Travel Passport and Visa

M

mslunda

Registered Users (C)
When you are coming back to US with Travel Document do they look for the visa?

If you travel to another country with your national passport and then come back with travel document and green card will they ask why there is no visa in your travel document?
 
The admitting officer may ask. Would the GC holder have a reasonable answer to that question?

mslunda said:
If you travel to another country with your national passport and then come back with travel document and green card will they ask why there is no visa in your travel document?
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i have a similar question , can we travel on np and enter united states on rtd, my reason is that none of the middleastern countries allow travel on travel documents n i cannot travel even if i have a green card. any suggestions would be highly appreciated, btw iam not travelling to cop.
 
I don't think it'll be a problem. I'm sure, if it comes up, you can explain yourself. The chances of you being questioned upon entry are low, I think.
 
mslunda said:
When you are coming back to US with Travel Document do they look for the visa?

If you travel to another country with your national passport and then come back with travel document and green card will they ask why there is no visa in your travel document?
Click to expand...

My Visas are always on RP since its easier to travel with but I show my NP when I return...Once the officer asked me where is the schengen visa and I showed him the RP and he was satisfied. He did ask why its there and I told him that it was on the travel document before and a profile was created with that itself and if I submit on NP it takes longer and he said "that makes perfect sense".
 
According to wantmygcnow I/o may ask for the visa. Did you get your permanent residense through asylum?

So you actually have to show them your passport or travel document besides green card when you are coming back to US through air? Only green card will not work?
 
mslunda said:
thankful, I think you work at an airport. You valuable input would be highly appreciated.
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First of all, I do not work at an airport! I will be working as a law clerk for a federal judge.

The only piece of paper you will need to enter the United States is your green card after a temporary trip abroad (of less than one year). But the law does not preclude the officer from asking to see your other travel document. With minors exceptions (for example Canada) you need a passport or a travel document to enter a foreign country. So if you tell an officer that you just came back from Britain and you lack a travel document then you sound very "fishy." Frankly further examination of your admission will be warranted.
 
thankful, thank you very much for you input. For some reason i thought you were working at the airport.

I will have a travel document. But it will not have a visa in it. Therefore, I was wondering what were the chances of an officer asking why there is no visa in the travel document. Other than that i can definitely show him my travel document!
 
mslunda,
It is very common for people with GC to travel back to their country using their national passport and then using a travel document to re-enter the US. For many it is a matter of convenience. This is usually not a problem, although you may be asked about it by the IO.
The only times this is problematic are when there are irregularities, such as travel to the COP, extended stays (over several years) outside the US, and when a naturalized US citizen uses their prior nation's passport to travel outside the US (usu. occurs when someone wants to appear to remain a citizen of their prior country even though that country does not recognize dual citizenship, such as China).
The only reason you should worry about whether the IO asks about no visa is if one of these irregularities applies to you. If not, there's no need to worry.
 
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thankful said:
I have no idea how you acquired that impression. For the record, I am a just- graduated law student and I will be clerking for a federal judge soon.
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Thankful, your replies are always valuable!!! Congrats on your new job and good luck!!!
 
senowen said:
mslunda,
It is very common for people with GC to travel back to their country using their national passport and then using a travel document to re-enter the US. For many it is a matter of convenience. This is usually not a problem, although you may be asked about it by the IO.
The only times this is problematic are when there are irregularities, such as travel to the COP, extended stays (over several years) outside the US, and when a naturalized US citizen uses their prior nation's passport to travel outside the US (usu. occurs when someone wants to appear to remain a citizen of their prior country even though that country does not recognize dual citizenship, such as China).
The only reason you should worry about whether the IO asks about no visa is if one of these irregularities applies to you. If not, there's no need to worry.
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Senowen, thank you very much for your input! I think, as usual, it all depends on your luck. I thought after you had become a citizen they didt question you as much.
 
I have asked similar question earlier, If I can get anyone's input will be very valuable. Can you travel with your NP and enter united states with RTD (no GC), and will it have any impact on I-485 already submitted.Iam not travelling to COP.Thankyou everyone.
 
First of all, how do you know that you can't travel to the ME on a RTD? Did you actually contact the consulates/embassies of the countries you want to travel to, or is this just something you heard/read about? I don't know anything about travel to the ME, so it's not that I disbelieve you. I just want to make sure your information is accurate.
The problem with traveling on the NP of the COP is that a passport is a request for another country to protect you as a citizen of X country. At the same time, a passport is also a request for the country named on the passport to protect you in case of emergency. However, as a refugee/asylee you have claimed that the COP cannot protect you. This is why it is tricky to apply for and/or travel on a passport from the COP, especially before the GC interview. I'm not saying that your GC application will automatically denied if you travel on the NP from the COP. An IO with a whiff of intelligence will understand if you explain that you absolutely cannot travel to X country with a RTD and you needed to because of X emergency. However, it is a gamble because for every moderately intelligent understanding IO, there is a mouthbreathing mentally challenged imbecile working in the very next office. Maybe you will get the nice understanding IO who will grant your GC application without a problem. Maybe you will get the imbecile. So it is a risk (maybe a small risk, but still a risk). So do your research first on using the RTD. And if you cannot use it, make sure you are traveling for a good reason.
 
I'm in the same boat as silverspoon. I have an RTD but no GC yet. I-485 was filed on March 2008. I was hoping to go to Hong Kong to visit my sister and then on to Beijing for tourism (China is not my COP). When I talked to the Chinese consulate and showed her my RTD, she said I need a GC to go there. She then asked if I had other travel documents and I showed her my NP. With that, I am allowed to stay in Hong Kong up to 14 days without visa. She then said I can apply for a visa to visit Beijing, which will be placed on my RTD. I think this is a very good solution but I am a bit concerned about the risk of using my NP, in terms of my I-485 application. Our asylum was based on persecution by a private group and not by the government, so logically, it should not imply any contradiction with my grounds for asylum. But I would really like to hear of any similar experiences to help me judge the risk involved. Hope someone can help ease my worries. Thanks so much!
 
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