Green Card holder acquiring US passport?

[cometaj 0]

Hello all,

I was wondering. I currently have my US Green Card and I was wondering if it was possible for me to acquire a US passport (or is it even necessary)?

My company would need me to travel around outside the contry to Europe and I was wondering if my green card was sufficient or if I needed a passport. And If I need a passport, is it possible for me to acquire one given my conditional permanent residence status?

Regards

cometaj

[payxibka 10,044]

Hello all,

I was wondering. I currently have my US Green Card and I was wondering if it was possible for me to acquire a US passport (or is it even necessary)?

My company would need me to travel around outside the contry to Europe and I was wondering if my green card was sufficient or if I needed a passport. And If I need a passport, is it possible for me to acquire one given my conditional permanent residence status?

Regards

cometaj

You do not get a US passport until you are a US Citizen.

[cometaj 0]

Hello all,

I was wondering. I currently have my US Green Card and I was wondering if it was possible for me to acquire a US passport (or is it even necessary)?

My company would need me to travel around outside the contry to Europe and I was wondering if my green card was sufficient or if I needed a passport. And If I need a passport, is it possible for me to acquire one given my conditional permanent residence status?

Regards

cometaj

You do not get a US passport until you are a US Citizen.

What do you mean by "I do not"? Do you mean that "I cannot"?

Regards

cometaj

Edited January 25, 2007 by cometaj

[Jasman0717 8]

You must be a U.S. citizen to acquire a U.S. passport:

http://travel.state.gov/passport/passport_1738.html

If you need to travel internationally you can still use your passport from your home country.

[Daniellecc 0]

do not... means, do not, can not... not possible.... you are United States Resident, meaning you only reside here, you are NOT a citizen, and you only get passports of any country ifyou are a citizen... so... until you get your united States CITIZENSHIP (not residency) you CAN NOT, DO NOT, WILL NOT, get a USA Passport... if you need to travel outside teh US all you need is your passoprt from YOUR COUNTRY and your green card to be ablke to leave teh US and come back into teh US....

[Boiler 43,790]

do not... means, do not, can not... not possible.... you are United States Resident, meaning you only reside here, you are NOT a citizen, and you only get passports of any country ifyou are a citizen... so... until you get your united States CITIZENSHIP (not residency) you CAN NOT, DO NOT, WILL NOT, get a USA Passport... if you need to travel outside teh US all you need is your passoprt from YOUR COUNTRY and your green card to be ablke to leave teh US and come back into teh US....

I think even the OP should be able to get that message!

What I wonder is wrong in using your Canadian passport?

[payxibka 10,044]

do not... means, do not, can not... not possible.... you are United States Resident, meaning you only reside here, you are NOT a citizen, and you only get passports of any country ifyou are a citizen... so... until you get your united States CITIZENSHIP (not residency) you CAN NOT, DO NOT, WILL NOT, get a USA Passport... if you need to travel outside teh US all you need is your passoprt from YOUR COUNTRY and your green card to be ablke to leave teh US and come back into teh US....

Daniellecc,

Thank you

[cometaj 0]

do not... means, do not, can not... not possible.... you are United States Resident, meaning you only reside here, you are NOT a citizen, and you only get passports of any country ifyou are a citizen... so... until you get your united States CITIZENSHIP (not residency) you CAN NOT, DO NOT, WILL NOT, get a USA Passport... if you need to travel outside teh US all you need is your passoprt from YOUR COUNTRY and your green card to be ablke to leave teh US and come back into teh US....

Hehe, don't get mad, the context wasn't clear to me . And it is possible for me to leave the contry even thought I have a green card/conditional permanent residence? Or are there restrictions to me leaving the contry?

I'm asking because I seem to remember that I couldn't leave the country at some point, but I'm unsure whether it applied to before I got my green card or if it still applies until I get my full citizenship.

Unfortunately, I think that my home country passport has expired. I'd have to double check though.

Regards

cometaj

[Kez/JWolf 6]

You need to read up on being a greencard holder and your rights.... USCIS website is a good place to start....

Yes you can travel outside the usa as a greencard holder... you need a valid passport from your home country and your greencard to get you back into the USA...

Kez

[cometaj 0]

You need to read up on being a greencard holder and your rights.... USCIS website is a good place to start....

Yes you can travel outside the usa as a greencard holder... you need a valid passport from your home country and your greencard to get you back into the USA...

Kez

Alright . Thanks much for the info guys . I'll see if my passport is still valid. *Cross my fingers* .

[mew5280 0]

You need to read up on being a greencard holder and your rights.... USCIS website is a good place to start....

Yes you can travel outside the usa as a greencard holder... you need a valid passport from your home country and your greencard to get you back into the USA...

