Maintaining lawful status with expired Form I-751

Across the country, thousands of petitions with USCIS are on hold as processing delays have increased turnaround time. For conditional residents with pending petitions to remove conditions on residence, these delays could create a lapse in work and travel authorization.

Notice of Action 12-month extension

For a conditional permanent resident (CPR), it may be several months before a service center processes their application to remove the conditions of permanent residence. Once USCIS receives a petition to remove conditions on residence, USCIS will issue a Form I-797 Notice of Action, extending the expiration date on the conditional permanent resident card by 12 months. Therefore, the CPR’s work authorization and travel approval extend through the 12-month period. Typically, the extension was sufficient for the waiting period for I-751 approval. However, both the California Service Center and Vermont Service Center report that the processing time for an I-751 petition now exceeds 12-months at both facilities. If a CPR’s petition is pending for a period beyond their I-797 extension, the CPR must obtain alternative evidence of their lawful resident status.

I-551 Stamp

With extended processing times, CPRs may need to obtain a I-551 passport stamp (temporary evidence stamp) for evidence of their conditional lawful residence. A CPR can make an InfoPass appointment at a local USCIS office to obtain a I-551 stamp. The stamp will extend the validity period of the CPR card by a maximum of 12 months, however some local USCIS offices may only offer 3 or 6 month increments with I-551 stamps. If the CPR’s passport expires prior to that time, the stamp will likely reflect the expiration date of the passport. For the InfoPass appointment, CPRs should bring:

• Unexpired Passport;
• Form I-751 receipt notice;
• Expired CPR Card;
• InfoPass appointment notice;
• Proof of residence (for jurisdiction of local USCIS office).

While delays continue at USCIS service centers, processing times are not expected to shorten anytime soon. Therefore, it is extremely important to stay up to date with lawful status in order to maintain travel, work privileges or to renew a state-issued driver’s license.