Thai citizen traveling to Thailand and back to US

[pawheel]

My wife will be traveling back to Thailand in June. Her two year green card is expired and we applied for her ten year green card. We received the 1751 “petition to remove conditions on residence” form.  
 

We’ve some how lost the first page of the 1751 form. We do have the second page (see attachment)

 

Will that second page Of the 1751 be ok to travel with? Also, what other documents will she need to exit Thailand on the return back to the US?
 

She recently renewed her Thai passport in Los Angeles. They allowed her to keep her expired passport with the K1 visa stamp. Will the expired passport be needed?

 

If we’re required to get the first page of the 1751 form. What is the process for getting a new copy?

 

TIA

[ubonjoe]

Moved to here.

[asiaexpat]

From my experience (rather old) if your wife travels before she gets her new resident alien card she will have trouble returning to USA. Even those with current green cards can encounter difficulty. My wife was detained two years ago and it took our son to get her released. I suggest delaying trip until actual green card is in hand.

[mduras01]

I second the above, being one who was naturalized. I would delay until you have card in hand and don’t travel at all with incomplete documents, no matter your reasoning. 
 

Your local immigration office which changed her status can best advice you about the missing first page.

[GinBoy2]

This is becoming an increasingly tricky one in the Trump era. 

 

Once you file the I-751 you get the receipt, and you are still a permanent resident, and that document should allow lawful travel outside the country.

 

Now before Trump, the I-751 application was normally cleared within 6 months, it's now taking up to 24 months.

 

You can, if you live close enough to an immigration office, get a stamp in your passport to affirm that, since let's face it an airline check in agent confronted with a piece of paper may well not understand what it means.

 

If it were me, I'd wait until the 10 year Green Card is in her hands before travel.

 

But to the OP's original question, I think there is no way other than contacting USCIS to see if you can get a copy of the entire document.

 

It's ironic that Trump, given his predilection for Eastern European immigrant wives, has made legal immigration so much harder!

Edited January 4, 2020 by GinBoy2

[Gumballl]

I second all of the comments above. Be wary of travelling when foreign national only has Conditional Residency (CR), in particular for a long period of time.

 

However, that being said, I am surprised that USCIS folks did not extend the validity of her current "Green" card.

 

My wife has Permanent Residency, and when her 10-year term expired, we (err, she) applied again for PR. It took approximately 13 months for the new green card to arrive. In meantime, a red sticker was affixed to the back of the existing card which extended the validity of the card by 12 months. With this extension, she was able to successfully travel from US to Thailand and back.

 

Anyhow, any questions you have should be directed to USCIS, in particular about getting an extension of expiration added to the green card.

[Gumballl]

1 hour ago, GinBoy2 said:

...

 

It's ironic that Trump, given his predilection for Eastern European immigrant wives, has made legal immigration so much harder!

Immigration is indeed harder.

 

"Give us your rich, give us your well-to-do" is the new motto. The tired, the poor, and the wretched are denied entry. I am not a Trump supporter, but I do appreciate the strict immigration rules.

Edited January 4, 2020 by Gumballl

[Tedly]

My wife had the same situation because of immigration being backed up she received a paper in the mail extending her green card to 18 months. We traveled back to Thailand with that paper and had no trouble, but I was worried about it and I think I called immigration to find out if it would be OK, they said to have the expired green card and the notice of the 18 month extension. She has since received her 10 year card but it took just about the whole 18 months. 

[Morty T]

4 hours ago, GinBoy2 said:

This is becoming an increasingly tricky one in the Trump era. 

 

Once you file the I-751 you get the receipt, and you are still a permanent resident, and that document should allow lawful travel outside the country.

 

Now before Trump, the I-751 application was normally cleared within 6 months, it's now taking up to 24 months.

 

You can, if you live close enough to an immigration office, get a stamp in your passport to affirm that, since let's face it an airline check in agent confronted with a piece of paper may well not understand what it means.

 

If it were me, I'd wait until the 10 year Green Card is in her hands before travel.

 

But to the OP's original question, I think there is no way other than contacting USCIS to see if you can get a copy of the entire document.

 

It's ironic that Trump, given his predilection for Eastern European immigrant wives, has made legal immigration so much harder!

Trump this,  Trump that. Trump derangement syndrome seems to be alive and well. Your information is erroneous; OP dont leave the country until you actually have your new green card in hand. Yes, you are " allowed " reentry with certified copies, the actual practice is something else altogether. What you can safely assume is that your wife will be detained for a lengthy period of time until all her documentation is verified, which means a longer stay on weekends and Holidays. We ran into the same situation on a trip to Canada in 1988. All the correct forms, but no plastic card. 

[sirineou]

When my now wife for over ten years first came to the US while on her K1 visa and waiting for her temporary Green Card, we looked into getting a permission to travel while waiting for her green card, and applied for a "advance Parole' allowing someone to leave and re-enter while waiting for adjustment of status. Fortunately the green card was issued quickly and such document was not necessary. below is alink with more info.

https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/free-books/fiance-marriage-visa-book/chapter5-23.html

   If it is totally necessary that your wife travels before her permanent Green card was issued , perhaps such document would help you,  If not necessary to travel at short notice, I suggest you wait, her Permanent should not take too long.

Call  USCIS, explain your concern and ask for advice. 

 

Edited January 4, 2020 by sirineou

[kurtmartens]

19 hours ago, Morty T said:

Trump this,  Trump that. Trump derangement syndrome seems to be alive and well. Your information is erroneous; OP dont leave the country until you actually have your new green card in hand. 

 

We ran into the same situation on a trip to Canada in 1988. All the correct forms, but no plastic card. 

Well said about the "Trump" syndrome.  Especially since you had the same situation in 1988.  Of course folks will just replace Trump with Republican since 1988 was Reagan.  (LOL)