USCIS is Not Phasing out I-551 Stamp for people Approved while in USA

[mr_optimist]

Just Talked to the National Service Center about the Phasing Out of the I-551 Stamp because our case was approved yesterday and my wife is travelling on Nov 6th.

Here is what the Rep Told me.

The I-551 Stamp is being Phased out at the Port of Entry only for the People That have been Approved for GC Oversears. It used to be that these People Coming in with 485 Approvals from Overseas will get An I-551 Stamp when they Enterd the USA. That is being replaced by a Machine Readable document (similar to a Visa) that has the the I-551 Language in it.

For peopl who are in the USA, the I-551 stamp is still the way to go. They need to take the Approval Notice and all the required documents to the
Local INS Office and Get there Passports Stamped with and I551 Stamp.

This is what I got from the Horse's mouth. and It makes perfect sense.

good luck

 

[Bindaas]

Just Talked to the National Service Center about the Phasing Out of the I-551 Stamp because our case was approved yesterday and my wife is travelling on Nov 6th.

Here is what the Rep Told me.

The I-551 Stamp is being Phased out at the Port of Entry only for the People That have been Approved for GC Oversears. It used to be that these People Coming in with 485 Approvals from Overseas will get An I-551 Stamp when they Enterd the USA. That is being replaced by a Machine Readable document (similar to a Visa) that has the the I-551 Language in it.

For peopl who are in the USA, the I-551 stamp is still the way to go. They need to take the Approval Notice and all the required documents to the
Local INS Office and Get there Passports Stamped with and I551 Stamp.

This is what I got from the Horse's mouth. and It makes perfect sense.

good luck

You may be right, but I don't know how much one should trust words from Rep.

 

[GiveMeMyGCNow]

Thank God. Atleast now, if I get an approval in the next 10 days, I could beg, borrow or steal an appointment for a PP stamp before I travel on Nov 3rd.

Any of you guys know what the deal is with the Infopass website for DC area residents? The site does not let you setup an appointment for PP Stamping.

 

[mr_optimist]

Info Pass Appointments

Thank God. Atleast now, if I get an approval in the next 10 days, I could beg, borrow or steal an appointment for a PP stamp before I travel on Nov 3rd.

Any of you guys know what the deal is with the Infopass website for DC area residents? The site does not let you setup an appointment for PP Stamping.

Hay I just Made an info pass appointmnet In Buffalo ASC for Oct 25th ( hopefullky by then I will have my notice). It did allow me to make an appoinment for PP Stamping. There are Appointmnets available for every day of the week even quite a few for today.

I had also Posted my experience of Geeting My FP2 Done in 8 minutes at Buffalo ASC (getting in the building, going through security, filling out the form , having my finger prints taken (all 10 fingers) , getting receipt and out the building in 8 Minutes.

so if u want your Local ASC stuff doen quickly, move to buffalo

 

[Tata2003]

Thanks for your info.

But,what happends in my case,we had already traveld abroad with our stamps and we had no problems using it...my concern is that we have not received a "approval notice" yet,our online message did even change since our case was transferred...they said 5 to 9 months to receive plastic cards...
Any comments??

 

[mr_optimist]

I have no cure for pessimism

You may be right, but I don't know how much one should trust words from Rep.

The person really knew what she was talking about and she explained wvery thing very clearly to me. That is a good enough reason for me to believe her.

If you wanna see the glass as half empty, that is your choice, I see It as half full

 

[GiveMeMyGCNow]

I just 2 emails saying that USCIS sent a notice (RFE) on Oct 19th requesting more information. I am waiting to get the notice so that I can respond to it. Looking at my signature, Gurus, what is it that they could be asking at this stage?

I am going to India on Nov 3rd and will be back on Nov 14th (short trip). Hopefully, I can take care of this RFE before I leave. At least one of my worries is gone. I was worried that if I get approved before I leave, and if I can not get an appointment for PP stamp, then I would be in a lot of soup. I have a valid AP and should not have any problems (knock on wood) coming back using it.

 

[mr_optimist]

But,what happends in my case,we had already traveld abroad with our stamps and we had no problems using it...my concern is that we have not received a "approval notice" yet,our online message did even change since our case was transferred...they said 5 to 9 months to receive plastic cards...
Any comments??

I am confused.
How did you get the Stamps If you did not Get the approvela Notice?

Also they are only phasing out the stamping of the I-551 at the POE not the Validity of I-551 Stamp

I hope that makes it clear

 

[Bindaas]

The person really knew what she was talking about and she explained wvery thing very clearly to me. That is a good enough reason for me to believe her.

If you wanna see the glass as half empty, that is your choice, I see It as half full

Man, I am not being pessimist but careful, We have seen in this forum that most of the time reps don't know what they talk about and you do no get correct information from them. As yr name says, you should be. But do not overtrust them or rathar being over optimistic.
I just spoke to a rep, she was telling me that she doesn't know anything about phasing out, and one should not worry travelling with 551 stamp on PP.
Both speaks in favour of travel but says the different thing.

 

[laptop]

Clearly INS won't end the validity of the pp stamp from one day to the next.

As we all know from experience, they don't move that quickly on anything!

 

[Tata2003]

I am confused.
How did you get the Stamps If you did not Get the approvela Notice?

Also they are only phasing out the stamping of the I-551 at the POE not the Validity of I-551 Stamp

I hope that makes it clear

We got our pssports stamped on the day of our interview.Since that day we haven't received anything from INS.

