232 days in the US with CR-1 process, but still no green card!

[Ramsey 16]

On 3/28/2019 at 9:35 AM, Peter Parker said:

Oooh. You're right. I misunderstood.

I have the IV Expires On, which is six months - but that's for it's status as an immigrant visa only. When you come through the  temporary I-551 is endorsed and this is therefore superseding the immigrant visa function.

Thanks :).

 

However doesn't help me, lol. I have to leave the country just after the 1 year date. I've been shot down twice now regarding getting an InfoPass appointment, but I'll do it again (by phone) after waiting past the 30 days Texas Service Center is being given to respond. I have just over 4 months runway - which should be more than enough time, but just knowing what USCIS are like, may not be.

 

Thanks everyone.

Good Afternoon Peter,

 

I just wanted to let you know that my mother-in-law is in the same boat. We just received a letter today from the USCIS stating:

 

"A search of USCIS records indicates the Immigrant Visa Fee has been received. However, it appears that the Texas Service Center has not received your Department of State issued Immigrant Visa Packet, which should have been submitted by the Port of Entry (POE) when you entered the United States. The Texas Service Center requires a completed Lost Visa Packet in order to process your Permanent Resident Card. Further research is needed in regards to your inquiry. You should receive correspondence within the next 90 days regarding this case. If you do not receive this correspondence, please contact customer service."

 

Her POE was San Diego International Airport (SAN) and she entered on November 9, 2018. I'm sorry to hear about this issue as it's been happening with quite a few people that have the new "IV docs in CCD" on the Immigrant Visa. I also submitted a complaint to the Ombudsman so thanks for that advice.

 

Please keep us posted on your situation and I will do the same. I suspect the issue is with the Texas Service Center (TSC) and the fact that they are unaware of this new electronic process. I hope that after getting a lot of complaints from multiple people in different areas, they figure things out from their end. Hopefully sooner rather than later

[GandhiA2013 0]

Any update on your status?

On 3/28/2019 at 9:35 AM, Peter Parker said:

Oooh. You're right. I misunderstood.

I have the IV Expires On, which is six months - but that's for it's status as an immigrant visa only. When you come through the  temporary I-551 is endorsed and this is therefore superseding the immigrant visa function.

 Thanks :).

  

However doesn't help me, lol. I have to leave the country just after the 1 year date. I've been shot down twice now regarding getting an InfoPass appointment, but I'll do it again (by phone) after waiting past the 30 days Texas Service Center is being given to respond. I have just over 4 months runway - which should be more than enough time, but just knowing what USCIS are like, may not be.

  

Thanks everyone.

 

[Peter Parker 12]

4 hours ago, GandhiA2013 said:

Any update on your status?

 

I got too busy to do anything after moving house, but then a couple of things happened on their own. First I got a letter about a lost visa packet, exactly as before. Then a couple of weeks later I got a letter saying I'd need to make an InfoPass appointment to resolve it (which they'd denied granting me before, lol). Tomorrow I have my InfoPass appointment, I'm pretty happy about that! Especially armed with all the experiences of others here.

[milimelo 4,196]

I would use your congressman or senator's immigration aide to push this through. They have direct line to USCIS and USCIS wants congressional inquires resolved fast. 

 

(That's what I had to go through when my GC didn't show up over a year after POE and USCIS wanted more $$ for what should've been no fee GC ). 

[ahm12 83]

13 hours ago, Peter Parker said:

I got too busy to do anything after moving house, but then a couple of things happened on their own. First I got a letter about a lost visa packet, exactly as before. Then a couple of weeks later I got a letter saying I'd need to make an InfoPass appointment to resolve it (which they'd denied granting me before, lol). Tomorrow I have my InfoPass appointment, I'm pretty happy about that! Especially armed with all the experiences of others here.

Pretty much issue solved. Congrats 

[Peter Parker 12]

On 5/9/2019 at 8:04 AM, ahm12 said:

Pretty much issue solved. Congrats 

Yeah :).

