do I have to have my LPR status stamped in my passport?
 

OK I have read a number of threads and believe I am right in saying that when I eventually manage to pluck up the courage to go to the UK for a 2 week holiday (I absolutely hate flying), I only need my valid passport and my GC to re-enter the US. I don't need to apply for an electronic travel authorisation because I am a LPR, right? I have had my GC for 3 years and have never left US soil for 10 years. My present status is not, and has never been, stamped in my passport. The reason I am asking this is that when I tried to tell my friend, he replied that when he travelled to his home country, Ghana, he had to go to the US embassy to have his passport stamped with his status before returning to the US (he too is a GC holder). The reason, he said, is that the rules have changed.
A little bit of me thinks that maybe 'the rules" are alternatively applied to people from non vw countries.
Although it could be that my friend is a belts and braces man. ie leaving nothing to chance.
Would I really need to send my passport and GC to the US embassy in the UK to be stamped with my status, once I am in the UK?

Sorry if this question is seen as "Oh Christ not again". I had the idea of phoning the embassy but they want your credit card number!!!

Re: do I have to have my LPR status stamped in my passport?
 

You are right. Some one will elaborate soon.

No you don't have to do anything.

Re: do I have to have my LPR status stamped in my passport?
 

Correct.


Correct.


Why should it be? You have a GC... and that is proof of your status.


Rubbish! The rules haven't changed that much!


No!

Ian

Re: do I have to have my LPR status stamped in my passport?
 

Correct, but as I found out recently checking in online for your return leg can be tricky as many airline websites will think you need ESTA and can't differentiate from PRs. You just have to check in at the airport using an agent.

Re: do I have to have my LPR status stamped in my passport?
 

Word is, you actually only need your Green Card for re-entering the US, but the passport is handy elsewhere. :)

Your friend's situation was probably different from yours in a couple of ways. Whatever the case (we could guess all week), it is not necessary for YOU to get anything in your passport.
There is nothing the US Embassy in the UK can or will put in your passport (your friend may have applied for a visa, which does need to be stamped in the Embassy).

Instead of copying them over here I will just post a link to some links: http://britishexpats.com/wiki/Immigrant_Visa_Arrival At the bottom of that article are several links for topics about your Permanent Resident status. I think you should read them to put your mind at ease and so that you understand what your rights and responsibilities are as a PR. The International Travel as a Permanent Resident one will be especially interesting for you, but the others are good too.

Re: do I have to have my LPR status stamped in my passport?
 

Thank you everyone. I thought I was correct. My friend owes me a glass (no, make that a bottle) of chablis. Bloody men can get your knickers in a twist without trying:)

I love this site XXX

Re: do I have to have my LPR status stamped in my passport?
 

Rules have not changed and what you were told is absolutely not true. Unless his GC was expired, then it's a different situation.

Might be time to consider becoming a US citizen if you have been so long in the United States, would make your life easier in a variety of ways.

Re: do I have to have my LPR status stamped in my passport?
 

There may be a germ of truth in what your friend said. It used to be that an immigrant visa was a separate document with the "brown envelope." A few years back, the procedure was changed to placing a MRV in the passport which was endorsed when one actually entered the US. Also, if one adjusted in the US, a "temporary I-551" stamp would be placed in the passport as a matter of course.

I can see how these changes got twisted around a tad in lay discussions.

Re: do I have to have my LPR status stamped in my passport?
 

Right. Maybe the friend didn't have his actual card yet. If not, he would need some other proof of his status. And the I-551 stamp in your passport can be that proof. You get that at a USCIS office in the US, though. Not at a US embassy.

- Eric S.

Re: do I have to have my LPR status stamped in my passport?
 

I shall quiz my friend about the stamp he had put in his passport. Your explanation, and the above reply to my post, certainly gives me reason to suspect he may have his wires crossed. I don't think he was trying to pull the wool over my eyes in any deliberate sense. I am just happy to know I need not worry about re entry to the US should my fear and loathing of flying be overcome.
To the poster who suggested I apply for citizenship, this is my intention once I have had my GC for 5 years.

Thanks once again for all who took the time to respond to my query. It is very much appreciated.