I-797, Welcome Notice
The United States of America officially welcomed Kristien as a permanent resident. We received the notice in the mail today.
To paraphrase the notice:
- “This is to notify you that your application for permanent residence has been approved. It is with great pleasure that we welcome you to permanent resident status in the United States.”
- “We will soon mail you a new Permanent Resident Card. You should receive it within the next 3 weeks. You can use it to show your new status. When you receive your card you must carry it with you at all times if you are 18 or older. It is the law.”
- “Your new card will expire two years from when you became a permanent resident. By law your resident status is conditional, and you must apply to remove those conditions before your card expires. We recommend you apply several months before your card expires.”
- “Once again, welcome to the United States and congratulations on your permanent resident status.”
I-797, Notice of Action (Approved)
The I-797 Notice of Action was delivered today and the petition has been approved! This means the evidence I submitted in the packet was sufficient and the INS has completed its role. The responsibility is now with the Department of State National Visa Center (NVC). The paper also says the NVC should complete processing within two to four weeks.
Received date: February 23, 2005. Notice date: March 14, 2005. A total of 39 days have passed since I mailed the petition packet.