Travel back to my homeland

C

Chari2048

New Member
Can I travel back to my home land while waiting for my green card. My immigrant visa on my passport says “Upon endorsement serves as temporary I-551 evidencing permanent permanent residence for 1 year” can I travel back home if my passport says that?
 
1F9DCE98-42B5-4A84-A155-693F13B55726.jpegI wanted to know if I could travel if my passport said they following sentence “Upon endorsement serves as temporary I-551 evidencing permanent residence for 1 year” i was told yes by many people but today I went to the airport to go to my homeland Dominican Republic for a few weeks but I was told I couldn’t travel because that wasn’t enough prove. The worker at the airport said I wasn’t gonna be able to return to USA. Please someone clear things for me I really want to go back home but I also want to come back.
 
Chari2048 said:
I wanted to know if I could travel if my passport said they following sentence “Upon endorsement serves as temporary I-551 evidencing permanent residence for 1 year” i was told yes by many people but today I went to the airport to go to my homeland Dominican Republic for a few weeks but I was told I couldn’t travel because that wasn’t enough prove. The worker at the airport said I wasn’t gonna be able to return to USA. Please someone clear things for me I really want to go back home but I also want to come back.
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What worker at the airport? You should have checked with CBP directly. The CBP manual clearly states this is acceptable for proof of being a LPR/entry.
By the way your A number is visible on the handwritten part of the CBP stamp, you should edit that out.
 
CBP manual that the airlines are supposed to use
https://www.cbp.gov/sites/default/f.../2019 Carrier Information Guide - ENGLISH.pdf
see page 32, which has a pictorial example showing it and says
Immigrant Visa
An immigrant visa is issued by the Department of State and will be affixed inside the passport of the immigrant.
Once an immigrant has been admitted to the United States the immigrant visa becomes a re-entry document, valid for one year from the endorsement date. The statement “UPON ENDORSEMENT SERVES AS TEMPORARY I-551 EVIDENCING PERMANENT RESIDENCE FOR 1 YEAR” will be printed in the body of the visa directly above the machine-readable zone. This documentation is acceptable for travel and employment and is intended to replace the ADIT stamp.
 
That’s pure BS. First of all, if you are leaving the USA the airline agents job is to see if you have a valid document to enter the destination country and NOT for coming back. What if someone didn’t want to comeback? Also a I-551 stamp or a MRIV (like you have) is valid for re-entry until the stamped date. It is issued if your plastic GC is in process, both first time or for renewal/replacement.
 
As an aside, you entered in October last year so your plastic card is very late in arriving. Did you pay the green card fee? Have you followed up with uscis?
 
Yes I already paid my replacement of my green card they said I will get it in 11 months they also gave me an infopass appointment that I couldn’t attend because they cancelled it because of covid19. I called for another appointment and they said they are only doing emergency appointments.
 
Chari2048 said:
Yes I already paid my replacement of my green card they said I will get it in 11 months they also gave me an infopass appointment that I couldn’t attend because they cancelled it because of covid19. I called for another appointment and they said they are only doing emergency appointments.
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Yes - and you don’t need an emergency appointment because you have a valid i551 in your passport.

You didn't answer the question about who it was at the airport that gave you the faulty information. If it is airline staff you can ask to go more senior and/or insist that they clear it with cbp.
 
Chari2048 said:
I went to jetblue and it was one of the people that check you in when you get to the airport.
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Yep, you should insist on a senior person or CBP anytime you get told something you know is wrong by an airline staff member. Remember a lot of these frontline staff simply may not recognize every valid option.
Not for me but I even saw once in London someone insist on CBP at BA checkin, and they had someone come who confirmed the person could fly. Definitely an option in the US. Or just print out the page from the manual I referred you to above to show them and they can confirm for themselves in their own copy.
 
So they wouldn't let you board your flight departing the US because they didn't believe you could return to the US?
 
Yeah that’s a good idea I will print out the page from the manual to show them. The person also told me I needed to attend my infopass appointment in order to get the I-551 stamp.
 
Chari2048 said:
Yeah that’s a good idea I will print out the page from the manual to show them. The person also told me I needed to attend my infopass appointment in order to get the I-551 stamp.
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But you already have an I551, so that just shows the person was used to seeing one type of temporary I551 but not another. Pity you encountered that - it’s not the first time I’ve heard of it. Hopefully next time you’ll get through fine.
 
Next time you really must insist that they check with someone, or ask for a supervisor. Airline staff sometimes don't know stuff :)
 
newacct said:
But there's the question of why it's even relevant when departing the US.
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Asylumist91 said:
Thats nonsense, there is no Exit immigration in U.S. you should be fine going out, and coming back in.
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It’s bizarre that an airline employee did this, for sure, both in principle and because they did not understand the temp i551. Howver, my reading was not that they stopped OP leaving, just gave him a warning about returning. This is where it helps to understand your documents. I have had to explain this one to airline staff before.
 
Chari2048 said:
View attachment 1767I wanted to know if I could travel if my passport said they following sentence “Upon endorsement serves as temporary I-551 evidencing permanent residence for 1 year” i was told yes by many people but today I went to the airport to go to my homeland Dominican Republic for a few weeks but I was told I couldn’t travel because that wasn’t enough prove. The worker at the airport said I wasn’t gonna be able to return to USA. Please someone clear things for me I really want to go back home but I also want to come back.
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HI.. were you able to return back to US with this visa before getting your Green card
 
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