I-751 Horrible Experience #2

[Charles C 0]

Similar to another post about traveling with expired GC and the 751 letter... And the letter for dependent minors. My wife and step-daughters had GCs that expired in mid June. Well before then we received the I-751 for my wife and two single-page letters for the daughters. My wife's paper was on the "official" sheets most of the notices come on (wavy lines, official-looking) but the authorization letter for my daughters was just on plain paper with a rubber stamp signature. It seemed a little dodgy but the letters all need to be presented together. OK, I think - we have what we need. The girls go back to our home in Honduras for the summer - before the GCs expire. We have the letters in hand and it is time to return to the US. Now it gets tricky...

On return to the US, they first get hassled in Honduras. Honduras claims the papers don't look official, but they let them board a direct flight to Houston. In Houston, the US Immigration folks detain them, claiming the papers for the girls are invalid! I am not in the interview but my wife sends me text messages saying the US side is giving them a hard time. They all have valid passports (expire well in to 2016), legit (but expired) green cards, the I-751 certificate and the dependent minor letters. And birth certificates, previous entry paperwork, etc.

I am not sure what finally made the difference, but after about 2 hours they let them pass in to the US. My wife was upset and angry and would not talk about it. Hopefully their ROC is approved soon and they get their 10-year cards, but for crying out loud... they had every scrap of paper issued by the US government and they STILL got hassled.

No solutions in this post - but be forewarned if you want to travel on the flimsy paperwork you receive while awaiting ROC.

Charles

[TBoneTX 45,292]

A terrifying story -- thanks for the caution.

*** Thread moved from Removing Conditions forum to the Working & Traveling forum -- topic involves travel. ***

[Tinypumpkins 2]

So sorry about your experience, Charles! It sounds a lot worse than mine. There's nothing worse than being turned away from the country you consider home. I hope your daughters and wife weren't too affected by it. The one positive thing is, we now know not to risk anything when it comes to travel while the GC is processing.

[Charles C 0]

Thanks for the concern and everyone is fine. I would not have even thought to post it here but it might help someone else understanding what happened. I guess the key is to get the 10-year card and not take unnecessary travel!

[KierenHby 899]

The key is to travel with valid and unexpired documents.

Nations are hesitant to recognize supplemental letters that accompany expired documents, however valid they may be.

[NikLR 13,227]

The key is to travel with valid and unexpired documents.

Nations are hesitant to recognize supplemental letters that accompany expired documents, however valid they may be.

The USA should have been fine with the paperwork and they were hassling them. CBP should know better and were jerks.

The extension letter IS valid for travel.

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OP

It's unfortunate that they do not give the nice official looking letters for dependents on an I-751 petition. I think anytime after this you may want to make sure you have an I-551 stamp in the passport and not rely on a letter if you can help if for a minor especially.

[KierenHby 899]

The key is to travel with valid and unexpired documents.

Nations are hesitant to recognize supplemental letters that accompany expired documents, however valid they may be.

The USA should have been fine with the paperwork and they were hassling them. CBP should know better and were jerks.

The extension letter IS valid for

The US should have been fine with the letters/docs, since they are the ones to issue them in the first place. CBP were being jerks, yes.

I meant nations such as Honduras (Costa Rica in another thread) can be hesitant with supplemental letters.