An expired green card can ruin your vacation: what you need to know before traveling - ForumDaily
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An expired green card can ruin your vacation: what you need to know before traveling

Traveling with an expired green card is a bad idea, and Sheila Bergara knew it the hard way. Bergara and her husband's tropical vacation plans came to an abrupt end at the United Airlines check-in counter. It was there that an airline representative informed Sheila that she could not enter Mexico from the US with an expired green card. As a result, United Airlines denied the couple boarding a flight to Cancun. Edition The points guy figured out what happened and who was right.

Photo: IStock

Sheila's husband, Paul, says the airline made the mistake of denying the couple boarding, ruining their vacation plans. He claims that his wife's non-renewable green card allows her to travel the world. But United Airlines disagrees and considers the matter closed.

Paul wants United Airlines to reopen his complaint and admit to a mistake that cost him $3000 to fix.

He considers the fact that the next day the couple flew to Mexico on a Spirit Airlines flight with the same expired green card as proof of his innocence. But is it?

Planning an international holiday with some difficulties due to the green card

Last spring, Paul and his wife accepted an invitation to a July wedding in Mexico. However, Sheila, a conditional permanent resident of the United States, had one problem: her green card had just expired.

Although she applied for a new permanent residence card on time, the approval process takes 12-18 months. She knew that her new green card might not arrive on time.

Paul, an experienced traveler, did some research by reading the manual on the Mexican consulate website. Based on this information, he decided that Sheila's expired green card would not prevent her from going to Cancun.

“While we were waiting for my wife's new green card, she was given a Form I-797. This document extends the conditional green card for another two years, Paul explained. “Therefore, we did not expect any problems with the trip to Mexico.”

Feeling confident that everything was in order, the couple used Expedia to book a non-stop flight from Chicago, IL to Cancun and looked forward to a Mexican getaway. They no longer thought about the expired green card.

On the subject: USCIS will automatically renew green cards for those who apply for naturalization

Until the day they were to travel. It was then that it became clear that traveling the world with an expired green card was a bad idea.

United Airlines: You can't enter Mexico with an expired green card

On the day when they expected to drink pina colada on a Caribbean beach by lunchtime, the couple arrived at the airport early. Arriving at the United Airlines counter, the couple turned in all their paperwork and waited patiently to receive their boarding passes. Not expecting any problems, they talked for a while while the United agent typed something.

Some time passed and there were no boarding passes, and the couple began to figure out what was the reason for the delay.

The agent looked up from her computer screen grimly and delivered the bad news: Sheila couldn't travel to Mexico with an expired green card. Her valid Filipino passport also prevented her from going through immigration in Cancun. A United Airlines agent told them that she needed a Mexican visa to be allowed on the flight.

Paul tried to explain that Form I-797 makes a green card valid.

"She told me no." "The agent then showed us an internal document that said United Airlines had been fined for flying green card holders from I-797 to Mexico," Paul said. “She explained to us that this is not the airline’s policy, but the policy of the Mexican government.”

Paul knew that the agent was wrong, but he realized that further arguments were useless. When the representative recommended that Paul and Sheila cancel their flight so they could get a loan for a future United Airlines flight, he agreed.

The puzzled couple gathered their luggage and headed to their car.

“I figured I would later solve this problem with United Airlines,” Paul said. “First of all, I had to find a way to get us to Mexico for the wedding.”

And that's exactly what he did.

Spirit Airlines and the flight to Mexico

Paul soon received a notice that United Airlines had canceled their booking and provided them with $1147 in future flight bills for the missed flight to Cancun. But the couple booked their itinerary with Expedia, which structured the trip as two one-way tickets unrelated to each other. As a result, the return flight to Frontier was not refunded. The airline took $458 for the cancellation and also provided a $1146 credit for a future flight. Expedia charged the couple a $99 cancellation fee.

Paul then turned his attention to Spirit Airlines, which he hoped would not raise the same issue as United.

“I booked a Spirit Airlines flight for the next day so we wouldn't miss our entire trip. The last-minute ticket was over $2000,” Paul said. "It was an expensive way to fix United Airlines' mistake, but I had no other choice."

The next day, the couple approached the Spirit Airlines check-in counter with the same documents as the day before. Paul was confident that Sheila had everything she needed for a successful trip to Mexico.

This time, things went very differently. They handed over the documents to the Spirit Airlines agent and the couple received their boarding passes without delay.

Hours later, Mexican immigration officers stamped Sheila's passport, and soon the couple were enjoying cocktails on the beach. The trip was uneventful and enjoyable when the couple finally made it to Mexico.

Where is the truth

When the couple returned home from vacation, Paul was determined to make sure this kind of fiasco didn't happen to any other green card holder.

