Global Entry, Passport Stamps, and Trips Abroad

[JimmyHou 611]

I know that you have to list all the trips you've taken outside the US since becoming a permanent resident on the N400 form and I've read several posts that said that the interview officer may look through your passport to check the dates on the form against the entry stamps in your passport.

Here's my question: what if you use Global Entry and don't have entry stamps for some of those trips? The Global Entry kiosk prints out a receipt, which is then taken by the customs agent right after baggage claim and at no point do you get your passport stamped. In fact, on my last flight from Frankfurt to Houston, I didn't even take my passport out of my bag; I scanned my green card at the kiosk and then when I gave the customs agent my receipt, he just wanted to see my green card to make sure the name matched the name on the receipt.

I assume USCIS has access to my travel dates electronically, but has anyone had any issues with not having stamps in their passports?

Thanks for your help.

[cutie bear 2]

I would bring those receipts in the interview just to be sure and still indicate it in the N-400 application.

[JimmyHou 611]

I would bring those receipts in the interview just to be sure and still indicate it in the N-400 application.

Thanks for your reply.

I'll definitely include all the trips in the application, but just to clarify, when you use Global Entry, the customs agent takes your receipt... so when you leave the airport, you have nothing.

The last time I went through, I took a photo of my receipt while I was waiting for my bag, but it never occurred to me to do that before.

[ngo3361 8]

Maybe you could bring confirmation email/receipt and/or checked bag receipts

[JimmyHou 611]

Maybe you could bring confirmation email/receipt and/or checked bag receipts

Good idea.

I'll make sure to keep all those.

[BigDaddy28 228]

Good idea.

I'll make sure to keep all those.

As long as it is a trip inside the US you don't have to declare it. If you fly internationally thats when you have to declare it. Now since you use Global entry, you might be able to get a record of your trips from the DHS. If not, I would see be as honest as you can. Mention all trips you can remember and approximately the dates (doesn't have to be exact, better to be though) When you go for your interview just tell the officer that you have global entry and that your passport doesn't get stamped sometimes. I'm sure they are aware of such situations.

Ramadhan Mubarak by the way.

[JimmyHou 611]

As long as it is a trip inside the US you don't have to declare it. If you fly internationally thats when you have to declare it. Now since you use Global entry, you might be able to get a record of your trips from the DHS. If not, I would see be as honest as you can. Mention all trips you can remember and approximately the dates (doesn't have to be exact, better to be though) When you go for your interview just tell the officer that you have global entry and that your passport doesn't get stamped sometimes. I'm sure they are aware of such situations.

Ramadhan Mubarak by the way.

Thanks silkafi88, and same to you!

[Rip_curl 4]

I used global entry quite a bit last couple of years before I got my US passport. I know what you are talking about as this could be an issue. What I use to do is to take a snap with scan app from my iphone and print it for the records.

At the end the IO who took my interview didn't even look at my 30 trips with +700 days.

[dioxide45 25]

Doesn't the new N400 form only ask for trips outside the USA in the last five years? That may make it a little easier for inventorying your travels.

Edited July 15, 2014 by dioxide45

[dioxide45 25]

I really don't think there will be an issue if you document a trip that you don't have stamps for. The issue will come up if you don't document a trip and you have stamps for it or USCIS has records of your travels that you didn't document. When traveling at land crossings between Canada and the USA, they never stamp my passport, so I have trips with no stamps that I have documented on my N400.

With Global Entry, they should have access to all of those travel dates. At least the return dates as well as whatever travel dates you entered while going through Global Entry. If you need a list of those travels, I don't really know how you can go about getting those unless they are available on the Global Entry website under your account. I don't use Global Entry, so I don't even know if this exists.

[Mollie09 1,543]

I know that you have to list all the trips you've taken outside the US since becoming a permanent resident on the N400 form and I've read several posts that said that the interview officer may look through your passport to check the dates on the form against the entry stamps in your passport.

Here's my question: what if you use Global Entry and don't have entry stamps for some of those trips? The Global Entry kiosk prints out a receipt, which is then taken by the customs agent right after baggage claim and at no point do you get your passport stamped. In fact, on my last flight from Frankfurt to Houston, I didn't even take my passport out of my bag; I scanned my green card at the kiosk and then when I gave the customs agent my receipt, he just wanted to see my green card to make sure the name matched the name on the receipt.

I assume USCIS has access to my travel dates electronically, but has anyone had any issues with not having stamps in their passports?

Thanks for your help.

Thanks for asking this! I just got my GC, was conditionally approved for GE and scheduled my interview and this was bothering me since I travel internationally once or more a month.

I guess I'll just have to continue updating my international travel spreadsheet.

[JimmyHou 611]

I keep a spreadsheet with all of my international travel; dates, airlines, flight numbers, US and foreign ports of entry and departure, and all countries visited on the trip. So, I'm confident that I haven't missed any trips, I was just worried about not having a stamp, but as some people have said, I'll keep my flight receipts (with travel dates) and going forward, I'll snap a photo of the Global Entry receipt before I turn it on on arrival.

For the last poster, you'll love Global Entry; it's saved me so much time and at least once, stopped me from missing a flight. My flight from London to DC took off two hours late and if I had had to wait in the immigration lines in DC l, I wouldn't have made my flight to Houston.

Thanks again everyone, it doesn't sound like the missing stamps are anything to worry about.

[Darth Vader Kuu 5]

I keep a spreadsheet with all of my international travel; dates, airlines, flight numbers, US and foreign ports of entry and departure, and all countries visited on the trip. So, I'm confident that I haven't missed any trips, I was just worried about not having a stamp, but as some people have said, I'll keep my flight receipts (with travel dates) and going forward, I'll snap a photo of the Global Entry receipt before I turn it on on arrival.

For the last poster, you'll love Global Entry; it's saved me so much time and at least once, stopped me from missing a flight. My flight from London to DC took off two hours late and if I had had to wait in the immigration lines in DC l, I wouldn't have made my flight to Houston.

Thanks again everyone, it doesn't sound like the missing stamps are anything to worry about.

Missing the stamps is nothing to worry about. As long as you present all passports in your possession and attempt, in good faith, to report all your international travel, you cannot be held responsible for an absence of stamps in your passport. This is fairly intuitive since the same departments that runs Global Entry runs the USCIS and they cannot expect you to provide physical evidence that they have declined to offer.

It's also worth noting that the adjudicating officers of N-400 aplications are given guidance NOT to penalise applicants who make good faith attempts to document their international travel within the statutory period, but inadvertently neglect to list all trips and/or total days outside the United States.

[JimmyHou 611]

Missing the stamps is nothing to worry about. As long as you present all passports in your possession and attempt, in good faith, to report all your international travel, you cannot be held responsible for an absence of stamps in your passport. This is fairly intuitive since the same departments that runs Global Entry runs the USCIS and they cannot expect you to provide physical evidence that they have declined to offer.

It's also worth noting that the adjudicating officers of N-400 aplications are given guidance NOT to penalise applicants who make good faith attempts to document their international travel within the statutory period, but inadvertently neglect to list all trips and/or total days outside the United States.

That's good to know... thank you!

[Darth Vader Kuu 5]

Good luck, JimmyHou!

I remember during the interview that my Immigration Officer mentioned that policy in the Miami Field District Office (not sure how this is handled nationally) is that extra scrutiny is applied to cases (suggesting possible minimal delays) only when travel outside the United States exceeds 800+ days as noted on the application.

That's good to know... thank you!