I had a meeting with an immigration lawyer last week and I was quite concerned about my having to travel abroad for a long period of time.

I was worried that if I am being asked by immigration officer to show my Russian passport, he can see from the stamps that I have been away for too long and he might question my residency.

So this lawyer advised to sort of "forget" the passport at home and travel on the Green card, which is a valid US travel document and it doesn;t have any record of my absense from the US.

I was wondering whether it is possible? I though that in order to travel to any country, one MUST have a passport!

I will have to travel to Dubai soon and I don't know what to do...

Kitties...

I'm not a lawyer, but that does not seem like good advise to me. If USCs are required to travel with their passport, then I would presume that "permanant residents" would have a tad bit more scrutiny placed upon them. Better safe than sorry, I alway say and putting extra stress by attempting to bend the rules could backfire causing a lot more grief than you bargained for. BUT that's just my opinion.

Now, the information below is unaltered and comes directly from the Welcome Guide (pg 10) created by USCIS:

* Permanent residents who leave the United States for extended periods, or who cannot show their intent to live permanently in the U.S., may lose their permanent resident status.

* If you think you will be out of the U.S.for more than 12 months, you should apply for a re-entry permit before leaving the country. You should file Form I-131, Application for a Travel Document. A re-entry permit is valid for up to 2 years and shows that you are returning from a temporary visit abroad.You may show the re-entry permit at a port of entry. You can get this form at http://www.uscis.gov or by calling the USCIS Forms Line.You must pay a fee to file Form I-131.

* If you are not able to return to the U.S. before your re-entry permit expires or you did not apply for a re-entry permit before leaving the U.S. and have been outside the U.S. for more than 12 months, you may be able to get a special immigrant Returning Resident (SB-1) visa overseas from the Department of State.There are special requirements for this visa.Visit http://www.state.gov or your nearest Department of State Consular Office overseas for more information.

Cheers!!!

Sheriff Uling

Just to address that -- not necessarily, no. If you are from any of the EU countries or Switzerland, you don't need a passport to travel within the EU or Switzerland. Of course that doesn't apply to you but I thought I'd mention it.
Sorry for the off-topicness.

Back on topic, the CBP's web site suggests that you need a passport in addition to your green card in order to re-enter the US.
I bolded the parts which I think are relevant to you.

http://help.cbp.gov/cgi-bin/customs.cfg/ph...php?p_faqid=572

Foreign nationals that are lawful permanent residents of the U.S. must present a Permanent Resident Card (“Green Card”, INS Form I-551), a Reentry Permit (if gone for more than 1 year), or a Returning Resident Visa (if gone for 2 years or more), and their passport to reenter the United States if traveling from outside the Western Hemisphere. If traveling to Canada or Mexico, the Permanent Resident Card is sufficient, although, carrying a passport as well could help facilitate your reentry. (LPRs that are out of the U.S. for more than 180 days are subject to new immigrant inspection procedures as per 8 USC 1101.)

And I kinda forgot the part where you're traveling abroad and have to enter other countries . Yes, you must have a passport for most international travel and your lawyer sounds like an idiot. The immigration people in Dubai will laugh at your green card, I'm afraid.

This is not a very thought-out answer on my part, but DO NOT leave without your passport. You should never depart any country, including this one and your own, without passport in hand. I'd also suggest that you get another lawyer; that advice sounds horribly amateur.

It would be very unlikely that any airline would allow you to board any flight without a valid passport.... you would also be denied entry to 99% of the countries of the world without a valid passport.... the only thing your greencard is good for is getting you back into the USA but you also need a passport as well...

Find a new lawyer..... fast

Kez

This lawyer is an idiot. He must have been a C student in some Tier 4 law school, because it's the most stupid advice I have ever heard.

You do need your passport to go to Dubai - you will need it to enter the country. You will also need it to return to the U.S. I don't know how long you're planning to stay in Dubai, but as long as you're not going to work, permanently reside or simply remain there for over a year, you should be fine.

Thing is, the lawyer is actually a treasurer of an AILA in one of the biggest US cities so I'm myself surprised to get such information from this person...

I'm also wondering, if I get a business visa in Dubai, can it be a reason for the immigration officer to suspect that my residency is questionable?

Kitties,

If you get a visa the visa will be in your passport - no passport no visa.

What is the pupose and duration of your business trip to Dubai?

Yodrak

I have a question regarding the definition of a returning resident and the visa requirements for such. My husband has a 2-yr conditional green card and will have been out of the US for one year after April 25, 2008. Unavoidable circumstances have unfortunately delayed his return. We didn't apply for a Re-entry permit prior to his departure, as we didn't anticipate he would need one. We didn't pay close enough attention to the one-year requirement stating that there is a presumption that an LPR has effectively abandoned the green card if absent more than one year - 366 days or more. However, after reading the information on the border/customs link provided above, it isn't clear exactly when you must obtain a returning resident visa (SB-1 visa, I believe). The verbage above indicates you need one if you have been out of the country for 2 yrs. or more, which is not the case here. There seems to be a gap about what is needed for an absence of more than one year, but less than two years. Does anyone here have experience or advice about this situation? Thanks! Also, does anyone know exactly what can happen if an LPR arrives back in the country, after an absence of say, 372 days, with valid green card and passport in hand? If the LPR had documentation of continued residence, bank account, tax returns filed as resident, etc. in hand, would that have any effect? Thanks, again!

Absence of more < 1 yr but > 2 yrs = Re-entry permit
Absence of more than 2 years = returning resident's visa

Usually, the re-entry permit is applied for in the US before departure. He should talk to the US Embassy in the country where he is and ask about applying for a Re-entry Permit there.

I have found the Delta airlines site more reliable than even one of the consulates (Costa Rican) http://www.delta.com/planning_reservations...ation/index.jsp
You can select the country of which you hold the passport (citizenship), country where you reside (e.g. greencard holders in US) and the destination country and connecting countries and it tells you what is needed in terms of passport and visa. Good Luck

My wife is from Colombia and the Costa Rican consulate in Denver told her in March 08, she needs a Visa for Costa Rica - wrong! I confirmed it from actual airlines that fly there - American.

I'd ALWAYS trust the word of a consulate office over an airline. The airline might be willing to fly you to the country without the required documentation, but the CBP officers probably wont let you into the country without the required documentation.

Since your wife is not a US Citizen, and only an LPR, she will still need a visa to visit Costa Rica, but the visa will be easier to get given her possesion of a Green Card. As a USC, you do not need a visa to visit Costa Rica.

Airlines are there to make money from selling you flights, not for giving you accurate advice about legally being able to travel to a specific place.