Greencard holder coming back from Canada.

[lovetotravel 0]

Hello,

I drove to Canada to visit some relatives, my passport was expired but I was told that I wouldn't have a problem getting in or coming back from Canada as long as I had my valid Green card with me. I saw this on both the U.S and Canadian border services website.

Now, my problem is I went to Canada in May, and told the guy my passport was expired. He didn't say much, just asked me the normal questions, looked at my Green card and let me go. He didn't scan it or anything, just looked at carefully and gave it back to me.

Now the thing is , he didn't stamp any form or give me any entry date or anything like that. I plan on going back to the States in July but a relative here has told me that I could be in trouble since I have no way to prove how long I have been in Canada, ie I can't prove to them its been less than a year or 6 months or whatever?

I mean my cousin just drove me across the border and that was that. Now I am freaking out a little bit here, how can I prove how long I have been in Canada? Could I have problems going back?? Anyone else ever been in the same boat?

Edited June 14, 2012 by lovetotravel

[lovetotravel 0]

Anybody?? Am I just freaking out for no reason here?

Edited June 14, 2012 by lovetotravel

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

CBP doesn't keep complete records of border crossings. If they don't have a record of when you left the US then they won't presume you've been gone more than a year unless you admit it, or they find evidence of it.

BTW, your card doesn't need to be physically scanned by the CBP officer. If it's one of the newer cards then it has an RFID chip in it which can be scanned if the card is within 15 or 20 feet of the card reader, unless you keep it in the foil pouch you received with it. There's a possibility they do have a record of your having passed through that border crossing.

[Kathryn41 3,205]

You should be fine. The border guard will probably ask you how long you were in Canada so you would just tell him. He will ask you where is home and you will tell him that. You shouldn't need to have proof of when you crossed the border. Keep track of the dates for your own records especially if you plan on applying for US citizenship as the petition requests a listing of time spent outside of the US, but 3 months is not going to be an issue for you on re-crossing back to the US. Jim vaPhuong's post gives you some excellent information. You won't have any problems . Your relative is just being an alarmist.

[canada_socks 97]

You definitely should be fine. I went into Canada in April and came back 2 weeks ago. When I went into Canada, I used my passport, and when I came back to the USA, I just showed them my green card. They never asked for my passport. Actually, it was the easiest time I ever had crossing into the USA.