Experience entering San Francisco international yesterday

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bakeral

Registered Users (C)
Hello all,

I just returned to San Francisco from London, England yesterday. I hold a green card obtained through asylum status and a refugee travel document issued by USCIS. I went through immigration here in San Francisco very quickly. I was simply asked how long i was gone ( 2 weeks), why I hold an rtd( because I got my green card through asylum status and my national passport is expired and I have no intention of ever using it , that is what i said). My green card was swiped and then i was asked to submit fingerprints..( all 10 fingers by the way) and then was told simply..."thank you, have a great day". All in all, the process took no longer than 5 minutes. I just thought I would share this information with you. Thanks. :)
 
Are all GC Holders required to possess a RTD while entering the country? I'm getting conflicting opinions.
 
GC holders who were asylees MAY use an RTD. If you've never been a refugee/asylee, you wouldn't have a need for an RTD.
 
I mean say a person has a GC and he goes to England. Will he need to possess a RTD to enter the states or not?

I'm wondering if there's a relation between GC and RTD to the same one that Asylee status has with Work Authorization.

I wish someone clarified it.
 
dont make it so complicated

The.Walker said:
I mean say a person has a GC and he goes to England. Will he need to possess a RTD to enter the states or not?

I'm wondering if there's a relation between GC and RTD to the same one that Asylee status has with Work Authorization.

I wish someone clarified it.
Click to expand...


you come back to america with GC and valid NP or RTD or RP
 
The.Walker said:
I mean say a person has a GC and he goes to England. Will he need to possess a RTD to enter the states or not?

I'm wondering if there's a relation between GC and RTD to the same one that Asylee status has with Work Authorization.

I wish someone clarified it.
Click to expand...

If you go to England.you would need a passport right? You can use a RTD, RP or NP..dependent on you.
 
wantmygcnow said:
If you go to England.you would need a passport right? You can use a RTD, RP or NP..dependent on you.
Click to expand...

I didn't specifically mean England but any other country in general. So, say if I were to go to China or Colombia or South Africa, would I need to have a RTD ( if I already had a GC based on asylum )?

And is GC - RTD relation similar to Asylee status - Work Permit ?
 
Technically as a green card holder you only need your green card to enter the United States. Before my getting citizenship, when I returned home from Canada I just showed the USCIS my GC.

Now Canada is unusual in that it does not require you to use a passport if you fly in directly from the United States. Most countries require a passport or a rtd before they let you in. So if you fly home from most places in the world, not having a passport or a rtd would look odd and could raise red flags.

Does this make sense?
 
That makes more sense Thankful but isn't it true that asylees shouldn't be using their Passports?
 
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As an Asylee why I shouldn't use my passport? Im not going to my country, just other country and I renew my passport here in the USA, because I need a legal document between my interview with inmigration and the receiving of the approval
 
I was also confused about the need of RTD. Thanks to thankful and The. Walker for raising the question and clarification.

I am sure everybody in this forum are aware about the USCIS processing time, but I noticed today they've reduced their processing time tremendously.
 
Just wanted to share, usually you should ONLY use RTD when you don't have a green card, once you have a green card you should always get a visa on your country passport and carry green card with you.
 
leonidasasylee said:
As an Asylee why I shouldn't use my passport? Im not going to my country, just other country and I renew my passport here in the USA, because I need a legal document between my interview with inmigration and the receiving of the approval
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That is correct. An asylee you should not be using your passport. Further, most people (I mean long time immigration lawyers and senior USCIS officers I have met) recommend that even if after you get your green card you should still not use your passport.
 
As an asylee, you are claiming that you are persecuted in/by your country, and that you don't feel safe under the protection of that country. So, even if you don't go to that country once you are an asylee, using the NP of that country IS essentially not allowed under the Geneva Convention. However, the US seems to be lax, and when asylees become LPRs, they can usually use thir NPs. I've always found that strange, and I still travel on an RTD or RP.
 
cafeconleche said:
As an asylee, you are claiming that you are persecuted in/by your country, and that you don't feel safe under the protection of that country. So, even if you don't go to that country once you are an asylee, using the NP of that country IS essentially not allowed under the Geneva Convention. However, the US seems to be lax, and when asylees become LPRs, they can usually use thir NPs. I've always found that strange, and I still travel on an RTD or RP.
Click to expand...


Ok, now I'm very confused. I'm a PR through asylum and my husband is a Naturalized US citizen. His family lives in a different country in South America. We go there every year to visit his elderly mother during Christmas, always for an average of 15 days. My passport expired 3 years ago and I was told that I needed a document to enter that country. What passport am I supposed to bring if I cannot renew my country of origin passport? My Refugee Travel Document expired long time ago, I think one or 2 years after I was granted asylum in 2001 . Then I requested a Reentry permit. The first time I used it, the held me at the immigration office in the airport for 4 hours. After they confirmed everything, they even apologized for having delayed me in the airport. Knowing this, and also because it normally takes quite a long time + $$$ to get reentry permits every year (travelling twice a year and not knowing when or if I was to get a re-entry permit, unable to schedule my trips), I was told to renew my passport since I already had my green card (I received my PR status and green card in 2005).

Now, I'm waiting to apply for Naturalization in 2 more months. I renewed my passport 3 years ago and since then I have used it 4 times. I have always shown my passport and my green card and I have never been asked one single question when returning to this country. Each time the immigration officer has always been very courteous. What am I missing here? I have never gone back to my country. My entire family is here. I do have relatives but just a niece, and she comes to the U.S. every second month. My parents are deceased so I have no family or any other types of ties. So, what's all this fuss about renewing a passport?

Sorry but I'm not clear why I can't renew the passport if I want to go to Europe or China, or even to another country in South America (not the country to which I used to be a citizen). And if this statment is true, then I don't know what am I going to do because I already have a new passport, and I have been using it for the last few years! I believe I'm an asylum granted PR with a green card, but I'm still considered a national of my country of origin until I get the USA citizenship, right? Even when filling the USCIS forms, when they ask for Country of Nationality, I give my country's name. So????? Please clarify. Thanks! :confused:
 
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