Costa Rica Travel on EAD/AP

[phoenixonfire 0]

Hello!

I am an Indian citizen married to a US citizen in the process of waiting for my interview for Green Card. I have an Indian Passport, US H1B Visa (expiring May 31st, 2018), Employment Authorization Document with Advance Parole valid until Jan, 2019. 
I am traveling to Costa Rica for 9 days for tourism. As much as I have checked as long as you have a valid passport with US Visa, you are good to travel. When I booked my travel about 8 months ago, I imagined I would have my Green Card by now but due to delays in Immigration, my case is waiting to be scheduled for an interview. 

Can I travel to Costa Rica on a valid passport, visa, EAD, AP and Return ticket combo? It has been really hard to get a response from the Costa Rican embassy. I wonder if someone could shed some light as I leave in 5 days!

Preeti

[jkstark 97]

From their web page specifically when searching for Indian citizen requirements:

 

SITUATIONS THAT DO NOT NEED TOURIST VISA TO ENTER TO COSTA RICA

 

Nationals of countries that require a VISA to enter Costa Rica are NO LONGER REQUIRED TO APPLY FOR THE VISA if:

• You have a tourist, visa, crew visa or business visa (multiple entry) from the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA or CANADA. Note: This visa must be stamped in the passport and must be valid for a minimum of 1 day from the day you enter Costa Rica. The length of stay may not be greater than the validity of the visa and may not exceed 30 days.
• You have permanent residence, a student visa (F1, J1), a work visa (H1B, G4, etc.) in the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA or CANADA. Note 1: This type of visa must be stamped in the passport and must be valid for at least six months. Note 2: Permanent residents must submit their residence card, which should be valid for at least six months. The residence card (Green Card) must meet the new security features according to the specifications by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). The green card should have an expiration date according to the security features. Note 3: The residence stamped on the passport, refugee status, parole or work cards are not accepted and therefore people who possess these need to apply for a visa at the Consulate of your jurisdiction.

 

http://www.costarica-embassy.org/index.php?q=node/24

[phoenixonfire 0]

1 minute ago, jkstark said:

From their web page specifically when searching for Indian citizen requirements:

 

SITUATIONS THAT DO NOT NEED TOURIST VISA TO ENTER TO COSTA RICA

 

Nationals of countries that require a VISA to enter Costa Rica are NO LONGER REQUIRED TO APPLY FOR THE VISA if:

• You have a tourist, visa, crew visa or business visa (multiple entry) from the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA or CANADA. Note: This visa must be stamped in the passport and must be valid for a minimum of 1 day from the day you enter Costa Rica. The length of stay may not be greater than the validity of the visa and may not exceed 30 days.
• You have permanent residence, a student visa (F1, J1), a work visa (H1B, G4, etc.) in the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA or CANADA. Note 1: This type of visa must be stamped in the passport and must be valid for at least six months. Note 2: Permanent residents must submit their residence card, which should be valid for at least six months. The residence card (Green Card) must meet the new security features according to the specifications by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). The green card should have an expiration date according to the security features. Note 3: The residence stamped on the passport, refugee status, parole or work cards are not accepted and therefore people who possess these need to apply for a visa at the Consulate of your jurisdiction.

 

http://www.costarica-embassy.org/index.php?q=node/24

Thanks for your reply! I have already seen this! It is confusing as I have H1B, EAD and AP but there is no clarity on travel on those. I have reached out to Los Angeles Costa Rican Embassy for clarity as well. I have tons of evidence to show that I work here but I am scared they will deny entry.

[jkstark 97]

Well - check with them, but I would read this as if you have a passport and a H1B, you are good to go with those alone...

[AK_2014 113]

5 minutes ago, phoenixonfire said:

Thanks for your reply! I have already seen this! It is confusing as I have H1B, EAD and AP but there is no clarity on travel on those. I have reached out to Los Angeles Costa Rican Embassy for clarity as well. I have tons of evidence to show that I work here but I am scared they will deny entry.

It looks like the EAD (which is a work card) and AP (which is a parole card) are covered by the last sentence ("Note 3: The residence stamped on the passport, refugee status, parole or work cards are not accepted and therefore people who possess these need to apply for a visa at the Consulate of your jurisdiction.")

 

Unfortunately, they will not help in this situation.

 

The H1B is covered here: "You have permanent residence, a student visa (F1, J1), a work visa (H1B, G4, etc.) in the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA or CANADA. Note 1: This type of visa must be stamped in the passport and must be valid for at least six months."

 

So the question seems to be whether it must be valid for at least six months overall (in which case it seems that you should be fine), or six months from date of entry (which would be problematic, as it expires in late May).

[jkstark 97]

Just for clarification on the language used, I took a look at the Costa Rican embassy in Canada, where the wording was a bit different, but with regard to Indian citizens (by their classification in group 3):

 

"For the nationals of group 3 and 4 countries that need a visa to enter Costa Rica, exceptions apply in the following cases:

1. Nationals of countries listed in the Third and Fourth Group who have a multiple entry visa (tourist visa, a visa for crew members or a business visa) to enter the United States (exclusively visa types B1-B2, visa type D or visa C1/D of multiple entries), Canada (exclusively multiple entry visa), stamped in their passport may enter Costa Rica without a consular visa. The maximum stay will not be longer than the validity of the visa and will not exceed 30 days.
2. Nationals of countries listed in the Third Group and Fourth Group who have a legal permanence that allows multiple entries, and with a minimum validity of at least six months in the United States of America, Canada, and the countries of the European Union, are exempted from Consular Visa to enter Costa Rica. The six month validity period will be counted from the day of entry into Costa Rica. The maximum stay authorized will be 30 days and the passport must be at least six months valid. Those nationals, who don’t have the minimum required residence of six months, can apply for a Consular Visa in the corresponding country. This exception is not applicable to people with permanent legal residence as refugee, in which case a Consulted Visa has to be requested. "

So it looks like your visa must be valid for 6 months after you enter Costa Rica...

[phoenixonfire 0]

 "A legal permanence that allows multiple entries, and with a minimum validity of at least six months in the United States of America." " The maximum stay authorized will be 30 days and the passport must be at least six months valid."

I have legal permanence proof both on a card and stamped on my passport until 2019 Jan. (That's more than six months). I also have a passport valid for 8 years.

[AK_2014 113]

2 minutes ago, phoenixonfire said:

 "A legal permanence that allows multiple entries, and with a minimum validity of at least six months in the United States of America." " The maximum stay authorized will be 30 days and the passport must be at least six months valid."

I have legal permanence proof both on a card and stamped on my passport until 2019 Jan. (That's more than six months). I also have a passport valid for 8 years.

I just don't know. But I really hope it works out for you!

 

Looking again at the Note 3 above (from their embassy in the US): "Note 3: The residence stamped on the passport, refugee status, parole or work cards are not accepted and therefore people who possess these need to apply for a visa at the Consulate of your jurisdiction."

 

They don't accept AP/EAD, or "residence stamped on the passport" (presumable I-551 extension stamp or similar). With an H1B that is expiring in less than six months, there are problems with the more explicit wording on the Canadian embassy site quoted above. 

 

Costa Rica is known for being tricky about what they will accept (search VJ for several other accounts of people with various types of US immigration docs having difficulty entering/leaving Costa Rica).

 

 

 

[javadown2 308]

Cant you just bring the proof of your AP and AOS letter, marriage license....and passport...I'm thinking you will be ok, but I see how it might go bad! How long ago did you get married and how long have you been in the US?