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Sunday, 07 September 2008 |
Reminder that the USCIS has revised form I-751 & filing instructions
For spousal residency cases where the I-751 (Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence) must be filed to remove the conditionality of the Green Card, the USCIS has revised both the form and the filing instructions. As of September 24, 2008, USCIS will only accept the new form dated August 25, 2008, and reject all previous editions of the form. Effective immediately, however, form I-751s must be filed with either the Vermont Service Center or the California Service Center. Petitioners who live in Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Washington, D.C., Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, U.S. Virgin Islands, and West Virginia must file their Forms I-751at: USCIS Vermont Service Center, 75 Lower Welden St., P.O. Box 200, St. Albans, VT 05479-000.
Those who live in Alaska, American Samoa, Arizona, California, Colorado, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming must file their Forms I-751 at: USCIS California Service Center, P.O. Box 10751, Laguna Niguel, CA 92607-1075. For those filing using Fed-ex or DHL, the USCIS has a special “courier” address. To obtain the new form or the courier addresses, you can either stop by our office to pick up a free one, go online to the uscis.gov website or call the USCIS at: (800) 375-5283.
THIS WEEK’S IMMIGRATION QUESTIONS
Question: I have an old residency card without a date on it. Last time I went for a trip to Jamaica and I came back through the Immigration at Miami airport, the officer told me that I need to apply for a new card and he said he was putting a note in the immigration computer about me. I’m so worried now. I want to go visit my mom for her birthday next month and I’m afraid they won’t let me back in the U.S. when I return a week later. My friend said you could help me, please tell me if I can travel or not. Thank you so much.
Answer: The USCIS announced last year that it would be requiring all residents with Green Cards having no expiration date to file for replacements immediately and that regulations would be released giving residents 120 days to do so. However, due to existing case backlogs for all immigration cases, the USCIS apparently decided not to push forward the requirement immediately, but it is expected that the regulations will eventually be released requiring the replacements. Until then, those with Green Cards which do not have expiration dates should file to replace the cards now, before the deadline is announced and the USCIS receives an overwhelming amount of applications. That will delay all such replacement requests, which are already taking six months or more under current processing.
It would be a good idea for you to apply for your new Green Card now and take the USCIS receipt with you, so that you can show it to the Immigration officer when you return to demonstrate that you have applied to replace your old card. There should be no problem. Have a wonderful trip!
Question: I will be filing for my citizenship soon after having been a resident for over nine years. I have a question about my two children and wife. If I include them on my application, will they be included in my citizenship application or do I need to file a separate one for each person. Also, will they all get their Citizenship Certificates along with me at some point in time. Thanks so much.
Answer: Positive changes in immigration regulations in recent years now allow children under age 18, who are permanent residents, residing with the filing parent, to automatically obtain U.S. Citizenship at the time the parent is Naturalized (sworn in). However, such children do not automatically get a Naturalization Certificate like the parent does. Proof of the child’s U.S. Citizenship is usually shown by obtaining a U.S. passport for the child. At the official Naturalization swearing-in ceremony, new citizens can apply for U.S. passports and pick up application packages for their children. You can get more information about applying for a U.S. Passport by going online to: http://travel.state.gov and clicking on “Passports”. An actual Certificate of Citizenship for each child by filing for one, but the new USCIS fee is very expensive ($460) and it could take up to a year or more for processing. Spouses, while listed on the naturalization application do not obtain naturalization along with the filing spouse. Each Spouse must file his/her own Naturalization applications separately.
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