GC Dreamer
Registered Users (C)
The following is an excerpt from an article posted at www.murthy.com, regarding changes in procedures at a the Dulles Airport POE if you still only have the I-551 stamp in your passport (i.e. no card). No mention if the "secondary inspection" applies to other POEs. On the second point, all airports I have entered through over the last several years have allowed PRs to enter through the same line as U.S. citizens.
Excerpt:
Permanent Residents
One item of particular interest is that permanent residents who are traveling on the I-551 stamp (temporary evidence of green card given before the plastic card is issued) will be automatically subjected to secondary inspection. They will not be quickly processed through the line. This is a significant departure from the prior practice of many years when individuals could travel on the stamp in the same manner as persons with the plastic card. The stamp is the "functional equivalent" of the plastic card and is valid evidence of permanent residence. It is a valid reentry document, in combination with a valid passport. Presumably, the secondary inspection would provide the POE officers with additional time to determine whether the stamp is legitimate or a forgery.
As a bit of good news, permanent residents who have with them the actual "plastic" I-551 card or green card can use the U.S. citizen line at Dulles and JFK airports in Virginia and New York, respectively. This is apparently also the case at a few other POEs, although it is not mentioned anywhere in writing on the boards.
Excerpt:
Permanent Residents
One item of particular interest is that permanent residents who are traveling on the I-551 stamp (temporary evidence of green card given before the plastic card is issued) will be automatically subjected to secondary inspection. They will not be quickly processed through the line. This is a significant departure from the prior practice of many years when individuals could travel on the stamp in the same manner as persons with the plastic card. The stamp is the "functional equivalent" of the plastic card and is valid evidence of permanent residence. It is a valid reentry document, in combination with a valid passport. Presumably, the secondary inspection would provide the POE officers with additional time to determine whether the stamp is legitimate or a forgery.
As a bit of good news, permanent residents who have with them the actual "plastic" I-551 card or green card can use the U.S. citizen line at Dulles and JFK airports in Virginia and New York, respectively. This is apparently also the case at a few other POEs, although it is not mentioned anywhere in writing on the boards.