Travel After i751 Approval and BEFORE Receipt of 10 year Green Card

[Rocio0010 5,580]

On 4/5/2024 at 6:01 AM, Redro said:

@Rocio0010 was flying to Argentina and discovered her GC was approved when she landed IIRC. 
I don’t think she had any issues returning to the US. 

None at all. Nobody even mentioned my green card produced.

[us_to_canada_2024 0]

On 4/5/2024 at 1:13 AM, From_CAN_2_US said:

My I751 got approved much much earlier than expected yesterday. I had planned to travel by land to Canada this weekend, leaving tomorrow and returning on Tuesday.

 

My approval letter says, "You should not travel outside the United States until you receive your new Green Card, as you may have difficulty reentering the United States. If an emergency arises and you have a need to travel outside the United States before you receive your Green Card, you may make an appointment at your local USCIS office to request an I-551 stamp in your passport that shows temporary evidence of status as a lawful permanent resident."

 

If I return to the border with my extension letter and expired green card, will CBP allow me to enter. I have no idea if I will be able to get the stamp today.

 

We have hotels booked and my mother in law is travelling to us today from NYC, and then we drive together tomorrow to Canada. So I really don't want to cancel the trip...

 

Would really like to hear from people in similar situation who successfully managed to return without the stamp...

 

Hi did you end up coming back to US with the extension letter? 

[From_CAN_2_US 1,106]

54 minutes ago, us_to_canada_2024 said:

 

Hi did you end up coming back to US with the extension letter? 

Yes I did. This is what I learned:

 

Technically a US border agent could have detained for for not having proper documentation for entry (my conditional greencard was no longer valid as i am not a conditional resident anymore). They could have charged me $700 for not having the new 10 year greencard while still granting me you entry based on 10 year green card approval letter. 
 

However in practice, in most cases, they just let you enter.

 

To improve my chances, I chose a friendly, smaller border crossing, and calked them in advance describing my situation and asked if they will allow me to enter with the old green card, extension letter and 10 year green card approval letter. I didn’t face any issues.

[lemurianelf 19]

On 8/13/2024 at 1:08 PM, From_CAN_2_US said:

Yes I did. This is what I learned:

 

Technically a US border agent could have detained for for not having proper documentation for entry (my conditional greencard was no longer valid as i am not a conditional resident anymore). They could have charged me $700 for not having the new 10 year greencard while still granting me you entry based on 10 year green card approval letter. 
 

However in practice, in most cases, they just let you enter.

 

To improve my chances, I chose a friendly, smaller border crossing, and calked them in advance describing my situation and asked if they will allow me to enter with the old green card, extension letter and 10 year green card approval letter. I didn’t face any issues.

 

Having this exact issue here, debating whether to fly. Where did you get the info they can fine you? You are not doing anything illegal.

[Crazy Cat 41,985]

20 minutes ago, lemurianelf said:

 

Having this exact issue here, debating whether to fly. Where did you get the info they can fine you? You are not doing anything illegal.

You can travel with the extension letter and expired Green card.  I have never seen anyone denied entry when they had both.  You still possess valid evidence of LPR status.

Edited November 15 by Crazy Cat