Long wait times for I-751's

[optlh0 19]

Just an FYI for people who hadn't heard this,

 

On Monday my wife and I went to the Minneapolis field office to get an I-551 stamp because her 18 month extension letter is due to expire next month. The woman that did her stamp said the long wait times for new green cards were due to there only being a couple places in the country that are authorized to print out the green cards. She said priority is given to new immigrants that don't have green cards yet because people with them can either use extension letters or I-551 stamps. 

 

After giving her the I-551 stamp they took her green card and destroyed it. They said the I-551 stamp in the passport becomes your new green card for both travel and work until you receive the new physical card.

 

The woman also said filing for the I-751 doesn't affect the processing time for the N-400 if you file that too

Edited June 19, 2019 by optlh0

[Amadia 711]

22 hours ago, optlh0 said:

After giving her the I-551 stamp they took her green card and destroyed it.

Destroyed it???

Whoa.....I have read many posts where members have gone to get i551 stamps in their passports but that didn't happen. Also, they only give the stamp within the week of expiration so that lady who stamped it and destroyed your spouse's green card seems to be acting out of normal protocol.

[optlh0 19]

1 hour ago, Amadia said:

Destroyed it???

Whoa.....I have read many posts where members have gone to get i551 stamps in their passports but that didn't happen. Also, they only give the stamp within the week of expiration so that lady who stamped it and destroyed your spouse's green card seems to be acting out of normal protocol.

Another couple we know went to the same field office a few months before us. They were handled the exact same way.  Because the passport stamp gives the same privileges as the green card I guess I didn't find it unusual. Maybe they don't want old green cards ending up on the black market or something where they could get altered? Just a guess on my part...

 

 

[KrisandNika 1]

Same thing that happened to me. They did take my old green card cause the I-551 stamp is your green card until you get called for an interview or they mail you your GC. Definitely a long wait. We filed I-751 July of 2017. I got my green card early this  year. They did admit and apologized that there’s been a hold up on their side.

[dilip 187]

They took my green card when they stamped my passport.  If ultimate goal to get citizenship, better to apply instead of waiting.  In my case I-751 (Nov 2017), N-400 ( Nov 2018).  Interview N-400 ( June 28, 2019), both I-751 and N-400 approved July 3, 2019.  Oath July 15, 2019.  Passport July 24, 2019.  Done with USCIS

[J1991 7]

18 minutes ago, dilip said:

They took my green card when they stamped my passport.  If ultimate goal to get citizenship, better to apply instead of waiting.  In my case I-751 (Nov 2017), N-400 ( Nov 2018).  Interview N-400 ( June 28, 2019), both I-751 and N-400 approved July 3, 2019.  Oath July 15, 2019.  Passport July 24, 2019.  Done with USCIS

did u  expedite the process for your passport or does it normally take 10 days to get your passport

[dilip 187]

2 hours ago, J1991 said:

did u  expedite the process for your passport or does it normally take 10 days to get your passport

Expedite- $60 more, I did it to finish as quickly as possible and also got passport card $30