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Approximate length of time from I-140 to I-485 approval?
- Thread starter Bunty2772
- Start date
Hello again Jack, I have a question for you again. My wife is out of the country and was planning to use AP to re-enter the country. Now that I have her green card, what is the best way for her to re-enter the country with a correct status? Lawyer advised that I either fedex the GC (which I'm not comfortable doing) or asked her to go an get a temporary I-551 stamp at the US consulate. What do you think?
Jackolantern
Registered Users (C)
She can use the AP to reenter if it's still valid. People with recently approved green cards enter with AP all the time without a problem. At the POE they will realize she's a permanent resident and let her in (and if they don't realize it she should point it out).
She can't get an I-551 at the consulate. Perhaps they could give her a transportation letter, but if her AP is still valid they'll tell her to use the AP instead.
However, her entry would be a bit smoother if you send her the GC, so she wouldn't need to go to the secondary inspection room. But that's for the two of you balance the risk of losing the GC vs. the convenience (or lack thereof) of using AP to enter.
She can't get an I-551 at the consulate. Perhaps they could give her a transportation letter, but if her AP is still valid they'll tell her to use the AP instead.
However, her entry would be a bit smoother if you send her the GC, so she wouldn't need to go to the secondary inspection room. But that's for the two of you balance the risk of losing the GC vs. the convenience (or lack thereof) of using AP to enter.
Thanks for your reply Jack. She does have a valid AP and I wasn't going to leave the country without one since that would have amounted to abandoning her I-485. I'm willing to fedex the GC to her but I read in some forums that it could be illegal to do this. Is this even something I should be worried about?
Also, if fedex does loose my GC, how hard/easy is it to get the card replaced?
Also, if fedex does loose my GC, how hard/easy is it to get the card replaced?
Jackolantern
Registered Users (C)
I'm willing to fedex the GC to her but I read in some forums that it could be illegal to do this. Is this even something I should be worried about?
Sending it by Fedex or another courier is not illegal. The US embassy in Tokyo even says this:
http://japan.usembassy.gov/e/visa/tvisa-ivstolengc.html
If you left your green card in the U.S., try to arrange for someone to send it to you overseas.
Of course, it makes sense to disguise it by doing something like taping it inside a magazine or book, so it's not so obvious to the handlers that a card is inside.
Also, if fedex does loose my GC, how hard/easy is it to get the card replaced?
$450 and waiting 2-6 months (perhaps longer and more complicated if you don't have a copy of the lost GC). And it cannot be replaced outside the US. A US embassy can provide a transportation letter to allow a one-time entry to the US, but replacing the GC requires going for fingerprinting inside the US.