mindthegap

My earlier advice still stands - have a verifiable (they may check, they may not) urgent reason. And just to emphasise this, given we are the same office, I got an appointment a few weeks ago.... Gave an urgent reason (they read a list of what is acceptable - btw, one of which was stamp needed for employment - mine was not for that reason), and they called me back same day, said they have mailed the local office to request an emergency appointment, they then called me back the following day with the actual appointment details which was in the day or so after that. Granted it was a little bit more convoluted than normal - in the past I've had one call back and the appointment within 24hrs - but still, it was done and dusted within 72hrs of making the first call.

It’s a 5 minute letter; USCIS address, your name, address, phone number. Todays date, receipt number, a# Dear muppets, I, *****legal name , and my wife, *****legal name, filed with USCIS a joint I-751 petition to remove my conditions on residence, receipt number ******* on ***date 2021. Unfortunately since filing, our relationship had irretrievably broken down, and consequently we have decided to divorce. We filed for divorce in ****city/state, on ** April 22, and it is expected to be made final on or around ***august 2022. Accordingly, I now wish to switch this current joint petition to a divorce waiver petition. I enclose a copy of the divorce filing, and will convey to you at the earliest opportunity a copy of the final divorce decree as soon as it is made final by the court and the paperwork has been issued. Regards, signed, dated. Print name and print date. Don’t forget to file an AR-11 if you have moved.

Good stuff. If you don’t mind, could you PM me the details of who you wrote to and emailed? Will go in my mountain of USCIS info both for myself (because the one that I emailed and wrote to flat out ignored it) and to help others in future.

If that was not the case at the time of joint filing, then at interview if called, or when it is final. Anything else is a) not legally required, and b) playing with fire timeline wise. Trust me, you do not want to go through a denial and the hassles it causes. If you you have a 100% definite window circa 90 or days before your divorce being made final then by all means write and inform them of the switch and await the RFE for it (which may come quickly, or slowly but you MUST respond to with the final divorce), but caveat emptor.

If you have a pending USCIS petition and you are legally divorced, and you do not notify them, yes, it could cause problems. If you are still legally married, there is nothing to inform them of because if you do inform them and as per policy they issue an RFE within 90 days for a final divorce that you can't fulfill simply because you are still married, then you have caused yourself a denial for no reason, and an uphill battle, because once they see a previous denial, you are in for a boatload of fun. Fun being decidedly NOT fun obviously. To the letter of the law, and USCIS, you are either married, or divorced. There is no middle ground. Divorce is not a reason for i-751 denial, and at the time of filing you were legally married, living in marital union, and as the immigrant your joint intent, and the intent of you was to make the marriage work. That last part of the sentence is very very important, as the entire I-751 process is based on the intent of the immigrant. USCIS insane delays, the backlog in divorce courts - none of those are your problem. You were legally married. End of. I honestly wouldn't worry about it. When the time comes, file your n-400 and then deal with a small chance of problems or additional scrutiny if it happens.

I actually was served by a knowledgeable, polite, efficient - and funny - USCIS officer. Stamp issued in three minutes. I'm in shock. I might buy a lottery ticket. ...unfortunately the majority of rest of the staff and security were the usual standard. The less said about the appointment process the better.

I like that nickname.... didn't see this last night, and I was actually at USCIS getting stamp number 12(?)). Hateful place and process and the process of getting a damn appointment - even on a short notice emergency basis - is currently more ridiculous than ever. Anyway, to the OP, you are in luck. Previously, you would have had to see out the NTA with a hearing with an immigration judge, wait for a final order of removal - at which point your permanent resident status would be formally terminated at which point you would cease to be a LPR - and only then could you file for a new I-130 on the basis of your new marriage. A recent (2019 - and covid years don't count as naff all else has been done since) clarification has changed this. One can now file for a new marriage upon receipt of a denial, without having to wait for the NTA, the subsequent hearing and a final order of removal which formally terminates the permanent resident status. You do not have to file an I-407 to do this, just merely having a denial is sufficient. The NTA will co-exist while that is going on and will be dealt with at some point - even if you have to go to court, as soon as they see a new i-130/485/i-751 (obviously not in your case) is pending or approved it'll be stayed or chucked out. Section G here clarifies it: https://www.uscis.gov/policy-manual/volume-7-part-b-chapter-7 Of course have little doubt they will give extra scrutiny because of the prior history, but it's the current policy, and a big and welcomed change. Also see here: https://www.uscis.gov/news/alerts/uscis-issues-guidance-on-adjustment-of-status-by-aliens-whose-conditional-permanent-residence-has And Matter of Stockwell, which is what caused this clarification: https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/policy-manual-updates/20191121-CPRs-Stockwell.pdf https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/eoir/legacy/2012/08/14/3150.pdf

