Late I-751

I

Intl.luv

Registered Users (C)
Hey guys,
I'm new to this forum, but have found a wealth of information already so thanks ahead of time. My situation is as follows: I'm from CA married to a German citizen who received his conditional permanent resident status in Dec of 2006. This of course means that unfortunately due to terrible circumstances we spaced on the I-751 date and are now scrambling to get the package turned in asap! I haven't seen any info on late I-751s yet. Anybody have any success stories? What were your extenuating circumstances? How late were you and what sorts of supporting documents did you turn in with your packet? Unfortunately we don't have a whole lot of supporting documentation:

* Joint Tax Returns
* Flight Itineraries
* Car Title
* FAFSA form?
* Passports
* Marriage Certificates
* And an incredible amount of photographs~there's so many I would really love to send them a CD! I suppose I should probably just print them out if I want anyone to actually see them though

Any helpful information in this sort of direction would be so great.
 
Hey, I'm late with my I-751 for 4 days, will be rushing the documents and hope for best... I'm sending everything I have - bills, tax statements, house deed, car loan, photos, baby birth certificate, etc

Good luck!
 
Intl.luv said:
Hey guys,
I'm new to this forum, but have found a wealth of information already so thanks ahead of time. My situation is as follows: I'm from CA married to a German citizen who received his conditional permanent resident status in Dec of 2006. This of course means that unfortunately due to terrible circumstances we spaced on the I-751 date and are now scrambling to get the package turned in asap! I haven't seen any info on late I-751s yet. Anybody have any success stories? What were your extenuating circumstances? How late were you and what sorts of supporting documents did you turn in with your packet? Unfortunately we don't have a whole lot of supporting documentation:

* Joint Tax Returns
* Flight Itineraries
* Car Title
* FAFSA form?
* Passports
* Marriage Certificates
* And an incredible amount of photographs~there's so many I would really love to send them a CD! I suppose I should probably just print them out if I want anyone to actually see them though

Any helpful information in this sort of direction would be so great.
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You need a whole lot more documents than that.I suggest Joint bills from year of marriage.Joint bank account statements,cheques with both names from account.Joint insurance,joint gym membership.Christmas cards from friends with both names on it.2-3 written affidavits from friends and family discussing your relationship and marriage etc how you two met and maybe activities done together such as hiking or maybe a bbq with friends and family.Joint health insurance.I think thats about the best i can think of,you need to give them enough information to make sure they cannot doubt the legitimacy of your marriage or request RFE.Hope this helps
 
If you do not file on time, you will lose your status and could be removed from the U.S. The USCIS may excuse a late filing due to extraordinary circumstances, but you will have to provide a written explanation with your petition, and usually, " I forgot" doesn't cook it ! They will remove you. It happened to my friend.
 
People people people... This has got to be the MOST pessimistic thread/responses I have seen in a while.

He is not about to be deported forever, he does not need to pay $1000s to a lawyer and he is not in dire need of a miracle...

For whatever reason, plenty of people forget to timely file an I-751... the file it late (along with a nice letter explaining the cause for such delay) and it is accepted, processed and everything works out.

I have personally heard of several cases where this has happened. So in this case, all the poster needs to do is file the form, send PLENTY of evidence, including a nice letter explaining the situation (why filing late) and hope for the best... It has not been THAT long, so he should not face too much trouble.

Cheer up people! :p

ps: yes, I copied this from the other (similar) thread in the board....
 
That is not true. USCIS will not just simpley read your letter with a smile and forgive you. Not at all. The second you are late, you are out of status. And it is almost impossible, to get in status again. A simple " I forgot, I was sick, I didn't remember, I was out of town, etc...will not cut it buddy. Call them and ask forf your self. See what they tell you.
My friend was late by 1 day, his lawyer wrote them a letter trying to make gzillion logical exuses...they still denied and deported him
 
Following is from a attorney's website; obviously he/ she wants you to hire them. But point is it's excusable in certain conditions and it will be nice to consult a immigration attorney in this situation.

