Traveling abroad 3 months preceeding ROC

[Don and Venus 2]

My wife's conditional GC expires 3-29-12. She is going to be traveling to the Philippines the 2nd week of January 2013 and be gone 5 weeks. We plan to file her ROC paperwork the day before she leaves on her trip. I'm hoping she'll get back in time for her biometrics appt. I've heard that if she travels within 3 months of her GC expiring she'll need the NOA letter to return even if her GC is still valid. I've bought the tickets already and I'm wondering if she should wait to leave until she recieves her NOA. Does anyone have any information to help me?

Thanx,

Don

[Noel194 53]

If her green card is still valid she can use it to enter the USA. If it is expired she will need the NOA1.

[carton025 38]

My wife's conditional GC expires 3-29-12. She is going to be traveling to the Philippines the 2nd week of January 2013 and be gone 5 weeks. We plan to file her ROC paperwork the day before she leaves on her trip. I'm hoping she'll get back in time for her biometrics appt. I've heard that if she travels within 3 months of her GC expiring she'll need the NOA letter to return even if her GC is still valid. I've bought the tickets already and I'm wondering if she should wait to leave until she recieves her NOA. Does anyone have any information to help me?

Thanx,

Don

If you plan on filing for ROC before she leaves for her trip to the Phil. please note that she should get her biometrics appt. approx. 2 weeks after acceptance of the ROC petition from the USCIS. My gal and I are now going through the ROC and her biometrics appt. was approx. 1 month after acceptance of the ROC by the USCIS.

You can reschedule her biometrics appt. for a later date. I only know what I have heard from others and rescheduling any appt. can and probably will delay processing of your petition. Others may have better information about this than I do.

Best wishes,

Sid

[extremerecluse 32]

If you plan on filing for ROC before she leaves for her trip to the Phil. please note that she should get her biometrics appt. approx. 2 weeks after acceptance of the ROC petition from the USCIS. My gal and I are now going through the ROC and her biometrics appt. was approx. 1 month after acceptance of the ROC by the USCIS.

You can reschedule her biometrics appt. for a later date. I only know what I have heard from others and rescheduling any appt. can and probably will delay processing of your petition. Others may have better information about this than I do.

Best wishes,

Sid

I think you have a typo. Your CGC has already expired

[JoannaV 174]

Timelines for biometrics vary. Your profile says your local USCIS office is Denver, CO. I looked at the timelines of the 3 people with the same office who have most recently removed conditions. All three had their biometrics appointment 5 weeks after they submitted their I-751. So you may want to tell USPS to send your package via slow mail. (When I sent mine it took a week by priority mail, so perhaps you'll be lucky.)

There is no reason to expect a problem travelling with her unexpired green card. If you are worried, she could take a photocopy of part of your I-751 package. Or, if she will have internet access you could scan and email the NOA1 to her once it arrives.

[Wyatt's Torch 45]

There is no reason to expect a problem travelling with her unexpired green card. If you are worried, she could take a photocopy of part of your I-751 package. Or, if she will have internet access you could scan and email the NOA1 to her once it arrives.

Actually, there was a person on here a few months ago who tried traveling with a photocopy of the NOA1 and was detained in Argentina until her spouse could courier the original to her. So traveling with a copy is not a valid option.

The only infallible scenario is to NOT travel out of country during the process. If it was me, I would either postpone my trip until after the biometrics was complete, or schedule the trip for earlier so that it doesn't interfere with the start of the ROC process. Personally, I would file for ROC on the earliest possible date, then go to the biometrics appointment when it is scheduled, and then schedule the trip out of country. Traveling with the expired green card and extension letter seems to be the most trouble-free method.

[Don and Venus 2]

I do have the expiration date wrong, it is 3-29-13. My main objective is to determine if she would be denied travel by immigration, or an airline, because she is within 3 months of the expiration date. I'm not worried about her returning after the expiration date as she'll return before that with 6 weeks to spare. I am trying to avoid her being questioned or hasseled because of the timing of her travel.

[JoannaV 174]

Sounds like the trouble was on the Argentinian side, so you really want a few stories from Filipinos who have travelled with an almost-expired green card.

I'd think a non-expired card must have trouble least often. But there's always an exception. (All the airline should be doing before letting you on the plane is checking you have a valid US passport or green card or US visa. So unless your green card is actually expired they shouldn't be asking any more questions. Which doesn't mean it won't happen once in a blue moon.)

[Don and Venus 2]

Sounds like the trouble was on the Argentinian side, so you really want a few stories from Filipinos who have travelled with an almost-expired green card.

I'd think a non-expired card must have trouble least often. But there's always an exception. (All the airline should be doing before letting you on the plane is checking you have a valid US passport or green card or US visa. So unless your green card is actually expired they shouldn't be asking any more questions. Which doesn't mean it won't happen once in a blue moon.)

Thanx JoannaV. This is on the Philippine portal as well and I have a few comments already. If there is anyone with personal experience traveling to the Philippines on an almost expired conditional Green Card please chime in.

Don

[Don and Venus 2]

I called USCIS a few days ago and they told me that as long as her GC has not expired then she will have no problem reentering the US.

[newlyweds2010 208]

I do have the expiration date wrong, it is 3-29-13. My main objective is to determine if she would be denied travel by immigration, or an airline, because she is within 3 months of the expiration date. I'm not worried about her returning after the expiration date as she'll return before that with 6 weeks to spare. I am trying to avoid her being questioned or hasseled because of the timing of her travel.

You have 90 days to file. This means that you can file on day 1, on day 90 (very risky, but possible), or anytime in between. If you file on - let's say - day 80 and you travel on day 20, you won't have a NOA when you travel, because you haven't filed yet. Will they detain you because you don't have a NOA? I doubt it, your CGC is still valid and not expired. They may remind you that you CGC is about to expire and you have to remove conditions. Or they may not. I traveled right before my 90-day window opened, but returned a few days after it had already opened. Nobody told me anything. The very next day I filed the ROC package.