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Upon entering the US! help

A

AllyJane

Registered Users (C)
Hi, I am about to start my journey to the US in a couple of weeks.
Today I received my passport back with the big visa stamp in it. (unsure of what this visa is actually called.. anyone?? says I-551?)
I am planing to enter the US in april for one week before my medical expires. I doubt my GC package will be delivered in time to the US address I provided. Is this okay to then go back to my home country without it.
I will then re - enter the US in June and looking at staying for 6 months before i return home for a christmas holiday.
Once I have received my green card how do I activate it and once activeated do I need to stay in the US for a certain period of time.

Hope anyone can help out here!!

Thank you :)
Ally
 
AllyJane said:
Hi, I am about to start my journey to the US in a couple of weeks.
Today I received my passport back with the big visa stamp in it. (unsure of what this visa is actually called.. anyone?? says I-551?)
I am planing to enter the US in april for one week before my medical expires. I doubt my GC package will be delivered in time to the US address I provided. Is this okay to then go back to my home country without it.
I will then re - enter the US in June and looking at staying for 6 months before i return home for a christmas holiday.
Once I have received my green card how do I activate it and once activeated do I need to stay in the US for a certain period of time.

Hope anyone can help out here!!

Thank you :)
Ally
Click to expand...

This has been answered many times but in brief:
You don't have an I551 - yet. That is the official term for a green card. You have an immigrant visa. When you enter the US and it gets stamped by a CBP officer, your visa then becomes a temporary I551 for a year - ie a temporary green card that you can use for all the same things you can use the plastic one for. So yes, you can leave before you have received the physical GC and use that to re-enter, as long as you do so less than a year from entry. Green card production/mailing currently takes about 60 days. Be sure you pay the $165 USCIS fee before you enter or that will delay the process - they won't send your GC for production until they have received the fee.

Also you don't need to worry about the expiry date on the medical, just the one on your visa. Visa validity is determined by medical expiry so as long as you enter before the expiry date on the visa you'll be fine.
 
Congratulations!

At this stage, the expiration of your medical has no impact on when you enter the US, although it must have been taken into consideration when the visa was issued. You just have to make sure you enter the US before the visa itself expires. So check the expiry date in the visa.

Yes, your GC will not be ready within the one week you plan on staying. You can depart and re-enter the US with the visa in your passport which upon endorsement can serve as your
GC for one year.

No activation is required upon the receipt of your GC. Your permanent residency status is activated upon your first entry into the US. Technically, as a GC holder you're expected to live permanently in the US, it's not a matter of staying for a certain amount of time, otherwise you run the risk of losing your PR status.
 
Thank you so much for all of your help. Makes a lot more sense now.
Sorry to ask these questions again SusieQQQ, This is what this forum is for right!? Its just that the US Embassy here in Sydney is not the greatest. I have received no information of the process or what happens next. I can't call anyone to help me and they do not answer my questions or emails so as you can imagine I am extremely confused about the whole thing and just want to do it all right- really don't want to loose this Visa.
The US embassy here in Sydney has put me through so much stress already! :(

Thanks again for your help I really appreciate it!
 
Yes, it's what the forum is for. It's also what the search function is for ;)

Are you aware you need to pay a $165 fee to USCIS before you enter?

Also as sm1smom has mentioned, there are residency requirements to maintain your green card. There is a lot of info about this on the internet, often from lawyers' sites as well as the official ones, look up using keywords like "abandoning residence green card".
 
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Thank you, I will have a look! Do you know where I can pay the USCIS fee. I did pay a visa fee at my consulate when I had my interview?
 
SusieQQQ said:
This has been answered many times but in brief:
You don't have an I551 - yet. That is the official term for a green card. You have an immigrant visa. When you enter the US and it gets stamped by a CBP officer, your visa then becomes a temporary I551 for a year - ie a temporary green card that you can use for all the same things you can use the plastic one for. So yes, you can leave before you have received the physical GC and use that to re-enter, as long as you do so less than a year from entry. Green card production/mailing currently takes about 60 days. Be sure you pay the $165 USCIS fee before you enter or that will delay the process - they won't send your GC for production until they have received the fee.

