Traveling on Extension Letter?

[Linalina 0]

4 minutes ago, ChefB123 said:

Hey Linalina, 

Did your gc come back approved while you were away and you used the letter to come back or are you still waiting? Did you file for a reentry permit? 

 

Thanks! 

No, my case is with California and it will be probably another 3-4 months, total of at least 16-18 months waiting. So, right now I have expired green card and expired letter and still no stamp in passport. You do not need to file for reentry. I contacted embasssy and they said you do not need to get reentry if you have extension letter and have been outside US less than a year. It only applies to those who’s been outside more than a year and who have no valid proof of residency. 

The only time I had little problem is when I was at the check-in to go back to states and operator didn’t know what date of expiration to put for gc, I told her to add one more year to what is written on card. 

[Rob82UK 0]

Anyone travelled on an “expired” NOA letter?

my letter is dated 12/19/2016 and my GC expiry 1/28/2017.

I travel Sunday to UK and plan to re-enter US on 12/24/2017.

 

thanks

Edited December 16, 2017 by Rob82UK

[ChefB123 0]

3 hours ago, Linalina said:

No, my case is with California and it will be probably another 3-4 months, total of at least 16-18 months waiting. So, right now I have expired green card and expired letter and still no stamp in passport. You do not need to file for reentry. I contacted embasssy and they said you do not need to get reentry if you have extension letter and have been outside US less than a year. It only applies to those who’s been outside more than a year and who have no valid proof of residency. 

The only time I had little problem is when I was at the check-in to go back to states and operator didn’t know what date of expiration to put for gc, I told her to add one more year to what is written on card. 

Incredibly helpful and makes me a bit more hopeful that we could stay out of country longer than the 90 days our lawyer suggested.  My wife just got her i797 yesterday and still waiting biometrics, but we're told it's an 11-13 month wait from USCIS's receipt, which was about 10 days ago...  anyway...Thank you!  gonna take it slow and let things unfold before committing to a longer trip.  Thanks again!

[Quido83 7]

Did anyone use the extension letter in Turkey? I'm going to visit my family in Turkey, but I'm still not sure if the people who work in check-in kiosks are aware of this letter? I just called Turkish Airlines to get a confirmation, but it seems that they don't even know what it is.

 

I'd appreciate it if anyone who used the letter in Turkey could let me know about his/her experience?

[BDD 8]

On 12/21/2017 at 12:45 PM, Quido83 said:

Did anyone use the extension letter in Turkey? I'm going to visit my family in Turkey, but I'm still not sure if the people who work in check-in kiosks are aware of this letter? I just called Turkish Airlines to get a confirmation, but it seems that they don't even know what it is.

 

I'd appreciate it if anyone who used the letter in Turkey could let me know about his/her experience?

Not from Turkey, but my wife is from Romania. We have had many difficulties with them not knowing how the US operates. Your best resource is the US Embassy in Turkey. Have a working phone # for them before you go to the airport. The check-in people will likely need to make a phone call to a manager. Be sure to be there extra early. If they can't figure it out, suggest to them that they contact the US Embassy in Turkey. Also, be prepared to request a more competent manager if they can't solve the issue. The Embassy can at least convince them that such extension letters exists and that you're not a fool or trying to trick them. That's motivation for them to get a proper manager involved. Good luck!

[Quido83 7]

5 hours ago, BDD said:

Not from Turkey, but my wife is from Romania. We have had many difficulties with them not knowing how the US operates. Your best resource is the US Embassy in Turkey. Have a working phone # for them before you go to the airport. The check-in people will likely need to make a phone call to a manager. Be sure to be there extra early. If they can't figure it out, suggest to them that they contact the US Embassy in Turkey. Also, be prepared to request a more competent manager if they can't solve the issue. The Embassy can at least convince them that such extension letters exists and that you're not a fool or trying to trick them. That's motivation for them to get a proper manager involved. Good luck!

That's exactly what I'm scared of. I've heard that one passenger was denied boarding in Istanbul and asked for a transportation document(I-131A) from US Embassy in Turkey. That transportation document's filing fee is $575, by the way. I hope I don't have to deal with that kind of things...

 

Thank you for your answer.

[WeGuyGal 1,052]

The US embassy would ideally refuse a transportation document with the stipulation that the expired green card and valid extn letter are sufficient evidence to travel to a US port of entry, according to the official carrier information guide. 

[OmarandRico 8]

My other half and I flew back from Mexico City yesterday.. We both have global entry however I am unable to use it due to my extension letter. My other half works for a airline so checkin was un-eventful. When we arrived in Houston he used global entry then walked with me to the customs line. The greeter directed us to the visitors like because the line was unusually short compared to the very long citizen line. When we approached the booth I handed him my extension letter and my other half handed his global entry receipt. He asked why we both didn't use it and we stated because green card is expired..  He said oh that's right.. He typed something in the computer, stamped my passport and wrote LPR and we were on our way.. very uneventful.. The only downside is not having use of global entry.

[OshunMY 4]

On 11/19/2017 at 3:14 AM, OshunMY said:

Hi all,

 

I just returned from traveling on an extension letter and would love to share my experience.

