Has anyone ever lost their greencard abroad?
#1
Has anyone ever lost their greencard abroad?
Just curious. What's the best process to resolve the situation?
If I'm back in Scotland, there is no visa-issuing consulate there. Would I need to travel to Belfast or London to sort things out?
What is the typical timeline to resole the situation?
Presumably your passport may well be lost in the same incident. Do you need to get your new UK passport before you can start the greencard replacement process?
I haven't lost mine yet but I can be scatterbrained and this is the sort of thing that does happen to me from time to time.
If I'm back in Scotland, there is no visa-issuing consulate there. Would I need to travel to Belfast or London to sort things out?
What is the typical timeline to resole the situation?
Presumably your passport may well be lost in the same incident. Do you need to get your new UK passport before you can start the greencard replacement process?
I haven't lost mine yet but I can be scatterbrained and this is the sort of thing that does happen to me from time to time.
#2
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Jun 2010
Location: 1.2 East
Posts: 762
Re: Has anyone ever lost their greencard abroad?
Just curious. What's the best process to resolve the situation?
If I'm back in Scotland, there is no visa-issuing consulate there. Would I need to travel to Belfast or London to sort things out?
What is the typical timeline to resole the situation?
Presumably your passport may well be lost in the same incident. Do you need to get your new UK passport before you can start the greencard replacement process?
I haven't lost mine yet but I can be scatterbrained and this is the sort of thing that does happen to me from time to time.
If I'm back in Scotland, there is no visa-issuing consulate there. Would I need to travel to Belfast or London to sort things out?
What is the typical timeline to resole the situation?
Presumably your passport may well be lost in the same incident. Do you need to get your new UK passport before you can start the greencard replacement process?
I haven't lost mine yet but I can be scatterbrained and this is the sort of thing that does happen to me from time to time.
In the US I carry a GC copy with me, not the original. Whether or not that would be frowned upon by the authorities I don’t know.
#3
Re: Has anyone ever lost their greencard abroad?
Found this:
What to do if your Green Card is Lost Abroad | US Immigration Blog
The 'letter of transportation' seems like a pragmatic solution.
What to do if your Green Card is Lost Abroad | US Immigration Blog
The 'letter of transportation' seems like a pragmatic solution.
#4
Re: Has anyone ever lost their greencard abroad?
You can enter the US without your greencard, but you are likely to be sent to secondary for verification. ..... I did so once, and was admonished by the immigration officer for not having it with me, but he let me off without a trip to secondary because, and I quote "I don't fit the profile". ..... That was in January 2002, at JFK, just five months after 9/11.
#5
Sad old Crinkly Member
Joined: Oct 2003
Location: Tallahassee, Florida
Posts: 807
Re: Has anyone ever lost their greencard abroad?
My eldest son lost his back in the UK some years ago. He tried to gain admittance to a club by using it as id.
Bouncer confiscated it saying it was a fake id.
Called the management the next day they stated all fake ids ect were handed over to the police.
Call to the local police got me nowhere. Denied there was such an arrangement.
At that point I realized I was peeing into the wind.
Told oldest to stay in the UK with his mother.
He's been there ever since.
Thankfully he's more mature nowadays.
Bouncer confiscated it saying it was a fake id.
Called the management the next day they stated all fake ids ect were handed over to the police.
Call to the local police got me nowhere. Denied there was such an arrangement.
At that point I realized I was peeing into the wind.
Told oldest to stay in the UK with his mother.
He's been there ever since.
Thankfully he's more mature nowadays.
#6
Forum Regular
Joined: Feb 2005
Location: Orange County, CA
Posts: 200
Re: Has anyone ever lost their greencard abroad?
Just curious. What's the best process to resolve the situation?
If I'm back in Scotland, there is no visa-issuing consulate there. Would I need to travel to Belfast or London to sort things out?
What is the typical timeline to resole the situation?
Presumably your passport may well be lost in the same incident. Do you need to get your new UK passport before you can start the greencard replacement process?
I haven't lost mine yet but I can be scatterbrained and this is the sort of thing that does happen to me from time to time.
If I'm back in Scotland, there is no visa-issuing consulate there. Would I need to travel to Belfast or London to sort things out?
What is the typical timeline to resole the situation?
Presumably your passport may well be lost in the same incident. Do you need to get your new UK passport before you can start the greencard replacement process?
I haven't lost mine yet but I can be scatterbrained and this is the sort of thing that does happen to me from time to time.
#7
Re: Has anyone ever lost their greencard abroad?
My eldest son lost his back in the UK some years ago. He tried to gain admittance to a club by using it as id.
Bouncer confiscated it saying it was a fake id.
Called the management the next day they stated all fake ids ect were handed over to the police.
Call to the local police got me nowhere. Denied there was such an arrangement.
At that point I realized I was peeing into the wind.
Told oldest to stay in the UK with his mother.
He's been there ever since.
Thankfully he's more mature nowadays.
Bouncer confiscated it saying it was a fake id.
Called the management the next day they stated all fake ids ect were handed over to the police.
Call to the local police got me nowhere. Denied there was such an arrangement.
At that point I realized I was peeing into the wind.
Told oldest to stay in the UK with his mother.
He's been there ever since.
Thankfully he's more mature nowadays.
#8
Sad old Crinkly Member
Joined: Oct 2003
Location: Tallahassee, Florida
Posts: 807
Re: Has anyone ever lost their greencard abroad?
