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Is I-551 a full-fledged GC?

TommyEdo

Registered Users (C)
Could someone please tell me, whether someone could state that he is a GC holder for purpose of filing in college entrance application, even though he only has I-551 in his passport, meaning that he has not yet entered the US?

Thanks alot in anticipation.
 
You are not a greencard-holder until you enter the US with the immigrant visa. The immigrant visa is not a I-551, but once you enter the US, it will become an I-551.
 
You're welcome. You could state on the application: "permanent resident upon arrival to US" or something like that.
 
at the buttom of your visa stamp should say the visa will be equal to I-551 once you enter USA and it will be valid for 1 year until they mail you the actual card. ( I may have worded it differently but the message is the same) once you are in, you are considered a permanent resident and you can go after getting social security, driver license and other stuff. if you want it for college entrance, most of them have a in-state tuition regulation. they usually ask for one year of residence in that state. but the best is to go there and talk to them. each school and state has its own way of doing things.
 
I filed I-90 (d) last Nov. and currently still waiting for it. I was wondering if I can still use the I-551 stamp (stamp, not the visa sticker) to travel, since it says valid for one year and I entered US last Oct.
 
I filed I-90 (d) last Nov. and currently still waiting for it. I was wondering if I can still use the I-551 stamp (stamp, not the visa sticker) to travel, since it says valid for one year and I entered US last Oct.
In theory, yes. But: I think LucyMo mentioned that some flight companies don't accept it. So better ask them in advance (in her example it was AirFrance, I think).
 
I filed I-90 (d) last Nov. and currently still waiting for it. I was wondering if I can still use the I-551 stamp (stamp, not the visa sticker) to travel, since it says valid for one year and I entered US last Oct.
i wouldnt travel if i were you until you get the error corrected. you should open an inquiry to see what happened to your I90.
 
i wouldnt travel if i were you until you get the error corrected. you should open an inquiry to see what happened to your I90.

What do you mean by "open an inquiry"? If you meant "make a infopass apointment", I did. I had an infopass early this month, the IO lady was not very helpful at all. I explained my situation to her and wanted to show her that I have the certified mail receipt indicates they signed my I-90 application with my error green card in Nov., but she checked her computer and just told me that they received the application and green card in Jan. 24th. I asked why it's Jan. 24th, not Nov. She replied "What do you want me to do?".

Anyway, she said the stamp (not the sticker, the sticker only valid for 6 months) should be valid for one year as temporary green card from the moment I entered US, but she is not sure. She asked me to go to custom department to confirm that. The front desk lady at custom department took a look the expiration date on "visa sticker" and, without looking at the fine print says this visa will act as a temporary green card for one year from the stamp date, told me that my visa only valid until April. (visa was issue in Oct. ).

I guess I will just have to wait until I get the correct green card before I travel.
 
Anyway, she said the stamp (not the sticker, the sticker only valid for 6 months) should be valid for one year as temporary green card from the moment I entered US, but she is not sure
Sometime my impression is, there are only working uneducated idiots at USCIS. The temporary GC is vaild for one year from the date you entered the US.
 
hi i have the same problem i have hade i90 for almost one manth and i have
the stamp over in i94 i want to travel but iam afraide of thay going to give a hard time
 
Sometime my impression is, there are only working uneducated idiots at USCIS. The temporary GC is vaild for one year from the date you entered the US.

I totally agree with you. My concern is "the temporary GC is valid for one year from the day you enter the US", is this only apply to people just entered US and waiting for their GC? So, in their case, they have up to one year to receive their GC.

Since I did receive my GC (even though I returned it because of administrative error), I cannot keep thinking that my stamp ( not the sticker) might be invalid at the moment I received my GC. Correct me if I am wrong~

I am not going to travel now, but I thought it will be nice if someone clarify this for future users.
 
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I-551

The temporary GC is vaild for one year from the date you entered the US.

In my opinion the visa sticker and the stamp are not a temporary GC. One has permanent resident status upon entry to the US and it serves as a temporary evidence of the [permanent] GC status upon arrival of the actual GC in the mail. I think it is just written in a way that it can lead to misinterpretation. However, I will not travel outside the US before I have received the actual card either.
 
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In my opinion the visa sticker and the stamp are not a temporary GC.
Thats not right. After you got the stamp into the passport at POE, it is full working temporary GC for one year.
 
