removal of conditions and traveling?

[tachy 0]

Hi everyone.

I have to do that removal of conditions thing to get my ten year green card this year. My 2year GC expires in middle of February next year.

I might have to to do a very important short trip to Germany next year and it will be on short notice.

I understand that I can travel outside the US while I wait for the approval of the 10year GC simply by having the expired GC and the Notice of action sheet (I-797C) with me. The NOA I will hopefully get soon after I send in the petition I-751.

Is that correct so far?

now I have read the following text that someone had in his approval note (found it in the FAQ section):

-----You should not travel outside the United States before receiving your new

card unless you have first received a passport endorsement from this Service

indicating that your new card is being processed.-----

does that mean I can not travel in the time between receiving my approval note and actually getting my GC in the mail?

can someone just clarify for me if there is any time or situation in this removal process during which I can NOT leave the US? (yes I understand that of course I have to be in the US for an eventual interview date and hopefully that and my short trip to Germany will not be in the same week)

Thank you so much and it is good to be back in VJ.

tachy

[antda 13]

Hi Tachy,

Welcome back to VJ, Tachy. When you apply for your I-751 (within the 90 day timeframe beforehand of when your conditional green card expires in Februrary next year), you will receive your NOA1 shortly afterwards, which states the following (well, mine did anyways):

"Your conditonal resident status is extended for a period of one year. During the one-year extension you are authorized for employment and travel".

Therefore, with your expired conditional green card and NOA extension, and your foreign passport, you should be able to travel without any problems. As well, you can get an I-551 stamp in your unexpired passport, which works like the NOA extension letter too. You have to have this NOA letter and/or the I-551 stamp your passport in order to travel, otherwise, you cannot travel when your conditional green card expires if you do not have such.

Nowhere on the NOA extension for the I-751 does it state that one cannot leave the country while the I-751 is processing. I think you might have gotten confused there with an NOA for another case/situation.

As for an interview for the I-751, this is quite rare, and not done for all cases. The reasons why one might be called for an interview is if: 1) the case is questionable 2) for random quality-control/lottery purposes. Even though you might not be called for an interview, you should still prepare for it just in case they do call you in for one.

Hope this helps. Good luck on the rest of your immigration journey.

And (Still waiting at the VSC for the I-751 approval...)

Hi everyone.

I have to do that removal of conditions thing to get my ten year green card this year. My 2year GC expires in middle of February next year.

I might have to to do a very important short trip to Germany next year and it will be on short notice.

I understand that I can travel outside the US while I wait for the approval of the 10year GC simply by having the expired GC and the Notice of action sheet (I-797C) with me. The NOA I will hopefully get soon after I send in the petition I-751.

Is that correct so far?

now I have read the following text that someone had in his approval note (found it in the FAQ section):

-----You should not travel outside the United States before receiving your new

card unless you have first received a passport endorsement from this Service

indicating that your new card is being processed.-----

does that mean I can not travel in the time between receiving my approval note and actually getting my GC in the mail?

can someone just clarify for me if there is any time or situation in this removal process during which I can NOT leave the US? (yes I understand that of course I have to be in the US for an eventual interview date and hopefully that and my short trip to Germany will not be in the same week)

Thank you so much and it is good to be back in VJ.

tachy

[Quicksilver 0]

Antand,

What if god forbid. The case gets denied while you are traveling abroad? Would you be refused entry to the US?

[antda 13]

Hi Quicksilver,

Hmmm...those are good questions. I honestly have no idea how to answer them and I hope that this doesn't happen to anyone. The only thing I could think of is for the person not to travel out of the US if they are unsure about the outcome of their I-751 case.

Can any other VJers help Quicksilver further with their questions? Thanks.

Ant (Still waiting at the VSC...)

Antand,

What if god forbid. The case gets denied while you are traveling abroad? Would you be refused entry to the US?

[tachy 0]

thanks for your answers.

lets all cross our fingers that things will go smoothly for everyone.

tachy.

[russian_armenian 4]

You can travel at any time. But it will be easier if you get I-551 stamp since not everyone in other countries customs/airlines understand NOA1.

Hi everyone.

I have to do that removal of conditions thing to get my ten year green card this year. My 2year GC expires in middle of February next year.

I might have to to do a very important short trip to Germany next year and it will be on short notice.

I understand that I can travel outside the US while I wait for the approval of the 10year GC simply by having the expired GC and the Notice of action sheet (I-797C) with me. The NOA I will hopefully get soon after I send in the petition I-751.

Is that correct so far?

now I have read the following text that someone had in his approval note (found it in the FAQ section):

-----You should not travel outside the United States before receiving your new

card unless you have first received a passport endorsement from this Service

indicating that your new card is being processed.-----

does that mean I can not travel in the time between receiving my approval note and actually getting my GC in the mail?

can someone just clarify for me if there is any time or situation in this removal process during which I can NOT leave the US? (yes I understand that of course I have to be in the US for an eventual interview date and hopefully that and my short trip to Germany will not be in the same week)

Thank you so much and it is good to be back in VJ.

tachy

[tachy 0]

yea, i heard they don't like to give that stamp that much anymore unless the NOA really expires. is that true?

[jtkings 0]

yea, i heard they don't like to give that stamp that much anymore unless the NOA really expires. is that true?

that is true.

i tried to get a stamp today as i am travelling to mexico for a vacation, and the officer said that they dont stamp passports and that the NOA is expired green card is all you need.

she said - "to the best of my knowledge, you will be allowed to enyter mexico with expired GC and NOA extension letter. if they dont, please come back and let me know. and we dont stamp passports."

[cutenurse300 0]

That's exactly what happened to me last week i went and had an infopass appointment and was hoping to get the stamp in my passport.I explained the officer that i'm leaving for South Africa in 2weeks and will be gone for 2 weeks amd my case is pending since october 2007 at Vermont.The officer didn't give me the stamp and said i was fine traveling with the expired greencard and NOA letter,even tough i insisted since my NOA is expiring in december 2007 (will be back by then)

That's exactly what happened to me last week i went and had an infopass appointment and was hoping to get the stamp in my passport.I explained the officer that i'm leaving for South Africa in 2weeks and will be gone for 2 weeks amd my case is pending since october 2007 at Vermont.The officer didn't give me the stamp and said i was fine traveling with the expired greencard and NOA letter,even tough i insisted since my NOA is expiring in december 2007 (will be back by then)

He did mention that traveling was fine as mentioned above,altough it could take a lit bit longer when coming back into the country,something as secondary inspection,but nothing to worry about...