 

I'll throw out an information dump about my experience, in case anything is helpful for anyone else:

• Milwaukee (and presumably other USCIS bases) don't allow you to book an InfoPass appointment via the website anymore. They'll say they just don't do them, but you can as long as you are approved to have one. In my case they approved me on their own after I was stuck in the system long enough (I was going to have one before but they bumped me back to where I was, then it moved forward again), but it seems from other posts you could argue with them to get it.
• I explained the situation to the official at Milwaukee based on what has been discussed here. The official told me she is dealing with these very particular kinds of cases around once a month. So it's unusual but also known. Apologies were given to me. She printed it all out and is mailing it to Texas. (Unbelievable therefore that Texas Service Center has remained to be so ignorant/intransigent about it)
• At my appointment I was told it would be 2-4 months still to receive the greencard, as Texas Service Center is backlogged.
• They (at least at Milwaukee) won't stamp a visa extension against the temporary greencard unless you are within one month of it expiring. In my case, I am likely to have to go back for that, as it expires in around 3 months and I need to leave the country around then.
• The folks at Milwaukee were very pleasant. I've had dealings with US immigration people who are complete a-holes (at Detroit and London airports specifically), but absolutely none of that here. So don't be too nervous. I personally find when there are mixed-gender teams of people, the atmosphere is more friendly.
• At Milwaukee I had to go through a simple security scanning process. No drinks allowed. Probably a bad idea to take a laptop. You must put your phone on silent. Airport-style scanning.
• I had an appointment for 9:40am, although got there at 9:00am and was seen immediately. I had to wait around though for her to get an opportunity to speak to her boss.
• Bring a certified marriage certificate and birth certificate, even though you're not supposed to. I don't know if I strictly had to in my case, but she took photocopies and it made things easier. If you have a file of immigration paperwork and stuff you've needed before, just bring all of it. Better safe than sorry.
• Plenty of street parking around Milwaukee, although in my case I took a bus from the internodal station (about a 30 minute walk away).
• Annoyingly I left my appointment, then got a call when I was at internodal that she'd forgotten to ask-for/take my 2 passport photos. So make sure they take them!

That's all that comes to mind.

[TBoneTX 43,058]

3 hours ago, Peter Parker said:

I'll throw out an information dump

Thank you for taking the time to present this.  We need more posts like this.  

[Silver12 9]

Hi everyone,

 

I really need help with some advice and information. I entered the states end of April 2019 and am a CR1, I have heard that it can take up to 120 days to receive the physical green card. On my Cr1 visa it says the endorsement acts as a temporary green card valid for a year but my actual visa expires July 2019 and I need to attend a wedding in August so if I don’t receive my green card by then does that  mean I can’t travel ?  

[Peter Parker 12]

4 minutes ago, Silver12 said:

Hi everyone,

 

I really need help with some advice and information. I entered the states end of April 2019 and am a CR1, I have heard that it can take up to 120 days to receive the physical green card. On my Cr1 visa it says the endorsement acts as a temporary green card valid for a year but my actual visa expires July 2019 and I need to attend a wedding in August so if I don’t receive my green card by then does that  mean I can’t travel ?  

Hi,

 

This is how I understand it, which I'm pretty sure is correct...

 

Your July 2019 visa expiry is for the immigration component of what's in your passport. It's a visa for immigrating.

 

You have now immigrated (and remain so when you leave/re-enter the country on a short-term basis). Your green card works as a visa now (it's a combined visa and work permit). What you have in your passport is a valid green card until it hits that 1-year expiry, by which time you should have your permanent green card.

[Silver12 9]

49 minutes ago, Peter Parker said:

Hi,

 

This is how I understand it, which I'm pretty sure is correct...

 

Your July 2019 visa expiry is for the immigration component of what's in your passport. It's a visa for immigrating.

 

You have now immigrated (and remain so when you leave/re-enter the country on a short-term basis). Your green card works as a visa now (it's a combined visa and work permit). What you have in your passport is a valid green card until it hits that 1-year expiry, by which time you should have your permanent green card.

@peterparker thank so much for your reply! Much appreciated. 

 

so does that mean I can travel? And how would I know when my one year expiry would be is it from the date I entered ? 

 

Its strange because at port of entry the officer stamped my passport and it says cr1 with an expiry of July 1st so do I ignore that ?

 

[Peter Parker 12]

8 minutes ago, Silver12 said:

@peterparker thank so much for your reply! Much appreciated. 

 

so does that mean I can travel? And how would I know when my one year expiry would be is it from the date I entered ? 

 

Its strange because at port of entry the officer stamped my passport and it says cr1 with an expiry of July 1st so do I ignore that ?

 

Double check anything I say, but I think you should be fine traveling. (I'm not a lawyer blah blah)

 

Look in your passport very carefully. It definitely is a confusing thing. I'll tell you what I have and how I interpret it...

