kensey

1 hour ago, shell20 said:

It would be a lot cheaper to Fed Ex the card, not sure about the implications of that though. However, I do know how expensive a transportation letter is as I had to get one in December. I emailed them, you can ring them on certain days at certain times, but that applied to the London Embassy, so might be different if you're at a different embassy.  They wont give you a date to attend the embassy until you have paid the fee and given them details they ask for,  then you need photos, your passport a summary of what has happened and a police report. You haven't lost yours or had it stolen like i did, so you might not need this.

 

 It's shocking the price they charge you for a letter/s. Once you go to the embassy you will get two sealed envelopes which you aren't allowed to open, one to be given to the airline on your way out and the other for border control. No doubt you will get secondary, well I did!  Good luck which ever way you decide to go, but please don't go for a visa waiver it is solely for tourists and I feel it will backfire badly on you!

Unfortunately FedEx is difficult as I don't have anyone with keys to my apartment there, so I'd first have to fed ex the keys the other way, that all costs time. I guess I'll have to go the proper route and do the transportation letter. Do you get the 2 envelopes the same day you go the embassy? Unfortunately in Germany there is a 3 day waiting time to get an appointment. The phone line to the USCIS is tape only, no way to go around the electronic appointment system, and yes, it's expensive. This whole immigration thing, I always get the impression we are made to jump through hoops for nothing, all my information is in their system anyway, oh well. And to those who ask how one could possibly travel without the card, when I packed my stuff I mistook my old employment authorization card for the green card, and packed that one instead. They look kind of similar, should have thrown it away long time ago.

I left my green card in the US. I know that I'd need to obtain a transportation letter but it will definitely complicate things because of the waiting time for appointment which guarantees I'll miss my flight  and various work appointments.

I was thinking about another option:

Fill out an ESTA form and use the visa waiver program to immigrate as a tourist. Then, when arriving in Boston, pick up the green card, drive up to Canada, and come back with the greencard. If possible, this would be WAY easier than the transportation letter.

But is this legally possible or a really stupid idea? What will immigration say if I enter as a tourist while being a permanent resident?