Getting a travel document while waiting for oath

Anahit

Registered Users (C)
My husband's name check for citizenship has been pending since June, 2003. We are traveling in June. The problem is that the passports we came here with are not in force anymore, so he has to apply for a new one to be able to travel. The country we're from does not except dual citizenship, which means once he is an american citizen, he wouln't need that passport. My questions are:
1. Can he get a travel document?
2. If "Yes", is there anyway to get the travel document by June on the basis of his waiting for the name check to be cleared for so long? I mean that's the reason he did not apply for another countri's passport, nor he applied for travel document earlier. He was hoping it would be done by now :(

Please advise. Thanks.
 
Travel document for what?
Whatever laws and requirements that country you are travelling to requires are the factors that should be considered and adhered to. It is separate from what the US laws requires for admission into the US.
Since you are already applying for US citizenship you must be a green card holder and your valid I-551 is all you need to reenter the US from a temporary trip abroad lasting less than one year. In that case you don't need another "travel document " to reenter the US.
 
196111 said:
Travel document for what?
Whatever laws and requirements that country you are travelling to requires are the factors that should be considered and adhered to. It is separate from what the US laws requires for admission into the US.
Since you are already applying for US citizenship you must be a green card holder and your valid I-551 is all you need to reenter the US from a temporary trip abroad lasting less than one year. In that case you don't need another "travel document " to reenter the US.
He does have a valid green card to reenter into US. But, since he does not have a passport to enter the other country, he needs a visa. When I called the Armenian Embassy in LA, they said it is wrong for him to get a visa since technically he is still an Armenian citizen, but, considering the situation, they would give him a visa if he gets a travel document. Here is the info I got from the CIS website:
"What is a Travel Document and Who Needs One?
If you are not a U.S. citizen, you may need permission to return to the United States after traveling abroad. This permission is granted through a travel document. Travel documents are also given to people who want to travel, but cannot get a passport from their country of nationality."
It is not that he cannot get a passport from Armenia, it's just that he won't need it very soon (I hope).
 
If he's planning on traveling soon it might be easier to get an Armenian passport. I-131 applications take at least two months to process.
 
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bashar82 said:
If he's planning on traveling soon it might be easier to get an Armenian passport. I-131 applications take at least two months to process.
The reason I thought about travel document was because to get your Armenian passport here takes up to 5 months. However, if you cannot afford waiting that long, you can get a Return Certificate from the Embassy (that takes a week), go to Armenia and apply for the passport there. That way you would get your passport in 10 days. Besides the fact that it is twice as expensive as getting a travel document, we prefer not to spend our time on getting his passport in Armenia.
I am just not sure they would issue a travel document to him since the trip is just for 3 weeks. And even if they do, will we be able to expedite it?

Thanks
 
If the trip is absolutely necessary and cannot be delayed, the safe option would be to return to Armenia on a Return Certificate and apply for a passport there. It might be more expensive this way, but it's probably the best option.
The travel document takes several months to process under normal circumstances and since your husband is eligible and capable of getting an Armenian passport, it may not be issued for him just to travel for a few weeks.
 
Somehow I have a suspicion you don't quite understand what travel documents are and what they are for. They can come in the form of an Advance Parole, a Refugee or an Asylee Travel Document. Asylees and Refugees can not get passports from their country of nationality for obvious reasons! Advance Paroles are for those people who have pending Adjustment of Status to LPR . These are the people the USCIS website is talking about.
Since you are already a US Permanent Resident, you are neither a Refugee, an Asylee or somebody who is adjusting status to that of a US Legal Permanent Resident.
You don't even qualify for any of those travel documents and you don't need them to reenter the US.

Whatever problem you are having with Armenia has nothing to do with reentering the US if you have a valid I-551. Their requirements are independent of what the US requires from you.
 
I realize everything you're telling me. Every time I tried to fill out Form I-131 I couldn't finish it because I thought the same way. But then I called the 800 number and tried to get some information about it and they weren't able to tell me even that much (whatever you just told me). So, I thought I asked you to make sure that it is not an option for him.

Thanks
 
Anahit said:
I realize everything you're telling me. Every time I tried to fill out Form I-131 I couldn't finish it because I thought the same way. But then I called the 800 number and tried to get some information about it and they weren't able to tell me even that much (whatever you just told me). So, I thought I asked you to make sure that it is not an option for him.

