I-751 Question - confusing situation.

[daiana11]

I have two questions about the conditional permanent resident card of my daughter. Nobody from the USCIS customer service line was able to help me. We called 3 times and they transferred us to other employees and everybody gave different and dim answer. The situation is:

In 2007 I came in the US with my daughter on K3 and K4 visas and we applied for AOS. The daughter is a biological child of my husband. He is an US citizen and we had I 130 approved - for both - me and my daughter. We applied for I 130 for my daughter because the father became US Citizen two months after she was born. That's why we were not able to obtain US Citizenship for her and had to apply for I 130.

I applied for AOS and she was included in my application.

In 2008 we had an interview and the IO told us that everything is o.k. and we are going to receive the cards within 3 weeks. Two weeks later we received a card for my daughter (the card was conditional), but not for me. They told us that the case is under further review and they need to check some documents about the marriage. I received the card 90 days after those of my daughter.
Now, I have to file two separate I 751 and to pay the fees two times because the card of my daughter will expire before the time I am allowed to apply. Her card will expire on March 12th 2010 and I can apply not earlier than March 19th 2010. So, she cannot be included in my application because she will became “illegal”
I believe that something was wrong with our process.

First - why they gave her conditional card? She is a biological child and there was approved I 130 for her. What is the condition for her. She is a child of the petitioner despite the marriage.

Second - if the case was under further investigation, why they granted the card to my daughter? If something was suspicious and unclear they had to postpone her approval too. Moreover, when I read USCIS guide about removing conditions, it is stated that the child has to file separate I 751 if it is approved 90 AFTER the parent. There is no situation the child to be approved BEFORE the parent.

Can anybody help me where I can file a complaint and what I can do. I believe that everything was made in order USCIS to collect two times the fees.
What about Ombudsman? Is that going to be helpful?

 

[Jackolantern]

She should have received a 10-year card, not a 2-year conditional one. Either they made a mistake by treating her as a stepchild (due to the K4 visa), or you made a mistake on her I-130 or I-485. But anyway, she already would have derived US citizenship as soon as she got her green card (assuming she was living with her US citizen father in the US at the time), so her father should apply for a US passport for her.

Second - if the case was under further investigation, why they granted the card to my daughter?

Somebody must have realized that she is the biological child of the sponsor, which means her case is not tied to yours, so her GC could be approved without regard to yours. However, they should have followed through with that line of thinking and granted a 10-year card to her (although 2-year vs. 10-year card doesn't really matter for her, because she is now a US citizen).

 

[okalian]

I totally agree wit the answer before me. They obviously shouldn't give your daughter a conditional card (whats the condition? is she suddenly gonna become someone else's daughter overnight ??).

When a parent sponsors a child who's under 18, and the parent becomes a citizen before the child turns 18, the child automatically acquires citizenship with the parent. Did you go back and check your daughter's I-130 and see what kind of relative they have her in their records?

You can't resolve this issue on the phone. Get an infopass and meet an Immigration officer. I've had a problem with misspelling my name on my I-130 and they were able to handle it.

 

[Jackolantern]

You can't resolve this issue on the phone. Get an infopass and meet an Immigration officer.

It's no use haggling with them over conditional vs. unconditional or what happened on the I-130. Her daughter became a US citizen under the Child Citizen Act, and should get a US passport, not a new green card.

 

[daiana11]

Thanks to everybody for the replies. We are going to take an Infopass Appointment.

Either they made a mistake by treating her as a stepchild (due to the K4 visa), or you made a mistake on her I-130 or I-485.

I am not sure if we made a mistake but with the application for AOS we submitted all required documents and her birth certificate was submitted also as a proof that the marriage is not fraudulent. The IO was aware that the child is biological one of the petitioner.
So, maybe now we have to file N 600 for her. What about if in the meanwhile her card expire and she become illegal. She is 3 years old.

 

[Jackolantern]

Infopass will be a waste of time; your daughter is a US citizen. Her card expiring will not make her "illegal". She is already a US citizen, and therefore can never be illegal in the US. All you need now is proof of her US citizenship. Apply for a US passport for her before N-600 (passport normally takes 2-4 weeks, while N-600 is 3-6 months). Note that both parents will need to be physically present at the post office or passport agency because she is below 16.

 

[daiana11]

Infopass will be a waste of time; your daughter is a US citizen. Her card expiring will not make her "illegal". She is already a US citizen, and therefore can never be illegal in the US. All you need now is proof of her US citizenship. Apply for a US passport for her before N-600 (passport normally takes 2-4 weeks, while N-600 is 3-6 months). Note that both parents will need to be physically present at the post office or passport agency because she is below 16.

Thank you so much for your help.

 

[daiana11]

Passport received today. Thanks to Jackolantern and Okalian.Many, many thanks for the generous help.