When can we file for citizenship: GC date confusion.

Thank you all for your time- I surely appreciate it.

My spouse's I485 approval was stuck for 4 yrs, and we tried very hard to get his case approved- senator's office correspondence etc. So I'm sure that there will be a paper trail somewhere. I don't want to do the wrong thing- I just wanted to know if there was a possibility that USCIS might consider time spent in indecision as an error and issue a pre-dated GC. Even then, the RESIDENT SINCE should have been Feb 2005, like me and not Nvv 2004-our date of filing the I 485.

Our lawyer who filed the GC is of the opinion that we wait another 4yrs- he is actually right when he says our situation does not benefit from citizenship vs residency. I am convinced they'll figure it out. And I certainly don't want to waste the money. So I guess we'll wait.

Thank you all again!
 
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DreamUSA said:
I do not believe that it is a sign of good moral character to claim Immigration benefits based on some obvious error.
.
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My point is that if there is a discrepancy between approval date and resident since date on GC, it should be clarified as to what the correct date is. It's not like USCIS instructions state to use approval date on NOA. I'm curious to know if any court has ruled in favor of an applicant whose appealed denial based on GC resident since date was after approval date on NOA.

In the OP's case, the applicant already appiled and only found out of the discrepancy afterwards. Had OP not noticed discrepancy and receive potential denial would it make any difference? An appeal hearing and possible court action would clarify if the argument to use resident since date on GC would stand in such instances.
 
Bobsmyth said:
My point is that if there is a discrepancy between approval date and resident since date on GC, it should be clarified as to what the correct date is. It's not like USCIS instructions state to use approval date on NOA. I'm curious to know if any court has ruled in favor of an applicant whose appealed denial based on GC resident since date was after approval date on NOA.

In the OP's case, the applicant already appiled and only found out of the discrepancy afterwards. Had OP not noticed discrepancy and receive potential denial would it make any difference? An appeal hearing and possible court action would clarify if the argument to use resident since date on GC would stand in such instances.
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Lats year there was a post. The OP got a 10 year GC thru marriage so that she did not maganed to remove teh condition.
Then later she applied for citizenship and was told she was illgeal now because she never did anything to have her condition removed at year 2.
 
WBH said:
Lats year there was a post. The OP got a 10 year GC thru marriage so that she did not maganed to remove teh condition.
Then later she applied for citizenship and was told she was illgeal now because she never did anything to have her condition removed at year 2.
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That example is not what I was referring to. How does not removing conditions on a temporary GC relate to a discrepancy with NOA approval and resident since date in the OP's case?
 
Bobsmyth said:
That example is not what I was referring to. How does not removing conditions on a temporary GC relate to a discrepancy with NOA approval and resident since date in the OP's case?
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The point is you can not make use of use dates/info on the GC and blame USCIS. in OP's case,
he became a PR in 2009 regardless what "residence since" date says on his GC. USCIS must have a note
sent together with green card like "If you notice anything incorrect on the card, please let us know as soon
as possible" to have their own butt covered
 
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WBH said:
The point is you can not make use of use dates/info on the GC and blame USCIS. in OP's case, he became a PR in 2009 regardless what "residence since" date says on his GC. USCIS must have a note sent together with green card like "If you notice anything incorrect on the card, please let us know as soon as possible" to have their own butt covered
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Yes, actually one of my friend's had someone else's picture when he first received the GC. He had to go get this corrected. How is this not different? Only thing I can see is that OP's GC was stuck so maybe he was internally approved ages back. Anyway,
- no better way to verify than going to CIS and asking, and
- no worse way to verify than filing N400.
 
Anya4ever said:
Thank you all for your time- I surely appreciate it.

My spouse's I485 approval was stuck for 4 yrs, and we tried very hard to get his case approved- senator's office correspondence etc. So I'm sure that there will be a paper trail somewhere. I don't want to do the wrong thing- I just wanted to know if there was a possibility that USCIS might consider time spent in indecision as an error and issue a pre-dated GC.!
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Right now there is NO such thing as pre-date a GC because of lengthy process. Only alysum based card is pre-dated
one year. There was once lobby for pre-dating GC because backlog due to I485 process etc but I don't think
it came closer to bill.
 
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WBH said:
The point is you can not make use of use dates/info on the GC and blame USCIS.
Click to expand...
You certainly can blame USCIS for their own instructions and date discrepancies caused by their agency. Whether there are examples of someone succeeding at proving USCIS wrong is another question.
 
WBH said:
Right now there is such thing as pre-date a GC because of lengthy process. Only alysum based card is pre-dated
one year. There was once lobby for pre-dating GC because backlog due to I485 process etc but I don't think
it came closer to bill.
Click to expand...