Thanks

I agree with 196111. I do not think your husband has any problem entering the U.S (since he has a valid USPR card). Now the question is, can he get some sort of document in place of Armenian passport to get onto the flights?
 
Important Note:

Since you are already a US Permanent Resident, you are neither a Refugee, an Asylee or somebody who is adjusting status to that of a US Legal Permanent Resident.
You don't even qualify for any of those travel documents and you don't need them to reenter the US.

If they got PR status as a direct result of refugee status, that is if they got green card now but at some points they were refugees or aslylees, they will still need a US travel Document. They can not apply for their country's passport in that case even if they are PRs now. This is very important and onc can lose his/her PR status due to such mistakes.
 
fitness99 said:
I agree with 196111. I do not think your husband has any problem entering the U.S (since he has a valid USPR card). Now the question is, can he get some sort of document in place of Armenian passport to get onto the flights?
I never said/thought my husband has a problem entering US since he has a valid green card. He needs a document to go back to Armenia. If he would get a travel document, which I did'nt think he could, then the Armenian Embassy in LA would give him a visa to enter into Armenia. That would just save us some time and money during our visit.
 
Naaz2004 said:
If they got PR status as a direct result of refugee status, that is if they got green card now but at some points they were refugees or aslylees, they will still need a US travel Document. They can not apply for their country's passport in that case even if they are PRs now. This is very important and onc can lose his/her PR status due to such mistakes.
Thanks for your concern. We were never refugees or asylees. He has no problem applying for his Armenian passport.
 
It's not just a matter of going to Armenia, your husband would need a valid passport in addition to US Green card to get on to the flights and enter US. The only exceptions to entering US without a valid passport, but with Green Cards are Canada, Mexico, and Islands like Jamaica etc.
 
sg_orl said:
It's not just a matter of going to Armenia, your husband would need a valid passport in addition to US Green card to get on to the flights and enter US. The only exceptions to entering US without a valid passport, but with Green Cards are Canada, Mexico, and Islands like Jamaica etc.
I know, he would also need it on his way back (to get on the plane from Armenia). But to enter to US, meaning here, at the airport, green card would be enough, wouldn't it?
 
It is my understanding that you NEED a valid passport to travel out of US and in addition visa to the country you are traveling to. In your husband's case, he would NEED a valid passport from Armenia and of course no visa, since he is a Armenian citizen, to trvael to Armenia. When you fly out of US, a passport is a needed document that airlines would ask. At that time they don't care about your Green Card, but they do care where you are going and if you need a visa and if you have one. Check with the airline you plan to fly what requirements are there. For example, on Delta you can try this out of their websitea at:
http://www.delta.com/travel/plan/international_travel/visa_passport_info/index.jsp

Have you tried getting a short term passport from the Armenian Consulate to travel. I know some countries would issue a short term (may 1 month validity) passport if you demonstrate an emergency situation to travel.

Hope it helps. Good luck.
 
Just like what I have said, the problem is with the Armenian immigration requirements. Whatever they require from the traveler has to be dealt with in accordance with the Armenian authorities and their laws--NOT the US!
If there are problems with the airlines for somebody travelling from the US to Armenia or from Armenia to the US, it is primarily because of Armenian requirements rather than US requirements. Coming back to the US from a short visit abroad should not be a problem for anybody who has a valid green card because all that is required by US immigration laws for an LPR is the possesion of a valid I-551. Having a passport is not mandatory for a Legal Permanent Resident to reenter the US!
 
Thanks to everyone who took time to answer my questions!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sg_orl, I'll find out about short term passport. But, I don't think it's an option for Armenian Consulate. The way they handle emergencies in this kind of situations is issuing Return Certificates, which is valid for a month, and if you fly with that certificate, you must use the Russian Federation connecting flight, others wouldn't except it.
196111, the Armenian vice consul was the one telling me to get a travel document. I told him that it's for reentering US, which my husband has no problem with. But, he said, they would make an exception for him and give him a visa based on his travel document. I just never thought that the CIS would issue him a travel document. They would simply think that whoever filled out the application, did not realize that this person (my husband) doesn't need one.
Anyway, I needed your opinions about this issue.
Thanks again. :)
 
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