Wife's Passport set to Expire in Nov.

[TaijiMonkey]

I am gathering from what I have read in these threads that we will need to get it taken care of in person.

 

We live in Kansas City... do we need to get out to Chicago to get this done?

 

And how does it work if she gets a new passport, but her visa and I-94 are in the old one?

 

And what about if we get called into the AOS interview and we're still waiting for the passport...?

 

 

And help and advcie would be appreciated.

 

Thanks!

[dnoblett]

More than likely should have green-card by then so the I-94 wont be an issue, green-card holders do not need I-94.

 

Anyway when a new passport is issues, the old one tends to have corner cut off, remove the I-94 card before getting the passport renewed and place I-94 card back.

 

Yes you need to deal directly with the consulate, you need to bring it there in person, and I believe they can mail it back to you.

[Guest Wuhan4me]

She was K-1 visa? The Visa has already expired.

 

If you think you have some time lag issue about getting the green card, set up an info pass appointment, get an I-551 stamp in the current passport.

 

She can live in the USA with an expired passport, expired visa, as long as her AOS case is pending. There is no requirement for her passport to be 'current' on Interview Day for AOS.

 

I've no idea which China Consulate KC is homed to, but if you look at the Chicago website, it will say which states are covered.

 

If it gets hairy - you can unstaple the I-94 from the expired passport, and staple it into the new passport. I'm betting she'll receive her GC before the passport expiration date, though..

 

Good Luck !

Edited August 18, 2009 by Wuhan4me (see edit history)

[dnoblett]

She was K-1 visa? The Visa has already expired.

 

If you think you have some time lag issue about getting the green card, set up an info pass appointment, get an I-551 stamp in the current passport.

 

She can live in the USA with an expired passport, expired visa, as long as her AOS case is pending. There is no requirement for her passport to be 'current' on Interview Day for AOS.

 

I've no idea which China Consulate KC is homed to, but if you look at the Chicago website, it will say which states are covered.

 

If it gets hairy - you can unstaple the I-94 from the expired passport, and staple it into the new passport. I'm betting she'll receive her GC before the passport expiration date, though..

 

Good Luck !

This an only be done AFTER AOS is approved, not before. I-551=Green-card. Typically it only takes a week or so for green-card to arrive after AOS is approved.

 

Lastly correct, passport can expire while waiting for AOS.

[Guest Wuhan4me]

Ya, sorry, let me be more clear

 

AFTER she receives the APPROVAL LETTER ( which usually talks about card production ) - if there's some big time lag for actually receiving the Green Card ....

 

Go get a new passport, get an info-pass appointment, and have the I-551 stamp put in the passport.

[TaijiMonkey]

We are still waiting on the AOS approval.

 

She has her work permit and advanced parole letter already.

 

 

But she was talking about wanting to take a trip back to China before the end of this year, and of course our concern is the passport there as well.

 

 

Any way I can find out more about the process at the consulate?

 

Like what day does she need to be there, does she need an appointment, do we need forms to fill out first, etc.?

 

And is Chicago the right place for us?

 

We'll have to either drive or fly out, which means scheduling time off at the office during the week, so I need to be as exact as I can in my information.

 

But I can only find references in Chinese, and while my wife reads and speaks Chinese quite well, she doesn't speak Bureaucracy in any language!

 

Thanks again guys!

[warpedbored]

Yes you must go in person, I don't think it matters much which consulate you go to, my wife needed her green card to get her the wipassport renewed, I wouldn't recomend leaving the US without a green card. There have been 2 recent cases I know of the wife was stuck in China because they didn't have their green card yet. The airlines wouldn't let them board without it. These were both removal of conditions cases but it doesn't seem worth the risk to me.

[Guest jin979]

i agree with Carl , have a green card (valid) as current passport before travelling, why not ?

[TaijiMonkey]

First off, thanks for all the great info and advice.

 

I have a couple new questions based upon the change in our status: My wife now has her Greencard.

 

So...

 

First question:

 

If I am understanding everything correctly, now that she has the 2-year GC, she doesn't need to redo her passport at all...

UNLESS she wants to travel outside the country, correct?

She can live here in the US with her GC, but if she wants to go back to China and visit - or even travel to Mexico, Canada, etc. she can't without a Chinese passport, right?

 

and...

 

Second Question:

 

If she lets her Chinese passport expire, will she have any hassle getting a new one from the Chinese Consulate when she applies? Or does that not matter...?

 

 

Thanks.

[dnoblett]

First off, thanks for all the great info and advice.

 

I have a couple new questions based upon the change in our status: My wife now has her Greencard.

 

So...

 

First question:

 

If I am understanding everything correctly, now that she has the 2-year GC, she doesn't need to redo her passport at all...

UNLESS she wants to travel outside the country, correct?

She can live here in the US with her GC, but if she wants to go back to China and visit - or even travel to Mexico, Canada, etc. she can't without a Chinese passport, right?

 

and...

 

Second Question:

 

If she lets her Chinese passport expire, will she have any hassle getting a new one from the Chinese Consulate when she applies? Or does that not matter...?

 

 

Thanks.

 

#1 Correct, valid passport is needed for travel. In our case we have traveled into and out of Canada by car, and all we have needed to visit Canada and return was my passport, and her green-card, however they can ask for passport, though they did not every time we have traveled together BY-CAR.

 

This does NOT apply to air travel to Canada/Mexico/Caribbean. My Yu recently traveled to Toronto by Bus and was asked for her passport when re-entering the USA.

 

Valid passport is not required for living in the USA, just green-card.

 

#2 Not sure if the consulate will give you problems with an expired passport, I doubt it.

[Randy W]

Uh, I would take that to mean YES you DO need to renew her passport, especially if she leaves the country.

 

China now has a 10 year passport.

 

My friend has an expired Chinese passport, it has been expired for 7 - 8 years. We went to the consulate in Chicago, but they said that they would need to get approval first from China's government before they can issue him a new passport.

 

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qi...03190713AAAqVEv

Edited September 14, 2009 by Randy W (see edit history)

[TaijiMonkey]

Uh, I would take that to mean YES you DO need to renew her passport, especially if she leaves the country.

 

China now has a 10 year passport.

 

My friend has an expired Chinese passport, it has been expired for 7 - 8 years. We went to the consulate in Chicago, but they said that they would need to get approval first from China's government before they can issue him a new passport.

 

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qi...03190713AAAqVEv

 

Well, I guess at this point, my main concern is how urgent is it that we renew the passport?

 

We don't intend for it to go more than a few months before we get her a new passport (certainly not several YEARS), but with it expiring in November, and with everything else going on right now, getting to Chicago that quick is going to be really tough - and very expensive.

 

Where as if we wait a couple months, I have some vacation time, and flights are cheaper.

 

So I'm trying to figure out if we wait, are we totally screwed.

 

She's tried calling the Consulate, but she can't seem to find the right info options nor a real person to ask...

[Randy W]

I vote, "wait"

[dnoblett]

I vote, "wait"

I was think that too.

[Jaseball]

Don't have to have the passport expired to renew it. If you want to travel in November, then just renew it in advance and go.

 

However, I'm with the others. Why travel at peak periods with the extra costs, additional travelers, exposure to flu, etc., when you can just wait and travel later?

 

We already have a vacation booked for Hawaii with a good friend and his family, but looking back I don't really want to go in November, even though it is a good time period to go to Hawaii to escape the cold of winter.