Re:

Thats not right. After you got the stamp into the passport at POE, it is full working temporary GC for one year.

Sorry for not expressing clearly what I meant. In my opinion everyone who received sticker and stamp has a fully working GC [status], but sticker and stamp do only work as a temporary evidence of it.

Meaning: Not the GC status, but the function of the evidence, e.g. that one can use stamp and sticker for the proof of GC status is temporary and will either expire after one year or with arrival of the physical GC. The one year limit makes sure that people will care about obtaining the real evidence "plastic green card" and not simply proof their status with the passport. In other words, with sticker and stamp you achieved permanent GC status, but it only serves as a temporary means to prove it.

Probably, we are just splitting hairs and mean the same thing. I just want to say that the permanent resident status is not temporary. :)
 
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Sorry for not expressing clearly what I meant. In my opinion everyone who received sticker and stamp has a fully working GC [status], but sticker and stamp do only work as a temporary evidence of it.

Meaning: Not the GC status, but the function of the evidence, e.g. that one can use stamp and sticker for the proof of GC status is temporary and will either expire after one year or with arrival of the physical GC. The one year limit makes sure that people will care about obtaining the real evidence "plastic green card" and not simply proof their status with the passport. In other words, with stick and stamp you achieved permanent GC status, but it only serves as a temporary means to proof it. :)
You can also say that about the plastic greencard. The card expires after 10years, but your status doesn't.
 
Sorry for not expressing clearly what I meant. In my opinion everyone who received sticker and stamp has a fully working GC [status], but sticker and stamp do only work as a temporary evidence of it.

Meaning: Not the GC status, but the function of the evidence, e.g. that one can use stamp and sticker for the proof of GC status is temporary and will either expire after one year or with arrival of the physical GC. The one year limit makes sure that people will care about obtaining the real evidence "plastic green card" and not simply proof their status with the passport. In other words, with sticker and stamp you achieved permanent GC status, but it only serves as a temporary means to proof it.

Probably, we are just splitting hairs and mean the same thing. I just want to say that the permanent resident status is not temporary. :)

So~ does this mean the stamp I received upon entry is still valid to prove my residency status at this moment even if I have already received plastic GC and return it to fix the administrative error. As long as it still within "one year period" from the date I entered US. While the stamp on the passport is still valid to prove my residency status at this moment during waiting for the card, it won't be sufficient enough to travel using the stamp to prove my residency status when I return to US. Correct me if I am wrong.

I remember when I asked for temporary stamp on my passport during infopass (I was planning to travel, but not yet decided when to travel), the immigration officer lady told me I will need to prove that I have already made a reservation and the purpose of the travel has to be emergency (should not be just for vocation). Then, she checked my current stamp (I entered US last Oct.) and told me my stamp is still valid. That's why I am confused about the meaning of "VALID". Valid to prove status in US only, or valid to travel?

I guess I will make another infopass to clarify this, since she ask me to make another infopass if I haven't heard anything after three months (They claim they received my incorrect green card on Jan 24, even though my certified mail was signed in Nov.).
 
So~ does this mean the stamp I received upon entry is still valid to prove my residency status at this moment even if I have already received plastic GC and return it to fix the administrative error. As long as it still within "one year period" from the date I entered US. While the stamp on the passport is still valid to prove my residency status at this moment during waiting for the card, it won't be sufficient enough to travel using the stamp to prove my residency status when I return to US. Correct me if I am wrong.

I remember when I asked for temporary stamp on my passport during infopass (I was planning to travel, but not yet decided when to travel), the immigration officer lady told me I will need to prove that I have already made a reservation and the purpose of the travel has to be emergency (should not be just for vocation). Then, she checked my current stamp (I entered US last Oct.) and told me my stamp is still valid. That's why I am confused about the meaning of "VALID". Valid to prove status in US only, or valid to travel?

I guess I will make another infopass to clarify this, since she ask me to make another infopass if I haven't heard anything after three months (They claim they received my incorrect green card on Jan 24, even though my certified mail was signed in Nov.).

As I said above, I would guess that after an incorrect [typo..] GC was received and sent back for correction, in my opinion and common sense the visa and stamp should be [within the year from entering the US] still ok to prove your status within the US, but I have no idea about traveling, and again, this is just what I think! Good luck, though. :)
 
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