Greencard renewal lawyerrequesting money via text

[Martinbanks]

Hi, I am here (Nebraska) as a permanent resident, but my green card just ran out. I have applied for the renewal but they said there are covid related delays and all the USCIS site tells me is "Pending".
I sought out a lawyer to help me understand if I should still be in the country (I believe I can), and if so, how I can renew my driving licence.

He has been texting me, which I found odd and now requested I click a link and pay $200 before he'll talk with me.

Is this normal? Can I trust this lawyer and link?

[ember]

No

[ember]

Many reputable lawyers offer free consultations. You can also ask for their bar # to verify that they are actually a lawyer. Lots of people try to take advantage of immigrants by pretending to offer legal advice.

Many immigration lawyers are members of AILA - you can ask about that, too.

But do not pay someone $200 over a link.

If USCIS says your case is "pending" you must have a receipt notice to check the number. Look on your receipt notice, it should state clearly that your status has been extended for 18 months.

You can use this receipt "extension letter" WITH your expired green card to work/travel/renew driver license.

And yes, even though the green card expires, your status does not expire as long as you submit the application to remove conditions and it is receipted by USCIS. This means you can be here.

Final thought, a decent lawyer should just tell you that up front. It's not advice, it's just a simple fact so they should not charge you money for that at all.

[Martinbanks]

Ember, thank you VERY much! I can finally sleep at night now

I do have a receipt number, but I don't see anything on the site mentioning the 18 months, but that makes perfect sense with the fact I couldn't apply till there were 6 months left but at that time they estimated my process would take 10 months.

And thank you so much on the driving license info, I am going to attempt to renew it right now! No car in Nebraska in the winter is not an easy thing to pull off!! Haha it's FREEZING out here and there is no public transport or taxis!

[longee94]

You should probably report your "lawyer" to either the Federal Trade Commission or the Nebraska AG's office. While you were smart enough to be suspicious, many may have fallen for their scams.

[Martinbanks]

I have finally located the receipt you mention but it doesn't say anything about extending my green card.

This is what it says:
Thank you for submitting your application, petition, or request. Our office is currently processing it.

Please verify your personal information listed above. If you need to make any changes, immediately notify the USCIS National Customer Service Center (NCSC) using the phone number below.

Next Steps:

• We will schedule you for an appointment at a USCIS Application Support Center (ASC) for you to provide your fingerprints, photograph and/or signature.
• We will mail you a separate biometrics appointment notice with the specific date, time, and ASC location. Please wait until you receive your appointment notice before going to the ASC.
  
  Be advised that this notice does NOT serve as notification of your biometrics appointment.
  If you have any questions or comments regarding this notice or the status of your case, please contact the NCSC toll free at 1-800-375-5283. If you are
  
  hearing impaired, please call the NCSC TDD at 1-800-767-1833.
  If you have questions about immigration benefits, services, filing information, or forms, please visit our website at www.uscis.gov or call the NCSC. If your mailing address changes while your case is pending, please update it through your USCIS Online Account or by calling the NCSC.
  You will be notified separately about any other application, petition, or request you may have filed with us.
  Please note that if a priority date appears on this notice, it does not reflect any earlier retained priority dates.

[Martinbanks]

Do you know the name of the form I need?

I called my local DMV and they won't renew my licence without this letter and the USCIS won't transfer me to an agent without telling them what I need and I don't know the name of what I need, so it just hangs up on me

[ember]

HI Martin, did you get this figured out? The extension letter should be printed right on the receipt notice (I-797). It should say "Your conditional resident status is extended for 18 months from the expiration date on your Form I-551, Permanent Resident Card (also known as a Green Card)."

As long as you filed the I-751 before the expiration of the initial conditional green card, you should have received this letter on your receipt notice. If not, you should definitely call USCIS. It may take a while to get through, I forget how to get a live person but someone here probably posted about it. You should explain the issue and give your info and ask for a Tier 2 officer or a supervisor.

Good luck!