my timeline

[slimjimco]

We were married on August 2, 2002, and promptly jumped through the hoops.  My wife was processed by the BCIS (Bureau of Citizenship and Immigratin Services ie. the new handle for the INS) for her I-551 (Conditional permanent residence)  on April 22 of this year.  This was done at the Denver office.

This will now allow her to travel without advance parole.  (As I understand it, but always verify because you can get four different answers from four different bureaucrats in the same office on the same day.

We MUST return within 2 years to update, which means ninteen months to two years.  Notice the word ---MUST---!!!  At this 90 day window, you MUST file form I-751 (Petition to remove the conditions on residence) This information will be stamped on the passport, which is the temporary reciept until the updated wallet card arrives.

As I understand it, this next step can be done by mail, with lots of proof of living together, which we have done before.  Send certified, with proof of receipt!
Hope that this helps.

[T P Cornholio]

... in response to my timeline, posted by slimjimco on May 5, 2003

Note that "possesion" doesn't necessarily mean on your person, and the petition to remove Conditional status MUST be filed DURING the 90-days before the conditional card expires.

Permanent Resident Card

The Permanent Resident Card, Form I-551, is issued to all Permanent Residents as evidence of alien registration and their permanent status in the US. The card must be in your possession at all times. While that does not require that you have on your person at all times, it does require that you have a currently valid card and that you know where it is and can show it to an immigration officer, if requested. The Permanent Resident Card currently is issued with a 10-year validity. You status as a Permanent Resident does not expire with the 10-year validity. Only the card expires. The card is only valid up to the expiration date and must be renewed before it expires.

A Conditional Permanent Resident is issued a card valid for two years. In order to remain a Permanent Resident, the Conditional Permanent Resident must file a petition to remove the condition during the 90 days before the card expires. The conditional card cannot be renewed. The condition must be removed or you lose your permanent resident status. (See Form I-751 and Form I-829.

The Permanent Resident Card (either unconditioned or conditioned) can be used to prove employment eligibility in the US when completing the Form I-9 for a new employer. It can also be used to apply for a Social Security Card and a state issued driver's license. The card is valid for readmission to the United States if the trip was not greater than one year in length. If a trip will last longer than one year, a reentry permit is needed.

[DanM]

... in response to my timeline, posted by slimjimco on May 5, 2003

I will second your statement about the inconsistency of INS. If you call 4 times you will get at least 5 different versions of what is correct.

[slimjimco]

... in response to Re: my timeline, posted by DanM on May 5, 2003

We were trying to obtain a work permit at the INS office.   Three different people in the INS office told us to go the SSA office, and we got there at 10:45 from the INS office.  After waiting until three in the afternoon, the INS told us that coming here was incorrect.  We RUSHED back to the INS office for a minor detail, but they required from us another 100 mile trip into the mountains and back.  The next day we got "WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?" looks from the people who said we were done the day before.

I am beginning to think all of these bureaus are just too complicated to do anything easy.  The hurdles are tall, and made of razor wire.

I received my tax refund from my state several days ago without my wife's deduction.  They never changed her name to mine, and the tax forms bounced.  The first thing that I did when we married was to change her name to mine at the SS office.

Go downtown, have a nice meal, and make lemonade out of lemons.

[DanM]

... in response to GOVERNMENT MOTTO:   IF IT WORKS, FIX IT ..., posted by slimjimco on May 6, 2003

Its not that the system is too complicated. Its the incredibly low caliber of people running the process and the total lack of accountability for the process.

No one is accountable for giving bad advice. No one is accountable for INS staff hanging up on you when you ask a question that requires them to research (happened to me 3 times in one day. each time I had to wait on hold for another 30 minutes just to have someone hang up on me again) . No one is accountable if your wife's file is lost or remains unprocessed well beyond their own timelines (we currently have a letter from our Congressman pending so we can find out why my wife's work permit was not issued on March 31). And there certainly is no one we can go to if we are unhappy with the service we are receiving.

Just one more example of billions of American tax dollars being poured into a system that does not work or even care about us. At least the INS staff I have dealt with did not care about me or my wife. We were an inconvenience for making them work. They would show their annoyance and disdain no matter how polite we tried to be.

If anyone ever wishes to fix INS, then the first thing is to clean house with regards to its current staff and to completely rewrite all procedures. Just throwing more money at a monumental waste like the INS will not fix anything.

Just my 2 cents.

[Bobby Orr]

... in response to INS is a 4 letter word to me, posted by DanM on May 6, 2003

Government Worker