Hello Guys,

Can my wife travel outside United States with her 2-year provisional permanent resident visa? If yes, what are the things/documents we need to prepare? Also, her Philippine passport will expire on August 2007, is it possible for her to apply for US Passport? What should we do?

We prepare for two places to go, Canada and Philippines. Please let us know what we have to do to travel outside the country without having any problem on documents.

Thanks and hope to hear answers from you.

Steve[color=#000099]

Do you mean 2-year "Conditional Permanent Resident" card (commonly called the Green Card)?

As long her her GC is valid, she will be re-admitted into the US after travel abroad. She will still need her passport, but it will have to be her Phillipines passport because she can't apply for a US passport until she becomes a US citizen, which is 3 years, less 90 days from the date she obtained Permanent Resident status.

Yes, it's a conditional Permanent Resident card. Thanks for the info. So we don't have to file any papers as permit to travel right? Too bad about the passport though. Guess, she'll just have to request a new passport from philippine embassy here in US then.

Thanks again,
steve

No, there are no further papers to file, unless she plans to be out of the U.S. continuously for over a year. Then she would have to apply for a "Re-entry" permit.

You are free to work and travel once you have a Permanent Resident Card, as long as it has not expired.

Don't forget to apply for the 10-year GC, 2 years and 9 months after Permanent Resident status was granted (using form I-751).

I should add, that I use my GC when entering Canada, but I am a Canadian citizen, so I don't know if a non-Canadian citizen would show their passport or their GC.

thanks a whole lot. we'll keep that in mind

You can apply in person or by mail for a new passport at the Philippine consulate that services your location. Here is the link for passport renewal for the consulate in California.

http://www.pcgenla.org/Servicescon.htm#Passport

You should also submit a Report of Marriage to have your marriage recorded with the NSO.
You can have her current passport amended to show her married name also.

I think you and your wife would benefit from reading this page:

Now That You Are A Permanent Resident

"Some of you may be CONDITIONAL RESIDENTS. This page applies equally to you while you are in conditional resident status."

thanks guys, she already printed out forms for the renewal of her passport. it ain't as hard as we expect it to be.

meauxna, thanks for the link

I think Canada is unusual in that it does not require visa's from US PR's.

For most countries you would need to check what their visa arrangements are for a Pillipines Citizen.

I have a friend who has been trying to get an answer to the same question. Problem is he comes from a country that will not give him another passport because he has emigrated to this one and the relationship between the two countries is hostile. His current passport is full of stamps. So for practical reasons he cannot leave the US until he gets citizenship.