Expired GC, filed N400, travel question

[23Cricket 1]

I think I might have screwed up, just not sure yet how big....

Green card expired mid-December, N-400 application was received December 29th, finger prints late January.

The screw up is that I need to make some travel plan for this summer, and I don't know how long the NBC office is going to take, or if there will be delays. Am I stuck in a holding pattern until Interview & Oath (assuming it all goes well)?

[Hypnos 6,576]

You will need to either file an I-90 to replace your expired green card, or wait until your naturalisation application is approved to then be able to obtain a US passport.

[darsh_vader 1]

Make an Infopass appointment, take your N-400 application receipt notice and ask for a I-551 stamp on your unexpired passport. this is enough for entry back to US.

[JimmyHou 610]

I think I might have screwed up, just not sure yet how big....

Green card expired mid-December, N-400 application was received December 29th, finger prints late January.

The screw up is that I need to make some travel plan for this summer, and I don't know how long the NBC office is going to take, or if there will be delays. Am I stuck in a holding pattern until Interview & Oath (assuming it all goes well)?

Make an Infopass appointment, take your N-400 application receipt notice and ask for a I-551 stamp on your unexpired passport. this is enough for entry back to US.

A few things to watch out for:

- Trying to get an I-551 stamp is a good idea, but USCIS might insist that you file and pay for a green card replacement... hopefully they won't and I've read about several cases where they haven't, but they can insist because there's nothing in the rules that says that you are entitled to a new stamp if you file an N400... they just do it as a courtesy so hopefully this will apply to you.

- Be careful traveling with an I-551 stamp... it's perfectly legal, but some airlines aren't familiar with it and may want to see a green card or a visa. Give your self extra time at airports just in case you have to argue with a ticket agent... again, in most cases this is not a problem.

- Make sure you don't miss your interview or oath when you're traveling. Rescheduling is a pain, please consider adjusting your travel plans around the naturalization process.

[23Cricket 1]

Thanks all for the quick answers, much appreciated. Hopefully the local office will be as helpful. Thx!

[23Cricket 1]

I had an 8am InfoPass appointment, and I was in and out and back on the road before 7:58am.

The USCIS office I spoke with this morning, said not to worry. If my N-400 is still in progress when I plan to be travelling, early July for me, to come back in 3-5 days before travelling, and they'll stamp my passport with an I-551.

[JimmyHou 610]

I had an 8am InfoPass appointment, and I was in and out and back on the road before 7:58am.

The USCIS office I spoke with this morning, said not to worry. If my N-400 is still in progress when I plan to be travelling, early July for me, to come back in 3-5 days before travelling, and they'll stamp my passport with an I-551.

Good info. Thanks for updating.

[lmatos1978 14]

I had a similar situation:

My green card that is about to expire (04/09/15), I live in Kansas CIty Missouri and my driver's license will also expire on 04/09/15, I've found out that they will not renew it without a valid green card, so I made an infopass appointment a motnh ago (at the time I didn't know when my interview for citizenship would be) and the I.O. told me that I needed to come back closer to the expiration date and he stated that maybe my interview would happen before 04/09, so couple weeks ago I found out that my interview is scheduled for 04/21, so I made another appointment with infopass for today and the lady that helped me said they don't like to give the I-551 when the GC is still valid but since is just about to expire she stamped my passport and gave me a "YEAR" but she had to cut my GC (only cut small pieces of the edges) and that I need to have my passport with me at all times which I said no problem.

One more thing, she was having a hard time getting the stamp to look right so it is quite hard to tell the date, she said if the DMV has a hard time seeing the date and won't renew my DL, she told me to come back with 2 passport like photos and she would make me a temporary ID!!! I was surprised by that as I thought they would only stamp a valid passport, so as you all can imagine I feel relieved that I won't have an issue getting my DL renewed,

Before all this I've researched a lot and read a lot of mixed answers, so I was stressing out a lot so hopefully with sharing my experience and can help someone in the similar situation!

[minions2 24]

its not a good idea to travel outside US with expired GC, don't take the risk

[KierenHby 897]

An expired GC is not the same thing as an expired visa or conditional residency, whereupon the bearer ceases to be in lawful status past the expiration date. A GC holder continues being a permanent resident even after the 10-yr expiration. Either renew it well before expiration, or better still, apply to be a citizen.

Travelling with a stamp risks issues or hassles or delays at immigration counters and\or airlines.

[JimmyHou 610]

Is there a risk that some airline agent won't understand the stamp? Yes.

Do people travel with stamps all the time? Yes.

It's better to avoid travel on an expired GC, but it's not uncommon. My advice is to give yourself lots of time at airports in case you need to explain things.

[Tom_Jim 40]

Speaking from my own experiences, unless you're traveling on Air Koryo, you will not have issues with the ADIT stamp. When I traveled on my ADIT from MNL to LAX, there were no issues or delays departing MNL. The delay actually occurred at LAX when I was sent to secondary, presumably look closer at the stamp etc.

I then traveled to SCL and had no issues on the outbound. Again, at MIA, I was sent to secondary, then released.

Edited March 24, 2015 by Tom_Jim