Travelling with I-551 Stamp in Passport

[HopefulAus 19]

Apologies if this has already been covered. My search didn't bring up my particular situation so I started a new topic. 

 

My situation is this:

 

I am an Australian citizen spouse of a US citizen. My application to have conditions removed my Green Card (I-751) was received by USCIS in Feb 2019. I still have not had my interview scheduled. After my GC expired, I received my I-797 notice of action letter. After that expired,I had an I-551 stamp in my passport done at the Minneapolis St Paul field office. I've had the stamp renewed each year. 

 

The field officer told me that this stamp would allow me to return to the USA as proof of my LPR status while I wait for my interview. 

 

I'm currently in New Zealand and planning to return home to the USA next week. I've been away from home for a total of just over 3 months. My passport stamp is current until 10/19/2023. I've just learned that this may not be sufficient to travel. The airline may deny boarding at the port of departure (New Zealand). I've contacted an immigration lawyer in MN, USA who told me to contact the Consulate in NZ, who told me to contact the airline to confirm whether or not I need further proof of my LPR status to allow me to board a flight to USA. The airline is not currently taking calls not related to a recent severe weather event. 

 

So my question is - does anybody have any experience or knowledge of a situation like mine, whether or not I need further evidence to be able to travel to the USA, apart from what I already have (I-551 stamp in passport) and what that further evidence might be?

 

Please note that I'm not requesting info about the port of entry in USA, only the port of departure in NZ.

 

Thank you in advance for any help.

[Lemonslice 4,557]

The stamp is sufficient.

 

Look page 39:

 

https://www.cbp.gov/sites/default/files/assets/documents/2017-Nov/carrier-information-guide-english.pdf

 

Also, read the guide to advise the airline to reach out to their CBP liaison if needed...

 

You'll be fine.  Thousands of travelers use the stamp every day.

Edited February 15, 2023 by Lemonslice

[Crazy Cat 39,285]

48 minutes ago, HopefulAus said:

Apologies if this has already been covered. My search didn't bring up my particular situation so I started a new topic. 

 

My situation is this:

 

I am an Australian citizen spouse of a US citizen. My application to have conditions removed my Green Card (I-751) was received by USCIS in Feb 2019. I still have not had my interview scheduled. After my GC expired, I received my I-797 notice of action letter. After that expired,I had an I-551 stamp in my passport done at the Minneapolis St Paul field office. I've had the stamp renewed each year. 

 

The field officer told me that this stamp would allow me to return to the USA as proof of my LPR status while I wait for my interview. 

 

I'm currently in New Zealand and planning to return home to the USA next week. I've been away from home for a total of just over 3 months. My passport stamp is current until 10/19/2023. I've just learned that this may not be sufficient to travel. The airline may deny boarding at the port of departure (New Zealand). I've contacted an immigration lawyer in MN, USA who told me to contact the Consulate in NZ, who told me to contact the airline to confirm whether or not I need further proof of my LPR status to allow me to board a flight to USA. The airline is not currently taking calls not related to a recent severe weather event. 

 

So my question is - does anybody have any experience or knowledge of a situation like mine, whether or not I need further evidence to be able to travel to the USA, apart from what I already have (I-551 stamp in passport) and what that further evidence might be?

 

Please note that I'm not requesting info about the port of entry in USA, only the port of departure in NZ.

 

Thank you in advance for any help.

The stamp is sufficient.  I strongly advise you to file an N-400 as soon as possible.  Take a look at my signature timeline.  We also filed an I-751 in early 2019.  5 months after my wife filed her N-400 (in Aug 2022), she became a US citizen.

[Mike E 11,723]

Airlines are free to deny boarding and reports of airlines denying LPRs who present anything other than an unexpired gc are escalating. 
 

If are denied boarding your options are:

 

* fly to Canada (no eTA needed as Canada explicitly allows an I-551 stamp) or Mexico and enter into the U.S. by land. 
 

* enter the USA at Guam or CNMI.  You don’t require ESTA  (due to being an Australian citizen) (https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/tourism-visit/visa-waiver-program.html).  You tell the airlines you are doing the visa waiver (present a completed    https://www.cbp.gov/document/forms/form-i-736-guam-cnmi-visa-waiver-information at the airport of departure).  When you land in either territory, at the port of entry you declare yourself an LPR and show the I-551 stamp instead of   I-736.  You will then be allowed to travel to the mainland on your I-551 stamp, especially since you likely  have a fresh ARC entry stamp from CBP.  

 

* get a boarding foil. The process starts with an I-131a ( https://www.uscis.gov/i-131a )

[HopefulAus 19]

Thanks for all the replies. I will keep trying to contact the airline to see if they can help me to decide which step to take next. It's looking like the boarding foil may be the best option for me.

 

Seems so surreal that the country I've been living in, paying state and federal taxes (and social security) for more than 4 years with my employer there (who is expecting me back at work in March), paying a mortgage on a house in my and my husband's names, paying off car loans and receiving unemployment benefits during seasonal layoffs, has given me explicit permission to return to the country and yet the country I'm departing from is in a position the deny my entry.

[Lemonslice 4,557]

36 minutes ago, HopefulAus said:

Thanks for all the replies. I will keep trying to contact the airline to see if they can help me to decide which step to take next. It's looking like the boarding foil may be the best option for me.

