Travel to India with I-551

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thetulsan

Registered Users (C)
Travel to India with I-551 stamp in Passport

I got my Green Card through my spouse and my case for removing the condition has been approved. The Immigration officer said that it would take atleast 4 months to get the original plastic card meanwhile I got the I-551 stamped on the passport which says : "Upon endorsement, serves as temporary I-551 evidencing permanent residency for one year."

With this will I be able to travel to India and come back without any issues?

Has anyone travelled outside U.S with this stamping on passport?

I need to travel this Monday due to some emergency.

Please help!
 
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thetulsan said:
I got my Green Card through my spouse and my case for removing the condition has been approved. The Immigration officer said that it would take atleast 4 months to get the original plastic card meanwhile I got the I-551 stamped on the passport which says : "Upon endorsement, serves as temporary I-551 evidencing permanent residency for one year."

With this will I be able to travel to India and come back without any issues?

Has anyone travelled outside U.S with this stamping on passport?

I need to travel this Monday due to some emergency.

Please help!
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hi thetulsan:

I have same situation like you. I just got my condition removed and they stamped my passport and stamp is red ink stamp with these words Upon Endorsement, serves as temporary i-551 evidencey permanent residency for 1 year. and after that they wrote A XXXXXXX and IR6. Which service center you applied. I have applied in VSC and waiting for card like for ever. I want to travel too but scared so making sure if its all fine
 
There is absolutely no problem travelling with the stamp. This is the same thing as physical green card. Dont be scared.

Good Luck.
 
Kamrans, there won't be any problems getting in and out of India right? Little worried about that. Please advise..
 
rajnewyorker said:
hi thetulsan:

I have same situation like you. I just got my condition removed and they stamped my passport and stamp is red ink stamp with these words Upon Endorsement, serves as temporary i-551 evidencey permanent residency for 1 year. and after that they wrote A XXXXXXX and IR6. Which service center you applied. I have applied in VSC and waiting for card like for ever. I want to travel too but scared so making sure if its all fine
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RajNewYorker:

I applied at Oklahoma City.
 
thetulsan said:
RajNewYorker:

I applied at Oklahoma City.
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Hey for how long you are going to india. I am planning to go to india end of next month. I assume in mean time you will be back...please do share your experience. Have you confirmed from some wherer else too...Is there any problem in travelling?..Do airline ppl or immigration ppl in india they recognize this stamp coz before it was different stamp like processed for I-551 and now its new that is why i m so concerned
 
rajnewyorker said:
Hey for how long you are going to india. I am planning to go to india end of next month. I assume in mean time you will be back...please do share your experience. Have you confirmed from some wherer else too...Is there any problem in travelling?..Do airline ppl or immigration ppl in india they recognize this stamp coz before it was different stamp like processed for I-551 and now its new that is why i m so concerned
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Hi:

This is a question just for my own curiosity, and in ignorance of Indian immigration laws etc. etc.

Why does Indian immigration verify eligibility to enter the US? It is very common for airlines to check this at the point of departure, because they can be fined heavily if they transport a passenger to the destination country without valid documentation to enter. But why Indian immigration?

I travel regularly to Australia and Germany to visit relatives. Both of these countries have exit control. Whenever I check in in the US, the airline verifies that I may enter Australia or Germany. Whenever I check in in Australia or Germany, the airline verifies that I may enter the US. But passing through Australian customs/German customs on the way out, they just verify that I have not violated my stay in these countries, what I am taking out etc. and could not care less whether I may enter the US.

I am just curious as to why Indian immigration takes it upon themselves to enforce US entry requirements, which are traditionally enforced by US CBP and the airlines for their own financial benefit.
 
Pianoplayer.


Indian immigration do not verify US immigration status upon entry or exit, but only the Indian immigration papers or status and time periods for visiting India and then stamping your entry or exit dates. But as you mentioned correctly airlines in Indian airports do check before letting you board US airplanes whether you are eligible to enter US or not.

I think the OPs were just confused.
 
Ashin2 said:
Pianoplayer.


Indian immigration do not verify US immigration status upon entry or exit, but only the Indian immigration papers or status and time periods for visiting India and then stamping your entry or exit dates. But as you mentioned correctly airlines in Indian airports do check before letting you board US airplanes whether you are eligible to enter US or not.

