Lost SS and Green Card

[BSHAW27]

OK I will try to make a long story short. My fiance had her purse stolen over two years ago and inside her purse were all her legal documents including her social security card and here permanent resident alien card. For some reason she replaced her drivers license but not her other documentation. She has a photocopy of both and was able to get by fine with just that info. She has been living in the US for over 20 years (since she was 5) and has had a card since she was little (edit* She had a temporary card until 2000 when she got her permanent status). We lived in FL at the time her documents were lost but we have now moved to Tennessee and we got married. We were able to get married and have the marriage documentation. We tried to get her a TN drivers license but they require her original social security card. We went to the local social security administration office and they said she has to have the original copy of her permanent resident card. Of course there is no local immigration office within 200 miles of where we are now and I have tried to research online what I need to do to get a copy of the card but I need some help.

I know that we fill out the I90 form to get a replacement card but from what I have read online they will schedule her a time to get her biometrics done and I don't know how she can make that time if there is no office within 200 miles of where we live.

I am also worried about filling something out incorrectly as the website says if something is wrong the fee is non refundable and she is not sure where her mother originally applied for her and has no way to find out.

I am also wondering since we are now married if there is a different route we can go instead of filling out the I90 form that would still result in her getting a new card.

Once we get her a new green card and social security card we hope to work on getting her full citizenship but baby steps for now.

With all of this going on I don't know if I should talk to an attorney or just do the efiling of the I90 form and cross my fingers that everything goes correctly. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[ginnu]

OK I will try to make a long story short. My fiance had her purse stolen over two years ago and inside her purse were all her legal documents including her social security card and here permanent resident alien card. For some reason she replaced her drivers license but not her other documentation. She has a photocopy of both and was able to get by fine with just that info. She has been living in the US for over 20 years (since she was 5) and has had a card since she was little. We lived in FL at the time her documents were lost but we have now moved to Tennessee and we got married. We were able to get married and have the marriage documentation. We tried to get her a TN drivers license but they require her original social security card.
We went to the local social security administration office and they said she has to have the original copy of her permanent resident card. Of course there is no local immigration office within 200 miles of where we are now and
I have tried to research online what I need to do to get a copy of the card but I need some help.
----------------------------She can file form I-90
http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/us...nnel=db029c7755cb9010VgnVCM10000045f3d6a1RCRD


I know that we fill out the I90 form to get a replacement card but from what I have read online they will schedule her a time to get her biometrics done and I don't know how she can make that time if there is no office within 200 miles of where we live.
--------------------------They will give ASC appointment for her fingerprints and photograph near to your residential address on form I-90.
I am also worried about filling something out incorrectly as the website says if something is wrong the fee is non refundable and she is not sure where her mother originally applied for her and has no way to find out.
----------------------first read the Instructions of form I-90 then print the form I-90 then you can post what you don’t understand.
I am also wondering since we are now married if there is a different route we can go instead of filling out the I90 form that would still result in her getting a new card.
--------------- She should get her Card by filing form I-90. If she was 5 years when got GC and her parents got citizenship then she may be US citizen. Find out when her parents got US citizenship and what was her age at that time.
Once we get her a new green card and social security card we hope to work on getting her full citizenship but baby steps for now.

With all of this going on I don't know if I should talk to an attorney or just do the efiling of the I90 form and cross my fingers that everything goes correctly.
--------------------- Go to USCIS site and read the instruction for Efiling. She can also Paper file and can read the instructions for form I-90.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

-------------

 

[BSHAW27]

Thanks for the quick response! Her mother was not a citizen when we met and she was over 18 then so I think that is out of the question. So it looks like it is time to fill out the I90 form.

We filled out the efiling pages but she didn't know the answers to these questions. And I am confused on what each one is asking for.

City of Residence where you applied for an Immigration Visa or Adjustment of Status:
I don't think she applied for an Immigration Visa because she was already living here with her mother. But I am pretty sure she got her first Green Card at the Miami office.

Consulate where Immigration Visa was issued:
OR
USCIS Office where status was adjusted:

Again I assume she didn't get an Immigration Visa at any Consulate since she was in the country so I guess I answer the status was adjusted question but she is unsure of that as well she thinks it was in Miami but there is two different offices in the drop down list there.


Date of Admission as an immigrant or Adjustment of Status:

I don't really know what this means but the copy of her old resident card says 'Resident Since 12/28/00 so I assume that is the date. Is that correct?

If you entered the U.S. with an Immigrant Visa, also complete the following:

There are a few questions under this section which I also assume I don't need to fill out because of her age when she entered the country.

