From_CAN_2_US

For sure, yeah. Well, at least the end is in sight. Wish you all the best.

Yes my interview was waived. 40 months is crazy. Have you applied for citizenship?

Yeah they won’t deny entry, but it could be a long wait in secondary and/ or a i193 fine for not showing the correct documentation. Willing to bet, this rarely done though…. I agree, it doesn’t make sense…

I called USCIS and they asked me to reach out to CBP. They said sometimes CBP officers do not recognise the extension letter when the permanent has been ordered to be produced and would need to see the I-551 stamp on the passport. So I called CBP and got the number (with extension) to the precise port of entry I will be crossing when returning to the US. Talked to the CBP officer there and they asked to bring the expired green card, extension letter and approval notice, along with my Canadian passport. Hopefully the guy I spoke to will be around on the day I cross 😅 I think my conclusion is - entry is to the CBP officers discretion and they can possibly fine you, but I think majority don’t. I have decided to give it a shot. Will report back!

Thank you @Crazy Cat I think you may be right; I am worrying for no reason. Thanks. That makes sense.

Thank you. I have read a number of opinions by lawyers online that say when i751 is approved while abroad, the extension letter with expired green card is enough to travel. I wonder if anything is different when you leave after it is approved… the wording on the approval is just so scary…

Thanks @Dashinka I am worried that once the I751 is approved the extension is no longer valid, as the extension is for the conditional status and not the permanent status. I don't have proof of the permanent status... I am concerned because of these posts I am seeing on reddit and visajourney....

Happiness was short-lived. Read the approval letter and found out I may have difficulty travelling before receiving Green Card. Please see post below and anyone with advice please send it my way:

My I751 got approved much much earlier than expected yesterday. I had planned to travel by land to Canada this weekend, leaving tomorrow and returning on Tuesday. My approval letter says, "You should not travel outside the United States until you receive your new Green Card, as you may have difficulty reentering the United States. If an emergency arises and you have a need to travel outside the United States before you receive your Green Card, you may make an appointment at your local USCIS office to request an I-551 stamp in your passport that shows temporary evidence of status as a lawful permanent resident." If I return to the border with my extension letter and expired green card, will CBP allow me to enter. I have no idea if I will be able to get the stamp today. We have hotels booked and my mother in law is travelling to us today from NYC, and then we drive together tomorrow to Canada. So I really don't want to cancel the trip... Would really like to hear from people in similar situation who successfully managed to return without the stamp...

In case it helps anyone, this is what I submitted (copy-pasted from my cover letter): 1. Duly filled and signed Form G-1450 authorizing $680 Credit Card Payment towards Filing fees (Form + Biometric). 2. This Cover Letter. 3. Duly filled and signed Form G-1145 requesting e-notification for acceptance of application. 4. Duly filled and signed Form I-751 5. Copy (Front and Back) of Permanent Residence Card 6. Copy of marriage certificate 7. Evidence of the Relationship: i. Exhibit A – Joint Occupancy of Communal Residence. This includes Lease documents, copies of IDs showing same address, examples of mail to both being received at same address and preparations for future joint home ownership (mortgage preapproval, buyer agency agreement and communication with realtors). ii. Exhibit B – Financial – Joint Bank Account Statements. We submitted all monthly statements for all joint bank accounts. iii. Exhibit C – Financial – Tax Returns. iv. Exhibit D – Financial – Retirement and Insurance. This includes Retirement, Life Insurance and Disability Insurance plans showing each other as beneficiary, and joint health insurance v. Exhibit E – Other Evidence of Union. This includes Nabeela and Greg listing each other as their emergency contacts, bill showing joint mobile family plan, joint amazon household and health documents providing evidence of plans to have a child together. vi. Exhibit F – Evidence Related to Wedding Day and Personal and Family Interaction. (This was over 200 pages, but very well organised description of events, trips etc over the last 3 years, and supported by photos, hotel bookings, flight tickets, family zoom calls, snapshots of family group chats etc.) vii. Exhibit G – Affidavits from Spouse's mother and Petitioner's sister.

I was pleasantly surprised to wake up to an approval email for my 1-751 submission this morning. I was totally not expecting it as the average timeline is currently around 2 years. Just wanted to share the happy news 🙂 and thank everyone here for the support through this immigration journey. Next stop - Citizenship!

Really? I came across this post yesterday where someone was denied for filing within the 90 day period, but not https://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/781869-n400-case-denied-for-3-years-marital-union-after-evidence-submitted/ From this it looks like the early filing allows 90 fewer days of being an LPR, but you still have to satisfy 3 years of living together with your USC spouse. Thanks for your kind words. I think I lean towards waiting in that case. I don't really have an urgency to become a US Citizen. Only minor reason is there are a number of jobs I could apply to that requires US citizenship, but I guess it can wait.

My spouse is a US Citizen (from birth) and I was granted a green card through consular processing (CR1). I arrived in the US on Feb 12 2022 and moved in with my husband. I never lived in the US before, nor did my husband and I ever live together before I moved to the US, although we visited each other often between 2018 and the time of my move (I lived in Canada, my husband in the US). 1. So as I understand it, even though there is a provision for early filing of 90 days before 3 year mark, since I would only complete 3 years of living together with my husband, the earliest I can apply for citizenship is Feb 12 2025. Is this correct? 2. There is one additional complication. Since Feb 12 2022, my husband and I have lived together in the same residence, and have not been apart for more than a few hours, except for one period of about 4 months when I had to travel to India and care for my mother as she was undergoing cancer treatment. This was between Aug 19 2022 and Dec 12 2022. Does this period count as a break in marital union? We remained a married couple. I maintained by residential address in US (I stayed in a hotel with my mom by the hospital). We were separated due to extenuating circumstances. Would this be seen as break in marital union resulting in my eligibility to apply for citizenship to be pushed to Dec 12 2025?

