Thida

I will be filing for family-based I-485 *very* soon. I do not plan to
leave US until I recieve my greencard via mail. I must visit home, and
a third country on the way to home or on the way back from home, as
soon as I get greencard.


Pardon me for the long post; I wounder whether anyone sees potential
problem with my plan as explained below: while I can use my greencard
status to obtain a visit visa to any country that recognize US
residency status, it is EXTREMELY risky for me to let the home country
government (the military thugs) know about my greencard. I am unable to
find info on their laws pertinent to US greencard holder. Besides,
they changes laws at their whim to fit their brutal rule.

Three-four weeks ago, I called the home Embassy in Washington and asked
what procedure I would need to follow in order to be able to visit home
once I become a GC holder. The answer was: Better wait till you become
a US citizen.

No one here who's originally from my country has gone back to visit
home as a GC holder and played it safe by waiting till they became a
citizen. My sister (much older than I am ) has heard that in the 70's,
a guy who went to visit home with his US greencard status couldn't
leave the country (wasn't allowed to get on the plane heading to the
third country; there is no direct flight from there to US) and hence
couldn't get back on time to US and lost his greencard.

I have visited home on F-1 visa. Since my government routinely seized
passports from its citizens upon entry from abroad, I had to
pre-arrange with the home Embassy before I enter the home country so
that I would be allowed to keep my pasport with me and be able to leave
after my short visit. Of course, my passport at the time had valid F-1
visa and visit visa of that 3rd country. In home country, a valid visa
stamp of another country is required to be allowed to get on the plain
heading abroad.

Home government is highly xenophobic and loves giving harrassmen to
those who applies for or accept the residency or citizenship from other
countries.

So I thought of doing this:

1) *Avoid* getting GC stamp on my passport (instead get the GC stamp on
I-94); Since I would use passport to enter the home country, I do not
want GC stamp in my passport. I hope USCIS can give nme GC stamp on
something other than my passport; I do NEED the GC stamp as it would be
useful for my job search purpose. SO, should I just not take my
passport to GC interview and say it's at the embassy and don't know
when I will get back, which really is the truth?

2) Get a visit visa to the 3rd country on my passport USING my US
residency status. That visit visa stamp (can obtain multiple entries)
would be my *ticket* to get on the airplane to leave the home country.
BTW, that neighboring country has so many illegals from my home
country, unless I show that I won't be stuck in their country, I won't
get visit visa.
I just HOPE THAT once I showed them my US residency status, I will
be able to get their visa stmp on my passport and not on US travel
document which ALSO can be used to apply for visa in that country.


- Going to the 3rd country from US and then to home country is not a
problem. The potential problem is to get out of that home country and
also to be able to get on the plane heading US.

In summary, my plan after reaching home country is

- make pre-arrangement to get to keep my passport upon entering home
country before leaving US

- get visit visa of the 3rd country (that I need to visit anyway) on my
passport in US and use it to leave home country.

- once reached to the third country ont he way back, get onto the plane
heading US by *showing* my GC status of US.

I may visit the third country on the way to or on the way back; I will
make sure to get at least 2 entries on that visit visa.

Aside from my question about asking GC interviewer to give me GC stamp
on something other than my passport, my questions are:

(i) When I leave US, what would the immigration office at airport do?
Stamp on my passport of leaving US? What would they stamp? Just the
date and time or my GC status too?

(ii) What about when arrived back to US? What would they stamp? If I
get any stamp indicating my US residency status, I can kiss good bye
to renewing that passport. The embassy won't even return my passport
when I try to renew. They would just give me hassle, I belive.