LPR or no LPR????

[redskins47chaos 6]

Soooo for what it's worth, I posted on avvo.com and a lawyer said I could have my mother in law mail me the card and could enter as a LPR....go figure! Wouldn't be the first time a lawyer's wrong though lol Another one asked if I was granted adjustment before leaving?? Aren't you granted adjustment once you have the card in hands only?

[Hypnos 6,576]

Sadly some advice is worth precisely what you paid for it.

And yes, your adjustment was granted when the green card was issued, but would not have been had they known you had abandoned the application by leaving the US prior.

[redskins47chaos 6]

True, but since they did issue the card, because I left only days before receiving it, I wonder if they think I'm considered a LPR....Honestly I get what the rule says but if the USCIS and even a lawyer say otherwise I dont know what ro believe...I just wanna do the right thing. I will try to call the USCIS again and speak to a

tier 2 person. I will also try to contact the CBP and see what they say.

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

OP: Read this thread. http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/456391-n-400-denial-because-of-immigration-error/

That person had an error on her GC (it said it was approved earlier than it was) and she filed ROC and Citizenship too early (she followed the date on her card). They finally figured it out and she is waiting for citizenship denial and she might have to ROC over again, or start from scratch. On the citizenship application, you have to declare every trip that you made outside the US, so if not before, they will realize at that point and take the GC away.

[redskins47chaos 6]

You're right. I'd like for the USCIS to understand this point of view and tell me that it would be a problem down the road and that my GC isnt valid. They are the ones saying I can use it....its just frustrating.

[newacct 688]

I'm curious though. What if you re-entered the U.S. using this green card, then you notify the USCIS after entering about the green card being a mistake. Could you then apply for adjustment of status again in the U.S. without leaving? I guess it would depend on whether you were considered to have been legally admitted or not.

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

I'm curious though. What if you re-entered the U.S. using this green card, then you notify the USCIS after entering about the green card being a mistake. Could you then apply for adjustment of status again in the U.S. without leaving? I guess it would depend on whether you were considered to have been legally admitted or not.

My vote is yes. I think others disagree.

[redskins47chaos 6]

I'm curious though. What if you re-entered the U.S. using this green card, then you notify the USCIS after

entering about the green card being a mistake. Could you then apply for

adjustment of status again in the U.S.

without leaving? I guess it would

depend on whether you were

considered to have been legally

admitted or not.

That's something I was wondering also... That would be quite a gamble though. I dont know if I wanna take that chance without knowing for

sure. Wouldnt I be considered out of status?....although I've seen people marry USC and adjust their status on the VWP so who knows....

Edited October 12, 2013 by redskins47chaos

[bdawn 66]

I just realized something: you left the U.S on July 8, 2013...this means you've been outside the U.S for less than 6 months. Your adjustment of status was approved and your greencard mailed out to your address in the States (even though you had left). Though you had indicated abandoning your residence, I think the person who received the request (with the greencard) assumed the greencard failed in delivery...People might disagree, but I think your greencard is still valid if the person you spoke to at USCIS advised that you have the greencard mailed out to you in France. You gotta look into speaking with an officer at USCIS. If your "abandon" request was not updated in the system (which might be the case considering the fact that your status shows greencard couldn't be delivered). I would by all means speak with an officer at USCIS.

Hey VJers, so I made a topic a month or so ago about my situation but would like to clarify it once and for all:

-I (the non USC spouse) entered the US in September 2012 on a K1 Visa

-We got married on October 6 2012

-I applied for AOS in December 2012

-I received my EAD in February 2013

...we changed our plans and decided to go back to France for a little while. Please note that I did not apply for AP with my EAD card. We left the US on July 8 2013.

-I received my GC in the US on July 24th, it says on the card that I'm a LPR since: July 20, 2013

We are now wanting to go back to the US. We thought the GC would be considered abandoned and we'd have to re-apply for a whole new visa. Basically we had my mother in law (she received the GC) send back the card to our local USCIS office with a note explaining the situation...I also sent a letter to our local office but never got a response. Anyway, when I enter my case number on the USCIS website, it says the card was undeliverable and will be hold for 180 days bla bla bla...

My wife and I finally called the USCIS from France and explained the whole thing. Well the lady said that she'd have the GC mailed back to our US address and that my mother in law could send us the card in France and that I could re-enter the US without a problem because if I have the card in hand I am a LPR....which is total BS! I even explained that I left without AP and everything but she said they wouldn't see the date I left the country at the POE.

Question: What the heck do we do and who do we believe??? Am I a LPR or not?? How do we know if our application is abandoned or not???

We are quite confused....Thank you for reading and helping us solve that complicated and unusal case

[Hypnos 6,576]

The OP departed the US approximately three weeks prior to the green card being issued, and they didn't have AP, meaning that the AoS application was deemed abandoned the instant they left. Therefore the green card cannot possibly be valid. If on the day that the adjudicator came to press "yes" or "no" he had known the OP had left the US without AP then it would have been an automatic "no". There is no latitude given to him, there is no wiggle room; the law says that AoS applications are automatically deemed abandoned once someone leaves the US without AP unless they are an H, L, V, K-3 or K-4 nonimmigrant and have maintained their status (this can be seen in the I-485 instructions). That is the crux of the issue here, but getting USCIS to realise that seems to be another story.

[Darnell 8,478]

yup yup - no real-time data system for that adjudicator.

you'd think it WOULD BE real-time, this location checking on adjudication day, but hey !!!

IMO, OP got lucky with the out-of-sync data systems, and has a green card, and can use it to enter the USA.

But that's just my 2 cents. With that, and a box of wheaties, one can have a carb-filled moring.

[redskins47chaos 6]

The thing is, as I understand it, when you leave the country without AP, your pending application is deemed abandoned and you never should receive a green card. This is why you shouldn't leave without AP, because if you try to re-enter the country, you will not have a valid document to re-enter! No AP and no GC! In my case however, I was given a green card...was it a mistake? Maybe, but the thing is I received it. So, could it be that because of that, my card is still considered valid? The USCIS seems to think so at least.

[Hypnos 6,576]

I'm sure if you wanted to you could probably take possession of the green card, re-enter, and begin to live your life in the US as normal, at least for a time.

The problem will be when you come to file for RoC / naturalisation, where they go over your prior paperwork with a fine toothcomb to find any mistakes or inaccuracies, exactly like the one that you have experienced. It's at that point that the defecation will strike the ventilating unit, once they see that your green card was approved after you had technically abandoned your application by departing without AP. At that point I believe they may begin the process to revoke your green card, issue you a Notice To Appear in immigration court, and in general Bad Things would happen.

Honestly this thread is not going to give you a definitive answer one way or another. I would consult 2 - 3 experienced and reputable immigration attorneys to get their take on it and then post back here with what you learned to educate others who happen to find themselves in a similar circumstance.

Edited October 13, 2013 by Hypnos

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

Yes, consult with a few lawyers. Don't accept any advice that amounts to "entirely ignoring it." At some point, you will want to get a correctly-issued GC.

[redskins47chaos 6]

So how do I go about consulting a lawyer?? Is there any free consultation websites? I don't really have the money to hire a lawyer...