Travelling outside the US on I551 Stamp on passport

[Grey Wolf 2]

 I paid the US immigrant fee on March 15 2025. Had entered the country on December 24, 2024. I am expecting the physical green card to arrive in June. I urgently need to travel to Pakistan and the UK (it is unavoidable - family reasons) before that. I do have that stamp on my passport with an endorsement making it proof of my residency till December 23, 2025. What are the chances that I won't be allowed back in the country on that stamp, given what is going on with this current administration. My second question is whether travelling outside the US would pause my physical green card printing? The idea here is that if the Green card comes while I am in Pakistan, it could be Fedex-ed to me in Pakistan or maybe my wife can also travel to Pakistan and bring it. So is the printing paused when you leave the country? 

[OldUser 8,401]

7 minutes ago, Grey Wolf said:

  My second question is whether travelling outside the US would pause my physical green card printing? 

It shouldn't, but it could

7 minutes ago, Grey Wolf said:

 The idea here is that if the Green card comes while I am in Pakistan, it could be Fedex-ed to me in Pakistan 

Bad idea. FedEx loses things all the time

[appleblossom 3,572]

6 minutes ago, Grey Wolf said:

 I paid the US immigrant fee on March 15 2025. Had entered the country on December 24, 2024. I am expecting the physical green card to arrive in June. I urgently need to travel to Pakistan and the UK (it is unavoidable - family reasons) before that. I do have that stamp on my passport with an endorsement making it proof of my residency till December 23, 2025. What are the chances that I won't be allowed back in the country on that stamp, given what is going on with this current administration. My second question is whether travelling outside the US would pause my physical green card printing? The idea here is that if the Green card comes while I am in Pakistan, it could be Fedex-ed to me in Pakistan or maybe my wife can also travel to Pakistan and bring it. So is the printing paused when you leave the country? 

 

Your I-551 works exactly the same way as the physical green card. I wouldn’t risk Fedexing a green card, if it gets lost then that’s a 2 year wait for another and more hassle to sort ADIT stamps.

 

Nobody knows yet what restrictions will be put on Pakistan with the visa ban, how long do you need to be out of the US?

[Grey Wolf 2]

6 minutes ago, appleblossom said:

 

Your I-551 works exactly the same way as the physical green card. I wouldn’t risk Fedexing a green card, if it gets lost then that’s a 2 year wait for another and more hassle to sort ADIT stamps.

 

Nobody knows yet what restrictions will be put on Pakistan with the visa ban, how long do you need to be out of the US?

Three months tops.  As for restrictions on Pakistan, it is going to be on the Orange or Yellow lists. 

[appleblossom 3,572]

4 minutes ago, Grey Wolf said:

Three months tops.  As for restrictions on Pakistan, it is going to be on the Orange or Yellow lists. 

 

Yes, but nobody knows what the restrictions for those will be yet. Just keep a close eye on the news just in case. 

[Grey Wolf 2]

1 hour ago, appleblossom said:

 

Your I-551 works exactly the same way as the physical green card. I wouldn’t risk Fedexing a green card, if it gets lost then that’s a 2 year wait for another and more hassle to sort ADIT stamps.

 

Nobody knows yet what restrictions will be put on Pakistan with the visa ban, how long do you need to be out of the US?

 

So just to confirm, you don't foresee any problems re-entering the country on the I551 stamp till December 2025. Everyone I speak to says that I shouldn't risk it without the physical green card. 

 

[appleblossom 3,572]

28 minutes ago, Grey Wolf said:

 

So just to confirm, you don't foresee any problems re-entering the country on the I551 stamp till December 2025. Everyone I speak to says that I shouldn't risk it without the physical green card. 

 

 

Who is ‘everybody’, are they lawyers? The whole point of it is to do the same job until the green card arrives, it’s proof of your status as a LPR, just as the plastic green card is. https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/temporary-i-551-stamps-and-mrivs

 

I travelled on mine before I got my GC, my daughter did it for a year as she didn’t have her GC. She’s now doing exactly the same with an ADIT stamp, she still doesn’t have a GC and has never had an issue at all. And she’s studying overseas so is travelling in and out of the US a lot. 