I'm curious where you are getting the information that you must have both a permanent resident card AND a passport from your country? If you look on the USCIS website on the new passport regulations and the customs and border patrol website, it states clearly:

U.S. Lawful Permanent Residents (LPRs)

must provide one of the following:

* I-551, Permanent Resident Card (“Green Card”)

* Machine-Readable Immigrant Visa endorsed with a CBP Admission Stamp

* Temporary Residence Stamp (ADIT stamp) contained in a passport or on Form I-94

* Valid Reentry Permit

* Unexpired Immigrant Visa

It only mentions ONE document is needed for re-entry to the US. http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/travel/alerts/w...ents_needed.xml

I'm trying to find out if my husband, who is not yet eligible for citizenship but has an expired passport from his country and a valid permanent resident card, can travel to Mexico or the Caribbean for a one week vacation and re-enter the US using only his green card. To renew his passport is now taking 8-12 months and costs $600.

From the websites, it seems he only needs his green card but when I have mentioned this to people, they get so alarmed and insist this isn't possible, so what's up? Even the Nebraska Service Center was wrong. I asked them clearly about a one week vacation to Mexico and they told me on the phone that he needed to file the I-131 ($170, 4-6 month timeframe) for a travel document but after reading the form instructions in detail I notice it said:

If you stay outside the United States for less than one

year, you are not required to apply for a reentry permit.

You may reenter the United States on your Permanent

Resident Card (Form I-551).

http://www.uscis.gov/ - (go to the forms section and look for I-131, you have to download it to read the instructions)

So to cometaj, you might want to verify all this before you go to lengths renewing your passport, not sure it's needed from what I found but I would still like to know for sure from someone who has actually done it, though you would think the government websites I listed above are providing accurate information.

Edited January 26, 2007 by mew5280

[DelcoCouple 1]

You need to read up on being a greencard holder and your rights.... USCIS website is a good place to start....

Yes you can travel outside the usa as a greencard holder... you need a valid passport from your home country and your greencard to get you back into the USA...

I'm curious where you are getting the information that you must have both a permanent resident card AND a passport from your country? If you look on the USCIS website on the new passport regulations and the customs and border patrol website, it states clearly:

U.S. Lawful Permanent Residents (LPRs)

must provide one of the following:

* I-551, Permanent Resident Card (“Green Card”)

* Machine-Readable Immigrant Visa endorsed with a CBP Admission Stamp

* Temporary Residence Stamp (ADIT stamp) contained in a passport or on Form I-94

* Valid Reentry Permit

* Unexpired Immigrant Visa

It only mentions ONE document is needed for re-entry to the US. http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/travel/alerts/w...ents_needed.xml

I'm trying to find out if my husband, who is not yet eligible for citizenship but has an expired passport from his country and a valid permanent resident card, can travel to Mexico or the Caribbean for a one week vacation and re-enter the US using only his green card. To renew his passport is now taking 8-12 months and costs $600.

From the websites, it seems he only needs his green card but when I have mentioned this to people, they get so alarmed and insist this isn't possible, so what's up? Even the Nebraska Service Center was wrong. I asked them clearly about a one week vacation to Mexico and they told me on the phone that he needed to file the I-131 ($170, 4-6 month timeframe) for a travel document but after reading the form instructions in detail I notice it said:

If you stay outside the United States for less than one

year, you are not required to apply for a reentry permit.

You may reenter the United States on your Permanent

Resident Card (Form I-551).

http://www.uscis.gov/ - (go to the forms section and look for I-131, you have to download it to read the instructions)

So to cometaj, you might want to verify all this before you go to lengths renewing your passport, not sure it's needed from what I found but I would still like to know for sure from someone who has actually done it, though you would think the government websites I listed above are providing accurate information.

How do you think he will enter the foreign country without a passport?

The information above is concerning re entry to the USA. The foreign country however will require a passport to enter it and no airline will let you board without the correct documentation.

Edited January 26, 2007 by DelcoCouple

[mew5280 0]

You need to read up on being a greencard holder and your rights.... USCIS website is a good place to start....

Yes you can travel outside the usa as a greencard holder... you need a valid passport from your home country and your greencard to get you back into the USA...

I'm curious where you are getting the information that you must have both a permanent resident card AND a passport from your country? If you look on the USCIS website on the new passport regulations and the customs and border patrol website, it states clearly:

U.S. Lawful Permanent Residents (LPRs)

must provide one of the following:

* I-551, Permanent Resident Card (“Green Card”)

* Machine-Readable Immigrant Visa endorsed with a CBP Admission Stamp

* Temporary Residence Stamp (ADIT stamp) contained in a passport or on Form I-94

* Valid Reentry Permit

* Unexpired Immigrant Visa

It only mentions ONE document is needed for re-entry to the US. http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/travel/alerts/w...ents_needed.xml

I'm trying to find out if my husband, who is not yet eligible for citizenship but has an expired passport from his country and a valid permanent resident card, can travel to Mexico or the Caribbean for a one week vacation and re-enter the US using only his green card. To renew his passport is now taking 8-12 months and costs $600.