There are many types of police certificates. You absolutely need to provide fingerprints to get the type of police certificate you need for US immigration. Details of the type of certificate can be found in the below link, created by @Hawk Riders https://docs.google.com/document/d/1k927pE5wqzTN5n0lPYZ1JQxgbmnzmNWX5hSteyii0BY/edit Note that this googledoc was last updated in Jan 2022, and not sure if there have been any changes in the requirements since then. Go to the commissionaires closest to you. They are an accredited private agency that facilitates these police checks by taking fingerprints and laising with RCMP. Print out the requirements you see on NVC website and show it to them so they can give you the correct police certificate. I just looked at mine and the type of record check is "For Personal use - Others (Provide Details)." Hope this helps.

Additionally, if you manage to surrender your Indian passport before your interview, take the surrender certificate with you to the interview. I doubt you will need it, but if asked, you can show it to them to prove your Indian passport is no longer valid. On second thoughts, best not to risk surrendering Indian passport right now if you haven't already done it yet. Things are uncertain at the embassy with the Canadian visa ban, and you may not get back your Indian passport back in time...

1. I would choose passport bio page. I was not in your situation where I had a change in citizenship, but I got a new passport in my married name, and I think I chose bio page. I think I was able to upload the new passport, while the old approved one remained in the system. 3. Yeah, print out your old submitted DS-260 and mark up the changes and take it with you.

When you receive your interview invite: 1. Upload the new Canadian passport to the ceac portal. Also upload your citizenship certificate. 2. Take both your Canadian and Indian passport to the doctor for medical. Inform the doctor that your Canadian passport is the one you will be using going forward. 3. Take an amended DS-260 with your nationality updated as Canadian, and your new Canadian passport number. Highlight the changes and show it to the CO during your interview. 3. Take both Canadian and Indian passport for the interview and at every step (at entry, when they collect documents, during interview) inform them you are now a Canadian citizen, and the Canadian passport is the one you will be using. I think they will take only your Canadian passport not your Indian one, and stamp that one for your IR1 visa. Good luck!

Thankyou, that’s very helpful advices I’ll keep that in mind… The instructions use words to the effect of “submit all the evidence you can to support the legitimacy of your marriage.” Maybe I should reconsider taking that too literally lol.

I appreciate everyones response, but I think, most of the comments have derailed beyond the scope of my question. To clarify, I KNOW that affidavits are not mandatory for an i751 submission, and is the one of the least strongest of evidence one can present. I am also aware it is depended upon more heavily by people who do not have stronger evidence such as combining of finances, lease/ mortgage etc. I remember we leaned on teh affidavits for this reason with our i130. Now with the i751, we have a lot of strong evidence and will be including all of the good stuff like bank accounts, insurance, lease etc. We still want to submit affidavits more as a safeguard, even though we know we will probably be approved with no issues without them. My question was about the date of the affidavit. Thank you @OldUser and @Mike E for answering that.

Thank you for pointing this out. TLDR - You are right, notarisation is NOT required. The reason I assumed it was required is the document is called an affidavit. In many jurisdictions across the world (and some in the US), by definition, an affidavit is required to be notarised. I just looked it up, and apparently the requirements is trending to be removed over the last several years (but is still required in many places). So it basically depends on the prevailing law of the jurisdiction in which you are submitting the affidavit is required to be notarised or not. For the purposed of the i751, the submission is to a federal body and I understand Federal law does NOT require affidavits to be notarised so long as it is sworn with the following wording: "(1)If executed without the United States: “I declare (or certify, verify, or state) under penalty of perjury under the laws of the United States of America that the foregoing is true and correct. Executed on (date). (Signature)”. (2)If executed within the United States, its territories, possessions, or commonwealths: “I declare (or certify, verify, or state) under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct. Executed on (date). (Signature)”.

Thank you

The affidavits have to be notarized.

You are forgetting the notarization part, but yes we submitted scanned copies for our i130. But i751 is a paper application and instructions say you need to submit the original letter. The people we are asking the letters from are busy and we thought assisting them through the process while we are with them would help. That being said, the letter can still be posted to us sure. My question is really about the date though. Does it matter that is a couple of months before we are allowed to submit?

We intend to submit our i751 mid November which is the start of the 90 day period before my conditional status expires. So I am starting to gather the documents now. We are intending to submit Affidavit of Support from 3-5 family members and friends, and have started reaching out to them. Most of them do not live in the city we live in, but we will be travelling to see most of them in the next couple of months. So we were hoping to collect the letters from them when we visit. My question (and I am probably overthinking) - With the period of eligibility to submit ROC starting mid November, is it OK that the letters are dated BEFORE this time. Can we have a letter from my mother-in-law dated Sep 17 for example? Or do the letters have to be dated within the 90 day period to demonstrate most recent knowledge of our marriage?

Thank you! Really? Could you explain what is the difference? Yeah, I had considered that. But I was in Mississauga, not down town Toronto. I was unfamiliar with the area, and did not really have the time to wait in line at the passport office. So I mailed in my application by Canadapost saving on some international courier charges and risks. Will do! I think I will call Jim Hacking early next week.