news flash at murthy.com : concerning passport stamping

issue cards immediately

I dont understand why they cannot issue cards at the time we go for stamping (instead of stamping) like they do in the DMV. They can print our cards right there at the time. All procedures are anyway complete. I would be willing to wait for another hour at INS office. This would also prevent loss of card in the mail, theft, unnecessary tension if applicant changes residence in the mean time etc.

Ofcourse, there are some security disadvantages such as corruption that may aid theft/misuse of cards at the many individual stamping centers. Monitoring hundreds of card issuing locations will be difficult compared to a couple they use now.
 
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whats_in_name said:
I hope this change will be for good .....
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You VSC guys, you have no problems, but NSC really scukes, I have planned and bought the ticked for India for me and family based on 551 stamp, now it seems I will have to cancel my trip and loose $6K worth of ticket and vacation. NSC says I will get my card after 12-18 months.
 
YOU ARE GIVING WRONG INFORMATION - AP is no longer valid after approval of I-485. I just confirmed this with my Lawyer
 
savant123456 said:
YOU ARE GIVING WRONG INFORMATION - AP is no longer valid after approval of I-485. I just confirmed this with my Lawyer
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Any chance it's your lawyer who is wrong? I've seen many suggestions (possibly these are wrong) that you *can* travel on AP (or H/L) after the I-485 approval. Certainly, you can re-enter the US on H/L/AP if you are away while the I-485 is approved.

What if you leave the US shortly after your approval (and you don't know you're approved yet)? For example, you travel the day of the approval or maybe a few days after. It seems that there would have to be some flexibility in the system to handle this kind of situation.

Can anyone give a definitive answer?

ETA
 
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savant123456,
What if someone's I-485 approves when the person is in India? Does that mean he/she can not enter back in USA because AP is now gets immediately invalid??
 
Magician said:
savant123456,
What if someone's I-485 approves when the person is in India? Does that mean he/she can not enter back in USA because AP is now gets immediately invalid??
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Afaik this isn't a problem. You can definitely re-enter on valid AP or valid H/L status if your I-485 is approved while you are away. I'm about as sure about this as I can be, having confirmed this with 2 lawyers, 2 border immigration officials and the USCIS itself.

Per my earlier post, what I'm not sure about is whether you can *leave* then re-enter on AP or valid H/L if the I-485 was approved.

ETA
 
Magician said:
savant123456,
What if someone's I-485 approves when the person is in India? Does that mean he/she can not enter back in USA because AP is now gets immediately invalid??
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Let's not get into off the line discussion, All AP and EAD's has been taken by USCIS already at the time of stamping. What should I do ??
 
Hi all

I am confused planning to wait for more details regarding this new law.
Wife planning to travel on NOV 14.She has valid AP.
Should we go for stamping or travel with AP?
I heard they will take away AP and EAD after stamping?
please suggest?

tiger2025
 
Bindaas said:
Let's not get into off the line discussion, All AP and EAD's has been taken by USCIS already at the time of stamping. What should I do ??
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I'd call the USCIS on the off chance you reach someone who knows about this issue. Otherwise, who knows -- there is zero information right now.

My speculation (which might be totally wrong) is that you will probably be allowed to re-enter on the stamp, or possibly with your I-485 receipt (they can look up your case and see that you are approved) if you fall into the situation of having been stamped and no longer having AP.

Also, the topic for this thread is/was "news flash at murthy.com : concerning passport stamping" -- IMO the "off topic" discussions are pretty relevant and useful.

ETA
 
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At this point no one knows exaclty what DHS is drafting for people who surrendered AP and are waiting for Plastic Cards. Contact your lawyer (if possible) to find out if he/she knows anything more regarding this matter.
 
Folks, this is not a "new law" or anything else. It's right now USCIS musing about not stamping folks at approval time. We have no idea what is going to happen, and I wouldn't get too worried.

Essentially, all the stamp is, is evidence that you have been approved for permanent resident status. It contains your A# and class of immigrant visa, which the POE can then look up in their database. The stamp itself didn't provide any proof on its own.

Once you are a permanent resident you are free to enter and depart the US at will. You will not need AP as permission to return. To be honest, I'm not sure why they bothered with the stamp in the first place - if you presented yourself at the POE with your A# alone that would be all the information they needed to look you up and admit you.
 
ETA-GC said:
I've seen many suggestions (possibly these are wrong) that you *can* travel on AP (or H/L) after the I-485 approval.
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Law does not say anything about it - because it's more of a process issue than legal complexity. In "ideal" process you should get your plastic card at th very day you receive your I-485 approval. But that does not happen in real world. So the beneficiary definitely can get benefit of doubt. But it's better not to travel on H/L visa when he/she is approved long back and while he/she still in USA. If someone is approved three months back and haven't got his/her passport stamped, that can raise eyebrow for POE officer. However, I still do not see any ground for re-entry denial. In the worst case POE officer will send you for differred inespection.
 
No where on the posting at murthy.com does it say that the 1-551 stamp is not valid. It is only a suggestion. The I-551 stamp is still valid for travel.

As for me, I still have my valid H1B stamp along with I-551 stamp and AP.
The dude at stamping time never asked me for my EADs/APs.
 
TheRealCanadian said:
Once you are a permanent resident you are free to enter and depart the US at will. You will not need AP as permission to return. To be honest, I'm not sure why they bothered with the stamp in the first place - if you presented yourself at the POE with your A# alone that would be all the information they needed to look you up and admit you.
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It's true that people don't need to be worried. But without stamp (or considered invalid) people won't be able to reach at POE - because airlines won't allow them to board on flights from their origin countries.
 
You still can travel with I-551.

Question: What if airport/immigration officers in other countries don't recognize I-551 stamp (they think stamp is fraud or designed by a 4 years old child) and don't allow you to board on flights to USA?
 
USGC485 said:
What if airport/immigration officers in other countries don't recognize I-551 stamp
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I cannot speak for most countries - I have only ever entered the US from Canada (where you clear US immigration in Canada), the UK and the Netherlands. However, airport and foreign immigration officers really shouldn't care about your eligibilty to enter the US.

The only entity with a stake in your admission is the airline - since they get to pay to return you home if you are not admitted. They need to ensure that they don't pay for too many return trips, but at the same time cannot be too restrictive as to what they accept; since their competitors will happily take the business.
 
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