So those are the questions I am unsure about and the key is how do I know if she had an 'Immigran Visa' when she entered the country. And I am not sure if I should submit the form with the answers I have knowing they might be incorrect and I have no idea how we can get the correct answers since we can't get in contact with her mother.

 

[Jackolantern]

I don't really know what this means but the copy of her old resident card says 'Resident Since 12/28/00 so I assume that is the date. Is that correct?

That is only 8 years ago, but your initial post made it seem like she had a green card for much longer than that. If she got her first green card only 8 years ago, she would have been at least 17 at the time, so she would have been old enough to remember when and where it happened. So that date does not seem right. Is her mother still alive? Her mother should be able to answer questions about when and how and where her green card was obtained, and perhaps would have documents like the approval notice. [Edit: I just noticed the part where you said you can't contact her mother.]

When your wife got her green card years ago, it was standard practice back then to stamp the passport before printing the card. So her old passport should have the stamp, whether she adjusted status within the US or got an immigrant visa at a consulate.

 

[BSHAW27]

OK I am confused too I am going to have to have another long talk with my wife again and try to make sense of this. I know her mother had some other document for her before that she thinks it was just a piece of paper and not an actual green card. I think when she turned 18 her mother had her go and get her 'permanent resident card' and that has the 12/28/00 date on it (She was 19 at that time). I am assuming at this point she had some other kind of residency before this date but I really don't know what it was and neither does she. She already had a social security number and card before that date though so she must have had something to be able to do that. Her SS card that is also lost has 'VALD FOR WORK ONLY WITH INS AUTHORIZATION' accross the top of it and I have a copy of that as well. She does remember getting her current card though when she was 19 and she was already living here (for 10+ years at that point) so should I just fill out the I90 with the information from when she did that? I will have to sit down with her again tonight to discuss and see if we can track down her mother through family contacts and figure out what happened before the 2000 date.

AS for her passport as far as she knows she doesn't have one and never did. She is from Nicaragua and like I said she came with her mother when she was a child and I believe they drove up to texas through mexico.

 

[Jackolantern]

Perhaps her permanent residence was indeed approved as late as 2000, and she was in some other kind of temporary status in the years before that.

Also, before obtaining the physical green card, she (or her mother) probably received an approval notice or welcome letter informing her of the approval of permanent resident status. Maybe that is the "piece of paper" she was thinking about.

 

[BSHAW27]

OK we are going to talk to her sister tonight to see what she did as she is currently trying to get her citizenship and they would of had the same documentation when they came in the country.

I need some clarification on the biometrics appointment though. Does this appointment happen at one of the field offices? According to the USCIS website the memephis office handles all of TN and the Atlanta office only handles the Carolinas and Georgia. We live in Knoxville and Memphis is 400+ miles away! Atlanta is about half that far but either way I wouldn't want to send her that far on her own and I travel for work so depending on the appointment date I may not be in town. Does this have to be done at one of those offices and if so is it possible to request Atlanta instead of Memphis.

 

[BSHAW27]

Well I have been doing alot of searches on this forum and I have found alot of interesting information and I found a thread that said you can apply for citizenship using form N-400 if your card does not expire in the next 6 months. I was just curious if I could help my wife apply for citizenship if she only has a copy of her resident card and not the original. She has been a permanent resident for over 5 years and her card doesn't expire for a couple more years the only problem is we only have a copy of the card not the original. I know we want her to get her citizenship eventually I just thought we might be able to save some money if we skipped getting the replacement card and just tried to get her citizenship. Bad Idea?

 

[Jackolantern]

Well I have been doing alot of searches on this forum and I have found alot of interesting information and I found a thread that said you can apply for citizenship using form N-400 if your card does not expire in the next 6 months. I was just curious if I could help my wife apply for citizenship if she only has a copy of her resident card and not the original. She has been a permanent resident for over 5 years and her card doesn't expire for a couple more years the only problem is we only have a copy of the card not the original. I know we want her to get her citizenship eventually I just thought we might be able to save some money if we skipped getting the replacement card and just tried to get her citizenship. Bad Idea?

They will still expect the original green card to be produced at the citizenship interview. Those who applied for citizenship more than 6 months before the card expired don't need to produce a renewed card, but they will still be expected to bring the old card. The exception is for those who had their card lost or stolen shortly before the interview ... they can bring a copy along with a police report describing the circumstances of how it was lost or stolen, but I don't know if they would be OK with her still not having a card two years after losing it.

They will also expect her to produce a driver's license, state ID, or passport at the interview ... and she doesn't have a passport and can't get the license or state ID until she gets the green card! (the license or state ID must be of the state where she resides at the time of the interview, so she can't use the Florida one there.)