 

Edited Thursday at 02:39 PM by appleblossom

[mam521 2,344]

5 hours ago, Grey Wolf said:

it could be Fedex-ed to me in Pakistan or maybe my wife can also travel to Pakistan and bring it

Definitely do NOT do this.  FedEx loses things.  Additionally, if your wife faces any type of scrutiny and they find your greencard on her person, that might spell trouble.  At this point in time, I'd follow the book.  The endorsed I-551 is your temporary greencard and is your proof of permanent resident status.  Just travel on it. 

 

Make sure you do not stay out of the US too long, either, especially without a re-entry permit if you think it would be more than 6mo.  

 

I'd be very skeptical to travel with the new Executive Order being executed.  I know our employer's HR and corporate immigration lawyers have advised against any non-critical travel at this time due to the order.  

 

Good luck!

[SalishSea 18,354]

6 hours ago, Grey Wolf said:

 

So just to confirm, you don't foresee any problems re-entering the country on the I551 stamp till December 2025. Everyone I speak to says that I shouldn't risk it without the physical green card. 

 

Nobody knows.  Only you can assess your own comfort with potential risks regarding the upcoming bans. 

 

Even without travel bans and with a physical green card, you would be advised to limit your trips abroad, since green cards are for living in the US.

[Lemonslice 5,052]

Save that link as it might be helpful if you encounter untrained airline personel:
https://www.cbp.gov/sites/default/files/assets/documents/2023-Nov/Carrier Information Guide ENGLISH.pdf

[OldUser 8,401]

43 minutes ago, Lemonslice said:

Save that link as it might be helpful if you encounter untrained airline personel:
https://www.cbp.gov/sites/default/files/assets/documents/2023-Nov/Carrier Information Guide ENGLISH.pdf

I'd even print it and bring it on trip.

Edited Thursday at 11:26 PM by OldUser

[Grey Wolf 2]

I want some advice from the people more experienced along the US immigration journey- hopefully without being judged and talked down to as is the wont of some on this forum. What I am going to share with you is a personal struggle with the immigration issues. 

 

Let me give you the background.  Please bear with me. My wife and I, both Pakistanis, met in college in the US in 1999. We graduated, returned to Pakistan and married each other to build a life in that country. This was 2002 and 2003 for me and wife. We build a pretty ok life for ourselves, but I faced several health challenges namely a life threatening brain tumour for which I went through two awake craniotomies in 2017 and 2020. Then Pakistan's economy slowed down and this is significant. I will come to it in a minute. Unrelated to our life in Pakistan, my brother in law who had become a US citizen some 25 years ago, sponsored us for F4 visa in 2005. We thought of it as a back up option. Meanwhile our daughters grew up and naturally the question arose of where they should go to school. My wife and I quickly realized that while my parents had managed to educate me in the US, Pakistan's economic conditions no longer afforded us the same opportunity to educate our daughters in the US, especially since my own career had stalled because of my illness. Meanwhile our immigrant visas came last year and we moved in time to the US to educate our daughters here. The idea behind this immigration is two fold: to give our daughters the opportunity to become US citizens so that they have options - Pakistan has been declining for a while and one can never be completely certain of its future. Secondly like I said to educate them in the US. As a barrister, I have great regard for the US first amendment and therefore moving back here has an ideological component i.e. my belief in secularism and freedom of speech and expression. Indeed that has been my main preoccupation as a lawyer in Pakistan- at least the human rights part of my practice. FYI my full name is [deleted by VJ Moderation]. You can look me up - I am not posting this here to show off but to give you an idea of where I am coming from. Now I come to the second part of the challenge. My father passed away in 2007. My mother, a medical doctor by profession and therefore a very independent woman otherwise, is nonetheless old, alone, a cancer survivor who recently survived hip surgery as well. She is living alone in Pakistan. I am her only child. Obviously till (or if) I become a US citizen the question of her moving here does not arise. Frequent travel is also not possible for her given her ailments. 

 

So my ask of you is to advise me as to how can I structure my immigration journey in a way that I can continue to visit my mother in Pakistan and therefore maintain ties to that country (maybe even contribute in some pro bono capacity to the human rights space there), without jeopardising my residency in the US and remaining on the citizenship track hopefully (though I must add that citizenship is not necessarily my first priority). Please bear in mind that Pakistan will be either on the yellow or the orange list later today. 

 

I do hope you will take this post in the spirit it is intended and I hope I am not opening myself up for ridicule. It is just that I have gotten some good advice on this forum over the years and given all that is going on with the current administration, I am slightly desperate - desperate enough to open up here in this manner. 

