Legal Question in Immigration Law in Maryland

Green Card not received

Hi, We filed my husbands immigration papers in 2006. His app for employment authorization was approved Feb 07. His I130 was approved August 15, 2007. We were told by friends that he will receive his green card in 2 weeks after his I130 was approved. We have not heard a decision on the I485 yet. When can we expect his green card? Do we have to wait for the I485 to be approved before they will send it? Can he travel now if his I130 was approved but we did not receive his green card? He came here on a student visa in 2000 but never returned home and did not maintain his student status or any other legal status durning that time.


Asked on 9/05/07, 7:22 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Thomas Brown Law Office of Thomas K. Brown, LLC

Re: Green Card not received

A green card won't be issued until the I-485 has been approved. The I-485 is the application to adjust status -- that is, to become a green card holder. The I-130 petition for alien relative is simply the application that forms the basis of your husband's eligibility to adjust status (but USCIS allows you to file them both at the same time rather than waiting for the I-130 to be approved first).

Your husband cannot travel until after his green card is issued or he gets a stamp in his passport indicating his I-485 has been approved (so-called Temporary Evidence of Permanent Residence). An approved I-130 does not permit travel. Depending on how much unauthorized presence your husband accrued (which could be substantial since he entered in 2000), were he to leave the US, he would likely face a 10 year bar on re-entry. He should remain in the US until he gets his green card.

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Answered on 9/05/07, 8:12 am


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