The catch being, you can't actually run for any office unless you are a citizen, and I seem to recall there is a minimum time you have to have been one too..something like seven or nine years. At this rate that would probably leave me running my first campaign at the age of 112

Anyone who has had a denial or issue with their I-751, or who has reached the point where they have to practically beg for an appointment every single year for a stamp to continue to do the perfectly normal and legal things such as travelling or working would disagree. Limbo it most definitely is.

Yes of course, but anyone who legally could ask for that information from you, could look your status up from your A#...

Yes. The form, payment, and evidence. Ignore the I-90. It is not applicable to you. Yes. the extension letter is valid for two years. After that time you will have to get an i-551 stamp in your passport as continued proof of status. You are confusing your status and your proof of status - they are not the same thing. Short answer, yes: You remain a permanent resident and your right to work and to travel remains, and the extension letter combined with the expired card acts as proof of that status for those purposes. Even easier, for I-9 (work) requirements just show a valid state ID and a SS card which means you don't have to deal with clueless HR depts completely unfamiliar with immigration processes and documentation (as other posters and threads will attest to - as a side note, if your SS card has 'not valid for employment' or similar on it, then apply for a new one now that doesn't have it. It'll potentially save you serious grief later). You aren't required to carry it with you at all times - a simple scan or photo of it on your phone would suffice. If you do wish to, then yes, a photocopy would be better day to day as you cannot get it replaced should you lose it. The original is watermarked - if you travel or have any official purpose to show it, you should take the original with you.

Not all lawyers are created equal, and those lawyers are idiots. The original filing doesn’t vanish, you have to pay again (conveniently that would involve lawyers fees…haha, no self interest there, huh) and divorce is not a reason for denial. Switch it.

No you won't. Who on earth told you that? Simply switch the existing filing to a waiver filing for the grand fee of $0.00 - it's established policy to be able to do so, and there are standard procedures to facilitate this. The evidence requirements remain the same, it just removes the joint requirement element and your former spouse from the petition Unless of course you like wasting time and money, in which case USCIS will willingly take your $680 for a pointless extra petition and mess you around for a few extra years.

If it gets returned to you and you file again, if it is after your card has expired then you MUST put a letter in explaining why it is being filed late……in this case the reason being that you filed with the divorce waiver box ticked by mistake.

Same as a normal i751, but with the divorce waiver box ticked instead of jointly filed box, and enclose a copy of your divorce decree. Evidence requirements are the same.

Tricky one. Well, first off, with a divorce waiver you could have filed at any time, it doesn’t have to be in the 90 day window and can be before or after ….so there’s that. BUT you also can’t be approved without a final divorce, which you don’t have so at some point they will RFE you for it. Fail to provide it and you will be denied and would have to refile anyway. You could try to stop the payment, and the entire package will be returned to you, you would redo the form, send it in again with payment. BUT this may not work as typically as soon as it’s delivered & opened they pre-auth the card, even if the charge doesn’t show up for a week. Mine was pre-auth the same day it was signed for. If you withdraw it, and then simply refile you’ll have to pay again when you refile as you won’t get a refund. If you continue, I don’t even know if you could switch back to a joint filing - you can switch TO a divorce waiver but genuinely no idea if you can switch FROM it…for a start your spouses signature wouldn’t be on the form. My first (quick) port of call would be my card company to see if there is a pre-auth/hold on the funds. If not, then trying to stop it may just work. Then again, it might not. Stumped on this one tbh as never heard of anything similar. You’ve created a hell of a mess for yourself Can file without it. Cannot be approved without it. They will RFE for it

$680.00

Did you not keep copies 😬 Write it in, detailing it, and put something like 'fully discolosed to USCIS previously, full documentation is in A# file. No other criminal history or incidents.' Ever - whole life to present. Hence the use of the word 'ever'.