 

Edited Saturday at 02:04 AM by TBoneTX
full name edited out

[SalishSea 18,354]

For long visits outside of the US, (>6 mo), you would want to get a returning resident permit.  I'm blanking on the name of the form just now, but someone else will mention it.  You have to apply for it from within the US, and appear for biometrics.

 

Long periods outside of the US as a green card holder can definitely impact the timing and your ability to naturalize.  You will want to keep very good records of trips, and adhere to the residency requirements.

 

In terms of your ability to safely travel and return to the US - no one really knows, at this point.  Everyone will individually have to assess their own tolerance to risk while closely watching the EOs and US immigration news and trends.  

[Grey Wolf 2]

1 hour ago, Grey Wolf said:

I want some advice from the people more experienced along the US immigration journey- hopefully without being judged and talked down to as is the wont of some on this forum. What I am going to share with you is a personal struggle with the immigration issues. 

 

Let me give you the background.  Please bear with me. My wife and I, both Pakistanis, met in college in the US in 1999. We graduated, returned to Pakistan and married each other to build a life in that country. This was 2002 and 2003 for me and wife. We build a pretty ok life for ourselves, but I faced several health challenges namely a life threatening brain tumour for which I went through two awake craniotomies in 2017 and 2020. Then Pakistan's economy slowed down and this is significant. I will come to it in a minute. Unrelated to our life in Pakistan, my brother in law who had become a US citizen some 25 years ago, sponsored us for F4 visa in 2005. We thought of it as a back up option. Meanwhile our daughters grew up and naturally the question arose of where they should go to school. My wife and I quickly realized that while my parents had managed to educate me in the US, Pakistan's economic conditions no longer afforded us the same opportunity to educate our daughters in the US, especially since my own career had stalled because of my illness. Meanwhile our immigrant visas came last year and we moved in time to the US to educate our daughters here. The idea behind this immigration is two fold: to give our daughters the opportunity to become US citizens so that they have options - Pakistan has been declining for a while and one can never be completely certain of its future. Secondly like I said to educate them in the US. As a barrister, I have great regard for the US first amendment and therefore moving back here has an ideological component i.e. my belief in secularism and freedom of speech and expression. Indeed that has been my main preoccupation as a lawyer in Pakistan- at least the human rights part of my practice. FYI my full name is [deleted by VJ Moderation]. You can look me up - I am not posting this here to show off but to give you an idea of where I am coming from. Now I come to the second part of the challenge. My father passed away in 2007. My mother, a medical doctor by profession and therefore a very independent woman otherwise, is nonetheless old, alone, a cancer survivor who recently survived hip surgery as well. She is living alone in Pakistan. I am her only child. Obviously till (or if) I become a US citizen the question of her moving here does not arise. Frequent travel is also not possible for her given her ailments. 

 

So my ask of you is to advise me as to how can I structure my immigration journey in a way that I can continue to visit my mother in Pakistan and therefore maintain ties to that country (maybe even contribute in some pro bono capacity to the human rights space there), without jeopardising my residency in the US and remaining on the citizenship track hopefully (though I must add that citizenship is not necessarily my first priority). Please bear in mind that Pakistan will be either on the yellow or the orange list later today. 

 

I do hope you will take this post in the spirit it is intended and I hope I am not opening myself up for ridicule. It is just that I have gotten some good advice on this forum over the years and given all that is going on with the current administration, I am slightly desperate - desperate enough to open up here in this manner. 

 

erratum built not build.

Edited Saturday at 02:05 AM by TBoneTX
full name removed from quote

[Grey Wolf 2]

17 minutes ago, SalishSea said:

For long visits outside of the US, (>6 mo), you would want to get a returning resident permit.  I'm blanking on the name of the form just now, but someone else will mention it.  You have to apply for it from within the US, and appear for biometrics.

 

Long periods outside of the US as a green card holder can definitely impact the timing and your ability to naturalize.  You will want to keep very good records of trips, and adhere to the residency requirements.

 

In terms of your ability to safely travel and return to the US - no one really knows, at this point.  Everyone will individually have to assess their own tolerance to risk while closely watching the EOs and US immigration news and trends.  

Thank you for this. Is the returning resident permit the same as a re entry permit? I understand that it takes time to be approved, but it can be delivered at a consulate in the home country?