Also you don't need to worry about the expiry date on the medical, just the one on your visa. Visa validity is determined by medical expiry so as long as you enter before the expiry date on the visa you'll be fine.
Click to expand...

I so love to read replies by SusieQQQ. So clear, simple and right in point Not to forget Sm1smom, britsimon ... and EVERYONE that helps... You guys surely clarify things with straight answers that simply give clear vision and hints on what to do next! Such a very enjoyable, enriching and informative reading on the forum really! THANK YOU for the time you spend on this and for the quick/prompt answers!
 
AllyJane said:
Thank you, I will have a look! Do you know where I can pay the USCIS fee. I did pay a visa fee at my consulate when I had my interview?
Click to expand...

Online, all explained here: http://www.uscis.gov/forms/uscis-immigrant-fee

It's separate from the visa fee, which you pay for the interview (whether or not you get a visa). This covers the costs of processing you as an immigrant, green card production etc.

Also, the numbers you need for the application are on the paper attached to the big envelope the visa came with. As it says on the envelope, do not open it, and make sure you have it with you when you enter - it's technically part of your visa.
 
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Issam said:
I so love to read replies by SusieQQQ. So clear, simple and right in point Not to forget Sm1smom, britsimon ... and EVERYONE that helps... You guys surely clarify things with straight answers that simply give clear vision and hints on what to do next! Such a very enjoyable, enriching and informative reading on the forum really! THANK YOU for the time you spend on this and for the quick/prompt answers!
Click to expand...

:)
 
Issam said:
I so love to read replies by SusieQQQ. So clear, simple and right in point Not to forget Sm1smom, britsimon ... and EVERYONE that helps... You guys surely clarify things with straight answers that simply give clear vision and hints on what to do next! Such a very enjoyable, enriching and informative reading on the forum really! THANK YOU for the time you spend on this and for the quick/prompt answers!
Click to expand...

So true :)
 
i have a question about the visa fee (for my friend who is traveling in 2 weeks). What if he can not pay before arriving here? will he still be allowed entry so that he can first pay the fee? Honestly, he does not have a CC that works in the us.
 
fthnm2005 said:
i have a question about the visa fee (for my friend who is traveling in 2 weeks). What if he can not pay before arriving here? will he still be allowed entry so that he can first pay the fee? Honestly, he does not have a CC that works in the us.
Click to expand...

According to the USCIS how-to guide, your friend (?) doesn't HAVE to pay the fee before he enters, but he can't get his physical green card until he pays. Given it can take some time to receive the card, you're best served to pay ASAP.

He can always open a US bank account upon arrival, using his temporary visa (in the passport) as photo identification, then use the debit card his bank supplies him with to pay the USCIS fee.
 
fthnm2005 said:
i have a question about the visa fee (for my friend who is traveling in 2 weeks). What if he can not pay before arriving here? will he still be allowed entry so that he can first pay the fee? Honestly, he does not have a CC that works in the us.
Click to expand...

As Crawf said he will be allowed entry, but they won't start processing his card until they receive the fee. So the longer he takes to pay, the more the delay before he gets his card.
 
Got my Visa Yesterday. If i pay USCIS fee 10th march. As you people are saying Green card production currently takes about 60 days. And i am planning to enter US in June. My GC will be mailed in Postal adress i have given in 60 days from the day i paid USCIS fee?? Will GC will be mailed in postal adress before i enter US??
 
nepalibabu said:
Got my Visa Yesterday. If i pay USCIS fee 10th march. As you people are saying Green card production currently takes about 60 days. And i am planning to enter US in June. My GC will be mailed in Postal adress i have given in 60 days from the day i paid USCIS fee?? Will GC will be mailed in postal adress before i enter US??
Click to expand...

You don't need to use bold.

The process leading to GC production starts from either the day you enter the US, or the day you pay your USCIS fee, whichever happens later. They're not going to start producing a green card for someone who hasn't activated the process by entering yet.
 
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