Question:
My husband is a permanent resident of the US. I am a US citizen and we
have been living in the US for almost 10 years. My husband is currently
in the UK with my daughter, visiting family. He just realized that he
lost his green card.
Is there any way he can return to the US without having to go all the
way to London (and pay $300!) to get a 'transport letter'? What would
have happened if he didn't realize until he landed in the US that he
didn't have the card with him?
He does have his original passport (from 10 years ago) that had the
stamp (sorry, I don't know the number) that allowed him to enter the
country while waiting for his green card. Will that help at all?
Answer:
The airline would not let him on the plane without proper documentation.
Call the US embassy in London and see if he can do that through a courrier
service.
Yes, for the embassy. However, it won't work for the airlines (the stamp has
a validity period).
Wouldn't his British passport be enough documentation for the airlines?
He has never been asked for his greencard anywhere other than at arrival
airport in US.
I don't know when his last trip to the U.K. was, but things have really
changed in the aftermath of 9/11. I am a German green card holder and
travel quite frequently. Before 9/11/01 airline personnel could not have
cared less about my immigration status. For the last two years, they
have asked every time.
Unless your husband is returning on a round-trip ticket originating in
the U.K. with a return flight back to the U.K. within 90 days or
arrival, he won't qualify for the visa waiver program and therefore he
will have to show a visa, green card, or other current U.S. travel document.
And he better not make up any stories to get by the check-in crew unless
he wants to accused of immigration fraud upon arrival in the U.S.
I am sorry about the hassle he will have to go through (and I am always
paranoid about losing my green card), but it looks like he'll have to
bite the bullet and deal with the consulate.
Others will have to advise on how to replace his green card ...
Provided he's willing to accept the tax issues and obligations that go
with US citizenship he should strongly consider applying for
naturalisation when he gets back to the US.
A US citizen who lost a passport overseas would find things a lot
easier.
In case he thinks he'd lose his British citizenship when he became a
US citizen, he wouldn't. This site will let him discover more:
http://www.richw.org/dualcit/
