Traveling Abroad With Wife's Expired Green Card

[laylasa 1]

I had my infopass this morning too and I got the I-551 stamp valid for one year and also I kept my extension letter and Green Card. Was never asked to surrender the two. The Immigration Officer told me that I will need to carry the expired greencard and the extension letter too while travelling just incase im asked to produce them.

[Fatima12 0]

Laylasa,

Thanks for your feedback. Which city did you do your infopass appointment? Before going to ours, we were also informed by friends and an immigration lawyer that we should be able to keep our GC and ext letter. But the officer asked for it and would not stamp my husband's passport unless we surrendered it. We decided to keep the expired GC and ext letter and not get the stamp.

[Fatima12 0]

Everyone,

This is what I found on another entry in this blog and this is exactly why we decided to keep our GC and ext letter:

"IN GENERAL:

ALWAYS take the original letter with you when you travel outside the country. Whenevr you present your expired Green Card at a foreign departure port, you will ALWAYS be asked to present the original letter. Most airlines, from my first-hand experience, are familiar with this requirement and will not give you any hassles.

I re-entered the United States nine times on my expired card and the verfication delays at the foreign port, on the few instances they occured, were never more than about seven minutes. I can confirm from first hand experience that British Airways, Air France, Jet Blue, American Airways, Iceland Air and Virgin Atlantic are familiar with this process and will give you minimal/no hassles.

Do not rely on the I-551 stamp in the passport often obtained at INFOPASS appointments. The purpose is to replace the Green Card and Extension Letter, but it has NEVER, from first hand experience, satisfied authorites at foreign departure ports in the first instance. I once tried to "test" the veracity of the I-551 stamp as a stand-alone by presenting it, and only it, for a United States-bound flight. I was told that if I couldn't present my Green Card and Extension Letter, the airline might have to scan and send a copy of my passport and I-551 stamp to US immigration authorities and wait for an entry clearance to be sent back. At that point, I provided the card and the letter and was shortly cleared to proceed.

The point I'm making in my last paragraph is that, while the I-551 stamp is a valid immigration document which ultimately will grant entry to the United States (albeit, after a bit of a hassle perhaps), the GREEN CARD + EXTENSION LETTER (ORIGINAL) are golden!"

[nyc123 0]

I have known people who just made an Infopass & lied that their extension letter is either lost or can't find/still looking for it e.t.c, those folks get what they want. I wanted to do the same but I will be truthful at out Infopass next week. For most folks in VJ this might sound silly but believe me folks when you go to a 3rd world country this is what it comes down to. I just want to get back home with my wife by my side but having the fear of dealing with uneducated customs back home is really making me sick. :( :help:

[Fatima12 0]

Yeah, I agree. I don't think lying is a good idea. It may only cause more trouble. Honestly, I think no one can guarantee that your wife will not be given a hard time about the GC, ext letter, or i551 until you actually go through with the process. Plus, give some credit to Bangladeshi immigration officers, they can't be so bad

[Fatima12 0]

Hello All,

Just thought I should update. We did travel with expired green card and extension letter to Pakistan. No trouble at all. We flew Qatar airlines. They recognized the letter. When we got home, my husband's green card was in the mail.

[Navyk 78]

Hello All,

Just thought I should update. We did travel with expired green card and extension letter to Pakistan. No trouble at all. We flew Qatar airlines. They recognized the letter. When we got home, my husband's green card was in the mail.

Good strategy - never lie - expired green card with extension letter are better than the I-551 stamp in the passport. Your experineces helps others to decide on the safe method between these two. Thanks.