 

[mr_optimist]

Hmm, if the Rep told you that in these words, the rep is clueless...
The process abroad is called Consular Processing. It has absolutely nothing to do with an I-485. I know, I did it...
The I-485 is Adjustment of Status, and you can only adjust a status while in the US, by definition.
In CP, you get an Immigrant Visa, and you enter with that. And at least until now, they put an I-551 stamp in the passport at the POE.

But in any case, it is good to hear something, anything about what is going to replace the stamp.
There is no reason whatsoever to limit this machine readable document to people who do CP, except maybe that CIS doesn't have enough of these documents (many more people do AOS.) I would expect this to be issued to people who do AOS as well, once they have enough of these documents printed.

Well You just confirmed what I wrote earlier, and from what you wrote, the Rep was not at all Clueless.
The question I asked was not About AOS or CP. It was about the I-551 stamp. So she gave me the answer According to my question. I-551 is being phased out fro People Who are approved overseas i.e Through Consular Processing.

Most Family Based Green Card Applicants have no choice other then Consular Processing unless they are already in USA. Also some employment based applicants that have othe ways of enetering U.S. e.g Canadian Citizen's Or TN Visa holders, Prefer This because you can get a quick appointment at a Consulate.

The I-551 stamp is being phased out only for these People at the POE

1485 or AOS people can still get the I-551 Stamps in there passports.

Again as I said in an earlier post. The I-551 Stamp (the physical act of stamping your passport) is being phased out for CP only.
You can still use I-551 stamp to travel in and Out of US.

 

[mr_optimist]

We got our pssports stamped on the day of our interview.Since that day we haven't received anything from INS.

Aaah... so your case was approved by ASC.

in that case you are not going to get an approval notice, you will get a Green card in the mail.

What is you online Case Status Message

 

[PT_Jun01]

Something to support mr_optimist's call to CIS Rep.

I think the today's update on the news flah on Murthy's website support what mr_optimist found out with his call to CIS rep. I think there was a confusion with the news on Murthy's website posted on 10/15/04.

See the update on the news initially posted on 10/15/04. Some statements are removed and some are changed in support of I-551 stamp still being a valid document for travel.

http://www.murthy.com/nflash/nf_101504.html

Any comments???????

 

[Bindaas]

I think the today's update on the news flah on Murthy's website support what mr_optimist found out with his call to CIS rep. I think there was a confusion with the news on Murthy's website posted on 10/15/04.

See the update on the news initially posted on 10/15/04. Some statements are removed and some are changed in support of I-551 stamp still being a valid document for travel.

http://www.murthy.com/nflash/nf_101504.html

Any comments???????

Sheela Murthy knew half the info when she posted on her website and half cookedup, she might have in a hurry to post it and now she is trying to fix it

 

[pralay]

Sheela Murthy knew half the info when she posted on her website and half cookedup, she might have in a hurry to post it and now she is trying to fix it

It seems so. Good for her. I just don't like this "news flash" competition thing - rushing for providing new flash without knowing all the details.

 

[Tata2003]

Thanks.

Aaah... so your case was approved by ASC.

in that case you are not going to get an approval notice, you will get a Green card in the mail.

What is you online Case Status Message

Our online case status message still says: "On january 6,2003 we transferred your I485 Application to Ajust to a Permanent Resident to our office in New York/NY for them to conduct and schedule your interview.Scheduling can take several months...bla,bla,bla...
Here is our history:EB3_Employment Based
PD:02/07/2001
RD:02/01/2002
ND:02/15/2002

1stEAD:03/2002
FP1:04/18/2002
Transfered to NYC:01/06/2003
2ndEAD:03/2003
3rdEAD:03/2004
Interview and FP2 Notices received:06/2004
FP2:06/25/2004-done earlier than scheduled.
Interview/approval and stamp Date:08/09/2004
Nothing from INS by now...still waiting for cards...
Do you think that our online message or LUD will change???I am asking because I heard from other people that it wont change anymore and I keep checking this out...every day!

 

[mr_optimist]

Our online case status message still says: "On january 6,2003 we transferred your I485 Application to Ajust to a Permanent Resident to our office in New York/NY for them to conduct and schedule your interview.Scheduling can take several months...bla,bla,bla...
Here is our history:EB3_Employment Based
PD:02/07/2001
RD:02/01/2002
ND:02/15/2002

1stEAD:03/2002
FP1:04/18/2002
Transfered to NYC:01/06/2003
2ndEAD:03/2003
3rdEAD:03/2004
Interview and FP2 Notices received:06/2004
FP2:06/25/2004-done earlier than scheduled.
Interview/approval and stamp Date:08/09/2004
Nothing from INS by now...still waiting for cards...
Do you think that our online message or LUD will change???I am asking because I heard from other people that it wont change anymore and I keep checking this out...every day!

I don't know if your online message will change.
It has been a little more then two months since you have had your GC stamp done. The Stamp is Valid for a year so don't worry.

I would recomend calling the National Service center number and asking them about the Case Status. ask them to dig a little deeper as to what is going on and why the message is not updated.


I hope You recive your GC in mail soon.

 

[Tata2003]

I don't know if your online message will change.
It has been a little more then two months since you have had your GC stamp done. The Stamp is Valid for a year so don't worry.

I would recomend calling the National Service center number and asking them about the Case Status. ask them to dig a little deeper as to what is going on and why the message is not updated.


I hope You recive your GC in mail soon.

Hi,
Thanks a lot for your comments.
I already called them on the day #60,after approval.Their message is the same I get online,they made a inquiry on our case and told me to call them back if I do not hear from them in 30 days.
Another question is:
What if my passport expires and the stamp does not, and I have to renewal it?Do I go for another stamp on my new passport or just travel with old and new passports????