After writing his complaint to United Airlines and not receiving confirmation of the error, Paul sent his story to [email protected] and asked for help: “I wanted to share this story and make sure this doesn’t happen to other passengers. United needs to be forced to update its policies. Mexico accepts expired green cards with Form I-797, and United Airlines should not deny passengers boarding. Our holiday was ruined, but we tried to make the best of it.”

But was there really a mistake, or is an expired green card still not the best travel document.

As it turned out, this situation arose due to a misunderstanding of the complex rules of movement for a permanent resident of the United States.

Mexico does not accept Form I-797 as a valid travel document. Sheila traveled with an invalid green card, a Philippine passport, and no visa.

United Airlines made the right decision by denying her boarding on a flight bound for Mexico.

Expired US Green Card Holders Should Not Attempt to Travel the World

Green card holders should never rely on I-797 to prove U.S. residence in a foreign country. This form is for US Immigration officials and allows the green card holder to return home. But no other government is required to accept it as proof of U.S. residence—and most likely they won't.

The Consulate of Mexico explicitly states that Form I-797 with an expired green card is not acceptable for entry and the permanent resident passport and green card cannot be expired: “If you are a permanent resident of the United States, you do not need a visa to enter Mexico for tourism, business or transit purposes. All persons in this category are required to present their valid, unexpired resident card along with their passport. Both documents must be valid for the duration of your stay in Mexico."

And while Spirit Airlines didn't find Sheila's papers problematic, nor did immigration officials in Cancun, that doesn't prove United Airlines was wrong.

Immigration officers have some flexibility in deciding whether a visitor will enter. Sheila might as well have been detained and returned to the United States on the next available flight.

Paul contacted the US Consulate in Cancun for more information. The answer was: visitors must have a valid passport and a valid green card.

The consulate in Cancun confirmed: "As a rule, a US resident entering the country of Mexico must have a valid passport (country of origin) and a valid US visa."

Sheila could have applied for a Mexican visa, which usually takes 10-14 days to be approved, and would likely have traveled without incident. But an expired green card with an I-797 wasn't something United Airlines had to accept.

You can use the International Air Transport Association's special screening service to find out how you can fly outside of the United States.

The professional version of this tool (Timatic) is what many airlines use at check-in to make sure their passengers have the documents they need to board a flight. However, travelers can and should use the free version long before heading to the airport and make sure they don't miss out on important travel documents.

When Paul added all of Sheila's personal details, Timatic had an answer that the couple would have used a couple of months ago and saved them nearly $3000: Sheila needed a visa to travel to Mexico.

She was lucky that the immigration officer in Cancun allowed her entry without any problems. In the end, Paul is pleased that the situation was resolved and everything went smoothly.

What you need to know about traveling abroad with a green card

Having an expired green card always makes it difficult to navigate the world. Travelers attempting to take an international flight with an expired green card may run into problems at any part of their journey.

An expired green card is not proof of permanent residence in the US

A valid green card is one that has not expired. An expired green card holder does not automatically lose permanent resident status, but it is quite risky to attempt international travel with the document in this state.

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An expired Green Card is not only not a valid document for entry into most foreign countries, but also for re-entry into the United States.

If the card expires while the holder is abroad, they may experience difficulty boarding their return flight. It is always better to apply for renewal well before the expiration date. Permanent residents can start the renewal process up to six months before the actual card expiration date. (Note: Conditional permanent residents cannot begin the process until their green card expires 90 days in advance.)

Keep your passport up to date

When traveling abroad, green card holders must present a valid passport of the country of origin (or refugee documents). Therefore, keeping your passport up to date is crucial.

A passenger attempting to travel overseas with an expired green card may use their valid passport as a separate entry document, depending on the destination. Unfortunately for Sheila, her passport is issued in the Philippines, while Mexico requires a visa for holders of those passports.

Contact the US Department of State and Consulate

The US Department of State provides destination information, including entry requirements and consular contact details for almost every country in the world. This is a great resource for all travelers, especially those with complex nationalities. The destination consulate can answer your questions and confirm if you need additional documents for entry, long before you reach the check-in counter.

Use Timatic

This is a very reliable indicator of whether you have everything you need to board your flight and clear immigration at your destination. During the pandemic, this database has been updated many times every day to keep up with ever-changing entry requirements around the world. If you use this tool correctly, you will significantly reduce the likelihood of any documentation problems at the airport or when landing at a transit or final destination.

Don't rely on travel document renewal forms

Always remember that renewal documents issued by the United States to green card holders are primarily intended to allow a resident to re-enter the country. No immigration officer abroad is required to accept them. Even if an airline allows a passenger to fly to a foreign country with an expired green card and renewal, this is not a good idea. Such a traveler risks being detained and returned home on the next flight without reimbursement.

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