we are in very strange situation !

[maja77]

i will try to be short...
We were US residents (with Greencard) for 5 years but then left US for 2 years.

Then we got returning resident visa in US consulate in Europe and came here to US 9 months ago.
We still have old greencards (they will expire 2009).
We were told at embassy that we need to give old greencards to immigration officer at airport and new GC will come by mail 3 weeks after.
At our surprise at airport imm. officer didn`t take our old GC-s?
Since we still didnt recieve our NEW cards after 3 months we went to local INS office.
They were surprised too that we still have old greencards.
They stamp our passport (for 1 year) and said - wait for new GC,they will arrive by mail very soon.(but they didnt take our old greencards)
New Green cards never arrived.
But we got 4 ( yes 4 !!!) welcome notice-s from immigration!!

I went again to local office again (after 7 months) and they told me that in "reallity" we are permanent residents but they dont know why we still have not recieved greencards.
I called also CA service center and they told me to wait.
I also got an answer that we can use our old green cards (they are supposed not be valid since we stayed out of US for more than 1 year)

Now my question is - Is our status now "permanent resident"?

If yes,why we got stamp in our passport for only 1 year? ( and that stamp we got after visiting INS office for third time,cuz we wanted to travel to canada for vacation and be sure there will be no problem at the border!)
I saw yesterday this - http://uscis.gov/graphics/publicaffairs/newsrels/I-90_050908.pdf
Do we qualify under "REASON B" (my autorized card was never recieved)?
Thanx in advance,i hope some here will know answer or maybe is in simmilar situation

 

[curiousGeorge]

If yes,why we got stamp in our passport for only 1 year?

If you have the I-551 stamp in your passport, then yes you are in permanent resident status. If you don't get your card before the stamp expires, you should go to the local office to get a new stamp, for another year. They will give you a new stamp on the basis that your card has not arrived yet. Although your welcome notices are not proof of your status, they may help convince the officer at the local office to look in his computer to verify your status when you try to get a new stamp.

After 7 months, its possible that your card got lost somehwhere in the shuffle, maybe even in the mail. I suggest that you file an G-731 to find out where it is. If it is determined that USCIS sent the card to you, and you never got it, then you'll have to file an I-90 to get a replacement card.

 

[alassea]

i will try to be short...
We were US residents (with Greencard) for 5 years but then left US for 2 years.

Then we got returning resident visa in US consulate in Europe and came here to US 9 months ago.
We still have old greencards (they will expire 2009).
We were told at embassy that we need to give old greencards to immigration officer at airport and new GC will come by mail 3 weeks after.
At our surprise at airport imm. officer didn`t take our old GC-s?
Since we still didnt recieve our NEW cards after 3 months we went to local INS office.
They were surprised too that we still have old greencards.
They stamp our passport (for 1 year) and said - wait for new GC,they will arrive by mail very soon.(but they didnt take our old greencards)
New Green cards never arrived.
But we got 4 ( yes 4 !!!) welcome notice-s from immigration!!

I went again to local office again (after 7 months) and they told me that in "reallity" we are permanent residents but they dont know why we still have not recieved greencards.
I called also CA service center and they told me to wait.
I also got an answer that we can use our old green cards (they are supposed not be valid since we stayed out of US for more than 1 year)

Now my question is - Is our status now "permanent resident"?

If yes,why we got stamp in our passport for only 1 year? ( and that stamp we got after visiting INS office for third time,cuz we wanted to travel to canada for vacation and be sure there will be no problem at the border!)
I saw yesterday this - http://uscis.gov/graphics/publicaffairs/newsrels/I-90_050908.pdf
Do we qualify under "REASON B" (my autorized card was never recieved)?
Thanx in advance,i hope some here will know answer or maybe is in simmilar situation

Hi there I have the same situation too, hope this help...

You don't have to worry about your status as you are legal permanent residents, regardless if you don't have the new cards yet. You have the temporary I-551 stamps in your passports to show for your status until you get the new card. All temporary I-551 stamps in passport have one year validity.

The reason you haven't received your new cards yet is because USCIS cannot produce the green card due to class of admission is SB1. They cannot register you as new immigrants since you already have an alien registration number, the old one, when you first entered the U.S., and it's a permanent number for each immigrant. In order to revalidate your old green card and get your old class of admission back, you need to file the I-90 form (application to replace green card). However, you don't qualify for reason "b", since they can't replace the card they didn't produce in the first place due to SB1 class of admission. You've already received the first card, the old one, and that's the one that is going to be replaced when you apply for an I-90. You would have to write your reason for the application on a separate sheet of paper since it is not in the choices and since you have to explain you are an SB1 and you want to apply to revalidate/get your old category/class back. You have to pay the full $260 fee and wait for a Biometrics appointment.


Disclaimer: Not a legal advice. Please use at your own risk. It is best to seek counsel from qualified and certified immigration attorneys.

 

[maja77]

THANX FOR ANSWERS!!!!!
alassea,
first, you say we need to reapply to get our category/class back?
we were told in ambassy and local INS office that it is NOT possibile!! (we came as refugee-s first time)!
If we are not eligibile for "reason B" why it says in welcome notice we are going to get GC in 3 weeks? that means our GCs are ready? or not?

second our ALIEN REG.NUMBER in our passport (on SB1 visa) is DIFFERENT then our old alien number (in old green card)
Also personal in INS office was surprised when they saw different numbers.

third, when we got visa in embassy we paid all fees (including medical exam,visa,finger prints,photos and all other aplications that are need for new greencard).
I paid over 5000$ for my family just for that.
If i need to file again I-90 why need to pay fees again?

this is very confusing,we get different answers every time we go to INS office or call service center.

