mindthegap

Without a timeline it is hard to really give accurate advice in some respects...but taking what you typed as accurate, meaning CR-1 issued end of september 2023 means it expires, er, now or in the next couple of days.... meaning get your butt to the airport now and get on a plane before it expires. You may get some pushback at your POE. Just be honest. Do not sign anything - you may be given an I-407 to relinquish your status, which you must refuse. You may be given an NTA, and if you get paroled in so be it, it's easier to sort form the inside rather than the outside. If your card has already expired, then file an I-751 now (it can be mailed from overseas, it simply must have a US mailing address on the form to be accepted), with a note asking to excuse the late filing, then get the receipt forwarded to you from the US and get on the first plane once you have it. Abandonment has many aspects and the burden of proof requires many things - that you maintained 'significant ties' to the US will help you, but that you were out continuously for over a year will count against you. On the other hand, a terminal family member could be soncidered a valid life reason for an extended absense. Honestly, you can sort that out later - just get back to the US now. This is one of those 'do not pass go, do not collect $200' situations, and it beholds you to act swiftly... Take it from someone going through the rigmarole of a messed up I-751 case - you really do not want it to happen to you. Get to the airport.

Yes

Yes. Do they cut the corner of just the photo page (as they do with my passport), or every page?

You can request your A# file HERE, and it's all in there - source: done it myself, and has every entry & photo logged. You can also request just specific parts of your A# file, rather than a request for the whole lot, so be specific about just wanting POE records, and it will arrive quickly.

An unexpired visa in an expired/cancelled passport is still valid, when presented with a valid passport.

No, you do not. And, fun fact: if you have a valid unexpired I-551 stamp in a passport that you renew, the stamp in the old cancelled passport is still valid when presented with the new valid passport (yes, like most things I post about on here, I have tested this).

Scaremongering. You are - and remain - a lawful permanent resident, until you file an I-407 (which you won't) or an immigration judge issues you a final order of removal (which isn't going to happen while you are on vacation). You have a valid I-551 stamp, as proof of that permanent residence, and which is sufficient for boarding a carrier to, and re-entering, the US. (note, with a stamp, you often have to have a quick visit to secondary, this is nothing to worry about). They took your card, because it has expired, and the extension letter doesn't extend it any more - my card expired ten years ago, so even though I got an(other) extension last year, it doesn't work with my expired card, because it's too old, which is why I also have to get a stamp every year. The retaining of expired cards when getting stamps is nothing new, nothing to do with the current administration and nothing to do with your status. Those of us who have been posting here a long time, will know that retaining/shredding the card in front of you has been a common thing for years by many officers when getting a stamp. Not all officers, but many. The fearmongering by, frankly, idiots, is out of control, to the extent even I was/am getting spooked by it. If I believed half of my friends, family and the media, next time I visit a USCIS facility I'll be detained by masked ICE operatives, and deported to El Salvador as a suspected member of MS-13, despite being as white as 1980s UK dog poop. Funnily enough, when I visited for a stamp recently, that didn't happen, because I'm a lawful permanent resident. Don't buy into the scaremongering or let it negatively. affect you or your life. And get a better lawyer.

You cannot provide what doesn't exist. Send what you have, and keep accumulating stuff.

You can, by changing the GC expiry date by 48 months to correspond to the extension letter expiry. However, thats just to check in and get your boarding pass, there is (or at least, should be) a document check where US documents are verified before you board, even if you never visit the desk with carry on only.

Legally, you require the extension letter and the expired card. It is, after all, a letter that extends the validity of the expired card, and to the letter of the law you should not be allowed to board without that combination. Sure, some people can and do get away with just the extension letter without the expired card - usually due to airline staff not being entirely familiar with documents - but do not rely on this...that is very much the exception rather than the rule. You will also be subject to a verbal lecture and a visit to secondary at your US POE. There are ways of getting this overridden, such as the airline contacting the RCLG, and getting approval for you to travel with partial documentation, but I would not rely on this either, as you can't do it in advance, and if it doesn't work you are stuck. The simplest (and cheapest) solution here is to have someone send the card to you via a secure, trackable and signature required method, such as FedEx, UPS, or DHL. No customs duties will be due, mark it as 'documents of no commercial value' and do not send without a signature required. If that isn't possible, then you need to visit the embassy for an I-131A - commonly known as a boarding foil - in order to travel back. You can read about that HERE. You will require an appointment, which may or may not be easy, some documentation, and it also costs $575. The other option would be to fly to Canada, or Mexico, and cross at a land border POE. This will not be without a small amount of hassle, and a visit to secondary, but you will be let in.

