Re : I-551 Immigrant Visa

RitaVij

New Member
Hello!!!

Ensuant to application by our daughter(US Citizen),We(Myself and hubby) were granted a Immigrant Visa under IV category IR5, which states that upon endorsement serves as temporary I- 551 evidencing permanent resident for 1 year. It also avers validity of 6 months from date of issuance.


A. I would appreciate if you can help me understand if it means temporary green card/permanent green card or just a immigant visa. How long will it take to get a permanent green card after entering US?

B. Due to some inescapable circumstances we may not be able to travel to US before our time deadline of 07 July 2006, Can we plead at US embassy to move forward our date till March 2007 will this be granted?

C. In the event if we may not be able to get a date extension and we have to make a compulsory trip to avoid a risk of forfeiting US immigration, how soon can we expect to get our permanent green card, re-entry permit and other documents so we get to go back to US permanently in 2007.

D. What immediately upon arrival to US are necessities to be adhered so we get our green card/Work Permit/Driving Licence etc and freedom to travel in and out of US?

E. How much money can we bring to US, is their any restrictions. Can we establish/buy a business after we get a green card or we have to wait till we get our US Citizenship, Are US Citizen more privileged to run a business than a green card holders.


I appreciate your time to read my post and thanks in advance for a reply.


Warm regards


Rita Vij
 
I am not an expert on family immigration, but here is what I understand.

A. What you have stamped on your passport is an immigrant visa. You still need to come to the US, apply for a Social Security Number, and get a permanent residence card (GC).

B. I have absolutely no idea if what you want to do will work. I wouldn't want to mess with the Embassy/consulate at all if I can help it. USCIS is bad enough, a consulate/embassy could be much worse. So if I were you, I would just try to travel to the US now, get the GC and then return to take care of whatever business that needs to be taken care of. Don't quote me on this, but from what I have see on this website/forum, most people seem to be getting their EAD (work permit)/Advance Parole (travel permit), in approximately 2-3 months time. But that is just my opinion. You might want to try to extend the validity of your immigrant visa. The problem when you try to extend it is that the officers at the embassy/consulate might think that you aren't serious about immigrating.

C. Read above.

D. You can travel in and around the US once you are here. You need to start out by getting an Social Security number, after which you could get a Driver's License. To get the work permit/travel permit (Employment Authorization Document/Advance Parole), you have to apply to the USCIS (formerly the INS), separately. Since you have an immigrant visa, you have to apply for the adjustment of status and send the application for the EAD/AP along with that. Look up this forum or post here once you are here or look up http://www.uscis.gov.

E. You can bring up to $10,000 into the US without reporting it, but you have to file a report on Form 4790 if you bring any more money into the US. If you fail to file the report, the Customs can take away all of it :).

Good luck!
 
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