Also, once she has applied for the replacement card, she can make an appointment at a USCIS office and bring the I-90 receipt along with a photograph and ID to get a stamped I-94 with I-551 as temporary evidence of permanent residence (ideally they would stamp the passport, but you said she doesn't have one). That can immediately be used to work, get a Social Security card, driver's license, etc. or any purpose that requires showing proof of permanent residence.

 

[BSHAW27]

OK thank you very much that answers my question and it looks like I have to stick to plan-A and start with the I-90 form. Then we can get a new Social Security Card and Drivers License! And then save up some money to apply for full citizenship.

 

[BSHAW27]

Ok I have all the info I could gather! My wife entered the country in 1988 with her mother who was on a work visa and her mother had to renew their status every year by sending documentation and payment to an office in Texas. In 2000 she found out they were eligible for Permanent Resident status and their mother applied for all of them by sending off the paperwork. She says they first went to a place in West Palm Beach FL and had their fingerprints and pictures taken and they had to send all their paperwork including those pictures and fingerprints to a location in Irving Texas. She doesn't have any of this documentation any longer but she swears it was sent to Irving Texas. Now that I know all of that I still need to fill out the I-90 form online and I am still struggling with two questions:

1. City of Residence where you applied for an Immigration Visa or Adjustment of Status.
I assume by the word Residence this should be the city they lived in at the time? And it has nothing to do with where they actually sent the paperwork.

2. USCIS office where status was adjusted?
There is no option in the drop down for Irving Texas. There is an option for West Palm Beach but my wife doesn't remember going to any federal buildings she said it was just a little private place that did pictures and thumb prints for passports, etc.. Her sister said she filled out the paperwork by hand and wrote Irving Texas and it worked but I don't have that option. Should I make an educated guess and if I am wrong could this cause a denial?


Any help with how these two questions would be greatly appreciated. As soon as I can get them sorted out I will be submitting the form.

 

[cafeconleche]

I wonder, can she get a licence and stuff with just the copy of her GC, and maybe a police report that she lost it or can't find it?

 

[Jackolantern]

In 2000 she found out they were eligible for Permanent Resident status and their mother applied for all of them by sending off the paperwork.

That indicates the 12/2000 date you mentioned earlier is accurate for the date that status was adjusted.

1. City of Residence where you applied for an Immigration Visa or Adjustment of Status.
I assume by the word Residence this should be the city they lived in at the time?

Correct. The location and handling of the files is organized based on where the applicants live, so this helps them to find out which center processed the original green card.

2. USCIS office where status was adjusted?
There is no option in the drop down for Irving Texas. There is an option for West Palm Beach but my wife doesn't remember going to any federal buildings she said it was just a little private place that did pictures and thumb prints for passports, etc.. Her sister said she filled out the paperwork by hand and wrote Irving Texas and it worked but I don't have that option. Should I make an educated guess and if I am wrong could this cause a denial?

I think they mean the office where the paperwork was sent, not the office where she gave fingerprints. There are four service centers that do the adjustment of status processing: California, Texas, Nebraska, and Vermont. Texas handles cases for people who live in Florida.

I would follow what her sister did ... use the paper form instead of e-file (and make a copy before sending it), and write in Irving, Texas. Or just plain "Texas", because the form doesn't ask for a city.

 

[Jackolantern]

Also, once she has applied for the replacement card, she can make an appointment at a USCIS office and bring the I-90 receipt along with a photograph and ID to get a stamped I-94 with I-551 as temporary evidence of permanent residence (ideally they would stamp the passport, but you said she doesn't have one). That can immediately be used to work, get a Social Security card, driver's license, etc. or any purpose that requires showing proof of permanent residence.

Correction: Upon looking at the I-9 requirements, it appears that the stamped I-94 is insufficient for work if not accompanied by a passport. But the Tennessee DMV web site says it can be used by itself as proof of permanent residence for the license, and hopefully it can be used for the SS card. A driver's license combined with an SS card can be used as evidence of eligibility to work, if the card does not have the employment restriction (and she would get a card without that restriction, now that she is a permanent resident).

 

[BSHAW27]

Jackolantern thank you so much for your responses again it has been a great help! Now that you mention the four service centers I remember that on the drop down for efiling there is an option for those exact service centers at the bottom. The rest of the list is in alphabetic order by city name but they are at the bottom under the 'U' section! I kept looking in the 'I's for Irving and of course nothing was there. It doesn't say the service center is in Irving but if that is the office that would of handled the Florida changes then I think I can confidently choose that one. So it looks like I am all set to submit this and start the waiting process. Thanks again to everyone who helped (especially Jackolantern) I guess I will start the waiting process now!