be allowed to return for the funeral and then return with me to the US.

The expired PR/Green Card and extension letter/notice would be sufficient to re-enter the US.

[v333k 59]

Let me first state that as an American I am down right embarrassed that our immigration process is so cumbersome and expensive. I am torn between feeling anger towards those that would break our laws for financial benifit with no notion of assimilation and feeling empathy for those that would have followed the law and integrated into American society if not for this assinine process they have set up for people. Why there seems to be a political motivation for condoning non-English speaking people jumping a fence is beyond me. If anyone knows of organizations that are in place that are in need of volenteers to assist potential immigrants from English speaking, or other European, countries please let me know. There is no political favoritism towards people from these countries and being that my wife is Irish this particular segment draws my empathy the most. My wife moved here to be with me because we were in love and had no need for financial benefits that were not available in her home country. My heart goes out to people born into poverty and have come to this country for a chance at a better life, but I have 2 demands that our government is too politically correct to articulate publicly, respect our laws, and assimilate to the American culture. Why is this so hard for people particularly of Spanish speaking countries to our south? The census form came in to languages, English and Spanish, am I the only person in America that can see what's wrong with that?

With that rant aside I do have a question/situation that I hope the forum may assist with. I do not have exact dates of my so-called journey but I was married on 8-17-07, had conditional residency granted in 02-08 and have gone for the 2nd biometrics scan that is part of the removal of conditions. My wife's conditional status was extended for 1 year while the beurocrats justify their employment by delaying the processing either on purpose or by incompetancy. Her grandfather in Ireland just had his 90th bday last year and while he is in good health 90 is a very precarious age and death is always a breath away, as he reminds her every time they talk. My question is, if he were to pass while we are in this limbotic phase of immigration would she be allowed to return for the funeral and then return with me to the US.

Hi Dan,

Welcome to VJ!

Here is what you are looking at.

Most people applying with VSC receive their approval within 3-4 months. The extension letter (Notice of Action - NOA) you are talking about allows your wife to travel outside the country and return to the US without any problems. She can, if she wishes, get an infopass appointment http://infopass.uscis.gov/ and get an I-551 stamp in her passport that will serve the same purpose as the letter, but in the passport instead of carrying an extra piece of paper around. When did you apply (the date on the NOA?)

Hope this info helps!

[Dan T 8]

Hi Dan,

Welcome to VJ!

Here is what you are looking at.

Most people applying with VSC receive their approval within 3-4 months. The extension letter (Notice of Action - NOA) you are talking about allows your wife to travel outside the country and return to the US without any problems. She can, if she wishes, get an infopass appointment http://infopass.uscis.gov/ and get an I-551 stamp in her passport that will serve the same purpose as the letter, but in the passport instead of carrying an extra piece of paper around. When did you apply (the date on the NOA?)

Hope this info helps!

the latest notice of action I have is dated 1/26/2010. is there a charge for the infopass or i-551? They did after all charge me $300 to resend a 2nd copy of one of their forms that I'm sure was on file somewhere anyway just because my USPS delivery is so unreliable and theyre too cheap to send things fedex or even certified.

[v333k 59]

the latest notice of action I have is dated 1/26/2010. is there a charge for the infopass or i-551? They did after all charge me $300 to resend a 2nd copy of one of their forms that I'm sure was on file somewhere anyway just because my USPS delivery is so unreliable and theyre too cheap to send things fedex or even certified.

No, they are free of charge - thank God. We spend close to $600 for this process, agony, stress, and frustration, and then in less than a year, we will spend another $700 for citizenship.

Get this, if you have children, USCIS requests you pay the additional $80 per child but if they are under 14, they don't need to be fingerprinted. However, if you send the fees without the $80 they will send you back the package saying that the fee is incorrect....

Another method of theft is as such - some people get AOS for a spouse and a step child, and if the spouse and stepchild were not approved within 90 days of each other, you will have to file TWO, yes TWO I-751s and pay per application the "extremely inexpensive" filing fee just because they didn't process both files at the same time....

[Dan T 8]

No, they are free of charge - thank God. We spend close to $600 for this process, agony, stress, and frustration, and then in less than a year, we will spend another $700 for citizenship.

Get this, if you have children, USCIS requests you pay the additional $80 per child but if they are under 14, they don't need to be fingerprinted. However, if you send the fees without the $80 they will send you back the package saying that the fee is incorrect....

Another method of theft is as such - some people get AOS for a spouse and a step child, and if the spouse and stepchild were not approved within 90 days of each other, you will have to file TWO, yes TWO I-751s and pay per application the "extremely inexpensive" filing fee just because they didn't process both files at the same time....

oh trust me we are well over the $3k mark all told. Now theyre trying to figure out how to give free health care to the people that skipped this process. I wonder where theyre going to get that money from??????