Green Card Holder stuck Overseas due to Covid-19...

[igrant 28]

Hello,

 

Does anyone have any idea of a situation where a green card holder stays overseas and get stuck there because of this virus. I couldn't find any exception which would state that there will be an exception if a PR gets stuck outside the US for more than 1 year amid Covid-19.

It will soon be 1 year since we are staying overseas and we got stuck here due to the pandemic. There is still no flights available from where we live back to the US and we are not sure when the commercial flights will resume back. After everything goes back to normal and we fly back to the US, would the immigration service at a port of entry let us go through or deny entry if we stayed more than 1 year because of the pandemic? Any idea/information would be greatly appreciated. 

 

 

[cd37 229]

Where are you stuck at ? LPRs are allowed to enter US. You just have to take a flight and yes planes are still flying but that depends which country you are stuck in ? You can also take repatriation flights operated by us government.

[designguy 1,179]

It will be up to the CBP officer when you enter. He could enter you as normal or he can parole you and require you to go in front of an immigration judge.

[PatLuvO 284]

The Department of State Consular Affairs Facebook page regularly posts upcoming evacuation flights. 

[Cndn 98]

33 minutes ago, designguy said:

It will be up to the CBP officer when you enter. He could enter you as normal or he can parole you and require you to go in front of an immigration judge.

Is it pretty much one or the other? Or do they ever just flat out deny entry at POE? 

[designguy 1,179]

10 minutes ago, Cndn said:

Is it pretty much one or the other? Or do they ever just flat out deny entry at POE? 

It is always a possibilty they deny entry. The more likely scenario is they forgive the absence slightly over a year and let you enter as normal or they are strict and say you were out too long and then you will be parole and you'll be required to make an appearance in front of an IJ

[SusieQQQ 11,584]

18 minutes ago, Cndn said:

Is it pretty much one or the other? Or do they ever just flat out deny entry at POE? 

CBP officers can’t revoke, they can try pressure people to abandon. They cannot deny a green card holder as such.
 

Two issues: (1) I personally tend to think there will be some leeway around this given the current circumstances. There have been green card holders allowed entry with >1 year out before, not something I’d generally advise but if you can get back fairly soon after your one year is up I’d be inclined to try this. But. (2) last time I traveled as a LPR, which was last year, I was asked both at my original departure country and again at my transit airport country when I had left the US, so I think airlines are being asked to check the one year rule themselves. From forums I’ve posted on it seems but some not all countries/airlines are doing this. So this could be a problem with the “just try anyway” route.

 

As for evacuation /repatriation flights yes you can check but not all countries have them, and some countries are so locked down you can’t get to a neighboring country or sometimes even a different province to get a flight. Also different being USC vs LPR. I know a LPR family currently in a country with repatriation flights who were not granted parole to get to the airport (needed under the country lockdown rules) to take them because they are not USCs. I don’t know the details of why /whether embassy doesn’t have same weight, etc, but I do know they are stuck. 

 

 

Edited May 17, 2020 by SusieQQQ

[SusieQQQ 11,584]

1 minute ago, designguy said:

It is always a possibilty they deny entry. The more likely scenario is they forgive the absence slightly over a year and let you enter as normal or they are strict and say you were out too long and then you will be parole and you'll be required to make an appearance in front of an IJ

They can’t deny entry to a claimed LPR in my understanding. If the green card holder doesn’t formally abandon their green card or agree to return, they have to allow an appearance before an IJ to make a judgement.

[angelbrown 195]

The government has been working with airlines to offer repatriation flights. Not sure where you are. You can also sign up here https://step.state.gov/STEPMobile/Default.aspx and receive notifications if flights are available. 

Edited May 17, 2020 by angelbrown

[igrant 28]

1 hour ago, cd37 said:

Where are you stuck at ? LPRs are allowed to enter US. You just have to take a flight and yes planes are still flying but that depends which country you are stuck in ? You can also take repatriation flights operated by us government.