 

Green card, IV Issue Date - when the embassy I interviewed at finished the final paperwork in my passport

Green card, IV Expires On - 6 months from the above, when the Immigration Visa expires, as I discussed in my post above

Green card, "Upon Endorsement blah blah for 1 year" - saying this temporary green card (which works as a visa) is valid for a year after the stamp

Stamp, date - This is the endorsement referenced above, so you should be good a year from this

Stamp, until - I have my Alien Number written in here, not an actual date, which makes sense as the date is coming from what it says on the green card

 

Edited May 13, 2019 by Peter Parker

[ahm12 83]

1 hour ago, Silver12 said:

@peterparker thank so much for your reply! Much appreciated. 

 

so does that mean I can travel? And how would I know when my one year expiry would be is it from the date I entered ? 

 

Its strange because at port of entry the officer stamped my passport and it says cr1 with an expiry of July 1st so do I ignore that ?

 

Technically you can travel on it and should have no issues but if you end up with a person/officers who do not understand this it can create major headache at foreign country airport.  

I did not let my wife travel to Pakistan for exact reason.  Officers over there are grade A *******.  You cannot reason with them. 

[Mike E 11,723]

On 5/13/2019 at 9:05 AM, Silver12 said:

@peterparker thank so much for your reply! Much appreciated. 

 

so does that mean I can travel? And how would I know when my one year expiry would be is it from the date I entered ? 

 

Its strange because at port of entry the officer stamped my passport and it says cr1 with an expiry of July 1st so do I ignore that ?

 

 

Visit https://www.cbp.gov/document/guides/carrier-information-guide-english . Read it. Understand it. Download it on your phone. Print a copy and an additional copy for each connection for your return journey. When challenged by airline clerks (or rarely, passport exit control), show the clerk the document. If you have to give the airline clerk a copy of the guide, do so.

 

Make copies of the relevant documents and stamps in your passport. Paper and electronic. If you lose your passport while overseas, upon replacing your passport, the nearest USA embassy or consulate will give you a document that lets you return to the USA.

 

 

Edited May 15, 2019 by Mike E

[Peter Parker 12]

Since my last post, there were more government screw ups I had to deal with, but I'm now past it: I finally got my green card today 🕺.

 

I'm going to detail my experience here:

• USCIS sent out my green card about 6 weeks ago, but never communicated this to me in any way. Surprisingly quickly after I was in Milwaukee actually,.
• They sent it to my old address, even though I was very careful to make sure they had my new address in their systems, and it was communicated in the manually printed visa packet
• It was therefore returned to them, and it took them about a month to process it as having been returned to them.
• I only found out about any of this when on a whim I went to look up my case status. I was distracted and it didn't cross my mind that green card mailing would be presented on there, but it was. My bad I guess, but no harm done.
• Fortunately I checked just after they'd processed the return.
• I found out it was sent to the wrong address by calling my local post office (USPS) and asking them if a particular tracking number (USCIS give you this on the case status page) was sent to a particular address (my old one).
• I called them up, and they put in a 3 service requests - 1 to fix my address (probably was not needed), 2 to tell the green card mailing folks the correct address, 3 to get me in the Milwaukee infoPass queue so I could get a temporary extension on my passport tamp.
• This was processed surprisingly quickly. I got a call confirming and cancelling me from InfoPass as I'd no longer need it.
• But they left my old apartment number in my new address. This confused USPS, who sent it out on the wrong truck (as there are no apartments here, I guess they tried to be 'clever' and corrected the address in a different way). I waited in all day, only to get a tracking notification it was undeliverable.
• This drove me into an absolute fury, due to all the problems at this point. So my wife and I drove down to USPS and we tried to pick it up by hand. The letter was not back, but we did get a USPS supervisor to deal with it and she even phoned me this morning to confirm she'd found the letter and put it on the correct truck. The USPS guys were great, even if they did screw me with their incorrect truck.
• And finally, I got it today, and it was correct!

In between all this, Wisconsin law says you can only drive on an out-of-state/foreign license for a year, so I had to get a state license. I went to the DMV and was turned away due to my temporary green card expiring within 6 months. I contacted DMV to ask for an exemption based on special circumstances (ability to drive is hardly optional if you live in the suburbs), and they told the 6 month rule applies only to temporary residents, not permanent ones. I went back to the DMV and this time the guy at the front desk didn't even want to let me through, insisting I needed a letter from USCIS confirming my status, or my actual final green card - and refusing to look at my passport, or the email I had from the DMV. I had to argue the hell out of this, and eventually the idiot let me through when I showed him my passport had the word 'permanent' on the visa - no apologies or admissions, just an incompetent guy who hates his life. After that, all was good, everyone else was very nice, I passed my computer test, and I have my road test today.

Summary: I got my green card at about 49 weeks, and a hell of a lot of messing about.

[TBoneTX 43,058]

Wow.  Congratulations on surmounting the bureaucracy!