"The expiration date is clearly indicated on the lawful permanent resident card (or "green card"). Failure to file to remove the conditions by the expiration means that the individual is no longer a permanent resident.

It is sometimes possible to overcome this problem, but the expiration date should be taken seriously and the problem avoided, if possible.

There are regulations governing late filings. The late filing can be excused in certain circumstances. However, it is best to file within the proper timeframes. If this does not occur, or becomes impossible for some reason, it is best to consult with a qualified immigration attorney to devise the best possible strategy under the circumstances."
 
You have a fairly big problem, since it expired in DECEMBER? That's almost 2 months ago!! I'm not sure anything can help you in that instance. I think it just shocks me that people take it so for granted, I think about it every day (when to remove my conditions) and when I will file. How can you possibly forget something so important?
 
Mom1211 you are 100% right. But according to PraetorianXI, it's walk in the park !!! He/she just doesnt know how serious it is to forget to file on time.
 
roxy2009 said:
Mom1211 you are 100% right. But according to PraetorianXI, it's walk in the park !!! He/she just doesnt know how serious it is to forget to file on time.
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No. It is NOT a walk in the park... I do not understand how people forget it, but they do.

Yet, this is NOT the END OF THE WORLD either... It can be fixed. With proper recourse and counsel and a good letter explaining the good reason for the delay.
 
Update

Well deportation shouldn't be a problem because we're currently not in the United States~we're in Germany. This is part of the reason why we're late with this. My husband's grandpa fell terribly ill last June and he rushed over here to help take care of him and see him before he passed. I also had a death in the family in September and between all of this, it just wasn't priority #1. Now we're just waiting on a couple affidavits and then we're sending. We're just gonna try it. It's really the best we can do at this point. If they deny it, then we just have to start over from square one, right? I mean it sounds cheaper then asking for advice from an attorney. I also have an update on supporting documents:

* Copies of our driver's licenses with addresses we have both lived at
* FAFSA Student Aid Reports listing us both at same address, sending FAFSA data to the same school and listing us both as married on 6/2005 for 2008-2009 and hopefully 2009-2010 as well
* Last year's tax returns showing us as married filed jointly and hopefully this year's as well plus W2s
* Copies of our passports with corresponding international stamps from all of our here and there flights
* Shared car insurance
* Title of our car with both names
* At least six statements from credit cards with both of our names
* Joint checking accounts~at least two
* My extended visa for Germany
* Copy of expired GC front and back
* Copies of SSI cards
* Both birth certificates
* Three to four affidavits of support from my mom and best friends
* Copies of our cell phone bills with numerous calls between both of us
* At least 30 some odd photos of us with friends and family as well as on trips etc
* Marriage certificate
* And of course our love story~how we met in Greece and fell in love etc

It may not work, but for future filings etc with USCIS I think its important that we at least tried. That's all we can do, right? And if not then we just try and enjoy the snow a little bit longer. Again any other advice is very welcome as well as personal experiences with late I-751s and the corresponding excuses. Any other evidence you think I may want to include or if you think this should suffice and how much are immigration lawyers anyway?
 
Issue

Intl.luv said:
Oops I forgot to add itineraries from our trips as well
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If you are late submitting the I751 removal of conditions petition and you are not in the United States ,which legal document do you plan to you to re-enter the USA.Because i had the impression that you were an over stay here, i do not think that you will be allowed back into the USA by Customs because you dont ha green card within status anymore.It sounds to me that you are 100% illegal.How can you remove conditions when you not even here?
 
If you are in germany right now, it sucks but he won't be allowed back into the USA until you sort this out somehow. To be honest I don't think you will have any luck without a very good lawyer, or else starting over from scratch because you left it for so long.

He's no longer a permanent resident, and even though it may not seem fair, but his grandfather being ill is not an excuse to forget something so important. Personally, my father is dying in Canada at the moment, and I haven't and won't forget to file on time no matter who dies. That's why it's hard to overcome, because in their minds it should be a priority regardless.

