What to do? Gc extension expired Feb, 2018

[joyce12]

Hello, I need help. It's been 8-9 months since I took my biometric. They extended my Gc to Feb, 2018 and I still haven't receive my new Gc in the mail. My case status is still in the normal pending process. I went in for my Infopass appointment today to get my Gc extended but was told by one of the rep for me to obtain my country's passport. I don't know if I should go ahead and get my passport or should I just wait until my Gc get here. I don't know what the consequences are if I do/don't obtain my country's passport. I'm currently live in the U.S and my birth of country is Thailand. I have a feeling I might have to wait a few more months before my Gc get here. Until then should I go ahead and get my country passport or will I be safe to just wait a few months more? I'm not traveling out of the U.S or anything. And I know I can't get in trouble. What do you do from here if your extension is about to expire and you haven't receive your Gc yet? Anyone has gone through a similar situation?

[newacct]

Hello, I need help. It's been 8-9 months since I took my biometric. They extended my Gc to Feb, 2018 and I still haven't receive my new Gc in the mail. My case status is still in the normal pending process. I went in for my Infopass appointment today to get my Gc extended but was told by one of the rep for me to obtain my country's passport. I don't know if I should go ahead and get my passport or should I just wait until my Gc get here. I don't know what the consequences are if I do/don't obtain my country's passport. I'm currently live in the U.S and my birth of country is Thailand. I have a feeling I might have to wait a few more months before my Gc get here. Until then should I go ahead and get my country passport or will I be safe to just wait a few months more? I'm not traveling out of the U.S or anything. And I know I can't get in trouble. What do you do from here if your extension is about to expire and you haven't receive your Gc yet? Anyone has gone through a similar situation?

Are you doing Removal of Conditions from your 2-year conditional permanent residency (you had a 2-year card), or are you renewing a non-conditional 10-year card?

There's no problem with your status -- you remain a conditional permanent resident for as long as Removal of Conditions is pending; if you are a non-conditional permanent resident, you remain a permanent resident indefinitely as long as you continue to reside in the US even if your card is expired. It's just that not having a card means you have no proof of your permanent residency, and that might be an inconvenience depending on what you need to do -- e.g. you can't return from abroad; in some states your driver's license is limited to the validity of your green card and you can't renew it; if you start work you can't use your green card for the I-9 (although you can use your unrestricted Social Security card instead); if you live near the border and get stopped at a checkpoint, you have no valid document to show them; etc. You could just wait a few more months if you want, but it's a good idea to have proof of permanent residency just in case you need it.

If you are doing Removal of Conditions and the 1-year extension letter is expiring, you can get an I-551 stamp as proof of permanent residency. If you are renewing a 10-year card, you can get an I-551 stamp as proof of permanent residency while the renewal is processing. I-551 stamps are usually put in your passport. It is not clear to me why you would not want to renew your passport now if it is expired; a passport can be useful for many things like serve as an ID and allows you to travel abroad in case something comes up. Most permanent residents maintain a valid foreign passport. Are you an asylee and thus are afraid to get your nationality's passport or something? Does your country not renew passports when you can't show them proof of your status in the US or something? Technically, you can get an I-551 stamp without a passport, so if you really don't want to or can't get a passport for whatever reason, you could still get an I-551 stamp by bringing in two passport photos and they can put the I-551 stamp on a sheet of paper with the photo as identification. But it is rare for people to get this, and so you may have more trouble with people not recognizing what this document is. If you can get a passport, it would just be better to get it and put the I-551 stamp on that.

[joyce12]

Are you doing Removal of Conditions from your 2-year conditional permanent residency (you had a 2-year card), or are you renewing a non-conditional 10-year card?

There's no problem with your status -- you remain a conditional permanent resident for as long as Removal of Conditions is pending; if you are a non-conditional permanent resident, you remain a permanent resident indefinitely as long as you continue to reside in the US even if your card is expired. It's just that not having a card means you have no proof of your permanent residency, and that might be an inconvenience depending on what you need to do -- e.g. you can't return from abroad; in some states your driver's license is limited to the validity of your green card and you can't renew it; if you start work you can't use your green card for the I-9 (although you can use your unrestricted Social Security card instead); if you live near the border and get stopped at a checkpoint, you have no valid document to show them; etc. You could just wait a few more months if you want, but it's a good idea to have proof of permanent residency just in case you need it.

If you are doing Removal of Conditions and the 1-year extension letter is expiring, you can get an I-551 stamp as proof of permanent residency. If you are renewing a 10-year card, you can get an I-551 stamp as proof of permanent residency while the renewal is processing. I-551 stamps are usually put in your passport. It is not clear to me why you would not want to renew your passport now if it is expired; a passport can be useful for many things like serve as an ID and allows you to travel abroad in case something comes up. Most permanent residents maintain a valid foreign passport. Are you an asylee and thus are afraid to get your nationality's passport or something? Does your country not renew passports when you can't show them proof of your status in the US or something? Technically, you can get an I-551 stamp without a passport, so if you really don't want to or can't get a passport for whatever reason, you could still get an I-551 stamp by bringing in two passport photos and they can put the I-551 stamp on a sheet of paper with the photo as identification. But it is rare for people to get this, and so you may have more trouble with people not recognizing what this document is. If you can get a passport, it would just be better to get it and put the I-551 stamp on that.

Hi, thanks for the info! I am renewing a 10-year card. I am a refugee and I never have a passport from my country. I didn't know about any of this until the rep brought it up to my attention today.
I guess I'll just wait for a few more months for the card to arrive. That's okay. I stay home most of the time and don't go out much anyway. If I really need it I'll contact my country embassy for it. Thank you!

[joyce12]

I received my green card in the mail yesterday! Thanks!