Fellow Canadian VJers removing Conditions..

[cdneh 3,112]

I'm Canadian, I just came in from the door marked New Zealand

I have had my biometrics done, but I have to go back again, and all the way to TN. That's about a 6 hour trip in good weather.

[Kathryn41 3,205]

Ah, I'm glad you can now take a big breath and relax, Wyatt .

cdneh, why do you have to go back? Do they need to redo the biometrics?

[cdneh 3,112]

Ah, I'm glad you can now take a big breath and relax, Wyatt .

cdneh, why do you have to go back? Do they need to redo the biometrics?

The notice says that the FBI could not process my fingerprints. I have to have them done again. Although if they are hard to get, I don't see how that helps. Not like I can take my spare set of fingers

They always have a bit of trouble, but usually the ones they can get are enough. Have been so far.

[maplestar 2]

I JUST received a notification that it was delivered. THANK GOODNESS.

I was literally at the post office an hour ago, and the clerk basically said it was in limbo and there was nothing they could do.

Whew!

We mailed ours from a post office in Virginia Beach (since we had to pick up an affadavit from there), and we'd forgotten to take the customer copy of the Express Mail label. The post office mailed our copy to us, but somebody had made an error and wrote: "SHORT PAID $9.40" (I think they did that, not realizing that we'd used a flat-rate envelope and calculated based on weight.)

Was a scary few minutes until I could get online and see that it had already been delivered. Still didn't completely believe it until the check was cashed.

[lgg 2]

Woohoo! Got my biometrics appointment. Thank god it's for the new year as it'd be way too busy these days to go. It's nice that it's moving along buts it's kinda anticlimactic after the whole cr1 thing.

Merry Xmas everyone! And Wyatt, I'm glad your package got delivered, probably just got caught up in holiday mail.

[sdw 10]

got my biometrics notice 1/6/12

[lilacvioletiris 11]

I am starting to think about the ROC and getting as many ducks in a row as possible. DH and I still need to go to the water utility "in person together" with "our marriage certificate" to get his name added to the water bill. Been married almost 1.5 years and haven't had an opportunity to take care of this but I want to have it done for ROC.

So if the green card expires while we wait for processing, it shouldn't be a big deal for my DH to keep working and getting paid? We did the K-1 visa and the interview officer said we needed to wait until 2 years of marriage had passed, then apply, but how can I find out how long processing is taking for a ROC from Michigan?

[sdw 10]

You will get an extension letter extending green card for one year.

[darkchilde794 5]

Hi guys! Just dropping in to see who are removing conditions with me!

We sent our application on December 13 - received the USCIS receipt and had our check cashed. It seems like VCS takes 6-8 months to process the paperwork. I'm unsure if I should make travel plans at this point - hubby and I were thinking of going on a cruise in May. Has anyone ever traveled and was allowed back in the US with just that NOA receipt?

We too did not include any friend/family affidavits in our application, just all our legal stuff: accounts, mortgage, insurance, bills and an album of ALL our pictures together

A coworker of mine filed for a ROC back in May and has not heard any decision yet. She did postpone her biometrics, so that may be a reason for the delay. Anyway, according to her, the NOA-1 is incredibly important. She lost hers (but manage to make a photocopy so she does have a copy). Apparently the USCIS local offices cannot reprint another NOA-1 unless you surrender your expired green card, which they discourage you from doing. So do not lose your NOA-1!

BTW, should I renew my EAD in case my new green card does not arrive in time? (even if the NOA-1 states I can work for another year after my card expires)

Thanks!

[Hugglebuggles 60]

Your extension letter is good for work and travel. No need to get an EAD. I've read positive experiences from people who traveled and were allowed back with the extension letter only. Hopefully someone with experience will chime in. I was planning on going back to Canada in February and I probably wont have an approval by then. Its taking forever right now...

[Wyatt's Torch 45]

Just remember to carry the original NOA1 with you when you travel...NOT a copy. There's someone in the ROC forum whose wife flew down to Buenos Aires to visit family, and was stopped in Lima shortly before Christmas, disallowed from returning to the U.S. because she only had a photocopy of the NOA1 along with her expired GC.

[SapphireDreams 71]

I am starting to think about the ROC and getting as many ducks in a row as possible. DH and I still need to go to the water utility "in person together" with "our marriage certificate" to get his name added to the water bill. Been married almost 1.5 years and haven't had an opportunity to take care of this but I want to have it done for ROC.