I think the OPs were just confused.
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Hi:

Thanks for the clarification. That was what I thought, but I have no knowledge of Indian immigration and have never travelled there. The reason I asked was that I have seen many posts where Indians have asked about whether their US visa/travel document would be accepted by Indian immigration on the way out. They were likely referring to airline officers.
 
pianoplayer said:
Hi:

Thanks for the clarification. That was what I thought, but I have no knowledge of Indian immigration and have never travelled there. The reason I asked was that I have seen many posts where Indians have asked about whether their US visa/travel document would be accepted by Indian immigration on the way out. They were likely referring to airline officers.
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Hi:
What I understand and it happened to me. Indian immigration officers they cannot verify your status in US but they do check your travelling documents like visa or any stamp on your passport which authorize you to travel to your desination country. How they will let you board when you dont have any visa and you are going to that country. So they have to check your travelling documents.
 
rajnewyorker said:
Hi:
What I understand and it happened to me. Indian immigration officers they cannot verify your status in US but they do check your travelling documents like visa or any stamp on your passport which authorize you to travel to your desination country. How they will let you board when you dont have any visa and you are going to that country. So they have to check your travelling documents.
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Hi:

Yes, but this is exactly what I am questioning. Why do they care? When I leave the US, CBP could not care less whether I am allowed to enter e.g. Australia. The airlines verify that I can, because they do not want to be liable for paying fines if I am rejected in Australia.

Similarly, Australian immigration does not check whether I can enter the US when I leave there - they are only interested in making sure I abided by THEIR regulations and have not overstayed. The only people that check my US documents there are the airlines, because once again, they do not want to be liable for paying fines if I am rejected when I arrive in the US.

I have travelled to many countries that have exit control, and not once have I been checked by immigration/customs officials from that country as to whether I have entry documents for ANOTHER country.

If what you say is true, I am curious as to why Indian immigration checks that. What an extra burden to take on enforcing other countries' immigration documents! I would think they wouldn't care if you were rejected in the US and sent back to India ----- after all, it would be the airline paying the fine.

Interesting!
 
pianoplayer said:
Hi:

Yes, but this is exactly what I am questioning. Why do they care? When I leave the US, CBP could not care less whether I am allowed to enter e.g. Australia. The airlines verify that I can, because they do not want to be liable for paying fines if I am rejected in Australia.

Similarly, Australian immigration does not check whether I can enter the US when I leave there - they are only interested in making sure I abided by THEIR regulations and have not overstayed. The only people that check my US documents there are the airlines, because once again, they do not want to be liable for paying fines if I am rejected when I arrive in the US.

I have travelled to many countries that have exit control, and not once have I been checked by immigration/customs officials from that country as to whether I have entry documents for ANOTHER country.

If what you say is true, I am curious as to why Indian immigration checks that. What an extra burden to take on enforcing other countries' immigration documents! I would think they wouldn't care if you were rejected in the US and sent back to India ----- after all, it would be the airline paying the fine.

Interesting!
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I am totally agreed with you. how system works there,
 
Thats quite interesting what you said Raj,

When I travel to India, the only people who check my GC are the airline officials and not the Indian immigration. Indian immigration never asked me what my status in US was. They are more concerned on what proof I have for travelling to India.

I wonder if its a different port in India you are entering than I am.
 
I was visiting India in Nov 2005. I boarded a flight out of New Delhi for JFK. I was travelling on a Canadian passport. Neither the airline nor Indian exit control inquired about my GC. The airline staff was probably satisfied with my Canadian passport, since that shows I have the "right" document to enter the US. Indian exit control just wanted to stamp my single entry visa and ensure I am leaving before my stay expired. I was expecting a few questions, since I am Pakistan born and I got my single entry visa after 20 months of waiting. However just a cursory look and a stamp on the passport is all I got.
 
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actually the indian immigration does check, it really annoys me, and i just felt like telling them off, this time when i was there for a few days on route to another destination, they asked to see the visa for the asian country i was going to. really weird. i don't know wht their problem is. and this was the airport in mumbai.
 
Ashin2 said:
Thats quite interesting what you said Raj,

When I travel to India, the only people who check my GC are the airline officials and not the Indian immigration. Indian immigration never asked me what my status in US was. They are more concerned on what proof I have for travelling to India.

I wonder if its a different port in India you are entering than I am.
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hi Ashin:

I am from delhi, I am not talking about travelling to India. I am talking about from india to US.
 
Hi Raj,

Yes, I am talking about traveling from India back to US. I have never had my US immigration (GC) checked before by the Indian immigration.
Only people who have checked is the airlines personnel.
This is Mumbai port I am talking about..
 
During embarkation process I have noticed that officers checking for the validity of the VISA. I have noticed that they following this procedure every single time I returned to U.S
 
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