Alien number but no GC.. options?

[jahkissez]

My mother got married to a citizen 5 years ago and sent in her application for I-130 and I-485.. She was sent a letter saying her GC is approved and she recieved an alien number.

She has not yet recieved her green card or work permit and she has been trying, using several lawyers to clarify this with little help.

Can anyone shed any light on her options and possible solutions to her dilemma?

Thanks. Much appreciated.

[TheRealCanadian]

What did the so-called attorneys say?

[PraetorianXI]

what has been done for the past 5 years? was there an interview? do you have the receipt for the i-485? checked the online status? infopass?

[boatbod]

Your mother needs to schedule an Infopass appointment and take the notice of action letter with her. That should be sufficient for the officer to look up the case and see what is happening.

[jahkissez]

the first lawyer kept giving her excuses as to why she hadn't her card yet.
the second lawyer applied for her EAD/work permit three times, she hasn't recieved it yet.
the 3rd and current lawyer is tellin her to file I-212. Says she's still waiting on paperwork from the immigration office, and whenever they ask her to send something in, she 'forgets' piece of information, and so keeps takin my mother's money with little progress..
She's now looking for a lawyer willing to go the extra mile to get her case finalized and I'm trying to help by doing the extra work to make her case.
she's frustrated- she hasn't seen her son/my bro in 10 years and i know its gettin to her..

there was an interview.. her I-130 was approved and she was given a reciept with her alien registration number.
she has copies of all her paperwork..
the online status says that her application was approved.. she already had her interview with immigration and they said yes, her application was approved, and she should be receiving her GC soon.
Then the first lawyer said there was a problem as to how she entered the US: she was inspected and admitted at the Canadian border, but she was not stamped - he said that was the prob..

I'm not sure what the infopass is..

Would the I-212 make a diff?
what else can she do?

thanks.

[ml_boston]

Her case seems relatively straightforward, so you shouldn't have any problems assuming your lawyers didn't screw up.

Infopass is a way of seeing an USCIS officer in person to ask about the status of her case. They have more information than the phone reps do. They should be able to look in their systems and explain what to expect with her application. google "infopass", it is the first item that shows up.

From what I gather from your post, it appears her GC was approved and is being printed, there's usually a delay between those two steps. If she's been approved for green card, all her other issues such as admission, etc wouldn't matter.

If you post the dates of her notices and her priority date, people on this board can also let you know whether she is experiencing typical wait times, or if her case seems to be taking longer than normal.

-ML

5/13/08 - Parent I-130/I-485/I-765/I-131 mailed to Chicago Lockbox
waiting on reply...

[jahkissez]

I think its way longer than normal..
lemme see if I can create a timeline..

June 98 - Entered US from Canada
May 03 - married to US citizen
Aug 03 - filed I-130 & I-485
Sep 03 - I-130 approved
Nov 03 - Interviewed by immigration officer, approved, given alien registration number
Jan 04 - filed I-130 for my younger sister & bro, both under 21
May 06 - bro & sis went to immigration interview, told that immigration is waiting on mother's GC approval
May 08 - still waitin on GC, EAD & work permit. All she has is Alien registration number in letter..

Thats as best as I can put it.
I've never heard of a 5 year wait for a GC..

With infopass, does she need to go with her lawyer to see the immigration officer?
Would a visit with them hinder her application process?
Are there any dangers in seein the immigration officer without her lawyer present?

Thanks again.

[GotPR?]

if you were sure card has been produced, but not recieved last 5 years(what was she doing for 5 years), I assume it was lost so that filing I-90 is the way to go.
Having said that, I am not sure if card production was really started.
Until recently, a lot of cases needed ADIT process meaning applicants had to visit local office and requested card production. if that is the case, she had to initiate the card production..

Go for infopass.

[LucyMO]

Sep 03 - I-130 approved
Nov 03 - Interviewed by immigration officer, approved, given alien registration number
Jan 04 - filed I-130 for my younger sister & bro, both under 21

was I-485 approved? how in the world did she file I-130 for her kids if she didn't have a GC? or was it the step-dad that applied for them? be specific.

Everyone gets a A# when they file I-485. It doesn't mean they got a GC.

Just get an infopass appt, and find out the status of her I-485 application.

[jahkissez]

She's afraid if she goes to the Infopass appointment it might interrupt her stay and something might happen..
I'm not sure if her I-485 was approved, but my stepdad did file for my bro & sister, they did their interviews but were told that immigration is still waiting on my mother's work permit or green card to complete process. That I don't understand either, if my stepdad's the one filing, why the hold up?

[ml_boston]

As a spouse of a USC, she's eligible for am immediate relative GC (unless she's banned on health or criminal grounds).

Whether her or a lawyer, someone will need to ask USCIS for her status. If it's a name-check delay (which takes years), at least she'll know and she can try some of the name-check recommendations in that thread. If she has repairable problems with her app, they'll let her know how to repair them. If she has unrepairable problems with her app (eg a ban of some sort), USCIS could be reminded to initiate removal proceedings.

She'd have to balance the pros vs the cons.

-ML

5/13/08 - Parent I-130/I-485/I-765/I-131 mailed to Chicago Lockbox
waiting on reply...

[jahkissez]

I personally called her new lawyer a month aback and he said the problem was with her entry into the country. Apparently, at the Canadian border, she was inspected, the car was inspected, she was questioned and everyone in the car was questioned.; she was sent through but she was not stamped. Now, she got married to a guy she met in the states, I was at the wedding, along with several close family members.

In essence, they're telling her - her I-485 was denied, even though she has not received a letter of denial, and she has to wait 10 years from the time she entered the US before she can appeal or whatever.. is this ever the case?

I can't call USCIS and ask because she only has her Alien number, I'm trying to find her case number to get the status.

[ml_boston]

Originally Posted by jahkissez

I personally called her new lawyer a month aback and he said the problem was with her entry into the country. Apparently, at the Canadian border, she was inspected, the car was inspected, she was questioned and everyone in the car was questioned.; she was sent through but she was not stamped. Now, she got married to a guy she met in the states, I was at the wedding, along with several close family members.

In essence, they're telling her - her I-485 was denied, even though she has not received a letter of denial, and she has to wait 10 years from the time she entered the US before she can appeal or whatever.. is this ever the case?

I can't call USCIS and ask because she only has her Alien number, I'm trying to find her case number to get the status.

In order to get a GC via an I-485 application, your mom must have to have been legally admitted into the US. Normally the passport stamp or I-94 is the way to prove legal admission. If your mom's GC was denied for insufficient proof of a legal admission, she'll need to initiate an appeal. Maybe (here's where a good lawyer helps), in the appeals process the other people in the car can show their passport admission stamps and swear in front of an immigration judge that your mom was present in the car.

The 10-year ban is a separate issue. If you mom is here illegally for over a year and leaves (voluntarily or through deportation), she cannot return for 10 years. If she hasn't left or been deported yet, this 10 year ban wouldn't yet apply.

As said earlier, an Alien number is assigned upon receipt of an I-485. It doesn't signify approval or denial. You really just need to find out where her case stands. If you do an infopass (weighing the risk of reminding USCIS of a possibly denied application), you should be fine, you don't need a case number for infopass, they can usually look it up in their computers with an alien number.

-ML

K1 -> I-485 -> I-751 -> N-400

Now filing I-130/I-485 for parent...
DO: Santa Ana, CA