Need a passport stamp for travelling? - have NOA letter

[jsab4 0]

Hi,

I am a UK citizen waiting for the approval of my petition to remove conditions on my residency.

I had my biometrics appointment in August and the status of my petition is pending. I have the Notice of Action letter (I-797) saying that my conditional resident status has been extended for one year.

So my question is - do I actually need to get stamps in my passport for travelling? - I am going to England in December. My nearest office is pretty far from my home and others have said that coming back in with 1. my passport, 2. my expired greencard, 3. my Notice of Action letter, will be enough to admit me back into the US. HOWEVER, I called USCIS today and they said you need to get your passport stamped before you travel.

So I'm planning a trip to my nearest office to get a stamp - luckily they have appointments available in November.

Has anyone else travelled with expired greencard and the letter? Did you get passport stamps too?

Thanks!

[carocaro 22]

I travelled with expired green card and letter and just allowed lots of time between flights for the Customs & Immigration process back into USA. I never had my passport stamped before I left and as I am Canadian it was rarely stamped anyhow. I just took everything I needed including my flight ticket & boarding pass etc. that I left the country on.

[Brit Abroad 166]

Your card has expired, not your residency. That's the whole point of issuing the NOA letter as an extension to the card. There is no need to have the stamp. CBP have access to your residence status and can check it when you come back in to the US.

As carocaro suggests ... just make sure you have plenty of connection time between flights, in case you end up with the CBP officer who has more aggression than brains.

[cathy2904 97]

I agree with Brit Abroad. I will also be going back to England in December and I will just have my expired green card and NOA.

[jsab4 0]

Thanks for the advice - I am wondering why the woman at USCIS told me I had to get it stamped. Anyone have any idea why they'd say I need to get passport stamps when my residency has already been extended?

[Kathryn41 3,205]

Topic has been moved from the CR-1/IR-1 forum to the Working and Travelling During US Immigration forum as the OP has their visa and is asking about travelling during the Removal of Conditions part of the immigration process and is better addressed in this forum

[Dave&Roza 748]

Thanks for the advice - I am wondering why the woman at USCIS told me I had to get it stamped. Anyone have any idea why they'd say I need to get passport stamps when my residency has already been extended?

The mis-information line at work again. The only problems you might have will be with a poorly trained airline employee that does not understand that the letter extends the GC for another year. Just check with the airlines to make certain.

Have a good trip,

Dave