Foreign Vacations for Green Card Holders

[The White Fiance 22]

My wife and I like to travel. While we have been waiting for the US to clear her to move here from Zambia, we have taken several trips together, and we have learned that Africans are not welcome much of anywhere. Europeans, in particular, resist giving them tourist visas even when there is overwhelming proof they will return to their home countries.

 

With this in mind, can anyone tell me if a US green card is helpful for immigrants who want to take trips to other countries?

[Timona 4,207]

The perception won't change upon receipt of GC nor US PP. 

 

With a GC and sometimes US PP, you still need to apply for some countries' visa. 

 

A GC or US PP won't change the negative perception. They may just help to make traveling easier eg, when you don't have to apply for visa. 

 

Negative perceptions are ingrained situations. I live in Texas but get ignored sometimes out in public or call agents tone become less endearing as soon as they smell my accent, and I don't have a thick accent. 

[The White Fiance 22]

Thanks for the reply. I don't care what they think of my wife. I am just wondering if they will still refuse to let her into the Schengen Area.

 

The Italian embassy staff in Lusaka flat-out lied to us, claiming she would get a visa if we paid for tickets in advance. Then we bought tickets, and they took no action at all. When she went to inquire, they told her she had been rejected. The lady was really rude. Screamed at her.

 

Of course, we lost a lot of money.

[JeanneAdil 6,491]

if your home country needs a visa to travel to a county ,  u still will need  one with a green card

Example   Cuban born native tried to enter Brazil  on 2 week vacation with his green card

he was turned away as he needs visa (Cubans do)  YOU tube video on border security

 

we waited till Adil completed his naturalization before we went to Europe 

after she goes thru the naturalization process, , she is free to travel without visa  same as any USC 

 

unfortunately ,   haters will always hate 

Edited October 5, 2022 by JeanneAdil

[Dashinka 24,488]

I agree, when traveling internationally, you have to follow the requirements of the passport you are traveling on.  So research the country you are planning to travel to, and determine what is needed for a citizen of Zambia.  If and when she decides to naturalize, she can travel on her US passport which opens up the visa free options.  I do believe you can go to Canada and possibly Mexico using just a US Green Card, but others may know better.

 

Good Luck!

[JeanneAdil 6,491]

14 minutes ago, Dashinka said:

I agree, when traveling internationally, you have to follow the requirements of the passport you are traveling on.  So research the country you are planning to travel to, and determine what is needed for a citizen of Zambia.  If and when she decides to naturalize, she can travel on her US passport which opens up the visa free options.  I do believe you can go to Canada and possibly Mexico using just a US Green Card, but others may know better.

 

Good Luck!

Mexico lets anyone in or out 

Canada has let in green card holders but turned others away (seems to be an issue of why they want to come in and what country they are native of)

 

Cruises are the same 

if u leave out of the US and the ship stops in one of the British or Danish,  you can not depart the ship

u would be ok to stop in US Virgin Islands or one of the keys and mexico 

[usmsbow 801]

1 hour ago, The White Fiance said:

 

 

With this in mind, can anyone tell me if a US green card is helpful for immigrants who want to take trips to other countries?

Canada & Mexico. There might be other countries in the Americas, but those two I'm 100% certain about.

 

Doesn't help with anywhere in Europe.

[Adventine 3,196]

I will be the contrarian and disagree with the blanket statement that having a US green card does not affect a Schengen visa application.

 

I used to work in the consular section of a foreign embassy that issued Schengen visas. When the consular officers evaluated Schengen visa applications, foreign passport holders who had US green cards were treated more favorably. They were considered less of an overstay risk in Europe because (obviously) they already had permanent residency in the US. 

 

But the green card is only one positive factor out of many. The COs always reviewed the totality of the applicants' circumstances before approving or denying Schengen visas. 

 

Most of the green card holders we interviewed had Philippine passports, but we did get some African nationals from time to time. The sample size was too small for me to say that their African nationality was viewed as a negative factor that consistently "overrode" the positive factor of having a green card.

 

Edited October 5, 2022 by Adventine

[STO Overland 137]

https://visaguide.world/visa-free-countries/green-card-holders/#where-can-green-card-holders-travel-without-a-visa
 

👆🏼worth a gander…

[The White Fiance 22]

Thanks for the replies. I am not really interested in the visa-free destinations, because they are pretty bad, apart from Canada, and the list is not much better than the list of places Zambians can go without visas regardless of green card status.

 

Today I read that the UK permits green card holders to come in.

[Kanja 201]

Everywhere “permits” green card holders to go in, but you will still likely need a visa. 
 

Everything is subjective and perception but there are beautiful welcoming  countries within Africa and the Caribbean that she may be able to travel to. You saying those destinations are “pretty bad”…well, you almost sound like the folks you say are perceiving your wife poorly because she is African. This is coming from an African…

[The White Fiance 22]

The question isn't whether she is permitted. The question is whether the green card improves her chances. See the first post.

