Security Checks Delay Passport Stamping for GC
Posted May 31, 2002

A number of cases have come to our attention involving our clients and MurthyBulletin and MurthyDotCom readers who were unable to obtain stamps in their passports after receiving notification of approval of I-485 applications for adjustment of status (green card or GC). The reason for this problem is that the INS will not issue the stamps without conducting an IBIS (Interagency Border Inspection System) check. As we have previously reported, border checks are now required for all cases filed with the INS.

Ordinarily, individuals receive "temporary evidence" stamps in their passports after obtaining approval of their I-485 applications. Approval of the I-485 grants the individual permanent resident status. In order to have proof of that status prior to arrival of the actual, plastic "green card," individuals get "temporary evidence" stamps in their passports. This stamp suffices as proof of permanent residence for all purposes, including work and travel.

The inability to obtain a stamp, if protracted, will create enormous complications. The stamp is necessary for proof of employment authorization. Without this stamp, one will not be able to renew employment authorization documents (EAD), because the EAD is available only while the application for permanent residence is still pending. A permanent resident is fully authorized to work. One presents the passport stamp or plastic green card to the employer as the required proof. One does not have this proof while awaiting the production of the actual green card, which can often take several months.

The same problems exist for travel. The stamp or the actual green card, together with a valid non-U.S. passport, is the appropriate document for reentry into the U.S. after foreign travel. Travel is often necessary for business or for family obligations and emergencies. Prior to approval of the I-485, individuals would generally use an advance parole to reenter the country (or an H or L visa, as appropriate). For permanent residents without appropriate proof of status, however, travel is certainly problematic if not impossible.

For those who recently have received approval notices in the mail without an interview, it is necessary to go to the local INS office and present the approval notice. The Service Centers have facilities to conduct the IBIS checks much more efficiently than the local offices. So if the approval notice was issued after the security-check requirement was instituted, it is likely that the check would have been completed at the Service Center. Even if the local office will not stamp the passport, they still need to process the paperwork required to generate the actual green card. Additionally, the ability to process IBIS checks is subject to local variations. Some locations may have much more efficient processing of IBIS checks than others.