Traveling With Expired 2 Years Green Card Visa

[fzk1786 2]

Im on the same boat except im just planning ahead of time..i will be sending my i-751 on september 1st 2016 and i plan to travel internationally for atleast 2 months around october last week..

I just wanted ask..(lets assume they call me for an interview)..how long after sending the i 751 do we get called for the interview??? I just started going through the whole process..i really have to be in my home country as i plan to write my exams for my grad...

[stillwaiting123 2]

Hi All, I posted about this concern here in another thread last week - this was my experience with US immigration officers at pre-clearance at Dublin airport two weeks ago. See text below.

I traveled home in December for the Christmas and New Year period and my Husband (an American citizen) joined me 5 days later for 10 days. I ended up staying 5 weeks as my Mother was unwell and returned last Wednesday. I produced my I-797 Notice of Action and my expired Green Card at the desk and the officer asked if I was still married and what was the update on the processing of my green card. I told him that I am still married and that I did my biometrics in June but have had no word since. He asked me to come with him to another room so I asked him if there was a problem and he said sharply "There might be. It's conditional. You might be denied". I was told to wait while he spoke to another officer and asked him to check everything out. I couldn't hear what was said between them but after some typing on his keyboard, he made a call, left his desk to go to speak to someone else. After a couple of minutes he returned and asked me if I was still married and what my Husband worked at and also what I worked at. I told him and then he said "how long were you here for" so I told him 5 weeks and that my Husband had joined me for 10 days of the trip. I asked him if there was a problem and he said "just go and check it out when you get back". Thankfully he let me through but it really unnerves me as I thought the whole idea of the I-751 receipt is that it allows work and travel authorization for one year. Mine doesn't expire until May and I have used it twice before with no problems.

So when I returned, I told my Husband what happened and we tried to get to speak to someone at USCIS but the automated system would not recogonize my receipt number. I checked the online Case Status tool and it's still stuck on the "we received your Form CRI-89" blah blah (I have been checking it regularly since May!). We ended up making an Info Pass appointment for next week. Has anybody else had issues with traveling with this form? I'm hoping we can get more clarity next Wednesday at our Info Pass appointment and I am aware that Vermont has lengthy delays but surely these officers know this already? It was an uncomfortable and unnerving experience to say the least.

One of the other May 2015 filers replied and informed me his experience:

I'm also a May filer and I traveled back home last October with my wife. We returned back together, didn't have any issue entering US by then with the NOA1 letter. What you went through is due to the miscommunication between USCIS and CBP. Both operate under DHS but they are separate agencies. They guys at the passport control are CBP agents, they are certainly familiar with the USCIS paperwork but the ones you dealt with were clearly not familiar with the backlog situation at the Vermont Service Center. Since it's been 8 months you filed, they probably assumed your case must have been adjudicated by now. All they needed to do was to find a computer with internet and check the current processing time at the Vermont Service Center, which is at March 23nd 2015. They probably tried to check the status of your case there with the case number on the NOA1 document, but remember we have two tracking numbers. The one on the 1 year extension letter is useless, and only the one on the Biometric letter actually works. So they couldn't track your case with that number either and held you for even longer. I bet CBP doesn't know anything about the two tracking numbers either.

And another May Filer also responded with his experience and this guy has the letter AND a stamp on his passport:

Hey, Yes dont worry!! I also travaled back in August with a expired greencard and the form stating it was extended for a year...i also had THE STAMP on my passport. BUT STILL when coming in through Houston...with my US citizen wife..they put me in a room and where asking me for bunch of personal stuff...holding me for almost 2 hours.....then let me through...i didnt let it get to me! but i still got approved!! so dont worry!! they just like to abuse there power

Myself and my Husband have an Info Pass appointment tomorrow to see if we can get some further information. The letter is supposed to be sufficient for travel and work and I'm scared to take chances on anymore travel until we know more.

I will post tomorrow evening when we get back from our Info Pass appointment.

[Pitaya 2,577]

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Edited January 27, 2016 by Pitaya

[Pitaya 2,577]

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Edited January 27, 2016 by Pitaya