 

Lots of countries claim my wife can visit with or without a green card, but they lie in order to seem progressive. What they say and what they do when she applies are two different things. As an African, you should know this. Europeans do things like rejecting famous African university professors who want to attend conferences. They think every African, no matter how successful, will refuse to go home.

 

I respectfully request you not try to shame me for criticizing dreary vacation destinations. Paris is nicer than Manila. Switzerland is nicer than Tanzania. Everyone knows this. Nothing wrong with pointing it out. Laying guilt trips is not nice, especially when you, yourself, are choosing to leave the kind of place I'm talking about. And I'm immune to guilt trips anyway. It is not possible to make me feel guilty when I'm right.

 

If you're trying to move from a poor country to an affluent country, it makes no sense to try to shame other people whose preferences are just like yours. 

 

Everyone here is trying to move someone to a first-world country. There is no backlog of Americans and Europeans trying to move to poor or oppressive countries. No one here has room to criticize others for preferring pleasant places.

 

My wife has no interest in visiting other African countries. After all, she has been in Africa her whole life. She has never traveled before, so she wants to see the rest of the world, and I want to make her dreams come true. She isn't dreaming of Africa or unpopular spots like Ecuador and Albania.

 

As for the Caribbean, I don't like it, and I don't want to waste our precious times together there, not to mention thousands of dollars. I grew up in Florida and spent a lot of time on the water and boating to the Bahamas, and I live in a warm place now, so I have had enough of the hot, boring tropics for a lifetime. She doesn't want to go to beaches, either. She likes places that offer intellectual stimulation. Also, flights to the Caribbean are unbelievably long and expensive. The airlines are not working hard to help Zambians get there.

 

Mexico is also a difficult place for her to fly to, and when you get there, it's like where I grew up, only poorer.

 

We are shooting for a Schengen visa through Czechia, and if it works, we'll use it to get into Austria and Switzerland. If not, we are stuck with Hong Kong and Singapore, which aren't too bad when the weather is good. By the time we find out about the visa, at least the monsoon season will be over.

[Kanja 201]

It is subjective. “Everyone knows that Paris is nicer than Manila” is simply a preference and that is fine. Having visited both destinations  I would respectfully disagree. 

 

i never shamed you, I made a statement- and you have no idea where I live, where I was born, so your statements about me “trying to leave” are presumptuous and false. Although I agree that most people on visa journey are trying to bring their partner here because of economic opportunities, outside this forum   Many fiancés join their spouses in their home countries. The ones that do decide to come to US usually do so because of better economic opportunities, not because it’s a better vacation destination 

 

not going to bother replying to everything else. Hope everything works out for you , seems like you have it all figured out and don’t really want suggestions/advice/thoughts  so not sure why you posted 

Edited October 6, 2022 by Kanja

[The White Fiance 22]

You seem to be unaware you are displaying Sierra Leone as your country.

 

Yes, it is probably true that a tiny fraction of the world's population prefers places like Tbilisi and Peru to Vienna and Florence. However, my wife and I are part of the overwhelming majority who feel otherwise. Try raffling off two tickets to Kuala Lumpur and two tickets to Rome to random people around the world and see which destination sells better.

 

If you're not trying to move yourself or someone else to America, it's strange that you're here. This is a forum for immigrants and their families.

 

The same things that make free, prosperous countries better places to live than poor, oppressive countries also make them better vacation destinations. That shouldn't need explaining.

 

As for the Caribbean and Mexico, yes, when I used the word "bad," I was being subjective, and most people would have no problem with that, nor would they feel an urge to try to correct it or shame someone for it. To me, these are bad destinations because I am tired of the heat and monotony of the tropics, neither of us wants to go there, and flights are long and expensive.

 

As for South American countries, they are bad destinations because they are very expensive, require extremely unpleasant flights, and don't offer much we want.

 

Obviously, to most of us here, I do not have it all figured out, or I would not have posted the question, which you didn't answer or even identify correctly.

 

It is true that some Americans go to live in their spouses' countries. A small minority, and it's usually because they have no choice. Would you rather have ten dollars for every American who leaves or every foreigner who comes to America?

 

And you did try to shame me.

 

I am glad you will not be responding, because people who have useful things to say can now return.

 

I believe Adventine already gave me the answer, though.

[top_secret 2,417]

I have considerable experience traveling with a Filipina who is also "visa challenged". As "single with an American boyfriend" it meant nothing on any visa application. She had to qualify for every visa standing on her own, which she did but was not easy.  HOWEVER, as "married to a rich American husband", most countries have some level of recognition for sponsorship of a spouse for tourism. Visas would be 1000 times easier if she can submit OUR financial information rather than that of a lowly Filipina in the Philippines.  None the less she did get a multiple entry Schengen Tourist Visa on her own.  It took ~100 pages of financial records as single.  As "married to a rich American" we recon it would take 5 or 6 pages.  Green Card would undoubtedly make a HUGE difference too.  Even though for 'most' (but not all) visa destinations she still has to apply.

Edited October 6, 2022 by top_secret