Int'l travel after a successful I-751 ROC interview

[FeelingYoung66 25]

My wife recently had her I-751 ROC interview which was combined with her N-400 naturalization interview. Happy to say that she easily passed them both and we are now awaiting an oath ceremony date. About a week after the interview, she receives official notification in the mail (an I-797 NOA letter) saying that her ROC is approved and that a new green card will be sent. The letter also specifically states that she should not travel outside the country at this time because she may have difficulty getting back in. Does anyone know why this is the case? She still has possession of her expired two-year GC and the four-year extension letter that has about a year and a half left on it. So, is that four-year extension letter now suddenly no-good? Thanks in advance for any enlightenment on this.

[Crazy Cat 45,183]

She can still travel on the expired Green card and extension letter or the 10 year Green card until the oath ceremony.  At the oath ceremony, she will surrender both of them.  She will need a US passport to travel after the oath ceremony.

[Crazy Cat 45,183]

1 hour ago, FeelingYoung66 said:

About a week after the interview, she receives official notification in the mail (an I-797 NOA letter) saying that her ROC is approved and that a new green card will be sent.

Our combo interview was at Dallas, too, in late 2022.  However, my wife received a letter about a week later which stated she would NOT receive a 10 year card since her N-400 was approved.  

[OldUser 10,352]

2 hours ago, Crazy Cat said:

She can still travel on the expired Green card and extension letter or the 10 year Green card until the oath ceremony.  At the oath ceremony, she will surrender both of them.  She will need a US passport to travel after the oath ceremony.

She'll also have to list all international trips she took between interview an oath ceremony

[FeelingYoung66 25]

5 hours ago, Crazy Cat said:

She can still travel on the expired Green card and extension letter or the 10 year Green card until the oath ceremony.  At the oath ceremony, she will surrender both of them.  She will need a US passport to travel after the oath ceremony.

The approval letter says otherwise..

"You should not travel outside the United States until you receive your new Green Card, as you may have difficulty reentering the United States."

[Fr8dog 459]

The moment your 10 year card is produced, the systems get updated. So if you are out of the country during production you'll may potentially end up with an expired card and a voided letter at the border as you 10 year card is on its way to your mailbox at home.

It all makes perfect sense in real life, but you're dealing with computer systems.

 

[FeelingYoung66 25]

6 hours ago, Crazy Cat said:

Our combo interview was at Dallas, too, in late 2022.  However, my wife received a letter about a week later which stated she would NOT receive a 10 year card since her N-400 was approved.  

 

I guess things have changed. This I-751 approval letter specifically says that she will be getting the new permanent resident green card. It mentions no other possibility.

 

"You should receive a new Permanent Resident Card (Form I-551, also known as a Green Card) within 60 days."

 

It goes on to say..

 

"You should not travel outside the United States until you receive your new Green Card, as you may have difficulty reentering the United States."

Edited 12 hours ago by FeelingYoung66

[FeelingYoung66 25]

43 minutes ago, Fr8dog said:

The moment your 10 year card is produced, the systems get updated. So if you are out of the country during production you'll may potentially end up with an expired card and a voided letter at the border as you 10 year card is on its way to your mailbox at home.

It all makes perfect sense in real life, but you're dealing with computer systems.

 

Thank you Fr8dog. Your explanation seems plausible.

[OldUser 10,352]

1 hour ago, Fr8dog said:

The moment your 10 year card is produced, the systems get updated. So if you are out of the country during production you'll may potentially end up with an expired card and a voided letter at the border as you 10 year card is on its way to your mailbox at home.

It all makes perfect sense in real life, but you're dealing with computer systems.

 

 

1 hour ago, FeelingYoung66 said:

The approval letter says otherwise..

"You should not travel outside the United States until you receive your new Green Card, as you may have difficulty reentering the United States."

Yes, there is wording saying you should not travel. There are examples on VJ of people successfully travelling in the past. But you never know...

[From_CAN_2_US 1,148]

Please see my post from last year: 

 

[Crazy Cat 45,183]

8 hours ago, FeelingYoung66 said:

The approval letter says otherwise..

"You should not travel outside the United States until you receive your new Green Card, as you may have difficulty reentering the United States."

You are still a legal resident with or without the 10 year card.  There have been multiple cases where members traveled without issue.  I have never heard of anyone having problems using the expired Green Card and extension letter in this situation.

 

The official CBP carrier guide allows airline boarding with the expired Green Card and unexpired extension letter.  It even allows boarding with an expired 10 year card. Realistically, the word "difficulty" doesn't mean "barred from".  Anyway, my rationale FWIW. 

Edited 4 hours ago by Crazy Cat

[Crazy Cat 45,183]

8 hours ago, FeelingYoung66 said:

This I-751 approval letter specifically says that she will be getting the new permanent resident green card. It mentions no other possibility.

There are even cases where people received a new Green Card after their oath ceremony....LOL.