Traveling to US after a long time using green card

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greencardtravel01

New Member
I am a green card holder. I am in India. I departed the US in June 2017 on a one way ticket. In a few months, I will be returning to the US. My green card is not expired. My questions are:

1. Will the airline checkin and board me? I plan to depart from either Chennai or Bangalore.
2. Will there be an issue in India immigration because I stayed in India for too long on green card since my last departure from the US? Will India immigration accept and stamp my passport with my unexpired green card?
3. Will there be an issue in the US port of entry?

Please help me with your answers.
 
I do not have a re-entry permit. Before I departed the US, I was in situation/circumstance where I was not able to get a re-entry permit. I also did not anticipate that I would be in India this long. I applied for SB-1 / return resident visa in Feb 2021 at Mumbai. It was denied.

Please help me with your answers.
 
CBP will very likely see on their systems that you had a SB1 denied. I think it is likely that they will not want to allow you in with that on your record, meaning you’d either be pressured into signing an official abandonment (you can refuse) or be paroled in to appear before an immigration judge. Are you prepared to try argue your case before an IJ, knowing that a consulate has already looked at the same factors and denied the visa?
 
I don’t know the answer to the first two. Some airlines don’t let you board if you’ve been out the US longer than a year but not all of them. I don’t know how you find out which do and don’t. No idea about Indian immigration rules. Maybe someone else can answer that.
 
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Did you maintain any ties to US after 2017 such as financial ties, investments, property etc? When you argue your case with IJ you will need to present this evidence. Your denial of SB1 visa holds no bearing in front of the IJ. He/She shall decide your case de novo. As for CBP, as long as you do not sign a voluntary residency abandonment form I-407, they have no choice but to let you in. They may refer you to the IJ. Remember that immigration courts are backlogged so it may take a long time (years) for your case to be heard. In some cases it may mean that you can’t leave the country until then as that would lead to self deportation. Consult an attorney here. And yes, the airline will board you 100% as long as there are no covid restrictions. Airlines have no right to determine an abandonment case and neither does CBP. That’s the jurisdiction of the IJ only.
 
Fin said:
. And yes, the airline will board you 100% as long as there are no covid restrictions. Airlines have no right to determine an abandonment case and neither does CBP. That’s the jurisdiction of the IJ only.
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airlines board according to their own judgement, note a few times reported on the forums that they have even denied boarding people with valid i551 stamps, and I have personally been asked twice when I had a green card about time out the US. You can’t force an airline to board you. If they think they’re going to get sanctioned by the US, they won’t let you on. Usually I would suggest that making the airline call CBP to confirm boarding allowed is the way to go but that probably won’t have a happy ending in this instance. Hence OP should endeavor to find out the policy of the airlines he/she wants to fly before booking.
 
SusieQQQ said:
airlines board according to their own judgement, note a few times reported on the forums that they have even denied boarding people with valid i551 stamps, and I have personally been asked twice when I had a green card about time out the US. You can’t force an airline to board you. If they think they’re going to get sanctioned by the US, they won’t let you on. Usually I would suggest that making the airline call CBP to confirm boarding allowed is the way to go but that probably won’t have a happy ending in this instance. Hence OP should endeavor to find out the policy of the airlines he/she wants to fly before booking.
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Agree that airlines can be a pain in the rear and I have had them delay me many times because they have no clue what a RTD/RP is. But if the OP has a valid passport and GC, these are valid and commonly used documents. The airlines do not have a way of knowing how long you have been out of the US. Many times CBP does not stamp passports of GC holders when we use kiosks. I agree that the best way would be to find out the policy of the airline but this is a double edged sword. If OP volunteers information that he was out of the US for long time, it may actually cause the airline to deny boarding when in normal cases they wouldn’t have. If that happens, another way is to use GC+passport to enter either Canada or Mexico and present oneself at a land border (after covid restrictions open).

Edit: Also for many airlines, you can use your passport number and GC number to check in online and get a e-boarding pass. So it maybe possible to by pass any such checks.
 
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Fin said:
Agree that airlines can be a pain in the rear and I have had them delay me many times because they have no clue what a RTD/RP is. But if the OP has a valid passport and GC, these are valid and commonly used documents. The airlines do not have a way of knowing how long you have been out of the US. Many times CBP does not stamp passports of GC holders when we use kiosks. I agree that the best way would be to find out the policy of the airline but this is a double edged sword. If OP volunteers information that he was out of the US for long time, it may actually cause the airline to deny boarding when in normal cases they wouldn’t have. If that happens, another way is to use GC+passport to enter either Canada or Mexico and present oneself at a land border (after covid restrictions open).

Edit: Also for many airlines, you can use your passport number and GC number to check in online and get a e-boarding pass. So it maybe possible to by pass any such checks.
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I always checked in online and was asked when showed docs at checkin. You always have to show actual docs before you can board.
He doesn’t need to reveal who he is when asking information ahead of booking.
 
CBP issued a reminder to airline to let people board even if they stayed over a year on green card in India. It is in a times of india article. Google keyword - cbp green card and search in news.
 
economictimes.indiatimes.com/nri/migrate/stranded-in-india-weve-got-all-your-green-card-questions-answered/articleshow/82142010.cms

duanemorris.com/alerts/recent_immigration_updates_uscis_cbp_0421.html

martindale.com/legal-news/article_duane-morris-llp_2543156.htm
 
CBP issued a reminder to airline to let people board. It is in a times of india article. Google keyword - cbp green card and search in news.

Note: I have edited my previous message.
 
SusieQQQ said:
I always checked in online and was asked when showed docs at checkin. You always have to show actual docs before you can board.
He doesn’t need to reveal who he is when asking information ahead of booking.
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Makes sense. Btw if you check in online, you show your documents at the gate unless you are checking a bag. They call your name out for doc check and replace the boarding pass that says Docs ok. I usually never check a bag in even for international travel, so I have shown the documents the gate. But I’m still confused how in the world will the airline know how long you have been out of the USA since there are no exit stamps and even entry stamps are sometimes not given if you enter using kiosks. Anyway, hopefully OP will figure out a way. If it was me, I would just book the flight, show up at the airport and try my luck, but again, I have a high risk tolerance.
 
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