If that was the case, then my status has 'hereby been terminated' three times 🙄😂 Your status has not been terminated. Your letter is valid when used in conjunction with your expired card as evidence you are a LPR. The denial letters all have largely the same incorrect wording about your status being terminated, and are factually & legally incorrect. You remain a LPR until you file an I-407 to terminate your own status, or an immigration judge does so with a final order of removal in immigration court, at which point you are no longer a LPR. Up to that point, you remain a LPR, no matter how much USCIS want the opposite to be true. Extension letters are fine for the NY DMV.

It isn't a requirement neccessary (as solo fiings) don't need to be excused for late filing, but if you feel the need to write a letter then do so. No need to include a copy of the withdrawal letter, as may confuse things.

The receipt/extension letter extends the expiry date of the card by 48 months, it is not 48 months from the filing date or receipt date. For most intents and purposes, that original filing is dead, so you no longer need to reference the receipt number, or use the extension letter. It will be the new one you need to use from now on, until 48 months from the expiry of the card. If you need to write an expiry date anywhere, it will be the expiry of the original 2 yr card.

Yes. Check box 1D, and then in part 4, box 1a, and fill in their details, as that is who petitioned for your permanent residence. They do NOT need to sign part 8 if you are submitting this with the divorce waiver box checked - they have no involvement in the submission of this form as a solo filing and do not need to sign it.

You do not need an attorney to file a second I-751, and certainly not the second one you spoke to who advised you to wait until court - that one is a clown show. There is no special filing to do, it's a regular filing, same form, same documents (which you can submit later), just a different box checked. Worry about the errors they did with this cancellation later, and you can sort an attorney later if necessary. Just get one filed ASAP and get that receipt.

Yes - can, and should. Quickly.

'Emma' provides you nothing you can't see yourself via my case status or that a Tier 1 can tell you. Tier 1 agents are nothing more than glorified voicemails, and can't do anything except refer you for a callback from a Tier 2 officer.

Correct. ie, they were full of it.

Separate. They had denied the (third? I forget!) I-751 a couple of days prior....when they should have done a combo, and then their denial reason was that I was 'no longer a permanent resident' (not legally or factually accurate...). Zero integrity or adherence to their own damn policy. How on earth do you know the content and substance of what was said? A decade on, I still don't know the substance of what was said by my ex spouse, aside from the couple of lines of summary by USCIS in their denial letters. When I have done a FOIA and requested my entire A# file, that part has all been completely redacted. They also lied to me at interview way back in 2017 when I asked if my ex spouse had contacted them! Snakes, the lot of them...they are not to be trusted.

It'll either be fine or you will end up in the same situation as me....depending on what your ex spouse said to USCIS. No way of knowing in advance. I passed my N-400, piece of paper issued saying can't make a decision at this time, and it was then denied because of the still underlying I-751 issue.

It happens. I had my N-400 interview a week after one of my I-751 denials was sent to me... They will do the interview, you will pass the tests, and they will give you a piece of paper saying 'a decision could not be made at this time'. What will probably happen then it that they will write to you, denying the n-400 because 'you are not a permanent resident' (which was the reason given to me) even though, legally, that is not accurate as you have not had a hearing with an immigration judge and a final order of removal terminating your status.

You didn't really think this through. Because you did the AR-11 before filing, when the I-751 gets logged, the address on the form will be the newest - and current - address on their systems... so the receipt will go to the old address. If the I-751 gets returned (payment denied or forgotten to sign or something).. it will also go to the old address.

You simply caculate an additional 48 months onto the expiry date of your card, and that is now the expiry date you put in. Unfortunately they don't issue 120 month extension letters, so my expiry date is now whenever my current stamp expires - I have to explain this every single time to check in agents and sometimes they have to double check with their supervisors that that is the correct procedure.. It's not an issue, just takes a few minutes. As for not bothering and just doing it at the desk, some airlines won't allow you to check in (or select a seat) until you have put in the info, so it is helpful to know how to be able to do it.

A permanent resident card - whether unexpired or expired - IS an I-551

To quote Alonzo (Denzel Washington) in training day: If you go for the cruelty waiver, you have to prove it. This is nothing new. As possibly ridiculous as that sounds - & being contrary to - in the age of 'believe all victims', and when combined with the fact that many forms of abuse are not even really documentable as they aren't physical (believe me, I can attest to this), it remains the case with regards to immigration law and USCIS policy. You were denied as a result of not providing documents proving this, and not producing what they asked for with the RFE. Now, what constitutes 'proof' is entirely subjective of course.., but proving someone is a terrible spouse does not prove they were abusive. Would suggest you get rid of that lawyer too, if they did not give you correct information regarding the RFE or follow your instructions in response to it.