i-551 and travel

09-15-2004, 10:48 PM

My wife recently got approved for her permanent green card. Yesterday
she took her photos to the Boston office for the new card, and they
took back the expired card and put the i-551 stamp in her passport. I
know that the i-551 is essentially a temporary green card, and that
technically she can travel internationally with it, but I have been
hearing things about airlines not accepting the stamp as proof of
residence and requiring a boarding letter from the US embassy or
consulate. Does anyone know if this is true? We have a few trips
planned to France, Canada, and Vietnam, and wanted to know if we
should plan for this additional hassle.
Thanks,
mark

09-21-2004, 09:05 PM

    > My wife recently got approved for her permanent green card. Yesterday
    > she took her photos to the Boston office for the new card, and they
    > took back the expired card and put the i-551 stamp in her passport. I
    > know that the i-551 is essentially a temporary green card, and that
    > technically she can travel internationally with it, but I have been
    > hearing things about airlines not accepting the stamp as proof of
    > residence and requiring a boarding letter from the US embassy or
    > consulate. Does anyone know if this is true? We have a few trips
    > planned to France, Canada, and Vietnam, and wanted to know if we
    > should plan for this additional hassle.
    > Thanks,
    > mark

An I-551 is an I-551 no matter how it is packaged.

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09-21-2004, 11:13 PM

    > My wife recently got approved for her permanent green card. Yesterday
    > she took her photos to the Boston office for the new card, and they
    > took back the expired card and put the i-551 stamp in her passport. I
    > know that the i-551 is essentially a temporary green card, and that
    > technically she can travel internationally with it, but I have been
    > hearing things about airlines not accepting the stamp as proof of
    > residence and requiring a boarding letter from the US embassy or
    > consulate. Does anyone know if this is true? We have a few trips
    > planned to France, Canada, and Vietnam, and wanted to know if we
    > should plan for this additional hassle.
    > Thanks,
    > mark

Hi:

The "green card" is on form I-551. I don't think there would be a
problem in Canada since you are dealing with US DHS before boarding any
plane or crossing a land border. I don't think there would be a problem
in France.

There might be problems in Vietnam -- but US embassy could verify LPR.

__________________
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Immigration & Nat. Law
Cal. Bar Board of Legal Specialization
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