Travel to USA without re-entry permit?

J

jinglebell1974

New Member
Hi,

I, my wife and my daughter are green card holders, living in India since July 2021 with re-entry permit. We received our GC in 2019 and we applied for re-entry permits in 2020 and traveled to our home country in July 2021. I applied the re-entry permits for all three of us on the same date. However, my daughter's re-entry permit got approved first (within 4 months after submission) and ours got approved after 8 months from there. So, my daughter's re-entry permit had earlier expiration date than ours. I took my daughter to USA in last January (2023) and applied for another re-entry permit. I and my wife traveled to USA this January (2024) and applied for our re-entry permits. Last month, my daughter's re-entry permit got approved and ours are still pending.

Meanwhile, my daughter will be completing her 12th grade in India and would like to pursue her college degree in USA. So, I and my daughter need to move back to USA for her college studies by the end of this year. My questions are below. Can someone help?

1) My daughter has GC and re-entry permit by the time we move back to USA. Is there anything else do we need to carry for her travel?
2) I and my wife did not receive our re-entry permits yet. What if I don't receive my re-entry permit before the end of this year? I was told that a LPR can return to the United states with the GC and without the re-entry permit if the last departure from United states is less than 364 days. Is this correct?
3) I came to know that a LPR can return to United states without the re-entry permit, but with an immigrant visa like SB1. Can I apply for SB1 visa and travel to USA with my daughter by the end of this year?

Thanks in advance.
 
1. That's sufficient. You might also want to bring proof of maintaining residence in the US, e.g. having filed US tax returns, maintaining access to a home in the US, US bank accounts, US driver's licenses, etc.
2. This is correct. Again, you might want to bring proof of maintaining residence in the US.
3. An SB-1 returning resident visa is extremely hard to get. You need to prove you didn't return earlier due to circumstances beyond your control. You're more likely to succeed with just flying to the US and trying to enter with the GC anyway, even if it's been more than 1 year and you don't have a re-entry permit or SB-1. But returning earlier if possible is a good idea.
 
Thanks for your response.

I don't have a home, but I do have bank account with Wellsfargo since 2000 and I do have a valid US driver's license. I have not filed my taxes for 2022-2023 yet, but I will try to complete that ASAP. Not that I did not want to do, but I was confused as to how to proceed since I don't have a W2. Most of the tax filing companies do not offer services for a LPR who lives abroad.
 
Hi,

I went to US Consulate today to renew my son's US passport and I asked the officer about traveling to USA with GC and without re-entry permit and the duration is less than 364 days. The officer told me that I should apply for Boarding foil to travel to USA without re-entry permit.

Can someone provide more information on this?
 
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