What's the difference between a GC and a US Passport

[Me&Her 2]

Well this sounds like an easy one, but what is the different between a green card issued by uncle Sam (to the permanent residents) and the passport (issued to the, well, us USCs), in terms of visa requirement to visit foreign countries?

[sachinky 465]

A GC holder is a legal permanent resident of the US. He/she still remains a citizen of their own country. They are thus subject to visa requirements for visiting other countries just as they were before. The only countries I'm not sure about are Canada and Mexico.

A US passport holder is a USC. They have special visa waivers for other countries and can travel without visas to several countries around the world.

Edited June 17, 2010 by sachinky

[trailmix 77]

Well this sounds like an easy one, but what is the different between a green card issued by uncle Sam (to the permanent residents) and the passport (issued to the, well, us USCs), in terms of visa requirement to visit foreign countries?

Basically you just need to look up the requirements for each country before you visit. With Canada, the green card will suffice, if you are crossing a land border, but they may ask for the passport as well. Most airlines will not let you board without a passport anyway, if you are flying.

But the bottom line is, if you previously needed a visa to visit Canada, you will not with the green card.

Edited June 17, 2010 by trailmix

[VanessaTony 3,567]

** moved from "Adjustment of Status (Green Card) from Family Based Visas" to General Immigration Related Discussion as this isn't an AOS question specifically, more a general Immigration question**

[Brother Hesekiel 2,236]

Correct. For starters, assume you do not have a GC when you intend to travel to a foreign country. There are a few exceptions, however, where the GC works like a visa waiver.