 

I flew in through Oakland airport from Barcelona and didn't have any problems. In Barcelona, I checked in for the flight with my passport, expired green card and the extension letter and the airline staff seemed to be familiar with the process so it didn't take too much time. I was traveling with my husband and on arrival in Oakland, we got in the line for citizens and permanent residents. There were self-service kiosks but that didn't work for me so I showed a staff my extension letter and we were told to proceed to the booth with the assurance that "you'll be fine". I appeared at the booth with my husband and showed all our documents to be processed together. Again, they seemed familiar with the extension letter and after a few standard questions, we were done! 

 

Like many of you, I was worried about traveling on an extension letter and I'm glad my experience was professional. Please feel free to ask me if you have any questions and I'll do my best to answer them based on my experience. Good luck!

I shared my experience coming back and it was all smooth. Well, I am thinking of traveling again in February to go back home to Malaysia for Chinese New Year. And I have a question that I hope someone can advise me on.

My extension letter is dated Feb 2017 and my GC expired in May 2017 but I understand that the extension letter is valid for a year from the GC expiration not the date of the letter, am I right? So technically my extension letter is valid until May 2018. To travel in February and be back before March 2018, do I need an I-551 stamp on my passport? Thanks for the help!

[Amuthan 5]

Hi All,

 

Just thought I'd share my experience with the I-751 and entering US:

 

Trip 1 - Shanghai to Detroit (Air)

Airline: Delta

Ground Staff: Shanghai Local Staff

 

Reached the airport a few hours prior to my departure just thinking how I'd be explaining all of it to the check-in agent. Head to the check-in counter, hand her my passport and Expired GC. She looks at it and asks me if I have a letter extending my GC, no hassles got through easy peasy. 

 

Landed in Detroit, couldn't use the Global Entry kiosk so had to go the VO, very empty that day at Detroit. Officer looks at my GC, swipes it once, twice and then lets me know that it's expired. I said I have an extension letter. He was like huh? A letter? I hand him the I-797 he then proceeds to question how long I was out of the country for, then fingerprints me and asks me to go.

 

Trip 2 - Cape Liberty to Nassau, Bahamas (Cruise Ship)

Cruise line: Royal Caribbean

Port Staff: New Jersey local staff

 

The customer support reps were actually not helpful. We called them about 12 times and all 12 of them said you cannot travel to the Bahamas without a visa if your GC has expired. Called the Bahamian Consulate in NYC and they said I absolutely needed a visa. Now  both of us were terrified because we were leaving the morning after I flew in from Shanghai. There was literally no time for me to get a visa and embark on the same day. So, I start reading up online and everyone said there were no issues, but all of them were either flying or had temp non-immigrant US visas, or valid GCs. I remember reading online somewhere that if you are transiting in the Caribbean for less than 24 hours you do NOT need a visa!! So, long story short showed up to the port with a lot of anxiety and the agent just swiped the GC, waved us a good trip. She didn't even ask for the extension letter. So then someone on board said that the cruise line will send DHS the passenger manifest a day before and DHS will clear/flag passengers based on immigration and/or criminal status. Not sure how true that is, but seems to be logical.

 

Anyways, for those of you fearing to travel to other countries and afraid of being denied entry to the US fear not.

 

Happy and Safe Travels! 

 

[WeGuyGal 1,052]

1 hour ago, Amuthan said:

 

Just thought I'd share my experience with the I-751 and entering US:

 

Trip 1 - Shanghai to Detroit (Air)

Airline: Delta

Ground Staff: Shanghai Local Staff

 

Nice detailed review..

 

Your country flag shows India.. wondering if you used the extension letter from India, or Shanghai was your original departure point on this trip? We're just curious how familiar Indian immigration\airline agents are with the extn letter for a trip we're planning there. 

[Zcomuto 16]

Has anyone had experience flying through Denver or Gatwick airports with an expired GC and an extension notice?

How about with Norwegian airlines check in staff?

 

I may be having to make some emergency travel soon, but I'm worried about flying through a smaller airport that may not see as many extension letters, and how a low cost carrier staff will see the letter.

[cambo0168 1]

I want to share my experienced travel outside the country with i-751 extension letter. I'm landed at JFK terminal 1 and skipped the kiosk machine and went direct to the line after 30mn waiting, i handed my passport expired GC and my extension letter to the CBP officer, she looked at my extension letter and type it in her computer ask me where im traveling from and done. It was a smooth process. So everybody that planning on traveling outside the country with the extension letter should not worry about re-entry at all.

[Roy&Chanel 109]

Did anyone travel right after getting NOA before biometrics appointment letter arrive and missed the biometrics appointment when coming back from vacation?

[Amuthan 5]

On 1/6/2018 at 3:35 AM, WeGuyGal said:

Nice detailed review..

 

Your country flag shows India.. wondering if you used the extension letter from India, or Shanghai was your original departure point on this trip? We're just curious how familiar Indian immigration\airline agents are with the extn letter for a trip we're planning there. 

Sorry for the delayed response.. My original departure was from Shanghai. I am yet to use the letter to travel to India. It would be an interesting experience!