 

 

59 minutes ago, PatLuvO said:

The Department of State Consular Affairs Facebook page regularly posts upcoming evacuation flights. 

 

13 minutes ago, angelbrown said:

The government has been working with airlines to offer repatriation flights. Not sure where you are. You can also sign up here https://step.state.gov/STEPMobile/Default.aspx and receive notifications if flights are available. 

 

 

 

It is a Central Asian country. We missed the only charter flight organized by the embassy a month ago and there are no other flights available. We can't even travel from one region to another within the country. Every city and pretty much everything is closed here.

Turkish airlines may start operating international flights from central asia to the US starting May 28th, but I am not sure if my native country will allow international flights to take place by then. Do you know if flights from Turkey are allowed in the US or will it be allowed by end of May if it is currently restricted?

[SusieQQQ 11,584]

26 minutes ago, angelbrown said:

The government has been working with airlines to offer repatriation flights. Not sure where you are. You can also sign up here https://step.state.gov/STEPMobile/Default.aspx and receive notifications if flights are available. 

The link above says STEP is for USCs....

[PatLuvO 284]

@igrant if the local government allows the flight to depart from the airport there then you shouldn’t have a problem because you are a legal permanent resident. The US hasn’t banned flights but rather the entry of individual’s that don’t fall within the exceptions criteria. Before you buy your ticket ensure with the local consulate there that the flight is authorized to depart so you don’t waste money. 

[Cndn 98]

1 hour ago, SusieQQQ said:

CBP officers can’t revoke, they can try pressure people to abandon. They cannot deny a green card holder as such.
 

Two issues: (1) I personally tend to think there will be some leeway around this given the current circumstances. There have been green card holders allowed entry with >1 year out before, not something I’d generally advise but if you can get back fairly soon after your one year is up I’d be inclined to try this. But. (2) last time I traveled as a LPR, which was last year, I was asked both at my original departure country and again at my transit airport country when I had left the US, so I think airlines are being asked to check the one year rule themselves. From forums I’ve posted on it seems but some not all countries/airlines are doing this. So this could be a problem with the “just try anyway” route.

 

As for evacuation /repatriation flights yes you can check but not all countries have them, and some countries are so locked down you can’t get to a neighboring country or sometimes even a different province to get a flight. Also different being USC vs LPR. I know a LPR family currently in a country with repatriation flights who were not granted parole to get to the airport (needed under the country lockdown rules) to take them because they are not USCs. I don’t know the details of why /whether embassy doesn’t have same weight, etc, but I do know they are stuck. 

 

 

Thank you! I’m assuming since CBP can’t revoke green cards then the same applies to those travelling on AP? 

[angelbrown 195]

1 hour ago, SusieQQQ said:

The link above says STEP is for USCs....

I assumed OP was with USC spouse since post said “we”. I use it when we travel out of the country to notify the embassies we are in the country in case something happens while there. We went to Colombia in March right before everything jumped off. I added my husband as a traveling passenger. He’s a LPR. It didn’t ask for any personal info about him other than his name. I’ve been getting continuous notifications since abt flights coordinated to get USC and LPRs out of the country. 

Edited May 17, 2020 by angelbrown

[SusieQQQ 11,584]

11 minutes ago, angelbrown said:

I use it when we travel out of the country to notify the embassies we are in the country in case something happens while there. We went to Colombia in March right before everything jumped off. I added my husband as a traveling passenger. He’s a LPR. It didn’t ask for any personal info about him other than his name. I’ve been getting continuous notifications since abt flights coordinated to get USC and LPRs out of the country. 

I think there’s a big difference being a “traveling passenger” with a usc and registering as a “standalone” LPR. Simple example, anything happens to an LPR traveling overseas, US embassy will not help them but refer them to their own country of nationality embassy. I’ve seen this both in official documentation somewhere plus it is what happened to my friends mentioned above.

Edited May 17, 2020 by SusieQQQ