 

Seems so surreal that the country I've been living in, paying state and federal taxes (and social security) for more than 4 years with my employer there (who is expecting me back at work in March), paying a mortgage on a house in my and my husband's names, paying off car loans and receiving unemployment benefits during seasonal layoffs, has given me explicit permission to return to the country and yet the country I'm departing from is in a position the deny my entry.

It would be a problem with the commercial carrier, not the country.  Commercial carriers denying boarding to passengers with valid documents is still a very RARE occurrence.  When it happens, it is most often because the front line employees lack training (that is why it is good to be informed and to be able to refer them to the CBP carrier guide).  Some airlines do have weird internal policies, but it is they are oddities.  Which airline are you flying?  

 

 

[HopefulAus 19]

56 minutes ago, Lemonslice said:

It would be a problem with the commercial carrier, not the country.  Commercial carriers denying boarding to passengers with valid documents is still a very RARE occurrence.  When it happens, it is most often because the front line employees lack training (that is why it is good to be informed and to be able to refer them to the CBP carrier guide).  Some airlines do have weird internal policies, but it is they are oddities.  Which airline are you flying?  

 

 

Thank you for this clarification. Air New Zealand, which is largely owned by the NZ government I'm told. Therefore I'm expecting a characteristically strict set of guidelines. 

[jostermacedo 52]

6 hours ago, HopefulAus said:

Thanks for all the replies. I will keep trying to contact the airline to see if they can help me to decide which step to take next. It's looking like the boarding foil may be the best option for me.

 

Seems so surreal that the country I've been living in, paying state and federal taxes (and social security) for more than 4 years with my employer there (who is expecting me back at work in March), paying a mortgage on a house in my and my husband's names, paying off car loans and receiving unemployment benefits during seasonal layoffs, has given me explicit permission to return to the country and yet the country I'm departing from is in a position the deny my entry.

I travelled a few times with the I-551 stamp. Never had an issue. Once from Brazil and the second time from China. The airline employee looked at the stamp and just asked me if it was a temporary green card. As Lemonslice mentioned above, the stamp is listed as a valid document on the CBP guide for carriers.

Edited February 15, 2023 by jostermacedo

[beloved_dingo 1,932]

The chances of being denied boarding with the valid I-551 stamp is extremely slim, imo. I've also not personally heard of Air New Zealand causing LPRs issues, regardless of their documentation (others here can correct me if I am wrong). There are a few airlines that we have seen be problematic at times with the extension letters + expired green card on VJ, but not the I-551 stamp.

 

I did a little googling and could only find a couple of instances of people discussing being denied boarding with the stamp. Both threads were over 7+ years old. 

[HopefulAus 19]

Thank you both for your replies. I do like to prepare for the worst, but reading your positive experiences and thoughts does help me a lot.

 

I also appreciate Lemonslice's post with the document attached (just what I was looking for) and Crazy Cat's suggestion to file for naturalization. Plus I really love lemon slice! My fav.

 

This has been a really useful and helpful thread for me!

Edited February 15, 2023 by HopefulAus

[HopefulAus 19]

Just wanted to give an update. Firstly, I'd like to say that in my opinion, it is a pretty tricky situation to ask airline staff to process an I-551 stamp as equivalent to a Green Card, considering that I couldn't be processed by any of the usual ways. I have no ESTA visa waiver, no Green Card and no visa, just a stamp in my passport. Still, I have the relevant evidence that I'm allowed to travel back home and never doubted my right to do so, only their willingness and ability to accept it (which to me is fair enough if they were to baulk).

 

However, I was processed without issue at not just one but two airports in New Zealand (in accepting a seat on an earlier connecting flight, I inadvertently created a situation where I had to check in at two airports before leaving). I was always polite, kept it very simple and let them ask questions rather than over explain anything. 

 

When I arrived in LA, I was allowed to use the line for US citizens and directed from there to the customs waiting room while they verified my stamp. That waiting room was full, but I was last in and first out. I felt a bit guilty about that!

 

My flight home from LA was cancelled because of a snow storm and honestly that has been the biggest issue of the whole journey. 

 

Thanks everyone for giving info, suggestions and support in this thread! I'll be applying for naturalization asap.

[Mike E 11,723]

For reasons that have nothing to do with this thread, a couple days ago, I looked at the I-551 stamp I got from INS years ago, and for the first time ever noticed that the ISO wrote the wrong year of expiration on the stamp. She stamped me in July and meant to give me a 6 month stamp expiring in January.  Instead the expiration said January, but same year.  
 

So the stamp was already expired when she stamped me.  And yet I traveled with that stamp just fine.  

Edited February 23, 2023 by Mike E

[Lemonslice 4,557]

Just curious to know if your return trip went smoothly?

[HopefulAus 19]

On 3/9/2023 at 7:35 PM, Lemonslice said:

Just curious to know if your return trip went smoothly?

Thank you! I posted my update in this thread, let me know if you can't see it. 

[Lemonslice 4,557]

11 minutes ago, HopefulAus said:

Thank you! I posted my update in this thread, let me know if you can't see it. 

Weird, nothing was showing up last time!

 

Great news, happy that everything went smoothly for you!