RTD vs RP

[Miss_chang]

Hello,

I'm a derivative asylee and since I still have about 1 and 1/2 yrs before I can apply for my citizenship, I'm wondering if I should apply for RTD or RP. My passport has already expired and I don't wanna risk my citizenship application by renewing it. Can someone enlighten me about the pros and cons (or even the difference between RP and RTD)?

Thank you kindly.

 

[cafeconleche]

RTD is valid for 1 year and gives you visa free access to Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Hungary, Croatia and Slovakia (I think that's the list). RP will be valid for 2 years but costs double. You can only travel visa free to Croatia with it I think, and I'm not sure this will be the case after July 1 when Croatia joins the eu. It likely should, though. If you value the visa free country access then the RTD is for you. However, the 1 year validity gets a lot of people because if you need a new one then you'll have to apply well in advance. If I were you I'd get the RP and just apply for a visa for wherever.

 

[winthan]

Are you traveling? If not, then don't waste your money and times. RTD process timeline is about 3 months.

Asylee/Refugee can't get RP, because they are not allowed to use their nationality passport to travel. They will gave you only RTD since you are an asylee. USCIS thinks that you can't use your NP after you applied Refugee/Asylee, and they believe that you can't go back to your country. That's why RTD is issued by USCIS to grant refugees to travel with US travel document to other countries. In your case, you need to apply RTD if you are going to travel following countries:

Malaysia
Thailand
Germany
Belgium
Luxembourg
Croatia
Slovakia
and etc. (please consult with your destination embassies for visa)

Note: You CAN'T travel to Singapore with RTD. And if you are going to visit to India, India embassy will take about more than 6 months to grant you visa. So it will be waste to if you are going to travel to India. Because RTD gaves you only 1 year. One note, You don't need RTD to travel to Canada. You can travel with just green card.

I am sure you can use RTD for your one trip, because it has short times (1 yr only). If you are going to renew your RTD again, you will have to pay the fee $220 again. There is no discounts for renew.

RP is for people who travel more than 12 months with their nationality passport, If you are traveling less than 6 months, then you don't need to apply for RP. They may need to get it to avoid problems for your green card. Lately, USCIS will think that you intend to abandon your green status if you don't show up after more than 6 months. So you may need to get a RP which valids for 2 years. It will save your troubles and they will not question you when you come back.

Hello,

I'm a derivative asylee and since I still have about 1 and 1/2 yrs before I can apply for my citizenship, I'm wondering if I should apply for RTD or RP. My passport has already expired and I don't wanna risk my citizenship application by renewing it. Can someone enlighten me about the pros and cons (or even the difference between RP and RTD)?

Thank you kindly.