digbydog

I completely forgot about renewing my green card that expires end April and I have to travel to Europe in May and then again in July.

Has anyone had any luck expediting the renewal process. I am in NJ

Can I get a I551 stamp in my passport and use that instead of the green card?

Thank you

Noorah101

I would say your best bet is to get the I-551 stamp.

Rene

Pulaski

The worst case scenario, if you travel without your green card, as I did once, is that you get sent to secondary on arrival in the US. The nice immigration officer at JFK told me he needed to, but actually didn't send me to secondary "because I don't fit the profile".

scrubbedexpat099

What did you use to get on the plane?

Pulaski

Not sure - probably the visa in my passport. .... Actually, that's a good point, because the incident I described above was pre-ESTA.

212

Fret not.
Expired 10yr cards are valid for boarding a carrier to the US (carrier guide page 28: https://www.cbp.gov/sites/default/fi...%20ENGLISH.pdf )

digbydog

Thank you for your responses. I called USCIS today and they say travelling with an expired 10 year green card and a receipt of the I 90 renewal application is good for entry into the USA. I guess the question is do the airlines know this and will they still let me board the plane. Has anyone successfully traveled like this to the USA?

On another note USCIS told me the current wait time for the new green card is 11 months so if you have a green card that is expiring in the near future get your applications in ahead of time

Britexmom

I did my renewal last March, just got notified on Friday that my new card was produced and will be sent to me. So just 3 weeks shy of a year for it to be processed, I did get an extension added to my expired car and was able to travel out of the country and back using that during the past year.

digbydog

May I ask how you got an extension on your green card

212

Yes - it should be listed on airlines internal systems when they do a document/visa check. And on the rare occasions someone is clueless/ can't read, that is what the RCLG is for.

FYI: An expired 10yr card is good for travel even without an I-90 renewal receipt (or even having been applied for), largely due to the card being proof of status, and not the status itself.

Britexmom

the extension sticker was put on at the barometric appointment, I got notified of the appt 2 weeks after I submitted the online application and the actual appt was for a week after that. The lady who processed my application said everyone was getting the 12 month extension due to the delays.

Pulaski

Were you under a lot of pressure?

lizzyq

Britexmom

Oops 😜 but yes I was def under pressure 🤣