I take it you meant to say there is NO such thing as a pre-dated GC...?? Pls clarify.
 
sanjoseaug20 said:
Yes, actually one of my friend's had someone else's picture when he first received the GC. He had to go get this corrected. How is this not different? Only thing I can see is that OP's GC was stuck so maybe he was internally approved ages back. Anyway,
- no better way to verify than going to CIS and asking, and
.
Click to expand...

Whats the better way to ask CIS, in your opinion- Infopass or calling the customer service?
 
Bobsmyth said:
You certainly can blame USCIS for their own instructions and date discrepancies caused by their agency. Whether there are examples of someone succeeding at proving USCIS wrong is another question.
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Read the following instrictuon on M476. The first sentence is the rule. The second senetence merely mention this date is on the GC (assuming no mistake is made). Applicants shoule realize any discrepancy. Otherwise if GC display wrong
gender, dies it mean you can put that wrong gender on N400?

Your time as a Permanent Resident begins on the date you were granted permanent
resident status. This date is on your Permanent Resident Card (formerly known as an Alien
Registration Card or “Green Card”). The sample cards on this page show where you can find
important information such as the date your Permanent Residence began
 
Bobsmyth said:
An appeal hearing and possible court action would clarify if the argument to use resident since date on GC would stand in such instances.
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There is no chance that an appeal or court decision will tell USCIS to treat this case as if it were approved on November 2004. Zero. Nada.

If the "resident since" date was in 2006 or 2007, there is the possibility that USCIS could have approved it back then and failed to notify the OP. However, with GC date = filing date, and asylee backdating is not applicable, the GC date is obviously wrong and anybody will look like a fool trying to convince the court that the GC date should be used as the basis for naturalization eligibility. This is not the days of Ellis Island, when people were fully processed for LPR status in the same day.
 
Bobsmyth said:
You certainly can blame USCIS for their own instructions and date discrepancies caused by their agency. Whether there are examples of someone succeeding at proving USCIS wrong is another question.
Click to expand...

Even if it is proven that USCIS is wrong, granting citizenship under this scenario would mean that USCIS has the power to override the INA. There is a very small possibility that this slips through unnoticed. But if noticed, the application will be denied. If this is denied, there is zero chance of a reversal on appeal because that would mean that USCIS would have to knowingly override the INA and it has no authority to do that.

I think that if USCIS wants to set an example, they could also make a case of knowingly making a false statement for an immigration benefit and black list the applicant. After all, even if there is a typo on the Green Card, the Applicant knows when they became a permanent resident.
 
Anya4ever said:
We had filed our employment based EB1 GC in Nov 2004. I, the primary applicant, was approved in Feb 2005 while my husband got stuck in the security issues and his I 485 application was only approved in Jan 2009. We recently went on a vacation, and that was then we realized that on my husband's GC, in the section RESIDENT SINCE; the date is Nov 2004- out filing date. The approval letter that came right before the physical GC says approval date Jan XX 2009.

1) Is this a serious error- should we get it corrected?
2) When does he become eligible for citizenship? In 2014 or now?

Thanks.
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Don't go by the GC date. That is a typo made by the person who sends the order for the cards to be printed (it isn't as automated as you think it should be. Someone actually types the information into another system for the GC to be printed ). The real date is on the approval form you received and you should go by that date.

My original GC approval was for 9 months in the future (10/30/2007 instead of 01/30/2007) so yours is not a unique situation. I asked the IO about this at that time and he said that he typed the thing out wrong and he would cancel that GC printing order and send out a new one with the correct date. He assured me that my future Citizenship application would not have been impacted as the date in the computer is the correct date and that's what maters in the end.
 
WBH said:
It is possible that USCIS can be ordered to refund application fee etc
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Probably not in this case.
Applicant has several other documents (and years of probably complaining about the name check to everyone up and down the chain) to know that the date on the GC is a typo.
 
Most likely it must be a mistake but I would file FOIA request and review all paperwork on my file since it might give you an idea what was going on and you will be able to conclude why this has happened and if there are any doubt will consult with an attorney having the file on hand.
 
Pete6644 said:
Most likely it must be a mistake but I would file FOIA request and review all paperwork on my file since it might give you an idea what was going on and you will be able to conclude why this has happened and if there are any doubt will consult with an attorney having the file on hand.
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Unless you believe USCIS totally screw things up, there is no need to get lawyers. Since
the OP's husband already filed, I would say just go ahead and find out during the interview.
After the IO during the interview when will be eligibiligy date.
 
WBH said:
Unless you believe USCIS totally screw things up, there is no need to get lawyers. Since
the OP's husband already filed, I would say just go ahead and find out during the interview.
After the IO during the interview when will be eligibiligy date.
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My husband has NOT filed yet- I have filed my N400 in Jan this yr. We noticed the typo on his GC in Feb, when we went on a vacation- hence this discussion.
 
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