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Green Card Expired

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cdnintexas

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Texas

I got my Green Card in June 2006 with "Conditional Residence" based upon my marriage to a US Citizen. We went through a lawyer at the time.

Well, yesterday a letter came from our lawyer reminding us to file the I-751 form to remove the restrictions of my green card, and that it must be filed within 90 days of the expiry of the green card. Uhhh... ooookaaaay.

So, basically, my green card expired 5 months ago, and the I-751 form states that if you don't file the form by the expiry date your conditional residency expires! Does that mean I no longer have a green card and I'd have to start the process all over again? I'm absolutely panicked at this point thinking that:

a) I can be deported
b) I have to start this whole process AGAIN
c) I can't travel home to Canada for Christmas (as I was planning to do), and if I do, even with proof of applying for the I-751 I won't get back in the country.

So, basically, I'm sitting here thinking I'm up sh*t creek without a paddle.

Any advice??
 


ImmigAttyLana

Senior Member
File the petition ASAP and include an explanation as to why it is being filed late. It is your responsibility and not your lawyer's to do this in a timely manner unless your lawyer was retained to represent you in this matter as well and goofed in notifying you too late of this. But ultimately, it is still your responsibility to file in a timely manner. Certainly, I would not suggest going anywhere until you have submitted the petition and you see that it's been received and that your status has been renewed for a year.
 

cdnintexas

Junior Member
File the petition ASAP and include an explanation as to why it is being filed late. It is your responsibility and not your lawyer's to do this in a timely manner unless your lawyer was retained to represent you in this matter as well and goofed in notifying you too late of this. But ultimately, it is still your responsibility to file in a timely manner. Certainly, I would not suggest going anywhere until you have submitted the petition and you see that it's been received and that your status has been renewed for a year.
Any suggestions on how to word the explanation? Should I blame my lawyer? Should I blame Hurricane Ike (which was in September, 2.5 months after the expiry date) which caused us a LOT of financial and personal hardships?
 

evcalyptos

Senior Member
Do NOT travel to Canada with the expired Green Card (didn't you notice it was expiring?).

If/when you get I-751 filed and get the receipt notice for that back, you'll see that the letter will extend the validity of your GC for one year. Travel with the expired GC and the receipt notice.
 

cdnintexas

Junior Member
Do NOT travel to Canada with the expired Green Card (didn't you notice it was expiring?).
Uhhh, no, I didn't notice it was expiring. The last time I looked at it was 2 years ago, which was when i last travelled outside the US. Since that time, my Green Card has been clipped to the inside my passport (which is in my safety deposit). While I'm supposed to carry my GC with me at all times, considering I paid close to $5K for that thing, there is absolutely no way I'm going to carry something that valuable in my wallet every day.
 

evcalyptos

Senior Member
Uhhh, no, I didn't notice it was expiring. The last time I looked at it was 2 years ago, which was when i last travelled outside the US. Since that time, my Green Card has been clipped to the inside my passport (which is in my safety deposit). While I'm supposed to carry my GC with me at all times, considering I paid close to $5K for that thing, there is absolutely no way I'm going to carry something that valuable in my wallet every day.
lol, it CAN be replaced you know! I would think that living in Texas you'd be more concerned about having proof of status on your person (there are border patrols inside the US, for those who don't know).
It's also a requirement of the law that you carry it on your person, but everyone makes their own choice about that.

Regardless, get your I-751 filed, put in some 'good enough' excuses (the Service has been pretty lenient with other on this in the past, YMMV) and don't leave until you've got proof it was filed and that your status has been extended.
 

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