Misplaced my wife's Green Card 48-month extension letter. How can I get a replacement?

[Hemutian 68]

My wife's 2-year Green Card expired in January 2023.

 

She applied for Removal of Conditions in October 2022. 

 

At first, she received an I-797 (NOA) with a 24-month extension period to her residency status.

We still have a copy of the 24-month I-797 and used it when we traveled abroad last year.

 

Later, she received another I-797 with a 48-month extension period to her residency status.

Unfortunately, I misplaced that I-797. 

 

Originally, I thought this wouldn't matter because VisaJourney was estimating that her Removal of Conditions application would be processed by June 2024, which means that the original 24-month extension would be sufficient until she received her new 10-year Green Card.

 

However, VisaJourney is now estimating that her Removal of Conditions application will not be processed until July 2025 (!), which is AFTER her 24-month extension expires. This means that we NEED to get another copy of her 48-month extension letter which I misplaced.

 

Problem is I have no idea how to get a replacement copy. I tried calling the USCIS phone number, but I was only able to speak to an automated bot who had no idea how to help me, and refused to connect me to a live person. 

 

Does anyone on here know what I need to do to get a replacement copy of the 48-month extension letter?

 

Thank you!

[Crazy Cat 39,270]

You can call USCIS.  At the prompts say "infopass appointment" or "Representative"....that should connect you to a real person. 

Edited March 15 by Crazy Cat

[Timona 3,941]

Well, she's eligible for citizenship. Why nit apply?

[Hemutian 68]

On 3/15/2024 at 12:38 PM, Crazy Cat said:

You can call USCIS.  At the prompts say "infopass appointment" or "Representative"....that should connect you to a real person. 

 

What phone number?

When I called the USCIS, there was no prompt for "Representative".

The automated bot on the other end literally said "if you keep asking for a Representative, I'm going to disconnect you" and did. 

On 3/15/2024 at 2:42 PM, Timona said:

Well, she's eligible for citizenship. Why nit apply?

She plans to, but we're not sure how long that will take, so we still want to replace the missing I-797 in the mean time. 

[Crazy Cat 39,270]

14 minutes ago, Hemutian said:

 

What phone number?

When I called the USCIS, there was no prompt for "Representative".

The automated bot on the other end literally said "if you keep asking for a Representative, I'm going to disconnect you" and did. 

She plans to, but we're not sure how long that will take, so we still want to replace the missing I-797 in the mean time. 

Keep saying "infopass appointment" at every opportunity.

[RamonGomez 259]

On 3/17/2024 at 10:23 AM, Hemutian said:

 

What phone number?

When I called the USCIS, there was no prompt for "Representative".

The automated bot on the other end literally said "if you keep asking for a Representative, I'm going to disconnect you" and did. 

She plans to, but we're not sure how long that will take, so we still want to replace the missing I-797 in the mean time. 

 

My wife submitted her N400 September 10 2023, her interview was Nov 7 2023, and oath was Nov 15 2023. So basically 2 months + 5 days from submission to naturalization certificate in hand. It legitimately might be faster to go through the N400 process than deal with an I-751 NOA issue (don't ask me how I know...) Just be aware of the dual citizenship issues with mainland China if you do go forward with the N400.

 

Good luck to you!

[RamonGomez 259]

On 3/15/2024 at 1:18 PM, Hemutian said:

My wife's 2-year Green Card expired in January 2023.

 

She applied for Removal of Conditions in October 2022. 

 

At first, she received an I-797 (NOA) with a 24-month extension period to her residency status.

We still have a copy of the 24-month I-797 and used it when we traveled abroad last year.

 

Later, she received another I-797 with a 48-month extension period to her residency status.

Unfortunately, I misplaced that I-797. 

 

Originally, I thought this wouldn't matter because VisaJourney was estimating that her Removal of Conditions application would be processed by June 2024, which means that the original 24-month extension would be sufficient until she received her new 10-year Green Card.

 

However, VisaJourney is now estimating that her Removal of Conditions application will not be processed until July 2025 (!), which is AFTER her 24-month extension expires. This means that we NEED to get another copy of her 48-month extension letter which I misplaced.

 

Problem is I have no idea how to get a replacement copy. I tried calling the USCIS phone number, but I was only able to speak to an automated bot who had no idea how to help me, and refused to connect me to a live person. 

 

Does anyone on here know what I need to do to get a replacement copy of the 48-month extension letter?

 

Thank you!

 

BTW the best luck we had with this type of situation is sending a letter (an actual snail-mail old school letter) directly to the service center explaining the situation. Make sure to include copies of all relevant documents.

Edited March 26 by RamonGomez

[Hemutian 68]

On 3/24/2024 at 3:03 PM, RamonGomez said:

 

My wife submitted her N400 September 10 2023, her interview was Nov 7 2023, and oath was Nov 15 2023. So basically 2 months + 5 days from submission to naturalization certificate in hand. It legitimately might be faster to go through the N400 process than deal with an I-751 NOA issue (don't ask me how I know...) Just be aware of the dual citizenship issues with mainland China if you do go forward with the N400.

 

Good luck to you!

 

Wow, that's so fast!

Crazy that naturalization can be so fast, yet removal of conditions is dragging on for years. 

[beloved_dingo 1,932]

1 hour ago, Hemutian said:

 

Wow, that's so fast!

Crazy that naturalization can be so fast, yet removal of conditions is dragging on for years. 

Naturalization, for most, is the easiest and fastest part of the immigration process. For us, it took slightly over 3 months. 

[OldUser 4,825]

1 hour ago, beloved_dingo said:

Naturalization, for most, is the easiest and fastest part of the immigration process. For us, it took slightly over 3 months. 

Agree about the most. For some, it's the most important step and the last chance for USCIS to strip away LPR status by placing into removal if something isn't right 

Edited March 26 by OldUser