Traveling just before Green Card Expires

A

Achar Sam

New Member
My Green Card is due to expire on August 15th and I have plans to go abroad on a 2 week trip and return on August 10th. I have not applied for Citizenship nor have I applied for a Green Card renewal. I have the following questions and concerns that I am looking for some guidance on:

* I realize they are too close for comfort, but if I stick to those dates, would there be any problem at the time of re-entry due to the proximity of G.C expiration date?
* I am considering applying for Citizenship. Can I apply for Citizenship and still travel on the existing G.C?
* Would I be better off applying for G.C renewal along with the Citizenship application?
* Would applying for both at the same time (frame), reduce the fees associated with the process?

I would appreciate your thoughts on the above

Thanks
Sam
 
As long as you return to US before your card expires, you are OK. However if there is an emergency situation that requires you to postpone your trip, you will be in trouble since Airline will not allow you to board a flight to US with an expired green card.

You should apply for renewal of your green card and get a temporary stamp in your passport which is valid for 1 year.

Applying for citizenship is a different situation entirely - you can do that any time before or after your green card expires. You can also travel anytime after applying for citizenship.

There is no "buy one get one half off" kind of deal for citizenship/green card renewal fees.
 
nkm-oct23 said:
There is no "buy one get one half off" kind of deal for citizenship/green card renewal fees.
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Actually, there sort of is something like that. If you apply for citizenship with more than 6 months remaining on the GC, and your citizenship process still has not been completed when your GC is about to expire, you can get a free I-551 stamp in your passport to use beyond your GC expiration date.

However, Achar Sam cannot benefit from this provision, because the GC expires in about 3 months.
 
I assume that you qualify for citizenship right now. The best for you is to file N-400 right now. Say before May/20. You will get your FP some time in early July. Your interview call would be after Aug/15. There is no need to renew your GC . You would be a UScitizen hopefully by end of Aug. I read in one of posts there is no problem at the time of interview with expired GC.

If any of the item happen during the period you are abroad you can apply for reschedule.
 
Thanks for your responses. I am inclined to just get the G.C renewed now and deal with the Citizenship process after the trip. This way I can avoid concerns from potential delays causing me more grief than I can handle.

Achar Sam
 
madh4 said:
I assume that you qualify for citizenship right now. The best for you is to file N-400 right now. Say before May/20. You will get your FP some time in early July. Your interview call would be after Aug/15. There is no need to renew your GC .
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Applying for GC renewal is very important in this case. If the OP cannot return to the US by August 15, failing to apply for renewal will be a big problem.
 
Achar Sam said:
Thanks for your responses. I am inclined to just get the G.C renewed now and deal with the Citizenship process after the trip. This way I can avoid concerns from potential delays causing me more grief than I can handle.

Achar Sam
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it is ok to apply for renewal of GC. But please be aware that the processing time for I-90 is 3.5 months. The new GC will arrive only in late Aug/Sep
 
madh4 said:
it is ok to apply for renewal of GC. But please be aware that the processing time for I-90 is 3.5 months. The new GC will arrive only in late Aug/Sep
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Yes, but the I-551 stamp for the renewal can be obtained long before the physical GC, so the OP can travel with the stamp in August if necessary.
 
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