Green card stolen; Replacement applied for...

[GC_TRAP]

...and over 3 months later, no word, except for fingerprinting notice which I have complied with.

Is there any way out there to get USCIS to expedite issuing a new (or duplicate) I-551 (Green card)?

It would not have mattered except that traveling overseas (if there was an emergency) or even leisure travel will be a huge hassle (Infopass headache). Secondly, the company is being taken over by another firm and they would want me to fill out new paperwork and see my employment eligibility.

I don't think I can show them the copy of old GC or new Receipt Notice and get away with it. They are pretty strict about it.

Any thoughts, suggestions will be helpful.

Thanks!

 

[nkm-oct23]

For employment eligibility you cam simply show your Driver license and Social security card (the one without any restrictions). Green card is not required to be shown.
For travel outside the US you will need a temporary stamp in your passport.

 

[ginnu]

...and over 3 months later, no word, except for fingerprinting notice which I have complied with.

Is there any way out there to get USCIS to expedite issuing a new (or duplicate) I-551 (Green card)?
---------------You cant do anything.
It would not have mattered except that traveling overseas (if there was an emergency) or even leisure travel will be a huge hassle (Infopass headache). Secondly, the company is being taken over by another firm and they would want me to fill out new paperwork and see my employment eligibility.

I don't think I can show them the copy of old GC or new Receipt Notice and get away with it. They are pretty strict about it.
--------------take the infopass go to local USCIS and get your passport stamped ( if you have I-90 filing reciept take it with you).
Any thoughts, suggestions will be helpful.

Thanks!

---------

 

[GC_TRAP]

Can it take over six months to receive duplicate card?

At least that's what the local congressman's office says. They have seen replacements take upto six months, which I think is insane. It's not like USCIS is processing a new card, all they have to do is hit "reprint" so to speak and produce a new card and mail it to me.

I know I'm preaching to the choir, we all know what happens at USCIS, but first there was the nightmare of being on H1-B and then we had no rights, now we are GC holders and it still seems we don't have enough rights to expedite or demand processing of our case.

Does going to InfoPass cost money or to get a stamp on the passport?

Thanks!

 

[ginnu]

Does going to InfoPass cost money or to get a stamp on the passport?
----------------No money for Infopass or Passport stamping. Local USCIS office may stamp Passport for 2-3 months or 6 months.


Thanks!

-----------

 

[GC_TRAP]

Documents needed to get temporary stamping on the passport?

I'm getting mixed information on the Internet ranging from no documents needed to at least 2 PP photos, Passport, ID card etc. required to get a temporary I-551 stamped on my passport while my I-90 replacement is being processed.

Does anybody know exactly what docs are required for this purpose?

Thanks!

 

[GotPR?]

passport photos are required to do ADIT process that makes your plastic cards. Most of them gets stamp when they visit the local office for ADIT so that they bring the photos too.
Just getting the stamp doesn't require photos, but ID card and I485 approval will be required for sure.

 

[GC_TRAP]

INFOPASS dilemma!

So, after four months of waiting and nothing happening on my lost GC replacement, I called the congressman's office again and they must have called USCIS coz now I have a status that shows as card production ordered.

Here's the dilemma. It could take upto 30 days to receive the replacement and I have a week long foreign travel in about 5 days. To that effect, I have taken a INFOPASS appt. for 3 days from now hoping to get a stamp on the passport.

Considering that my GC is being produced and will be mailed shortly, could the officer refuse stamping my passport? What good reasons can I give, what documents can I show, for eg. air ticket, hotel booking etc. to explain money loss if I don't travel? If he/she does refuse, do I have a chance by asking to speak with a Supervisor?

Thoughts?

 

[jllag1]

So, after four months of waiting and nothing happening on my lost GC replacement, I called the congressman's office again and they must have called USCIS coz now I have a status that shows as card production ordered.

Here's the dilemma. It could take upto 30 days to receive the replacement and I have a week long foreign travel in about 5 days. To that effect, I have taken a INFOPASS appt. for 3 days from now hoping to get a stamp on the passport.

Considering that my GC is being produced and will be mailed shortly, could the officer refuse stamping my passport? What good reasons can I give, what documents can I show, for eg. air ticket, hotel booking etc. to explain money loss if I don't travel? If he/she does refuse, do I have a chance by asking to speak with a Supervisor?

Thoughts?

Can you post an update on your actions/situation/experiences for the above? Thanks.

 

[GC_TRAP]

Finally got the card...

...but not until getting pro-active about it. As I mentioned earlier, I hounded the congressman's office, but the gal never called me back. But sure enough, the next day the status changed, saying the application has been approved. I did get an InfoPass temporary stamp on my PP but the airline did not recognize it for my future travel (to a country that didn't require me to get a Visa as a US PR) so I ended up not traveling.

In a few days the new card arrived in the mail. Now, my dilemma is how the hell to secure this card. I lost the first one, now granted that losing a GC is not so common, but it does happen. The nightmare and wasted time in waiting for another one is incredible. What if anything one can do to not lose it, or get it faster if one were to apply again (hope that never happens)?

Bottom line, if you travel overseas with it, you could lose it again, then the 4-6 month replacement hell will begin again in the US. Those a**holes should allow you to either have a duplicate or issue you one within weeks. Oh well.

 

[Mr Vertigo]

Um, do you plan to routinely lose your GC? If so, how do you secure your passport, driver's license, wallet, jacket, house? I'm not trying to be mean or anything, but just take care of it, like everything else that's valuable in your life.