Once we got answer that problem was in photos (that we did in US embassy),once we got answer we can use old GCs (if they date is still valid,.....

Anyway,we are using our old greencards to get a job,driver licence,rent apartment,etc.....
showing only our passport is not enough (we got that answer in motor veichle division for dr.licence,and when we showed our old GCs everything went OK, but is it legal? (showing GC that pratically is not valid?))

 

[alassea]

Hi again

first, you say we need to reapply to get our category/class back?
we were told in ambassy and local INS office that it is NOT possibile!! (we came as refugee-s first time)!

No, I said to apply for I-90 to revalidate the old alien registration number and get the old category/class back. In your case, you became permanent resident after applying for AOS for refugees, right? Well that makes your situation more complicated then since Refugee and SB1 both fall under special categories/other immigrant channels. In my situation, I initially entered the U.S. with a family-based immigrant visa (got it through consular processing).

If we are not eligibile for "reason B" why it says in welcome notice we are going to get GC in 3 weeks? that means our GCs are ready? or not?

I also received the welcome notice after returning to the U.S. with the SB1 visa, in my case they sent me two welcome notice telling me to wait for my new green card to arrive in the mail. However after waiting for 11 months, the card didn’t arrive. I went to my local ASC to inquire about the non-delivery of the card. The nice personnel there told me to file for G-731 so I can inquire about the status of my card. After doing just that, USCIS responded by mail and explained to me that the card was not produced due to class of admission is SB1. They added that in order to process a new card, I would have to file an I-90 application to revalidate my alien registration number and get my old category/class back. I then called the National Customer Service Center to confirm what I have to do and the phone representative basically just told me the same thing, that I need to file an I-90. I also asked if I have to pay the $260 fees since I never received the new card. The personnel on the other line told me yes in order to process the application and since I’m replacing my old card. Further, she explained that neither reason “b” nor “d” qualify in my case. What I can suggest in your situation though is to try inquiring first about the status of your card using G-731 (no filing fee). Maybe you’ll get a different (and hopefully helpful) reply from USCIS about your case.

second our ALIEN REG.NUMBER in our passport (on SB1 visa) is DIFFERENT then our old alien number (in old green card)
Also personal in INS office was surprised when they saw different numbers.

In my opinion, I think that’s one of the reasons why they cannot produce the new card. Since SB1 visa gives us a second alien registration number, it sort of creates confusion in their file system. They already have records of our old alien registration number. If they were to register us again and make the card with that second alien registration number, it‘ll show two alien registration number referring to only one person. So to avoid that confusion, they just tell us to revalidate and to use our old alien registration number.

third, when we got visa in embassy we paid all fees (including medical exam,visa,finger prints,photos and all other aplications that are need for new greencard).
I paid over 5000$ for my family just for that.
If i need to file again I-90 why need to pay fees again?

I know how that feels, I also find it too much. I’ve already paid all those fees too when I applied in the embassy, and now this I-90… Up to now and in spite of all the explanation from USCIS personnel, I still don’t get why I was required to pay and why I didn’t qualify for reason “b” in my I-90 application. To play safe though, I just followed what the letter and the National Customer Service Center instructed me to do. Anyway, you can call them too if you want to ask if you have to pay or not. If you get a different reply from them, please give me updates so I can ask for a refund in my application. So far, I’m scheduled for the biometrics appointment.

this is very confusing,we get different answers every time we go to INS office or call service center.

That’s because cases of returning residents are really very rare, almost isolated. When personnel in local ASC or in National Customer Service Center get to encounter one, they usually don’t know how to deal with it or are unaware of the proper course of action to take. It’s luck if you can get assisted by a more experienced USCIS personnel.

Anyway,we are using our old greencards to get a job,driver licence,rent apartment,etc.....
showing only our passport is not enough (we got that answer in motor veichle division for dr.licence,and when we showed our old GCs everything went OK, but is it legal? (showing GC that pratically is not valid?))

That’s alright as long as the card is not expired and it shows the old alien registration number. You’re a legal permanent resident anyway and you did apply for a returning resident to prove that you didn‘t abandon your PR status. I also still have my old card but I haven’t use it since the temporary 1-551 stamp and SB1 visa sticker in my passport are enough when I make transactions to agencies here in my state. When I go to my biometrics appointment though, I’m required to bring the old card with me as initial evidence of my PR status.


I hope everything works out for you too and good luck!!!


Disclaimer: Not a legal advice. Please use at your own risk. It is best to seek counsel from qualified and certified immigration attorneys.

 

[gkaranth]

SB-1 visa stamped at Chennai Consulate

Hello All,

My husband got SB-1 visa on Oct 2006. He should return back to US by April 4th as it says on the stamp.

At the Chennai Consulate in india where he was interviewed for the visa took his old Green Card.

I have following queries.

1) Does he have to apply for the Green card through an Attorney as he did before? He had a job previously through which he got his Green card. But now he is returning after 2 years and have to look out for a job.

2) When we called USCIS from India, one person told us it will be told by the Immigration officer at the port of Entry while the other asked us to call the Consulate in Chennai. We did called Chennai consulate who told us that at the port of entry immigration officer will give the info. Does anyone know the procedures at the port of entry?

3) Will there be any interview as done at chennai consulate at the port of entry?

4) There is a I551 stamp saying upon endorsement this visa serves as Green card. Is that true?


Alassea and maja do reply back your experiences at the port of entry.

Thanks
gkaranth