Issue with green (pink) card....

[emilygrace]

Here's the situation:

I have an elderly friend (Canadian born) who is booked on an Alaskan cruise in mid-September. Her green card expired and she sent in her application for renewal in February, long before she knew she was going to book this cruise. In March she received the notice saying they received her application and her payment and she would hear from them about her appointment to go to the immigration office for the rest of the procedure. It is now July and she hasn't heard another word. I called USCIS today and explained that she has a paid vacation that involves leaving and re-entering the US, and after going over all her information I was told she would receive notice of her hearing within 30 days. This is only to present herself and she still has to wait for them to mail the green card to her. The woman I spoke to said they will put a "sticker" on her expired card to show that the new one is being processed and this would be enough to allow her to re-enter the US.

Has anyone had any experience with this type of thing? She is a nervous wreck worrying about this and I feel responsible because I talked up cruising so much she decided to book this cruise for her 80th birthday.

Thanks for any words of advice or encouragement you can give!

[devvt]

The info you were given is correct - they will put a sticker on the old green card (good for six months, I think) - however, a new card should arrive fairly quickly (@ 2-3 weeks) once the biometrics have been done.

[Nitra]

My hubby just went thru this last fall and when he presented himself to get his renewal done they took the old card and gave him a paper temporary card good for 1 yr, with his photo attached. About 2 weeks after that he got his new card in the mail.

We sent his paperwork in July, had the whole process completed by the end of September.

[spongerob]

I've been through this, too. The best thing to do is to go to make an appointment at your local CIS office. You can do this on-line. Go there with all your documentation. You can either get a Parole (Authorization For Parole Of An Alien Into The United States, form I-512) or have an endorsement stamp placed into your passport indicating that the applicant has been approved. I've had to do both while waiting for my permanent Green Card to be processed.

Take a few passport photos with you, too.

[uksimonusa]

[quote name='spongerob']I've been through this, too. The best thing to do is to go to make an appointment at your local CIS office. You can do this on-line. Go there with all your documentation. You can either get a Parole (Authorization For Parole Of An Alien Into The United States, form I-512) or have an endorsement stamp placed into your passport indicating that the applicant has been approved. I've had to do both while waiting for my permanent Green Card to be processed.

Take a few passport photos with you, too.[/quote]

The OP has an expired Green Card, she is still an LPR, it's only the card that expires, not the status, so Authorization for Parole of an Alien, does not apply in this case, this only applys before you become an LPR or if you are a CLPR and you haven't been adjusted yet.

I would have her make an info pass appointment at her local USCIS office so that they can put an I551 stamp in her passport, the stamp is normally good for 1 year.

[emilygrace]

Thanks for all your great replies. One of the problems is that we cannot find a way to contact the local USCIS office. When I went on the website, all I could get is an address in Laguna Niguel, which is in Southern CA, and we're in the San Francisco area. My friend gets really rattled and says the last time she just went to SF to the office and walked in, but now (since 9/11) you can no longer do that. You must show at the security desk that you have an appt. So this is what she has been waiting for since March.....the appointment for the biometrics.

She does not have a passport, either Canadian or US. But she said as soon as she gets her new green card she is going to apply for naturalization so she can get a US passport. She has been married to a US citizen for over 25 years.

Thanks again! You have answered my major question of whether the sticker is enough to get her back into the country after her cruise.