Forgot to Remove Condition on my Permanent Resident card

[VanessaTony 3,567]

Thank you for this information.

I did verify and i am eligible to work in the United States.

Okay, then that site is #######. You're clearly NOT eligible to work so I retract everything I previously stated. I *thought* it would have come back "no" and you would have seen for yourself :S That backfired :S

[Aya820 33]

Yeah I just tried this site to "test" it on my husband's SSN, but it couldn't even find him...he has a 10 year GC by the way.

[VanessaTony 3,567]

I will call them on Monday to see what can be done.

If I need a lawyer or not.

I don't know how serious this situation is, but I have been a good citizen. I was married for almost 8 years and have two children.

The only problem is that I forgot to renew the card.

I hope they don't make a huge deal out of this.

This "situation" is very serious. You are illegal. You are working illegally. You are living here illegally. You HAVE been living here illegally for FIVE (5) years.

This isn't like a drivers license where you just renew it. Your status was revoked. You WILL NOT get your GC "back". It's gone. Your status is gone. You need to leave the US but you have 5 years of overstay... in fact you've probably already had proceedings filed against you and you just have no idea.

There is no "I'll just file the paperwork 5 years late". That's not how it works. You have no excuse for being 5 years late... "I forgot" isn't an excuse, not the mention you're now divorced...

Again, you are an illegal alien. You cannot "get your card back". You need to leave the US as you are here living and working illegally. Your employer could get into a lot of trouble for hiring an illegal alien.

[Hypnos 6,576]

Some studies have put the e-Verify failure rate at around 50%.

[deus360 9]

You have a number of misconceptions here.

SS is never cancelled. This talk of e-verify is a red herring. It has nothing to do with your situation. A credit card is not tied to status and would never be cancelled for that. They want your money no matter what.

When your 2-year card expired and you did not file ROC, then your LPR status was cancelled. That is the law. If you had a 10-year card, the status is not cancelled when the card is, but according to your story, you had a conditional, 2-year card. When it expired, your status was cancelled.

Because it was cancelled you could be in removal proceedings and not know it, or you could have been deported in absentia.

You are no longer a LPR.

Here is the law: CFR 216.4 (6)

http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.f6da51a2342135be7e9d7a10e0dc91a0/?vgnextoid=fa7e539dc4bed010VgnVCM1000000ecd190aRCRD&vgnextchannel=fa7e539dc4bed010VgnVCM1000000ecd190aRCRD&CH=8cfr

You will need a lawyer to figure out your options. You are not eligible to apply for a new GC because you are no longer married. You can try to beg forgiveness, but 5 years is a long time. Please consult with a lawyer, or with a few of them.

He entered his marriage in good faith and by law that’s all that is needed to get a PR card. If USCIS refuses to give him his PR status back – which is like 90% probable in his case - he should bring USCIS to a law court. He stands to win in a case like this because USCIS will have to proof that he entered his marriage NOT in good faith. Since, he is presumed innocent until proven guilty by law. The burden of proof will fall on to the USCIS to proof otherwise. He will win against USCIS because they will find no evidence of his guiltiness; it’s very difficult to proof a false negative. After this, the judge will order USCIS to put him back into status. From my point of view this is the most probable outcome for him, but you are right he needs a lawyer to bully back USCIS into place. The most basic truth here is that he didn’t do anything wrong, he simple forgot and didn’t know that a entity as draconian as USCIS existed.

Edited May 4, 2013 by deus360

[VanessaTony 3,567]

I'm not going to the office, I will make a phone call.

If it is this serious my SS would have been canceled. My credit cards and probably would have told my current employer to not hire me. I got hired by one of the biggest Hotel/casino here in Las Vegas, and the card was already expired.

So I don't know, I'm new to all this and I hope this is not a huge deal. We will see on Monday when I call them.

The system isn't infallible (as you now know by running e-verify and it coming back good).

Your SSN isn't "cancelled". It's yours for life. Your credit cards aren't tied to your status. Your employer doesn't re-run employment status. You are here illegally, and working illegally. Plain and simple.

It is a massive deal. If you leave the country, you cannot return. If you get detained by CBP you will be deported. You have no basis to adjust your status to a GC holder. You are illegal. Your children do not need to leave with you so if you get deported, your children can remain. You will not be permitted to visit the US (most likely) so your ex-spouse will need to send the children to your home country.

in short - big doo-doo.

Also. be wary of any attorneys that tell you this IS NOT a big deal but that they can fix it for a lot of money. They're lying.

[Hypnos 6,576]

If USCIS refuses to give him his PR status back – which is like 90% probable in his case - he should bring USCIS to a law court. He stands to win in a case like this because USCIS will have to proof that he entered his marriage NOT in good faith.

This is nonsense and you do not know what you are talking about.

Edited May 4, 2013 by Hypnos

[VanessaTony 3,567]

I would contact an attorney. You may be eligible to file for ROC waiver due to divorce.

You have children with the ex-spouse, I am sure there are other things you can provide that prove you entered into the marriage with good faith. I do not think it is all lost. Its not like you committed a crime that is of moral turpitude (eg rape, murder, theft etc). The most important thing is you entered the marriage in good faith.

It will take a little bit of time but I really do not think it is all lost. Take a deep breath. Worse mistakes have been made. I know someone who never even filed for adjustment of status because they thought that just the marriage was good enough!

They are FIVE YEARS late filing. If they are not already in removal proceedings, once they file they will be on USCIS's radar and it will probably start it all. If the OP doesn't file they're still illegal and deportable at any time.

[Hypnos 6,576]

Late RoC filings are usually only accepted when serious issues arose beyond the alien's control that prevented them from filing a timely application.

