Can my esposa Colombiana and I travel to Puerto Rico w/o EAD?

[Ken y Leidys 20]

My wife and I sent our AOS out a few weeks ago, and as a result, our EAD is still a few months away (May or June??). Regardless, we would like to travel to San Juan, Puerto Rico to celebrate our wedding and get away. Would this be a possibility in July? The US Dept. of Homeland Sec. website was not very straightforward with its' information for non-citizens: http://www.travel.state.gov/travel/cbpmc/cbpmc_2223.html

Any info would be great. Thanks,

-Ken & Leidys

[frangipani 0]

You need AP instead of EAD to travel out of USA.

[Ken y Leidys 20]

You need AP instead of EAD to travel out of USA.

I meant to say Advance Parole. I guess the amount of time is 60 days to process. I read somewhere on VJ where you have to wait a certain amount of time after you receive your green card in order to actually travel outside of the Continental United States? If this is the case, we have to wait in order to book our summer vacation...

[HeatDeath 430]

I meant to say Advance Parole. I guess the amount of time is 60 days to process. I read somewhere on VJ where you have to wait a certain amount of time after you receive your green card in order to actually travel outside of the Continental United States? If this is the case, we have to wait in order to book our summer vacation...

Theoretically you only need the AP for international travel. Practically speaking, it is what gets allowed you back through a US Customs and Immigration section upon your attempted return. If you never pass through one of those, you do not need it.

I do not know if you pass through US Customs and Immigration when you return from Puerto Rico. If you do, you will most certainly need an AP document in your hands. Domestic flights within the continental US, and even out to Hawaii and Alaska are reasonably safe, as you never pass through a US Customs checkpoint. Alaska is somewhat riskier, as any technical problems with the plane would almost certainly force an emergency landing in Canada, and once on the ground in Canada, you'd be hosed, as we say - stuck outside of the US with no valid visa and no AP document - which means no grounds to reenter the US as the spouse of a US citizen.

As Puerto Rico is a US Protectorate, there will probably not be any US Customs upon your return, but I seem to recall hearing that, since Puerto Rico is so easy for foreign nationals to enter from other Carribbean islands, and/or it is so easy for American nationals to leave and reenter PR when traveling to other Carribbean islands, that they do require all people returning from PR to go through Customs and Immigration. If that is the case, and I sincerely do not know, than you should not travel to PR without an AP document.

As to a waiting period, I do not believe that is the case. You could leave the US for a short vacation the same day your GC showed up in the mail with no repercussions whatsoever. As long as your GC is in your hand with you when you leave the country, and you do not intend to leave for too long, you're fine.

Edited March 15, 2010 by HeatDeath

[Ken y Leidys 20]

Theoretically you only need the AP for international travel. Practically speaking, it is what gets allowed you back through a US Customs and Immigration section upon your attempted return. If you never pass through one of those, you do not need it.

I do not know if you pass through US Customs and Immigration when you return from Puerto Rico. If you do, you will most certainly need an AP document in your hands. Domestic flights within the continental US, and even out to Hawaii and Alaska are reasonably safe, as you never pass through a US Customs checkpoint. Alaska is somewhat riskier, as any technical problems with the plane would almost certainly force an emergency landing in Canada, and once on the ground in Canada, you'd be hosed, as we say - stuck outside of the US with no valid visa and no AP document - which means no grounds to reenter the US as the spouse of a US citizen.

As Puerto Rico is a US Protectorate, there will probably not be any US Customs upon your return, but I seem to recall hearing that, since Puerto Rico is so easy for foreign nationals to enter from other Carribbean islands, and/or it is so easy for American nationals to leave and reenter PR when traveling to other Carribbean islands, that they do require all people returning from PR to go through Customs and Immigration. If that is the case, and I sincerely do not know, than you should not travel to PR without an AP document.

As to a waiting period, I do not believe that is the case. You could leave the US for a short vacation the same day your GC showed up in the mail with no repercussions whatsoever. As long as your GC is in your hand with you when you leave the country, and you do not intend to leave for too long, you're fine.

I agree that travel home from Puerto Rico would be risky without our Advance Parole forms. We will probably have to wait until May to book our flights out of the country. Thanks for your advice.

-Ken

[Ladylethal 12]

Ok, since I live in PR I'll confirm that yes, traveling to Puerto Rico is a domestic flight and it shouldn't be a problem. Upon arriving here it's very unlikely they'll give your wife any trouble, BUT the return flight could pose a problem, as a lot of officials at immigration get confused about whether PR is considered international or domestic flight.

Once I had a hard time in Miami 'cus I had a tourist visa valid for one entry only and I was coming to PR via Miami, and they actually thought that since I was "activating" the visa in Miami it meant I couldn't travel to PR and back through Miami as it'd be a second entry. They had to go consult superiors and came back saying I was good to go as it was indeed domestic.

I'm not sure you should risk it even though you're legally able to.

[Ken y Leidys 20]

Once I had a hard time in Miami 'cus I had a tourist visa valid for one entry only and I was coming to PR via Miami, and they actually thought that since I was "activating" the visa in Miami it meant I couldn't travel to PR and back through Miami as it'd be a second entry. They had to go consult superiors and came back saying I was good to go as it was indeed domestic.

I'm not sure you should risk it even though you're legally able to.

I told my wife about your experiences and she's too afraid to get into any kind of immigration trouble this summer. We should have the paperwork in time, but it would be a gamble to purchase tickets. We'll play it safe and go to Miami instead.