What if I lost my green card and passport in a third country?

A

AmericanWannabe

Registered Users (C)
My company will perhaps send me to France
for a week. What if should I do if I
(1) lost both my passport and green card
(2) lost both my passport but not green card
(3) lost my green card but not my passport

Do I need to go to American embassy in my
home country to get some substitute for GC
or I can get it in Paris?

The first year of GC is enviable because you have two
sets of I551 :)
 
AmericanWannabe said:
(2) lost both my passport but not green card
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This one is easy. You can re-enter just with your green card. If the inspector asks you for a passport just tell him you lost it and applied for a replacement. You might have harder time to convince screeners at CDG though, however I have once boarded a flight in CDG without showing my passport at all, just the green card.
 
eltoro said:
This one is easy. You can re-enter just with your green card. If the inspector asks you for a passport just tell him you lost it and applied for a replacement. You might have harder time to convince screeners at CDG though, however I have once boarded a flight in CDG without showing my passport at all, just the green card.
Click to expand...

What is CDG?
 
eltoro said:
CDG - Charles de Gaulle International Airport in Paris.
Click to expand...

But did you show your passport when you arrived at American
airport?

By French law, do we have to carry our passport with us all
the times?
 
AmericanWannabe said:
But did you show your passport when you arrived at American airport?
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On that particular trip I arrived in ATL (Atlanta) and as a matter of fact did not show the passport. The inspector scanned the card, asked me how long I was out and welcomed me back. I did not need to show my passpotr at customs inspection point either.

Late last year I was re-entering through DTW (Detroit). I gave my green card to the inspector, but did not volunteer a passport. The officer asked me for my passport and I showed it to him but asked not to stamp it (my passport is getting quite full and US Immigration folks have the tendency to put the stamp at the middle of your last available page). Then I asked him if in his opinion I needed to have a passport and he said "Not for US - you have a green card and that is all that is required. We ask for and stamp the passports so you know when you entered. It is easier when you apply for citizenship."
 
(1) lost both my passport and green card

Step A => Go to an American Embassy and explain the situation and they *might* be able to provide you with a temporary permit to return to the country. If I were you, I would make copies of my passport and GC and send it to my home country as well as keep a copy at home/office.

Step B => Stop by Indian embassy (assuming you are an Indian?) and they will be able to take care of it as well. You might need a police certificate stating that you lost the passports...

(2) lost both my passport but not green card

Step B (from above) applies.

(3) lost my green card but not my passport

Step A (from above) applies.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
JoeF said:
If you have a police report, you can go to the US consulate and get an SB-1 Returning Resident visa to be able to come back to the US. It is a good idea to have a copy of the GC, so that you know your A#.
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How can I establish my identity with the embassy if I lost passport, GC and
also my DL. Do they have electronic photo or fingerprint
to match?

What if the guards of the embassy just don't let people without any ID
in?
 
If you don't expect to drive, don't bring your DL. Have somebody send it to you from the US if you lose both your GC and passport. And leave copies of the GC, DL, and passport at home and carry copies with you also. And once you get to the hotel, avoid carrying all IDs on your person or leaving all at the hotel. Walk around with your passport but leave the GC at the hotel or vice versa, so you are unlikely to lose both or have them both stolen.

You could also have somebody at home send your EAD and/or AP if unexpired, which should be usable to identify yourself at the embassy, but of course not for actual travel or work.
 
I was thinking how would it be if I scanned my Green Card, the first few pages of the passport, and the DL and placed it in a password protected word document and uploaded to Hotmail or Google mail.

This can come in handy in the worst case scenario anywhere in the world. Not sure if something like that is allowed and right.
 
Let me explain an experiance I heard from my friend

Hi,

One of my friends while traveling to India via Frankfurt lost his hand baggage. (After some days it was traced and returned back! That is another story). He found that along with his hand baggage, his passport, boarding pass for his next journey, GC are also missing :(

He was not allowed to get out of the lounge itself. Luckily he had a copy of them in his wallet, so he made a phone call to Indian Embassy and to American Embassy.

Due to week end, he was forced to stay there till Monday even to talk to anyone. On Monday, Indian Embassy officials gave him a temporary passport. American embassy gave him a Parole to enter back to US and requested him to apply for duplicate GC at that time.

Then the Airlines accommodated him to travel further. It is always wise to carry a copy of all documents, which will be helpful in such cases.

Thanks
 
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