Travel outside the US with GC but afraid to trigger the 3 year bar when returning

A

asylum1987

New Member
Hello everyone,
I got my green card a couple months ago through asylum.
I have many years since I haven't see my family and I would like to visit them this summer in Italy since almost my entire family resides there.
Italy is not my home country so please understand that I have no intentions to go back to my home country.
I'm not a national of any of the EU countries (Schenghen area) so I need a visa to go there.
I heard that there is a risk involved in using my national passport to travel so it is better to apply for a refugee travel document.
The problem is that I'm afraid to go outside the US because at my asylum interview I found out that my visa (that I used to come to US) was canceled by mistake when I got here, and until my asylum interview I didn't know that I was actually out of status for the entire period of my stay (more than 180 days but less than a year).
Now my questions are:

Do I need to apply for a Refugee Travel Document if I plan to go to Italy for 1 week, is there a risk involved in using my national passport?
Will those ++180 days trigger the 3 year bar to enter the US if I exit the country or that bar was "voided" after I got back in status and I should be just fine?

Thanks a lot and good luck to everyone!
 
Since you already have your GC, so simply get your RTD issued and travel there. No problem with that.

Just, Do not go to the COP!
 
I have a friend who stayed ILLEGAL FOR 4 YEARS she got her gc and went to Spain for 45 days using her gc and her national passport.

All my friends use their GCs and National passport. I was the only one using the RTD. They even renewed their passport after getting the gcs.

Last year I went through secondary inspection and I ASKED THE IO IF I CAN USE THE GC AND NATIONAL PASSPORT, he told me there is no problem at all, IF YOU HAVE A VALID PASSPORT.

Dont waste your time and money.

Go on your trip and RELAX.



asylum1987 said:
Hello everyone,
I got my green card a couple months ago through asylum.
I have many years since I haven't see my family and I would like to visit them this summer in Italy since almost my entire family resides there.
Italy is not my home country so please understand that I have no intentions to go back to my home country.
I'm not a national of any of the EU countries (Schenghen area) so I need a visa to go there.
I heard that there is a risk involved in using my national passport to travel so it is better to apply for a refugee travel document.
The problem is that I'm afraid to go outside the US because at my asylum interview I found out that my visa (that I used to come to US) was canceled by mistake when I got here, and until my asylum interview I didn't know that I was actually out of status for the entire period of my stay (more than 180 days but less than a year).
Now my questions are:

Do I need to apply for a Refugee Travel Document if I plan to go to Italy for 1 week, is there a risk involved in using my national passport?
Will those ++180 days trigger the 3 year bar to enter the US if I exit the country or that bar was "voided" after I got back in status and I should be just fine?

Thanks a lot and good luck to everyone!
Click to expand...
 
The inadmissibility bar section 212(a)(9)(B) does not apply to you anymore because it was waived when your I-485 application got approved.
 
1. The bar does not apply while you are a permanent resident
2. "I found out that my visa (that I used to come to US) was canceled by mistake when I got here"
"Visa" is only for entering the U.S. After you enter the U.S., the visa is irrelevant. It's your status, given by the I-94, that governs your stay here.
3. The unlawful presence only starts counting at the date your I-94 expires. "Out of status" does not mean "unlawful presence". So even if you were out of status, you likely wouldn't have had 180 days of unlawful presence anyway.
 
thank you

Thank you everyone for your answers it gave me self confidence to finally start preparing for the trip,
I didn't get an answer about the downsides of using a national passport instead of a refugee travel document but anyway, thank you!
 
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