I agree, I suspect the bouncer passed it on for a few $$
#9
Re: Has anyone ever lost their greencard abroad?
That happened to us way back ( about 18 years ago). Happened in Huntly, Scotland. I had tucked my small handbag under the front seat of the car before taking off with family to tour the local castle. When we got back, we saw the car had been broken into and all items stolen. My bag had our British passports, green cards and travellers cheques in them so you can imagine the fun that caused.
Long story short, was able to get replacement passports at the home office without issue as we could provide all kinds of verbal info and of course family could confirm our validity. Then it was a trip to London to the Consulate to get our re-entry visas. Cost a lot in time, stress and money. At that time green cards were not in demand as the police found my bag and passports/green cards dumped in a local ravine. Traveller's cheques gone but that was fine as they were ensured by American Express in those days. Still, was fortunate we were back at the homeland when that happened or the challenge could have been far worse.
I now keep photocopies of my passports and credit cards which I have in a secure online file I can access from anywhere in the world. You need to keep those numbers and info in another place to help fix the mess when it happens, as every little bit helps in times of challenges.
Long story short, was able to get replacement passports at the home office without issue as we could provide all kinds of verbal info and of course family could confirm our validity. Then it was a trip to London to the Consulate to get our re-entry visas. Cost a lot in time, stress and money. At that time green cards were not in demand as the police found my bag and passports/green cards dumped in a local ravine. Traveller's cheques gone but that was fine as they were ensured by American Express in those days. Still, was fortunate we were back at the homeland when that happened or the challenge could have been far worse.
I now keep photocopies of my passports and credit cards which I have in a secure online file I can access from anywhere in the world. You need to keep those numbers and info in another place to help fix the mess when it happens, as every little bit helps in times of challenges.
Last edited by Tegwyn; May 29th 2015 at 3:37 pm.
#11
Re: Has anyone ever lost their greencard abroad?
CBP can look you up easily enough, it helps if you memorize your alien number.
It's getting to the POE in the first place that's the tricky bit. The letter of transportation (which has some more common name in French that I've forgotten ) is one way of doing it.
One way people get around it presently is to travel to Canada and enter from there, because as an LPR you can't use ESTA and you're obviously not a non-immigrant either.
However that isn't going to be an option much longer because of CeTA or whatever it's called.
It's getting to the POE in the first place that's the tricky bit. The letter of transportation (which has some more common name in French that I've forgotten ) is one way of doing it.
One way people get around it presently is to travel to Canada and enter from there, because as an LPR you can't use ESTA and you're obviously not a non-immigrant either.
However that isn't going to be an option much longer because of CeTA or whatever it's called.
#13
Re: Has anyone ever lost their greencard abroad?
Send email to Sydney Consulate State Dept contact then -> Lots of forms to fill in, new passport size photos needed, report loss to local police, arrange an appointment at consulate and then get a boarding foil in her passport. All up from the moment I email the consulate to her getting her passport back with a boarding foil was ~8 days. The forms state that it will take longer than 10day. There were no costs by the consulate for processing the forms.
The issue you face is getting onto a plane back to the USA. The USA gov fine airlines and therefore unless you can prove that the airline won't be fined they won't let you on. THe boarding foil pretty much states that the carrier will not be fined for bringing this person to the USA.
At the airport the checkin staff had never seen a boarding foil and was trying to enter the details as a visa which was getting rejected. Went up a few managers and it got sorted. At immigration in the USA she was sent to secondary with a very short wait while they checked. They also provided her with details on replacing the GC and what she could do while she was waiting for it to be replaced if she needed to travel.
Excluding the stress of her lossing it. It was an OK process. She was 7 months pregnant at the time. Which was fun.
#14
Re: Has anyone ever lost their greencard abroad?
Very informative reply. Thanks!
For me the main thing is to understand the process to get back to the us is a matter of days or weeks, rather than months, so losing my greencard won't necessarily result in losing my job, house and girlfriend too.
In this case I survived my drunken weekend in Glasgow unscathed, GC intact.
For me the main thing is to understand the process to get back to the us is a matter of days or weeks, rather than months, so losing my greencard won't necessarily result in losing my job, house and girlfriend too.
In this case I survived my drunken weekend in Glasgow unscathed, GC intact.
#15
Forum Regular
Joined: Oct 2007
Location: Windsor, Berks now Santa Barbara, California USA
Posts: 92
Re: Has anyone ever lost their greencard abroad?
Not sure if i should post here or start a new thread. Anyways its related.
I've lost my green card and tried to apply for citizenship but failed the pre-qualification due to being in UK for a year within the last 3 years. It must have gone into storage but i have tried twice to find it and wonder if i ever received it.
I went last time and thought it was stapled to my passport but that was the one prior with the extended date stamped on it. It didn't look 10 years Old!
I have a flight booked May 12th for my mums 90th. I have tried to apply but cannot get an Infopass appointment. The field office doesn't allow walk-ins.
Do i cancel or go and ?,
Thanks
Valerie
I've lost my green card and tried to apply for citizenship but failed the pre-qualification due to being in UK for a year within the last 3 years. It must have gone into storage but i have tried twice to find it and wonder if i ever received it.
I went last time and thought it was stapled to my passport but that was the one prior with the extended date stamped on it. It didn't look 10 years Old!
I have a flight booked May 12th for my mums 90th. I have tried to apply but cannot get an Infopass appointment. The field office doesn't allow walk-ins.
Do i cancel or go and ?,
Thanks
Valerie