US passport after green card

[julis82 10]

Is it possible to get a US passport after i've received my green card?

I want to visit my family and i was wondering if that's possible.

[sunny808 1]

Is it possible to get a US passport after i've received my green card?

I want to visit my family and i was wondering if that's possible.

You need to be a citizen to get a U.S. passport. You just need your passport from the county of origin and your green card to travel.

[Vanessa1 7]

You need to be a citizen to get a U.S. passport. You just need your passport from the county of origin and your green card to travel.

So it is possible for someone to travel to countries without a visa if they have a US green card, even if they would be required to have the visa had they had no green card?

[DoneWaiting 15]

Is it possible to get a US passport after i've received my green card?

I want to visit my family and i was wondering if that's possible.

As mentioned above, you cannot get an American passport until you become a US Citizen. You need your Brazilian passport. If you don’t have one, you can visit your local consulate or embassy to obtain one.

[sunny808 1]

So it is possible for someone to travel to countries without a visa if they have a US green card, even if they would be required to have the visa had they had no green card?

It depends on the country you want to visit and your country of citizenship. Some countries will allow entry without a visa to GC holders, while some countries require a visa as if you did not have a green card in the first place.

[Sc0tt28 26]

So it is possible for someone to travel to countries without a visa if they have a US green card, even if they would be required to have the visa had they had no green card?

Depends on the country you are traveling to. To enter the US, all you need is your green card (www.travel.state.gov, look under "exceptions" to needing a passport). As for the country you are traveling to, I know you can get into Canada with just a green card but not sure about other countries. The "travel.state.gov" web site can give you information about getting into other countries as well but I imagine that you'll need a passport of the country you are a citizen of.

[lucyrich 20]

So it is possible for someone to travel to countries without a visa if they have a US green card, even if they would be required to have the visa had they had no green card?

Yes, that's possible in some cases, but it depends entirely on the laws of the country to which you plan to travel. One example I'm aware of is Canada. They'll let US permanent residents (green card holders) in for a tourist visit regardless of the citizenship.

http://www.canadainternational.gc.ca/washi...ng=eng#CITIZENS

I don't think there are a lot of other countries that will allow you to use your green card to visit them without a visa, but I'm not sure. Check the embassy of the country you want to visit.

[NickD 203]

Really no sense in providing this link for the Department of State as only applies if you have a US passport. USA holds the lead for entering the most countries without a visa followed by a Euro passport, they want our money.

It's really a pain in the butt to maintain a foreign passport, most countries only have 1-3 consulate offices in the USA, want you to show up in person, then give you a hard time because why to do want this passport when you are living here? We are fortunate to live only 350 miles from Chicago, but both the Colombian and Venezuelan consulates are located in one big fat no parking sign in downtown.

Really not much of a break in getting a USC, as both these countries want, even if you are a prior citizen of these countries, that countries passport to get in.

Having ones family come here for a visit, next to impossible for them to obtain a visa to come here, but yet we are welcomed down there without a visa.

You would think this madness would stop with USC, but it doesn't. Mainly because our DOS puts your place of birth on the US passport. So you just do what you have to do.

[Vanessa1 7]

Thank you everyone! I will check out the information. I had assumed that without a US passport you couldn't go anywhere else without required visas so Canada was a surprise. I'll have to look and see if there are any others until my husband gains his citizenship.

[NickD 203]

Thank you everyone! I will check out the information. I had assumed that without a US passport you couldn't go anywhere else without required visas so Canada was a surprise. I'll have to look and see if there are any others until my husband gains his citizenship.

Actually if you want an easier slide through USC for your husband, best to minimize your out of country travel, get a job here, and pay taxes. Then do your traveling.

[john_and_marlene 162]

http://www.delta.com/planning_reservations...ation/index.jsp

The link is a tool from Delta Airlines. You enter the country of citizenship, the country of residence, connecting countries, and destination country and it will tell you the entry/stay requirements. Sometimes being a US resident makes a difference in the visa requirements, but not always.

[edward toro 3]

To Canada and Mexico. If you are GC holder you don't need a visa. But there's something else: It is way to easy to get ANY visa once you are a GC holder. you just go to the consulate of the country you want to visit, put $500 to $1k in your bank account, Get an employment letter and your good to go.

[a&o 4]

My spouse has his green card, but he still needed to get a tourist visa to enter Peru for our vacation there, and to get that visa was a huge hassle. And the visa did need to be put inside his Ghanaian passport, which had to be valid (not expired) for at least six months.

All of this made us realize we should get started with the citizenship application as soon as we could, because we like to travel and didn't realize a green card wouldn't be enough to travel around most of the world like a carefree US citizen can!

[Amin&Ani 0]

these are some of them

Canada: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/visit/visas.asp

Mexico: http://www.consulmexny.org/eng/visas_fmt...

Bahamas: http://www.bahamas.com/bahamas/about/entryrequi...?

Bermuda: http://www.bermuda.com/travelcenter/immigration...

Cayman Islands: http://www.caymanislands.ky/getting_there/entry...

Jamaica: http://www.jamaicaembassy.org/visitors.htm

Aruba: http://www.netherlands-embassy.org/article.asp?...

The Netherland Antilles: http://www.netherlands-embassy.org/article.asp?...

Antigua & Barbuda

Dominica

Switzerland used to accept visa-free travel to Green Card holders, but since becoming a member of the Schengen Agreement states recently, it probably can't do so anymore.

Usually it is easier to get a tourist visa once you're a Permanent Resident, however it also depends on your country of origin. I traveled to Europe when I had my green card and getting a visa was not particularly hard, keeping in mind that my country of origin's passport is not a 'good' candidate to receive visas !

Edited February 26, 2010 by Amin&Ani