Employment while waiting for I-751?

[nje01]

09-04-2007: Filed I-751 VSC (USPS)
09-12-2007: Received at VSC
09-14-2007: Date of NOA
09-??-2007: Received NOA (w/ 1 year extension for travel and employment)
09-21-2007: Date of ASC Appointment Notice (Biometrics)
09-??-2007: Received ASC Appointment Notice
10-11-2007: Date of Biometrics Apt
10-24-2007: Expiry date of conditional PR card

USCIS web-site: VSC is processing January I-751 applications now.

My employer (University of Maryland, College Park) is insisting that my soon to be expired conditional PR card and the NOA w/ 1 year extension for travel and employment is not sufficient evidence of my permanent resident status for the purpose of continued employment.

Has anyone had similar issues?

Can anyone point to immigration law chapter and verse (or other convincing documentation) that states that the expired card + NOA w/ extension _is_ sufficient evidence of my PR status?

UMCP's immigration atty is claiming I need a PR card (with valid dates?) as evidence of my PR status. I do not believe that the USCIS is planning to send me a new card with an updated expiration on it. :-(

Worried in Silver Spring,

- nathan

 

[nje01]

Answer my own question?

Don't know yet if this'll convince the relevant parties at UMD.

As per the USCIS web-site (www.uscis.gov), section:

* Home >
* Services & Benefits >
* Employer Information >
* About Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification

Relevant sentence in "Green Cards" section:

Expiration dates do not affect current employment, since employers are
neither required nor permitted to re-verify the employment authorization
of aliens who have presented one of these cards to satisfy I-9
requirements (this is true for conditional residents as well as permanent
residents).

Complete text of "Green Cards" section:

“GREEN CARDS”
The terms Resident Alien Card, Permanent Resident Card, Alien Registration
Receipt Card, and Form I-551 all refer to documentation issued to an alien
who has been granted permanent residence in the U.S.. Once granted, this
status is permanent. However, the document that an alien carries as proof
of this status may expire. Starting with the “pink” version of the
Resident Alien Card (the “white” version does not bear an expiration
date), and including the new technology Permanent Resident Cards, these
documents are valid for either two years (conditional residents) or ten
years (permanent residents). When these cards expire, the alien
cardholders must obtain new cards. An expired card cannot be used to
satisfy Form I-9 requirements for new employment. Expiration dates do not
affect current employment, since employers are neither required nor
permitted to re-verify the employment authorization of aliens who have
presented one of these cards to satisfy I-9 requirements (this is true for
conditional residents as well as permanent residents). Note: Even if
unexpired, “green cards” must appear genuine and establish identity of the
cardholder.

 

[nje01]

What about new employment while waiting for I-751?

With that crisis over (I hope!) I have a similar question with respect to new employment.

Is expired conditional PR card + NOA w/ 1 year extension sufficient evidence of PR status for new employment?

The text I used for continued employment explicitly says that expired PR cards are not valid evidence of eligibility for new employment.

Thanks,

nathan

 

[nje01]

Answer my own question again?

Despite the text on the "About Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification" page, the I-9 form itself lists a permanent resident card as List A (identity and work auth.) evidence. A number of other evidence types in List A are explicitly described as "Unexpired ...". This makes it seem like an expired PR card would be sufficient for new employment.

- n

 

[austriacus]

I don't believe you will get a card while your I-751 adjudication is pending, but you'll receive a 10-year card after the removal of of condition is complete. I believe you are eligible for an I-551 stamp in your passport when presenting your current card and this NOA to a USCIS officer.

The most recent policy memorandom on this I can find is:

Extension of Status for Conditional Residents with Pending Forms I-751, Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence from Dec 2, 2003.

EDIT: I need to clarify what I said before... the policy memorandum actually states you can get the I-551 stamp at the time when the NOA is about to expire. It appears the NOA will be your valid and only proof of status. I would think the above memo should convince your employer, and in addition, the applicable law is Sect. 216 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 CFR 216) whose text is available here.

 

[Jojojolie]

09-04-2007: Filed I-751 VSC (USPS)
09-12-2007: Received at VSC
09-14-2007: Date of NOA
09-??-2007: Received NOA (w/ 1 year extension for travel and employment)
09-21-2007: Date of ASC Appointment Notice (Biometrics)
09-??-2007: Received ASC Appointment Notice
10-11-2007: Date of Biometrics Apt
10-24-2007: Expiry date of conditional PR card

USCIS web-site: VSC is processing January I-751 applications now.

