Travel abroad while removing conditions on green card

[Claudina 1]

Hello, 
I need to remove the conditions of my green card and also want to travel, however, I’m having trouble understanding if I can. My green card expires on Jan 28 2024 and the tool of USCIS says I can send the form i-751 as early as October 2023.

 

I was planning to visit my country in November, near Thanksgiving, but I’m not certain if I send the form in October, would I need to wait to receive the confirmation before traveling or I can travel abroad without problem since my Green Card would still be valid?

All the information I found is about traveling after filing with the Green Card expired. Mine will not be expired and I’m a little confused. I can’t really find anything online about my circumstance.

 

Thank you in advance for your answers!

[Timona 4,207]

It's not expired. So, you can travel with it, up until the day it expires.

 

After it expires, you need the expired GC + extension.

 

If you file and receive extension before you travel, you still don't need to travel with the extension as explained in the opening statement. However, you're free to travel with it if it makes you feel better. @Rocio0010

[JeanneAdil 6,491]

i would take a copy of the ROC confirmaiton letter (leave original at home in US)

just in case bad weather makes returning before Jan 24th an issue 

[Liam2021 583]

36 minutes ago, JeanneAdil said:

i would take a copy of the ROC confirmaiton letter (leave original at home in US)

Never do that.

[SalishSea 17,818]

19 minutes ago, Liam2021 said:

Never do that.

Why?

[Mike E 11,739]

2 minutes ago, SalishSea said:

Why?

Because the airline might not board with a copy of an original extension letter

 

1 hour ago, Claudina said:

would I need to wait to receive the confirmation before traveling or I can travel abroad without problem since my Green Card would still be valid?

That close to GC expiration, I would  wait for the extension letter.

[Claudina 1]

23 minutes ago, Mike E said:

That close to GC expiration, I would  wait for the extension letter.

I don't know if it changes anything but forgot to mention I was planning on 14 days travel so I should be back the first week of December. 

[Claudina 1]

2 hours ago, Claudina said:

Hello, 
I need to remove the conditions of my green card and also want to travel, however, I’m having trouble understanding if I can. My green card expires on Jan 28 2024 and the tool of USCIS says I can send the form i-751 as early as October 2023.

 

I was planning to visit my country in November, near Thanksgiving, but I’m not certain if I send the form in October, would I need to wait to receive the confirmation before traveling or I can travel abroad without problem since my Green Card would still be valid?

All the information I found is about traveling after filing with the Green Card expired. Mine will not be expired and I’m a little confused. I can’t really find anything online about my circumstance.

 

Thank you in advance for your answers!

 

Forgot to mention would be a 14 days trip, so I should be back the first week of December.

[mindthegap 2,590]

49 minutes ago, SalishSea said:

Why?

 

Because it is watermarked

[OldUser 6,623]

14 minutes ago, Claudina said:

 

Forgot to mention would be a 14 days trip, so I should be back the first week of December.

I hope you still remember Covid-19 and sudden border closures. If you're outside of the US when your GC expires, you'll have difficulty returning back. Extension letter would give you 4 years to return theoretically.

[Claudina 1]

9 hours ago, OldUser said:

I hope you still remember Covid-19 and sudden border closures. If you're outside of the US when your GC expires, you'll have difficulty returning back. Extension letter would give you 4 years to return theoretically.

I do remember, I had to get a K-1 visa extension and get special permits from my country to travel (in May 2021 my country's border was still closed that's when I traveled). Thinking the worst happens, how difficult do you think it would be to return?

[OldUser 6,623]

1 hour ago, Claudina said:

I do remember, I had to get a K-1 visa extension and get special permits from my country to travel (in May 2021 my country's border was still closed that's when I traveled). Thinking the worst happens, how difficult do you think it would be to return?

Travel with the extension letter if you can. No gain in leaving it home. One of the purposes it serves is to allow you come to the US (when presented with expired GC). Majority of companies won't allow you to board a plane with expired GC without extension letter. You'd have to get a boarding foil at US embassy. It may be challenging to get it and you'd have to pay something like $555

 

[Mike E 11,739]

3 hours ago, Claudina said:

Thinking the worst happens, how difficult do you think it would be to return?

Worst case scenario:

 

* you have no extension letter

* embassy backlogs processing of boarding foils

* GC expires while waiting for boarding foil

* I-751 interview is scheduled while you are out

* you miss interview and I-751 is denied

* embassy then denies boarding foil because  I-751 is denied

 

You are going through stages of grief on your travel plans and are still in denial. You have time to  get to the acceptance stage in the event you do not have an extension letter in hand when you are scheduled to depart the U.S.  

 

On the positive side, Chileans have a visa waiver for Mexico, you would still be an LPR provided your trial does nkt happen before you return. So you could enter the US by land from  Mexico.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 12, 2023 by Mike E