How do I Request a Temporary "I-551 Stamp" (Green Card Stamps) Due to the Delayed Adjudica
Processing your Form I-751, Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence, will now take longer due to an ongoing problems with USCIS. Currently, the California Service Center processing time report indicates that the processing time for Form I-751 is approximately 15 months, while the Vermont Service Center processing time report indicates the processing time for an I-751 Petition is approximately 13 months.
When the Form I-751 is filed, USCIS issues a Form I-797, Notice of Action, that extends the Conditional Permanent Resident (CPR) card for a period of one year from the expiration date on the card. Due to lengthy I-751 processing times, some Conditional Permanent Residents have cases that have been pending longer than the one-year extension of their permanent resident cards and now need evidence of their status as evidence of work authorization, for foreign travel, or to renew a state-issued driver's license.
People with a pending Form I-751 who are in need of evidence of their conditional lawful resident status should be able to obtain a temporary "I-551 stamp" in their passport at a local USCIS office. The stamp, which may be obtained by scheduling an "InfoPass Appointment", is proof of their valid, LPR status. If there are no InfoPass appointments available within the timeframe desired by your client, the USCIS local office should also be able to provide the stamp on an emergency/walk-in basis, although walk-in hours and procedures vary by office.
Note that if the request is based on an emergency, the emergent need for the stamp must be clearly documented. The CPR should not request a temporary stamp more than 30 days before the expiration of the conditional permanent resident card extension.The Applicant should bring the following items to the local USCIS field office when seeking a temporary I-551 stamp:
Valid, unexpired passport;
InfoPass appointment notice (if applicable);
Form I-751 receipt notice;
Expired Green Card card; and
Proof of residence within the jurisdiction of the USCIS office.
USCIS will typically issue the "I-551 Stamp" with a validity period up to a maximum of 12 months, however, it has been reported that some USCIS local offices will only extend in 3 or 6 month increments. If the LPR's passport expires prior to that time, the stamp will likely reflect the expiration date of the passport.