Wawawa77

My parents are going to Canada for a couple of weeks. Do they need a
reentry permit?

J. J. Farrell

wawawa77 wrote:
    > My parents are going to Canada for a couple of weeks. Do they need a
    > reentry permit?

Depends where they're going from and on what their status is wherever
they're going from.

Joe Feise

wawawa77 wrote on 05/02/06 20:52:

    > My parents are going to Canada for a couple of weeks. Do they need a
    > reentry permit?
    >


In what status are they?
A reentry permit is for Permanent Residents, and only needed if a PR stays
abroad for over a year.

-Joe
--
I am not a lawyer.
For reliable advice, consult a competent immigration attorney.

Wawawa77

Thanks. They are PR and will be leaving from US to Canada. So, from
your answers, the answer should be NO, reentry permit is not needed
since they are going only for a couple of weeks. Thanks.

Folinskyinla

Hi:

Wrong. LPR's traveling abroad SHOULD have a re-entry permit in order to return to the US.

snowbunny

Is this the same as AP, or some fresh hell?

Elvira

(sigh)

What are you on about now?

Your cryptics are getting a tad tiring...

Folinskyinla

Hi:

No, its quite different. An LPR should use a reentry permit when returning from a trip outside of the US.

If the time outside of the US is less than one year, then the I-551 "green card" is a valid reentry permit. [Note: this is NOT a statement of the commonly believed myth that LPR's can perserve status with one brief visit to the US each year].

If the time outside of the US will be over a year, then a book style reentry permit can be obtained -- valid for two years. [The book is valid for two years from date of issuance; the I-551 is valid as a reentry permit for one year after the particular date of departure].

If no reentry permit, then there is a procedure to obtain an "SB-1" special immigrant visa from a consulate.

Folinskyinla

How was I being cryptic? Joe Feise gave an entirely erroneous answer and OP expressed her understanding of that answer.

I see nothing wrong in pointing out errors in postings -- OP's parents would have had problems if they had gone to Canada without the proper documentation.

BTW, as a joke which IS cryptic: As Karl Malden used to say about green cards a long time ago: "Don't leave home without it."

snowbunny

Hey, watch your quoting Mister!

And I have one of those cards you mention, only now it's mostly clear with a bit of blue.

Folinskyinla

Mine is gold. My younger daughter carries a card on that account for emergency use and she is amused by the "Member since 1988" -- when she was five years old.

Joe Feise

snowbunny wrote on 05/03/06 08:42 quoting folinskyinla:

    >> How was I being cryptic? Joe Feise gave an entirely erroneous answer
    >> and OP expressed her understanding of that answer.


Hmm, I was talking about what is usually called a reentry permit, the so-called
Green Passport, which is not form I-551.
Obviously, a PR needs a GC, form I-551, to enter the US.
Form I-551 indeed becomes invalid as entry document after 1 year abroad.
My use and understanding of the term "reentry permit" is consistent with that of
the law (8 CFR 223.)
So, I maintain that my answer was correct.

-Joe
--
I am not a lawyer.
For reliable advice, consult a competent immigration attorney.

Folinskyinla

Hi:

Until the recent change in color, the book permit has been most commonly known as the "white passport". I was taught a long time ago that 8 CFR 211.1 was the list of valid reentry permits. I find it curious that the regulation does not mention SB-1 special immigrant IV's -- go figure.

Joe Feise

Folinskyinla wrote on 05/03/06 17:00:

    >> snowbunny wrote on 05/03/06 08:42 quoting folinskyinla:
    >>>> How was I being cryptic? Joe Feise gave an entirely erroneous
    >>>> answer
    >>>> and OP expressed her understanding of that answer.
    >> Hmm, I was talking about what is usually called a reentry permit, the
    >> so-called
    >> Green Passport, which is not form I-551.
    >> Obviously, a PR needs a GC, form I-551, to enter the US.
    >> Form I-551 indeed becomes invalid as entry document after 1 year
    >> abroad.
    >> My use and understanding of the term "reentry permit" is consistent
    >> with that of
    >> the law (8 CFR 223.)
    >> So, I maintain that my answer was correct.
    >> -Joe
    >> --
    >> I am not a lawyer.
    >> For reliable advice, consult a competent immigration attorney.
    >
    > Hi:
    >
    > Until the recent change in color, the book permit has been most commonly
    > known as the "white passport".


I know that, of course.

    > I was taught a long time ago that 8 CFR
    > 211.1 was the list of valid reentry permits. I find it curious that the
    > regulation does not mention SB-1 special immigrant IV's -- go figure.
    >


Well, 8 CFR 211.1 also mentions reentry permit as different from form I-551.
"(a) General. Except as provided in paragraph (b)(1) of this section, each
arriving alien applying for admission (or boarding the vessel or aircraft on
which he or she arrives) into the United States for lawful permanent residence,
or as a lawful permanent resident returning to an unrelinquished lawful
permanent residence in the United States, shall present one of the following:
(1) A valid, unexpired immigrant visa;
(2) A valid, unexpired Form I-551 ...
(3) A valid, unexpired Form I-327, Permit to Reenter the United States;"
Similarly, under "(b) Waivers":
"(3) If an immigrant alien returning to an unrelinquished lawful permanent
residence in the United States after a temporary absence abroad believes that
good cause exists for his or her failure to present an immigrant visa, Form
I-551, or reentry permit,...
In the exercise of discretion, the district director in charge of the
port-of-entry may waive the alien's lack of an immigrant visa, Form I-551, or
reentry permit and admit the alien as a returning resident, if the district
director is satisfied that the alien has established good cause for the alien's
failure to present an immigrant visa, Form I-551, or reentry permit."

Hence, for me a reentry permit differs from form I-551, and from an SB-1 visa.
So, I continue to assert that my use of the term "reentry permit" is consistent
with the immigration law, and that my original answer was correct.

-Joe
--
I am not a lawyer.
For reliable advice, consult a competent immigration attorney.