Help: Traveling to El Salvador with only a Permanent Resident Card

[minhwarrier 0]

Hi,

I have a few things that I am overwhelmingly confused about, so many people with so many different answers. Hope this will help me.

My wife who is a greencard holder (2 years one) is from El Salvador, and we planned a trip back to El Salvador to visit her family. Upon checking in, United airlines mentioned that she will need a Passport to go ANYWHERE outside of the US. Luckily, she still have her El Salvador Passport, which is expiring soon in April.

My questions are:

1. Is this true that El Salvador require a passport and not just a Green Card from the US?

2. Her Green Card name is different from her Passport, her last name was changed as she is married to me. How does this all work out and should she try to change/renew her passport while he's in El Salvador for 5 weeks?

3. My dad who is a US Permanent resident ( 10 year card ) who does not have any passport. He was from Vietnam, but he does not have a Vietnamese Passport. Can he go to El Salvador with just the green card?

Your help is greatly appreciated.

Minh

[TimeTravel 78]

For International Travel, you must need to have a passport.

Green Card is basically use to get entry in USA. One can not travel outside of United States with GC only.

Concern about name change in passport, it is better to update her passport name to avoid any conflict with airline/anywhere. You can get it done from El Salvador Embassy in United States.

[Asia 2,498]

A green card isn't treated as an ID outside the US. You need to have a passport or other required ID to enter other countries.

[amykathleen2005 441]

You need a passport to go anywhere.

[minhwarrier 0]

I understand that the Passport defines who you are internationally, but wha t( IF ) el salvador is willing to accept the Green Card as a travel document? I guess that is my question, because I know countries like Vietnam, just sold a Visa in advance and we usually travel with that 1 paper visa + a green card thats it. El Salvador, I have seen and experienced myself that they sell a tourist visa right at their gate upon arrival. I am a US Citizen so I do not know the difference vs. a Permanent Resident. Various research including El Salvador websites always mention about US citizen, but never about US Permanent Resident.

[amykathleen2005 441]

The US citizen has a US passport which gives you certain travel rights to other countries as well as the US. The green card only gives the right for someone to travel into the US. It gives no international travel rights.

[newacct 688]

One can not travel outside of United States with GC only.

Not completely true. This page seems to indicate that you can enter Canada with just a U.S. green card and no passport. Don't know about El Salvador.

[Asia 2,498]

Not completely true. This page seems to indicate that you can enter Canada with just a U.S. green card and no passport. Don't know about El Salvador.

Canada has a special law concerning this.

But El Salvador is a completely different story.

Edited January 28, 2013 by Asia

[Little_My 464]

Trying to enter another country (with the exception of Canada, and maybe other special cases like Puerto Rico) with only a US greencard is like trying to use a Finnish social security number in a US government office. The greencard is a residence permit within the US, and has nothing to do with other countries - they won't accept it in stead of a passport any more than they would accept a US driver's license. A visa is also issued to a person holding a valid passport of a certain country, and that country also often defines an individual's particular need for a visa, or defines what type of a visa that individual needs, as different countries have different visa requirements for different nationalities.

1. Your wife needs her passport to travel to El Salvador. They really probably couldn't care less about her greencard there - a US greencard gives her no right to travel to El Salvador. You should also confirm that it is okay for her to travel there with a passport that is about to experie - the general rule of thumb is that a passport must be valid for minimum of 6 months from the date of return from a trip abroad, but since this is her native country and she is a citizen of El Salvador, the requirement might be different. She should also look into whether it would make sense for her to get a new passport while she is in El Salvador, depending on how long that would take.

2. The name thing is not an issue, it happens to many people. Travel with a copy of your marriage certificate, and it is generally advised to make sure that the name on her ticket matches the name on her passport, NOT the GC. The new passport should then be ordered under her new name, which will make things easier in the future - but for now, just have that marriage certificate copy with you when travelling.

3. Your dad also cannot travel to El Salvador without a valid passport, and right now the only passport he is entitled to seems to be Vietnamese. He can go to the nearest embassy/consulate of Vietnam to find out what the process is for him to get a new passport and how long it would take. You'll probably find out about the process on the consulate website as well.

[Alex211 0]

Trying to enter another country (with the exception of Canada, and maybe other special cases like Puerto Rico) with only a US greencard is like trying to use a Finnish social security number in a US government office. The greencard is a residence permit within the US, and has nothing to do with other countries - they won't accept it in stead of a passport any more than they would accept a US driver's license. A visa is also issued to a person holding a valid passport of a certain country, and that country also often defines an individual's particular need for a visa, or defines what type of a visa that individual needs, as different countries have different visa requirements for different nationalities.

1. Your wife needs her passport to travel to El Salvador. They really probably couldn't care less about her greencard there - a US greencard gives her no right to travel to El Salvador. You should also confirm that it is okay for her to travel there with a passport that is about to experie - the general rule of thumb is that a passport must be valid for minimum of 6 months from the date of return from a trip abroad, but since this is her native country and she is a citizen of El Salvador, the requirement might be different. She should also look into whether it would make sense for her to get a new passport while she is in El Salvador, depending on how long that would take.

2. The name thing is not an issue, it happens to many people. Travel with a copy of your marriage certificate, and it is generally advised to make sure that the name on her ticket matches the name on her passport, NOT the GC. The new passport should then be ordered under her new name, which will make things easier in the future - but for now, just have that marriage certificate copy with you when travelling.

3. Your dad also cannot travel to El Salvador without a valid passport, and right now the only passport he is entitled to seems to be Vietnamese. He can go to the nearest embassy/consulate of Vietnam to find out what the process is for him to get a new passport and how long it would take. You'll probably find out about the process on the consulate website as well.