An example of this would be: being in a serious accident for which you were hospitalised for a lengthy amount of time.

"I forgot" is not a valid reason, and even if it was it would not wash for five years. At this point, unless multiple attorneys tell you different, RoC looks to be a dead end.

The OP is divorced, so cannot re-petition based on marriage. His children are not old enough to petition him as their parent (they must be 21 to do so).

About the only two things I can see is: (1) amnesty under comprehensive immigration reform legislation, if it gets passed this year (and that's a big if), or (2) cancellation of removal. CoR is a massive hail-mary move though, and you should never, ever attempt it without speaking to a really good attorney first.

One thing you can do right now: call 1-800-898-7180 (this is the Immigration Courts Automated Hotline) and listen to the prompts. Enter your alien number (from the expired green card) at the prompt, and it should tell you whether or not you have had any removal orders issued to you in absentia.

Edited May 4, 2013 by Hypnos

[VanessaTony 3,567]

He entered his marriage in good faith and by law that’s all that is needed to get a PR card. If USCIS refuses to give him his PR status back – which is like 90% probable in his case - he should bring USCIS to a law court. He stands to win in a case like this because USCIS will have to proof that he entered his marriage NOT in good faith. Since, he is presumed innocent until proven guilty by law. The burden of proof will fall on to the USCIS to proof otherwise. He will win against USCIS because they will find no evidence of his guiltiness; it’s very difficult to proof a false negative. After this, the judge will order USCIS to put him back into status. From my point of view this is the most probable outcome for him, but you are right he needs a lawyer to bully back USCIS into place. The most basic truth here is that he didn’t do anything wrong, he simple forgot and didn’t know that a entity as draconian as USCIS existed.

Um no. The OP would need to prove that they DID file before the well-known deadline... and at least if not well known deadline, the very obvious expiration date on the card.

The OP lost their status not because of the marriage or assumption of fraud, but because they failed to follow procedure and file for ROC before the card expired. Their status is void. They are illegal.

The OP DID do something wrong. The OP did NOT follow procedure. USCIS need not prove anything. the OP's failure to file is his own fault. Not USCIS's.

[deus360 9]

This is nonsense and you do not know what you are talking about.

Could you explain to me why this is nonce is exactly? Let my guess, simply because you think its sound too simple, I am right? I am simply been blunt here, and poeple like you offend me, but that’s the truth plus doing this is not simply, it’s expensive. I know this because I have 2 friends that got in 2 different marriages illegally; the USCIS denied both of their status. They engaged in several lawsuits against the USCIS until they won the case, because the USCIS didn’t have enough evidence to proof otherwise. The most basic thing here is that he enter the marriage in good faith.

Edited May 4, 2013 by deus360

[Hypnos 6,576]

No it's nonsense because it's nonsense.

I'm not going to rehash the entire thread here. People cannot just do "a lawsuit" against USCIS and win. On what basis would he do so? You are taking a complicated subject and applying a third grader's interpretation to it.

The fact that he entered the marriage in good faith is completely irrelevant at this point. He failed to file a timely RoC application, he is an illegal alien who is out of status, and is immediately deportable with no obvious relief available. Those are all undisputed facts.

Edited May 4, 2013 by Hypnos

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

Could you explain to me why this is nonce is exactly? Let my guess, simply because you think its sound too simple, I am right? I am simply been blunt here, and poeple like you offend me, but that’s the truth plus doing this is not simply, it’s expensive. I know this because I have 2 friends that got in 2 different marriages illegally; the USCIS denied both of their status. They engaged in several lawsuits against the USCIS until they won the case, because the USCIS didn’t have enough evidence to proof otherwise. The most basic thing here is that he enter the marriage in good faith.

No, there are many things that can cause one's GC to be denied. Marriage in good faith is not the only criteria. Others are not being a criminal, not having a ban, etc.

You think the only thing is "evidence of good faith" because that is your experience. But you are talking about AOS and this is ROC. It is different.

It's like someone who had one disease telling diagnosing their friends with the same disease. They do that because it's what they know, but they don't know all the possibilities.

You sound like you hang out with a bad crowd.

[Shelly11 14]

You are not in a good place but its not the worst thing that ever happened. This can be salvaged. You made a terrible mistake but this happens more often than a lot of people are willing to admit.

Forget all the negativity you are getting here. Contact an attorney and see what your options are. I know someone that did not follow through with their initial adjustment of status once she got a decent job. Later on, she met someone else and this time, she followed through with the AOS. She wrote a letter to USCIS asking them to close off her previous case then filed an AOS and included the divorce decree with her application.

There are over 11M undocumented immigrants! Millions of other illegals. Your situation is bad but its not like anyone died and its really not the worst thing that happened:) There is still alot you can do. We all make mistakes. So keep your head up and pursue your options

[deus360 9]

No, there are many things that can cause one's GC to be denied. Marriage in good faith is not the only criteria. Others are not being a criminal, not having a ban, etc.

You think the only thing is "evidence of good faith" because that is your experience. But you are talking about AOS and this is ROC. It is different.

It's like someone who had one disease telling diagnosing their friends with the same disease. They do that because it's what they know, but they don't know all the possibilities.

You sound like you hang out with a bad crowd.

I am not saying good faith is the only evidence, but I think its the most important one. its true that many things can denied your case inside the USCIS proceeding, but the ultimate instance is an immigration court and the USCIS has to comply with this. About my friends, I don’t “hang” with them, they leave in another state, plus I don’t base my friendship on someone’s immigration status. I wouldn't consider my self to be a very good friend if I did something as simplistic as that.