Buy one way ticket for first time entering tothe US with greencard

[snowball1081 1]

My mom's green card got approved but hadnt received the actual card. just got the permenent resident visa. She will be traveling to the US next month for the first time. Can she buy one way ticket since she's not sure when she will be back to her home country again.

[Ryan H 3,812]

Moved from Adjustment of Status from Family Based Visas to General Immigration-Related Discussion.

**Organizer hat off**

Can she buy one way ticket since she's not sure when she will be back to her home country again.

Yes

[snowball1081 1]

How can she get a gc after arriving in the US? Does she need to apply for it? Or it will be sent automatically?

[Ning 619]

My mom's green card got approved but hadnt received the actual card. just got the permenent resident visa. She will be traveling to the US next month for the first time. Can she buy one way ticket since she's not sure when she will be back to her home country again.

She can but the round trip are sometimes cheaper.

[Karee 4,190]

How can she get a gc after arriving in the US? Does she need to apply for it? Or it will be sent automatically?

She'll get it in the mail about a month after arriving in the U.S. She wont need to do anything. Hopefully the Social Security box was checked on the DS-230 question 43a. My wife got her Social Security card about 2 weeks after arrival. Her visa and arrival stamp will act as her temporary green card. It will say I-551 in her passport, which is the same as a green card. Usually it is good for one year.

Edited February 20, 2013 by Karee

[Jamnan_n_Steve 17]

Check to see if you have enough frequent flier miles as one way is exactly half a round trip (32,500 miles). Worked for us to look for her ticket and then book my return ticket on the same flight

Steve from

Jamnan_n_Steve

[Ryan H 3,812]

How can she get a gc after arriving in the US? Does she need to apply for it? Or it will be sent automatically?

It is sent automatically. The visa with a CBP entry stamp on the page next to it will act as a temporary green card until the acutal card arrives.

[biaobiao 40]

My mom's green card got approved but hadnt received the actual card. just got the permenent resident visa. She will be traveling to the US next month for the first time. Can she buy one way ticket since she's not sure when she will be back to her home country again.

check for travel agencies.. maybe they have first time immigrants discounts just like here in PI...

it will save you more. dont buy roundtrip as she dont know when she will return you will lose the value of the return flight.

[leeanjing 0]

My husband just received his IR-1 in the mail, he will have to enter the US before Sept 26, 2013. We are wondering if there is a minimum residency requirement for first time entry on an IR-1 visa. He has business outside of the US that he would like to continue with, but which would require him to leave the US just a few weeks after validating his IR-1 visa and his Green Card.

Any advice is appreciated!

[NickD 203]

She would certainly require some proof she is a LPR, If say coming here on a tourist visa, when entering the US POE, will want to see that return ticket, issue an I-94, and depending on the mood of the officer, may give her a couple of extra months or expect her to return on the same date as her return ticket. You do not want to overstay your I-94.

[Karee 4,190]

My husband just received his IR-1 in the mail, he will have to enter the US before Sept 26, 2013. We are wondering if there is a minimum residency requirement for first time entry on an IR-1 visa. He has business outside of the US that he would like to continue with, but which would require him to leave the US just a few weeks after validating his IR-1 visa and his Green Card.

Any advice is appreciated!

The IR-1 visa is actually the same as the green card. It even has an I-551 endorsement on it that is valid for 1 year. I-551 is the USCIS code for green card. He doesn't even have to wait for the green card to arrive. He can come and go as he pleases. Keep in mind that he needs to maintain residency in the U.S. and try not take trips of 6 months or more out of the U.S.

She would certainly require some proof she is a LPR, If say coming here on a tourist visa, when entering the US POE, will want to see that return ticket, issue an I-94, and depending on the mood of the officer, may give her a couple of extra months or expect her to return on the same date as her return ticket. You do not want to overstay your I-94.

The IR-1 visa IS proof of being an LPR. There is no I-94 issued for IR-1 visa holders.

[NickD 203]

"The IR-1 visa IS proof of being an LPR. There is no I-94 issued for IR-1 visa holders."

If she has that IR-1 visa no problem with buying a one way ticket, never was brought up by the OP.

But then still have to check the airline rates, when my wife and stepdaughter flew up from Colombia, was cheaper to buy a round trip ticket than a one way ticket. Also can find the best rates by looking over different dates.

Does a round trip costing far less than a one way ticket make any sense? Nothing seems to make sense anymore. But that return trip they never took anyway was only good for a particular flight on a specific date. If you don't use it, you lose it. If you want to change that date, would cost you a fortune to do so.

But also can buy a refundable ticket, at about 2-3 times the price.

On one return flight, were playing around with my wife's plane with some kind of altimeter problem causing a three hour delay. She missed her connecting flight with the same airline. Before when they did this, would put you up in a motel and feed you. Today, they put you in the back of the line and charge you a fortune more even though it was their fault you missed that flight! She had to pay for her own motel and food.

Also read the fine print on your ticket in case they injure or kill you, just some small change is all you get. Rob you in every way possible and claim they are going broke.

[NikLR 13,227]

He will definitely want to make sure he maintains residence though if he is working outside the USA.