AOS interview with expired passport

[dr_lha]

There's a difference between getting a passport from an embassy, and within your own country however. For example, getting a passport in the UK can take many weeks, but when I got my passport renewed at the UK embassy in DC, it only took 4 days.

 

[eddie_d]

Actually the lenght of waiting for a passport I think has nothing to do with the development of a country or enrichment...because if you want a US passport...it's not in one day, can take weeks

There used to be a 24hr option for getting a US passports. I remember my roomate in college got one that way. He paid through the nose, but he did get it fast.

Is that no longer an option?

 

[sarrebal]

Getting a passport in Italy takes one week approx (you can get it at any police station).

Getting it renewed at the Italian Consulate in New York took one day.
All they needed to do was to request a fax from my city in Italy (Milan) and make sure that I didn't have any criminal background.....some kind of quick name check!

 

[qim]

qim: In my original post, I just asked whether or not they stamp expired passport...
>>> they might or might not. It all depend on your DO rules. Do search for
the Interview experiences from other people from San Francisco to see if their passports were stamped.

qim: One other thing was that if they do not stamp ... do they offer any document showing that GC approved - right on the interview.
>>> actually they do, but not to everyone. In some cases if you bring 2 extra photos they might issue you an I-94 looking document, with a stamp and your photo attached. They do it for assylees (because theirs passports usually expired) and I know one Canadian girl, who got one of those stamps because she had no passport at all. Since your wife neither assylee, nor Canadian – I doubt they will do it for her. But – 2 extra passport size pictures don’t take much space and it doesn’t hurt to ask…

qim: So, going back to what I asked... do they stamp the expired passport? If yes, how can we avoid this?
>>> after my interview the interviewer actually reached for my old expired passport to stamp it. I asked her not to, so instead she stamped my travel document, which was near the expiration date (less then 2 months). She said GC will arrive shortly, but meanwhile the stamp is my proof of LPR. I read many posts here from people who did not get any stamps at all, because their DO doesn’t do it anymore. So, as I said above – do search on interview experiences from San Francisco’s couples.

Thank you Jane Green, we appreciate sharing your experience and thoughts.

We will definitely bring two extra photos... will also try to find out about SF parctice on this. We also think that if my wife gets advanced parole before the interview (which may or may not be the case), may be we can ask the officer to stamp the AP.

I never heard before about this "I-94 looking document, with a stamp and your photo attached." Does anybody know more about this document? Usually every USCIS issued document is a form and has a USCIS assigned number (I-94 is an obvious example in this case). What about this (Jane Green mentioned) document, does it have a certain number?

Also, those from San Francisco (or Northern CA) any experience with expired passport on the AOS interview?

Thanks.

 

[Jane Green]

Thank you Jane Green, we appreciate sharing your experience and thoughts.
We will definitely bring two extra photos... will also try to find out about SF parctice on this. We also think that if my wife gets advanced parole before the interview (which may or may not be the case), may be we can ask the officer to stamp the AP.

During your interview, if your wife approved then the officer will take her AP and EAD since in LPR status she won’t need them anymore.
So then answer is NO – they won’t stamp her AP, they will take it way even if still valid and never used.

I never heard before about this "I-94 looking document, with a stamp and your photo attached." Does anybody know more about this document? Usually every USCIS issued document is a form and has a USCIS assigned number (I-94 is an obvious example in this case). What about this (Jane Green mentioned) document, does it have a certain number?

qim,
As I said before, those I-94 looking documents are routinely being offered to asylees, I doubt anybody on the family forum will know about it, nor will it be offered to your wife (but try and ask anyway if you want).
There are several treads about it on the Asylum forum, here are just a few that mention it:
http://www.immigrationportal.com/showthread.php?t=195803&highlight=I-94+stamp
(this one for your information on a temp. stamp only - don’t read too much into asylee’s interview experience. Your won’t be anything like his):
http://www.immigrationportal.com/showthread.php?t=202029&highlight=I-94+stamp

Good luck!

 

[qim]

...
As I said before, those I-94 looking documents are routinely being offered to asylees, I doubt anybody on the family forum will know about it, nor will it be offered to your wife (but try and ask anyway if you want).
There are several treads about it on the Asylum forum, here are just a few that mention it:
http://www.immigrationportal.com/showthread.php?t=195803&highlight=I-94+stamp
(this one for your information on a temp. stamp only - don’t read too much into asylee’s interview experience. Your won’t be anything like his):
http://www.immigrationportal.com/showthread.php?t=202029&highlight=I-94+stamp

Good luck!

Thanks Jane for your information. What you wrote inspired me to do deeper research throughout various sources.

What I found is that officers can do temporary I-551 stamp on the arrival portion of I-94 (this is what you called "I-94 looking document") with a photo when there is an urgent need for a travel AND unexpired passport unavailable, and this can be done in a variety of situations (not only for asylees), for example in some cases with conditional GC (regulation 8 CFR 216.4(a)(1)).

At the same time, from a different forum, my wife learned this (about passport stamping during AOS interview): Because Green Cards come now so quickly, passports are not stamped anymore unless there is a need for an emergency trip.

For us, this probably means that if everything is fine and there is no that horrible NC pending, then: (1) my wife's unexpired passport will not be stamped, and (2) we should bring extra photos and ask for an arrival part of I-94 stamped.

Thank you Jane Green again!