Two weeks is not urgent. Three, four, five days is urgent. Call, say infopass, wait for a person, say you have urgent travel that you cannot do without a stamp, as you are legally entitled to obtain. Their p*ss poor service and staffing issues are NOT your problem. You are entitled to a stamp, which they deem requires an appointment to issue. Keep pushing. And I'm in NYC too and have had no issues. I have to do it again soon for stamp number 13, so will see what happens.

You do not need to file i-751. They will willingly take your cash and not refund it, but to do so is a waste of time. Use the money to file the N-400 in a little over six months instead.

Overthinking it. It is a separate request and they co-exist on the system. I had the standard 'will call you in 30 days' spiel once last year.. In the interim I needed to travel urgently, so I called again, had a call back the next day and a stamp the day after. Then 35 days later I got a call from the original scheduled callback.

This stuff really annoys me, as it's a legal right - arguably a legal requirement - to have proof of status at all times. Call back, say it's for urgent imminent travel and you should get a call back within a day or a few days. If they ask for proof just buy a fully refundable flight and it probably won't even hit your credit card by the time you cancel it.

They can refuse all they like, but their refusal is not legal (see here https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-related-news/form-i-9-verification-of-lawful-permanent-residents#:~:text=No expiration date and should,completes their Form I-9. and here: https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-resources/handbook-for-employers-m-274/60-evidence-of-status-for-certain-categories/61-lawful-permanent-residents-lpr) I also quote directly from the very top of the first page I-9 form itself: "It is illegal to discriminate against work-authorized individuals. Employers CANNOT specify which document(s) an employee may present to establish employment authorization and identity. The refusal to hire or continue to hire an individual because the documentation presented has a future expiration date may also constitute illegal discrimination". So, ignoring the fact that they should not be re-verifing someone who presented an unexpired 2 year card originally, you came here on a CR-1 so you have a simple solution here, which will save you the time and exhausting energy sapping process of having to argue with idiots and pointing out the intricacies and legalese of a pricess that they haven't the slightest clue about. Because you came on a CR-1 (like me), unlike many K-1 people who have extra steps, you should have immediately been issued a full, regular and normal Social Security card that is NOT endorsed with 'not valid for employment' (please confirm that this is the case for you). That unendorsed SS card is a list C document. So, for an easy life, simply present that SS card together with your valid driving license - which is a list B document - and you have fully complied with and satisfied your lawful I-9 obligations. This is confirmed on the I-9 form itself in the 'list of acceptable documents' on page 3 of the form itself: https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/forms/i-9-paper-version.pdf They can you ask for more documentation, but you can (legally) tell them to ram it. If they need reminding, give them some light nightstand reading, drawing particular attention the sections on illegal discrimination and the potential penalties thereof: https://www.uscis.gov/book/export/html/59502

That is a superb analogy for the I-751, and indeed most processes to do with USCIS: "crawl(ed) through a river of s**t and came out clean on the other side".

Honestly, thats the impression I get from USCIS, not CBP. I've only really flipped out at USCIS people twice.... the first was at an infopass when she said 'oh you overstayed and adjusted' and I'm like, #######, I most certainly did not, I did things the correct way via a CR-1and your embassu... and she was insistent that I did, and how that would complicate my case and I'd get deported for not following the rules and overstaying. The second time was at another infopass - first of all I heard this douche at the counter (genuinely) say to the people in front of me who were daring to get an extension stamp when they asked how long the process was likely to be: "No idea. might be a year, might be ten years, might be never. No-one asked you to move here. You decided to, and you have to deal with whatever we do to you. If you don't like it then just leave and go back home" . When it was my turn and I was there to see if someone could tell me if an interview had been scheduled, as I could clearly see via USPS informed delivery there was a USCIS letter waiting for me but I happened to be a long way from home and not back for maybe a month. In other words, a perfectly reasonable request, given the online case status had not updated, as it often doesn't. The response? "You are asking me to look up something and to check a letter for you? Who do you think you are? You immigrants coming here and demanding stuff...go home and check your own mail rather than wasting my time" . Absolute clown. I was not polite. Those sorts of people are, in my fairly extensive experience at this point, unfortunately prevalent within USCIS. I did make a complaint and, surprise surprise, I never heard a thing back. CBP on the otherhand, I have found to be generally pretty polite and efficient...you get the odd bruised apple, but it isn't the rotten barrel that you have with USCIS with whom there are many who are anti-illegal, anti-legal, anti-people, and anti-doing their damn job.