Have not heard about I-751 for over a year

[axescot]

Hello,

My wife arrived as a spouse to a US citizen. We filed an I-751 in June 2019 and her Green Card expiration was extended 18 months. It was assigned to the California Service Center at first and then transferred to the National Benefits Center in Missouri shortly thereafter. They did her biometrics and the case has been ready for interview since Dec 2019. The case has not made any progress since and her Green Card is set to expire in Feb 2021. I called in Dec 2020 and they told me I need to call back when there is less than 30 days before the expiration. So I called back recently, when there is less than 30 days to expire, and I could not get a hold of anyone on the phone. So I sent an email and the response was that they cannot confirm her identity. In addition, she became eligible for citizenship in May 2020 and she applied for that as well. We received a notice that the application has been received and nothing else. Online, it says the application will be complete in March 2021, but this will be after the expiration and most likely this will be pushed back based on how long other applicants are taking. I don't think they can deport her, can they? She already has a child that was born her and a second is due in April 2021. She can't be traveling in her condition anyway. What else can I do to get a status update / help the application move along?

I should also add that I've tried to submit a case inquiry online but I get the message that it is within normal processing times. When I go to the USCIS processing times page, the National Benefits Center in Missouri does not appear as under the Field Office drop down so there's no way for me to tell what is normal processing times.

Thank you in advance.

[axescot]

Does anyone know how to talk to a live person at USCIS? When I call, I get a voice automated system that never gives the option of talking to a live person.

[Guest]

She should be able to get a live person on the phone by saying "InfoPass."

As long as she filed for the I-751 before the deadline, she will not run out of status, even if her card & extension letter are expired. The expiration date is just for the document, not her status. So no, they cannot deport her just because her card & extension letter are expired.

Unfortunately, the US citizen kids do not matter for staying here. She can stay because she has status, it has nothing to do with having kids here. There is no right to stay just because you have US citizen kids.

Anyway, doesn't matter for her because she is in status.

No way to speed up the application, though.

[newacct]

I think the processing time is normal. If she can get someone on the phone, she can try to make an InfoPass appointment to get an I-551 stamp on her passport, since her 18-month extension letter is close to expiring. But even if she doesn't manage to get one, she is still in permanent resident status; she just doesn't have proof of it. Not having the stamp doesn't affect her ability to go about her daily life and work in the US, though in some states, if her driver's license expires, it might be tricky to renew that without the stamp.

[axescot]

Thanks to both, ember and newacct. I was able to make an appointment. I just want to make sure we have something in case she ever did need to prove her residency.

[okccanary]

Have you tried contatinng your local senator to look into it? I remember people doing that in similar circumstances as yours on this forum when applying for the initial greencard and that definitely got things moving!! Maybe a worth a try doing that?

[SouthBay2019]

@axescot,
As it was stated by newacct, your wife can simply go on with her daily life without this being impacted. Of course, if she is planning to travel outside of US, this may be an issue. It was smart of you guys to apply for citizenship concurrently. I read on this forum while back that USCIS is mandated to process all citizenship paperwork within 6 months (hopefully this is still the case). There is no timeline for I-751 processing, however. So, in essence you are forcing them to do their job of within 6 months. If your I-751 is not processed within the 6 months, they will still do her citizenship interview and then wait for I-751 approval or they may do combo interview of both, but it does force to take another look into why I-751 has not been approved.

All the best.

[oskido]

Just go get I-551 Stamped on passport and she should be fine until they done processing the application. In the mean time I-551 will keep her in good status.