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Meet Vladimir. He is about to immigrate to the United States. He's really happy to do so because he knows it's the land of opportunity where he and his family will have the ability to achieve a lot more than they otherwise could back home.
But Vladimir is really confused. Rightfully, so. U.S. immigration policies and laws have tons of strange terms, synonyms, and confusing information. We can't help Vladimir with everything regarding immigrating to the U.S. in this lesson, but we'll explain the concept of an I-551 passport stamp in easy terms for him.
Before we can properly explain what an I-551 passport stamp is, we have to explain to Vladimir what an I-551 is! U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (or USCIS) Form I-551 is the official and technical name for a permanent resident card. A permanent resident card is better known as a green card. While today such cards are literally a greenish-color card, past versions of the green card weren't actually green but rather a peach color.
Vladimir needs to know that someone who possesses a valid green card has the lawful ability to:
1. Permanently reside in the United States of America, and
2. Permanently work in the United States of America
However, a green card holder is not a U.S. Citizen! This is a very important thing for people seeking green cards and people holding green cards to remember. And in case Vladimir gets confused by the term 'Form I-551', Form I-551 is the green card itself despite the word 'form' in it. Meaning, I-551 isn't a form you fill out and submit to get a green card; it's the green card itself.
Now that Vladimir understands the basics of what Form I-551 is, he can more easily appreciate what an I-551 passport stamp is. This is literally a stamp that is placed in an immigrant's passport. It might say something like:
Processed for I-551. Temporary evidence of lawful admission for permanent residence. Valid until (DATE). Employment authorized.
Or, it might say:
Upon endorsement, serves as temporary I-551 evidencing permanent residency for one year.
Issue Date: (DATE)
Officer: (Officer ID)
Employment Authorized
Valid Until: (DATE)
The 'valid until (DATE)' that we've seen in these examples that have been given is usually up to a year from the date of issue.
The I-551 passport stamp will allow Vladimir to start working and living in the United States even though his actual green card has not yet arrived.
It looks like Vladimir is now a lot clearer on what an I-551 passport stamp is. Let's summarize everything we taught him one last time.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (or USCIS) Form I-551 is the technical term for a permanent resident card, which is itself a more technical name for a green card. A valid green card allows a person two main things:
1. To permanently reside in the United States of America, and
2. To permanently work in the United States of America
An I-551 passport stamp is thus, quite simply, a temporary version of a green card. It's usually valid for up to a year from the date of issue.
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Introduction to Political Science: Help and Review22 chapters | 301 lessons | 1 flashcard set
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