re-entry with stamp only

[long_wait_4_gc]

just providing a quick update on a smooth re-entry in SFO.

i had been approved on july 15th, got stamped on july 23rd. no card yet. had to go to India for a business trip for a 2 weeks. returned through SFO. went into the 'permanent resident & citizens' line for the very first time in 6 years. it was a good feeling.

unfortunately that line was quite full as well and had to wait my turn. at the counter the lady asked where i had done the stamping. i told her at the SFO office. she stamped the 'entry' into my passort and let me go.

pretty smooth all around. i had also travelled through Frankfurt where the passport stamp is well recognized and i was not bothered by the german immigration folks.

 

[wik]

Thanks for the info... that's good to hear. I thought secondary inspection was almost mandatory due to the ease with which the 551 stamp can be faked (it's the most amateur looking thing you've ever seen, and most of the info is handwritten!). Most folks I know with AP get secondary inspection because there were supposedly some forged APs floating around (my lawyer told me that)...maybe the POE officers can see your alien info on their own screens without referral to secondary inspection?

 

[pralay]

Thanks for the info... that's good to hear. I thought secondary inspection was almost mandatory due to the ease with which the 551 stamp can be faked (it's the most amateur looking thing you've ever seen, and most of the info is handwritten!). Most folks I know with AP get secondary inspection because there were supposedly some forged APs floating around (my lawyer told me that)...maybe the POE officers can see your alien info on their own screens without referral to secondary inspection?

Even if someone fakes passport stamping, it's not going to help anyway because what matters is the record in BCBP's database. So the stamp on passport kind of formality. The things that matter are: passport and A#. As long as record of A# is good, you are good to be admissible.

AP is totally different issue because range of status of AP holders differ in many ways - starting from refugee/political asylum to I-485 applicant. A person's AP can be fake, even though his/her status is valid.