I don't even know if it's as simple to do over either. It may be.
 
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Restarting green card process

MOM1211 said:
If you are in germany right now, it sucks but he won't be allowed back into the USA until you sort this out somehow. To be honest I don't think you will have any luck without a very good lawyer, or else starting over from scratch because you left it for so long.

He's no longer a permanent resident, and even though it may not seem fair, but his grandfather being ill is not an excuse to forget something so important. Personally, my father is dying in Canada at the moment, and I haven't and won't forget to file on time no matter who dies. That's why it's hard to overcome, because in their minds it should be a priority regardless.

I don't even know if it's as simple to do over either. It may be.
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I am thinking that they will have to start back from scratch filing for AOS again.All the fees and forms but the good news is he will get his ten year card after AOS bad news is if its sent to Vermont.
 
Why is it bad news if its sent to Vermont? I called USCIS and they said it wouldn't be a problem applying for our I-751 from overseas, we would just have to talk to US Customs and Boarder Patrol about letting him into the country for his biometrics. I think it would consist of his expired GC and the letter requesting his biometrics and also the letter extending his conditional residence for one year. I think we're going to call the embassy in Frankfurt and USCIS tomorrow and see if we can get a clearer answer on the odds that it makes any sense to try for our I-751 or if we should just start over and if its that easy.
 
This is what they say about filling outside US:
Sec. 216.4 Joint petition to remove conditional basis of lawful permanent resident status for alien spouse.
....
(4) Physical presence at time of filing. A petition may be filed regardless of whether the alien is physically present in the United States. However, if the alien is outside the United States at the time of filing, he or she must return to the United States, with his or her spouse and dependent children, to comply with the interview requirements contained in the Act. Furthermore, if the documentation submitted in support of the petition includes affidavits of third parties having knowledge of the bona fides of the marital relationship, the petitioner must arrange for the affiants to be present at the interview, at no expense to the government. Once the petition has been properly filed, the alien may travel outside the United States and return if in possession of documentation as set forth in § 211.1(b)(1) of this chapter, provided the alien and the petitioning spouse comply with the interview requirements described in § 216.4(b). An alien who is not physically present in the United States during the filing period but subsequently applies for admission to the United States shall be processed in accordance with § 235.11 of this chapter.
...
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You will be interested in § 235.11, I think. Unfortunately, I cannot find a link to that section anymore... I got this fragment from an old note.

Intl.luv said:
Why is it bad news if its sent to Vermont? I called USCIS and they said it wouldn't be a problem applying for our I-751 from overseas, we would just have to talk to US Customs and Boarder Patrol about letting him into the country for his biometrics. I think it would consist of his expired GC and the letter requesting his biometrics and also the letter extending his conditional residence for one year. I think we're going to call the embassy in Frankfurt and USCIS tomorrow and see if we can get a clearer answer on the odds that it makes any sense to try for our I-751 or if we should just start over and if its that easy.
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Intl, FYI, you described a good reason WHY you are late with your I-751 - if I were you, I would submit a letter addressed to the director of the service center describing your situation (be extra polite, not demanding, but trying to show the urgency), dates and reasons (family emergency, outside USA, etc). People are people, who knows, the director might be having a good day ;)
 
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Hey Tau, thanks for the positive feedback :) ...I haven't been getting a lot of that and have really been doubting whether or not I should even do this :( ...I think you're right too...our letter is pretty good and not demanding at all. And thanks for the tip on having the affiants present at the interview...somehow I had completely looked over that. Again, all we can do is try and thanks again to everyone for all of their input with my situation.
 
HI TAU and Intel/Luv.

It happened the same as my case when i remember wrong month to file I 751 last year . I was upset and worry alots . My husband wanted to hired a lawyer but one of his friend gave him advices that submit all documents with a letter , explain how we are later.
Then sure enough , they processed my case , but when we were in rush , we did not know all evidences , we should submitt ..
Now USCIS asked us to submitt more evidences. Hope it make your guys feel better
 
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