So if the green card expires while we wait for processing, it shouldn't be a big deal for my DH to keep working and getting paid? We did the K-1 visa and the interview officer said we needed to wait until 2 years of marriage had passed, then apply, but how can I find out how long processing is taking for a ROC from Michigan?

You need to apply for ROC 90 days before the expiration of your greencard. You either apply to Vermont or California (similar to the K1) and you can check out the Removal of Conditions forum area to track how long it's taking for the different service centers. California is much faster than Vermont. I'm not sure where Michigan sends their applications.

No need to do anything about an EAD or your employer. My expiry date has come and gone and my employer hasn't asked for anything. My husband (who works in HR) said that companies only need to re-verify visas and EADs on expiry, but not a greencard, even if it was a 2 year greencard.

I'm in Canada now and still waiting for ROC. I do have a I-551 stamp in my passport though because I was worried about a cruise I went on back in December. Which ended up being a good decision because there were no questions asked using the stamp to get back into the US.

In a few weeks it'll be 5 months of waiting for me.... I'm anticipating a 7-8 month wait.

[ScooterMac 2]

Hail, hail, the gang's all here....good to see some familiars! We're just starting to pull our stuff together, back to the USCIS grind...

[Kathryn41 3,205]

Hi guys! Just dropping in to see who are removing conditions with me!

We sent our application on December 13 - received the USCIS receipt and had our check cashed. It seems like VCS takes 6-8 months to process the paperwork. I'm unsure if I should make travel plans at this point - hubby and I were thinking of going on a cruise in May. Has anyone ever traveled and was allowed back in the US with just that NOA receipt?

We too did not include any friend/family affidavits in our application, just all our legal stuff: accounts, mortgage, insurance, bills and an album of ALL our pictures together

A coworker of mine filed for a ROC back in May and has not heard any decision yet. She did postpone her biometrics, so that may be a reason for the delay. Anyway, according to her, the NOA-1 is incredibly important. She lost hers (but manage to make a photocopy so she does have a copy). Apparently the USCIS local offices cannot reprint another NOA-1 unless you surrender your expired green card, which they discourage you from doing. So do not lose your NOA-1!

BTW, should I renew my EAD in case my new green card does not arrive in time? (even if the NOA-1 states I can work for another year after my card expires)

Thanks!

Just a heads up that if you do lose the receipt or if you don't get the receipt or if your ROC takes more than a year to process and the receipt expires, you can always make an Infopass appointment at your local USCIS office and ask for the I-551 stamp to be placed in your valid passport. If you do no have a valid passport, then you can bring your expired passport and 2 passport style photographs and they will make an I-94 for you, stamp the I-551 on the I-94 and place that in the expired passport. Bring something that has your A number on it as they will look your file up by your A number. Stamps are generally issued with 1 year validity, but may be as little as 6 months as well. As I never received the ROC receipt/extension letter, I got the I-551 stamp in my passport and it worked fine.

Edited December 30, 2011 by Kathryn41

[SapphireDreams 71]

Just a heads up that if you do lose the receipt or if you don't get the receipt or if your ROC takes more than a year to process and the receipt expires, you can always make an Infopass appointment at your local USCIS office and ask for the I-551 stamp to be placed in your valid passport. If you do no have a valid passport, then you can bring your expired passport and 2 passport style photographs and they will make an I-94 for you, stamp the I-551 on the I-94 and place that in the expired passport. Bring something that has your A number on it as they will look your file up by your A number. Stamps are generally issued with 1 year validity, but may be as little as 6 months as well. As I never received the ROC receipt/extension letter, I got the I-551 stamp in my passport and it worked fine.

I went on a cruise back in November while doing ROC. It was fine, although the check in went a bit odd since the desk agent didn't fully understand that the stamp was my greencard. She took my word for it though and didn't cause any issues in the end. Also, we went through the Tampa port and they do immigration on the ship, so they didn't really question the stamp at all... but their process was different than other ports.

I personally felt more comfortable getting a stamp in my passport at an INFOPASS than using the letter for the cruise. The agent gave me one, although he said the letter would've been just fine. There's just so much gray area.

I also just went back to Canada for Christmas and used the stamp at Pearson coming back. I had to go through secondary and luckily JUST made my flight (left ourselves 2 hours, should've probably left 3). So just make sure you give yourself enough travel time to go through customs if travelling with the letter or stamp since they make you go into secondary.

Just when I thought it was getting easier to cross back into the US, I had to go into secondary again!

Hopefully I'll get my new card soon.