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Hi all,
I am trying to apply for citizenship, but after talking with my father, I found out there may be some problems with my GC that should be fixed first. It is a bit convoluted, but here is my attempt to explain it. Summary/tldr version on bottom.
My parents married in 1986 (father is LPR), and I was born in the same year. My father filed what we think is the I130 for my mother and I to come over to the US. Since we were overseas, we went through consular processing.
Two months short of the marriage 2 year anniversary, my mother and I landed in the US, and on her passport, we were both given temporary I551 stamps with a C21 and C22 class conditional permanent residence. This status was set to expire in 2 years.
But on our departure/arrival form (I94), we were given a P21 and P23 status (mother and I, respectively), which I believe is the unconditional permanent residence code before 1991 (now it is F21, F23). Please correct me if I'm wrong here about the unconditional residence (i.e. is C21 a subset of P21 so that we were both C and P at the same time, or must we change from purely C21 to purely P21?). The status on the I94 was a 2.5 yr and 3 yr temporary green card for my mother and I, respectively.
My mother received her actual 10 yr GC about two years after staying in the US. After waiting 6 more months, my father asked the lawyer the help, and the lawyer filed something (my father doesn't know what it was, and now the lawyer and the firm are dead). After the lawyer filed the form, I got my 10 yr GC within 2 months. During the meeting with the lawyer, the lawyer curiously asked whether I was a step child. My father said he may have mistakenly said yes. Unfortunately, my father was not given a chance to proofread the form.
My father does not remember filing any I751 (unless that was what the lawyer filed just for me) to remove conditions, but do remember giving evidence (e.g. joint title to our house) of his relationship with my mother at one point.
So now the question is: did my mother and I mistakenly receive the unconditional status when we should have remained conditional? Is something so long ago fixable with an attorney/infopass session? And if on that unknown form, I was mistakenly listed as a stepson, would that be counted as a mistake enough to revoke my and my father's green card (mother is deceased now)? I think this part is not so crucial, but I don't want to lie to the USCIS.
Summary/tldr: I may have been mistakenly given a 10 yr. GC almost 30 years ago when I was a child; or maybe it was some kind of exception back then. I may have also been mistakenly listed as a step child on one form (maybe I751?) and biological child on another (I130). Would these two key issues bar me from citizenship? Anyone have a similar experience or know something about this?
Thank you for any replies!
I am trying to apply for citizenship, but after talking with my father, I found out there may be some problems with my GC that should be fixed first. It is a bit convoluted, but here is my attempt to explain it. Summary/tldr version on bottom.
My parents married in 1986 (father is LPR), and I was born in the same year. My father filed what we think is the I130 for my mother and I to come over to the US. Since we were overseas, we went through consular processing.
Two months short of the marriage 2 year anniversary, my mother and I landed in the US, and on her passport, we were both given temporary I551 stamps with a C21 and C22 class conditional permanent residence. This status was set to expire in 2 years.
But on our departure/arrival form (I94), we were given a P21 and P23 status (mother and I, respectively), which I believe is the unconditional permanent residence code before 1991 (now it is F21, F23). Please correct me if I'm wrong here about the unconditional residence (i.e. is C21 a subset of P21 so that we were both C and P at the same time, or must we change from purely C21 to purely P21?). The status on the I94 was a 2.5 yr and 3 yr temporary green card for my mother and I, respectively.
My mother received her actual 10 yr GC about two years after staying in the US. After waiting 6 more months, my father asked the lawyer the help, and the lawyer filed something (my father doesn't know what it was, and now the lawyer and the firm are dead). After the lawyer filed the form, I got my 10 yr GC within 2 months. During the meeting with the lawyer, the lawyer curiously asked whether I was a step child. My father said he may have mistakenly said yes. Unfortunately, my father was not given a chance to proofread the form.
My father does not remember filing any I751 (unless that was what the lawyer filed just for me) to remove conditions, but do remember giving evidence (e.g. joint title to our house) of his relationship with my mother at one point.
So now the question is: did my mother and I mistakenly receive the unconditional status when we should have remained conditional? Is something so long ago fixable with an attorney/infopass session? And if on that unknown form, I was mistakenly listed as a stepson, would that be counted as a mistake enough to revoke my and my father's green card (mother is deceased now)? I think this part is not so crucial, but I don't want to lie to the USCIS.
Summary/tldr: I may have been mistakenly given a 10 yr. GC almost 30 years ago when I was a child; or maybe it was some kind of exception back then. I may have also been mistakenly listed as a step child on one form (maybe I751?) and biological child on another (I130). Would these two key issues bar me from citizenship? Anyone have a similar experience or know something about this?
Thank you for any replies!