From the websites, it seems he only needs his green card but when I have mentioned this to people, they get so alarmed and insist this isn't possible, so what's up? Even the Nebraska Service Center was wrong. I asked them clearly about a one week vacation to Mexico and they told me on the phone that he needed to file the I-131 ($170, 4-6 month timeframe) for a travel document but after reading the form instructions in detail I notice it said:

If you stay outside the United States for less than one

year, you are not required to apply for a reentry permit.

You may reenter the United States on your Permanent

Resident Card (Form I-551).

http://www.uscis.gov/ - (go to the forms section and look for I-131, you have to download it to read the instructions)

So to cometaj, you might want to verify all this before you go to lengths renewing your passport, not sure it's needed from what I found but I would still like to know for sure from someone who has actually done it, though you would think the government websites I listed above are providing accurate information.

How do you think he will enter the foreign country without a passport?

The information above is concerning re entry to the USA. The foreign country however will require a passport to enter it and no airline will let you board without the correct documentation.

Mexico and the Caribbean do not require passports for entry. It is the US that has changed it's entry requirements, not Mexico or the Caribbean. I would definitely check with the country you/we are visiting first.

[DelcoCouple 1]

You need to read up on being a greencard holder and your rights.... USCIS website is a good place to start....

Yes you can travel outside the usa as a greencard holder... you need a valid passport from your home country and your greencard to get you back into the USA...

I'm curious where you are getting the information that you must have both a permanent resident card AND a passport from your country? If you look on the USCIS website on the new passport regulations and the customs and border patrol website, it states clearly:

U.S. Lawful Permanent Residents (LPRs)

must provide one of the following:

* I-551, Permanent Resident Card (“Green Card”)

* Machine-Readable Immigrant Visa endorsed with a CBP Admission Stamp

* Temporary Residence Stamp (ADIT stamp) contained in a passport or on Form I-94

* Valid Reentry Permit

* Unexpired Immigrant Visa

It only mentions ONE document is needed for re-entry to the US. http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/travel/alerts/w...ents_needed.xml

I'm trying to find out if my husband, who is not yet eligible for citizenship but has an expired passport from his country and a valid permanent resident card, can travel to Mexico or the Caribbean for a one week vacation and re-enter the US using only his green card. To renew his passport is now taking 8-12 months and costs $600.

From the websites, it seems he only needs his green card but when I have mentioned this to people, they get so alarmed and insist this isn't possible, so what's up? Even the Nebraska Service Center was wrong. I asked them clearly about a one week vacation to Mexico and they told me on the phone that he needed to file the I-131 ($170, 4-6 month timeframe) for a travel document but after reading the form instructions in detail I notice it said:

If you stay outside the United States for less than one

year, you are not required to apply for a reentry permit.

You may reenter the United States on your Permanent

Resident Card (Form I-551).

http://www.uscis.gov/ - (go to the forms section and look for I-131, you have to download it to read the instructions)

So to cometaj, you might want to verify all this before you go to lengths renewing your passport, not sure it's needed from what I found but I would still like to know for sure from someone who has actually done it, though you would think the government websites I listed above are providing accurate information.

How do you think he will enter the foreign country without a passport?

The information above is concerning re entry to the USA. The foreign country however will require a passport to enter it and no airline will let you board without the correct documentation.

Mexico and the Caribbean do not require passports for entry. It is the US that has changed it's entry requirements, not Mexico or the Caribbean. I would definitely check with the country you/we are visiting first.

Mexico does not require a passport from example a European or African national????? The Caribbean is not a country but a collection of Islands which have varying entry requirements according to which country you are visiting. A number of them do require passports even from US Citizens.

As the OP referred tobeing a green card holder it is safe to assume they are not a US citizen and are more likely than not to require a passport.

An obvious exception being Canada. It would be helpful if the OP were to tell us what nationality the GC holder is and which country/ies they intend to visit rather than just Europe to obtain an accurate answer.

Edited January 26, 2007 by DelcoCouple

[Kez/JWolf 6]

As a UK citizen I am required to have a valid UK passport to enter mexico or any of the Caribbean islands... yes you only need a greencard to re-enter the USA but you still need a valid passport to enter other countries... I know of no airline that will let you board an international flight without having a valid passport...

On our return to the US is sept last year the CBP officer stamped both my UK pasport and my husbands US passport with an entry stamp...

Kez