 

[Jackolantern]

Bottom line, if you travel overseas with it, you could lose it again, then the 4-6 month replacement hell will begin again in the US.

The law requiring people to carry the card is not applicable when you're outside the US. So if you travel, keep it locked up somewhere like the hotel safe until the day you're ready to return to the US (granted, depending on where you're going, there may be no safe place to keep it).

Those a**holes should allow you to either have a duplicate or issue you one within weeks. Oh well.

Yes, the magnitude of the inefficiency is unbelievable. People can get a US passport or driver's license replaced within days or weeks, typically for a cost of under $30, so why can't they replace a card quickly when you're paying hundreds of dollars?

 

[dms1]

...I did get an InfoPass temporary stamp on my PP but the airline did not recognize it for my future travel (to a country that didn't require me to get a Visa as a US PR) so I ended up not traveling.

I hope you lodged a complaint with the airline. They have no right to refuse travel based on only having a temporary passport stamp.

 

[dms1]

The law requiring people to carry the card is not applicable when you're outside the US. So if you travel, keep it locked up somewhere like the hotel safe until the day you're ready to return to the US (granted, depending on where you're going, there may be no safe place to keep it).

Does anyone actually carry their greencard on them all the time anyway? I know that some arcane law requires it, but given how valuable greencards are to people wishing to enter the country illegally, some for potentially sinister purposes, I'm sure the government would rather it be kept safe under lock and key at home.

 

[Jackolantern]

Does anyone actually carry their greencard on them all the time anyway? I know that some arcane law requires it, but given how valuable greencards are to people wishing to enter the country illegally, some for potentially sinister purposes, I'm sure the government would rather it be kept safe under lock and key at home.

I think they actually like it that carrying it around everywhere makes it more likely to get lost or stolen, because they profit when you lose the card and have to pay $370 to replace it.

 

[mmed]

Does anyone actually carry their greencard on them all the time anyway? I know that some arcane law requires it, but given how valuable greencards are to people wishing to enter the country illegally, some for potentially sinister purposes, I'm sure the government would rather it be kept safe under lock and key at home.

Yes, me, my wife carry it all the time outside home and never been lost. Oh I may loose it today I think GC is not the most important thing I possess all the times when I go out, at least I can apply for replacement if I lost it or I any other document you can imagine (to get it in one day or one year, is not a big deal for me). When you loose the card, you will not loose the status. But, if you keep thinking to take care of GC and not to loose it, this distraction may leads you slamming in a tree or other terrible accident and by then you may loose more including GC.

 

[Jackolantern]

Yes, me, my wife carry it all the time outside home and never been lost. Oh I may loose it today I think GC is not the most important thing I possess all the times when I go out, at least I can apply for replacement if I lost it or I any other document you can imagine (to get it in one day or one year, is not a big deal for me). When you loose the card, you will not loose the status.

You won't lose the status, but you'll lose a way of proving your status, which can cause problems for you if you need to do things like renewing a driver's license or traveling or changing jobs. Even worse, is if it's stolen you'll probably lose both your driver's license and the GC at the same time, which makes it 10 times more difficult to replace either one.

So whenever I carry the GC I put the GC in one pocket and my wallet in the other, to make it less likely to lose both at the same time. A pickpocket usually won't bother to try picking a second pocket of the same person once they get something from one pocket, and a street robber usually wants to just run away after getting your wallet rather than making you empty all your pockets. When I was robbed at knifepoint, the thief only wanted my watch and didn't even ask for anything in my pockets. Stupid thief, the watch only cost $20!

 

[GC_TRAP]

I think you are missing the point mmed...

I think you do not get the point that myself and others have been trying to make in this post. It's not that we are not safe keeping our GCs, nor the fact that we have to fork out about $400 for a card that probably is no more than $25 in value. It's just that the replacement of it is such a hassle and a time-consuming process. To have a tiny card to take 3-6 months to be processed is really mind-boggling.

You may not care how long it takes to receive a replacement card, but I bet majority of us do. Unexpected emergency travel is usually the biggest reason why we care to have it all the time. As I recently learnt, a temporary stamp on the passport is no guarantee that you can travel overseas even to countries that don't require you to get a Visa based on your PR status.

And the lame example of slamming into a tree because you are obsessed about not losing your GC is, shall we say, at best, rather lame.

 

[mmed]

I think you do not get the point that myself and others have been trying to make in this post. It's not that we are not safe keeping our GCs, nor the fact that we have to fork out about $400 for a card that probably is no more than $25 in value. It's just that the replacement of it is such a hassle and a time-consuming process. To have a tiny card to take 3-6 months to be processed is really mind-boggling.

You may not care how long it takes to receive a replacement card, but I bet majority of us do. Unexpected emergency travel is usually the biggest reason why we care to have it all the time. As I recently learnt, a temporary stamp on the passport is no guarantee that you can travel overseas even to countries that don't require you to get a Visa based on your PR status.

And the lame example of slamming into a tree because you are obsessed about not losing your GC is, shall we say, at best, rather lame.

It is not an option to be outside your home without carrying the GC, it is something required by immigration law. Manage to put it in the same wallet, in diifferent wallet, this is up to you. Being outside with or without GC and no immigration official ask you to show the GC, is not an argument and I think the same answer anyone will say "I am afraid that I may loose it" will not work then.