My employer (University of Maryland, College Park) is insisting that my soon to be expired conditional PR card and the NOA w/ 1 year extension for travel and employment is not sufficient evidence of my permanent resident status for the purpose of continued employment.

Has anyone had similar issues?

Can anyone point to immigration law chapter and verse (or other convincing documentation) that states that the expired card + NOA w/ extension _is_ sufficient evidence of my PR status?

UMCP's immigration atty is claiming I need a PR card (with valid dates?) as evidence of my PR status. I do not believe that the USCIS is planning to send me a new card with an updated expiration on it. :-(

Worried in Silver Spring,

- nathan

The only thing you need is to get your passport stamped at the USCIS Local Office. The stamp will say "Employment Authorized" for one year.
Your employer should be OK with it.

 

[nje01]

EDIT: I need to clarify what I said before... the policy memorandum actually states you can get the I-551 stamp at the time when the NOA is about to expire. It appears the NOA will be your valid and only proof of status. I would think the above memo should convince your employer, and in addition, the applicable law is Sect. 216 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 CFR 216) whose text is available here.

Thanks! This is very helpful.

I heard this morning from the administrators at UMD that "the director agrees with the receipt notice you have sent over that it is okay to continue employment because you have a one year extension". I guess they chose to ignore the email I sent them last night with text above stating that the employer is "neither required nor permitted to re-verify the employment authorization" and that "Expiration dates do not affect current employment".

I've just scheduled an infopass apt. in Baltimore - at worst, I'll be told that the NOA is the only proof of status - at best, I'll get a shiny new stamp in my passport as evidence of status.

Cheers!

-n

 

[nje01]

Well, no problem - despite the fact that I'm not even into the 1 year extension yet, they were happy to put a I551 stamp (with an expiry date 1 year from the day of the appointment) in my passport. It was apparently not relevant that the end of my 1 year extension was more than a year off. They said that I could come back for a new I551 stamp if necessary (presumably if a further extension was needed). They did take my (conditional) permanent resident card.

Thanks for the suggestion - I'm not sure I would have figured out this course of action on my own.

Cheers!

- n

 

[PraetorianXI]

Well, no problem - despite the fact that I'm not even into the 1 year extension yet, they were happy to put a I551 stamp (with an expiry date 1 year from the day of the appointment) in my passport. It was apparently not relevant that the end of my 1 year extension was more than a year off. They said that I could come back for a new I551 stamp if necessary (presumably if a further extension was needed). They did take my (conditional) permanent resident card.

Thanks for the suggestion - I'm not sure I would have figured out this course of action on my own.

Cheers!

- n

Why exactly did they do that?

 

[Triple Citizen]

Being a University, your employer seems to have problems reading. That NOA clearly extends your work and travel authorization. You can advise your employer to call up any AILA lawyer in your area to confirm the fact.

My employer (University of Maryland, College Park) is insisting that my soon to be expired conditional PR card and the NOA w/ 1 year extension for travel and employment is not sufficient evidence of my permanent resident status for the purpose of continued employment.

 

[nje01]

Being a University, your employer seems to have problems reading. That NOA clearly extends your work and travel authorization. You can advise your employer to call up any AILA lawyer in your area to confirm the fact.

You'd think.

Actually, I was told they checked with an immigration attorney, which is when I got worried - it is hard to convince a paper pusher to go against their legal advice. My guess is that they asked the lawyer "What documentation is sufficient to establish permanent residency?", rather than providing the specifics of my circumstances. The lawyer's response (which was copy-and-pasted in an email to me) listed the I551 stamp and the PR card. It said nothing about expiry dates or NOA letter extensions (hence my theory).

Eventually, they decided to accept the extension (after I forwarded them the quotes from uscis.gov above).

Cheers!

- n

 

[nje01]

Why exactly did they do that?

No idea. My impression is that the I551 stamp is equivalent to the PR card (see the copy-and-paste from uscis.gov above). It is not unreasonable to believe that the USCIS doesn't want you to have two distinct ways to prove your status, much like each state wants you to give up your drivers license for other states when you move.

On the other hand, I'm bummed I didn't think to make a couple of copies before I went to the local office.

- n