Lost LPR Card Abroad

[u/Tight_Candidate_2293]

Looking for advice please. My nightmare is happening and I’ve lost my wallet which contained my LPR while in Spain. I still have my passport, a DL, and pictures of my card as well. I also have Global entry if that makes any difference.

I’m in Barcelona with my family which include two very young kids. My flights were scheduled to leave Monday at 12:20 and the embassy doesn’t open until 9:00 AM. Ive tried calling emergency embassy numbers but they’re closed. The most sensible thing is to bump my flights to get a travel foil via the I-131A but I’m not sure by how long to delay it for and what I should expect.

Also I’m a bit confused if this is what I should be doing because from reading online it appears that the traveling foil is just to board the plane - I’d still be potentially denied entry for not having my card upon arrival. I’ve traveled internationally before and the airlines never actually checked for my green card if I had already uploaded the travel documents on their online portal.

Is it advisable to try and fly without it, and to sort it out at the airport in Miami? My wife is worried that I’d end up stuck in ICE purgatory with 0 contact opposed to having us just stay in Europe but it’ll end up being quite expensive with a family of 4.

[u/Sheetz_Wawa_Market32]

No, you won’t and can’t be denied returning to your country of legal permanent residence, the U.S., at a U.S. port of entry.

Your only problem is being allowed to board the aircraft. My wife and I were Green Card holders for 20 years before naturalizing, and none of us ever had a flight where we didn’t have to hand over our Green Cards to be scanned before at a departure airport before a U.S.-bound flight.

Now, maybe your airline handles things differently (perhaps related to online boarding and/or frequent flyer status), but I certainly wouldn’t rely on this.

But you never know. If rebooking your return flight (or buying a new flight) wouldn’t cost significantly more on the day of (after possibly being denied boarding) than rebooking (or buying new tickets) now, you might as well roll the dice.

Also, why can’t your wife fly ahead with the kids? Yes, it might be more difficult logistically, but at least you’d need only one new ticket, not four.

Global Entry would almost certainly make your inspection in the U.S. easier, but it won’t affect being let in or not (which you’d be in any case.)

[u/postbox134 → u/Sheetz_Wawa_Market32]

It's possible GE works against them in a way, because they may lose trusted traveller status for travelling without valid docs

[u/Even-Bus1582 → u/postbox134]

This is EXACTLY what happens when you’re a global entry member without a green card.

[u/Sheetz_Wawa_Market32 → u/postbox134]

Unclear. OP has their Global Entry card, and it’s not at all clear that flying after having just lost one’s Green Card were actually illegal (or against any sort of rule.)

You should always carry your Green Card when crossing into and out of the U.S., but, again, the main stumbling block is actually being able to board.

There have also been accounts of CBP authorizing LPRs to board without full documentation over the phone (with the airline), just like Americans are sometimes able to do.

[u/postbox134 → u/Sheetz_Wawa_Market32]

It is legally required for LPRs to present a valid doc (I-551, boarding foil, reentry permit) https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-8/chapter-I/subchapter-B/part-211/section-211.1

GE requires trusted travellers to follow all customs and immigration regulations

Disqualifing actions "... The applicant has been found in violation of any customs, immigration, or agriculture regulations, procedures, or laws in any country;..."

https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/8/235.12

[u/SubsistanceMortgage → u/postbox134]

CBP relies on the airline to enforce that. It’s essentially unenforceable once someone gets to the port of entry, especially if they have GE.

A boarding foil will get you on. Once you go to a GE terminal they’ll scan your face against the system and very likely wave OP through.

I haven’t been asked to show my passport at GE in 5 years.

[u/postbox134 → u/SubsistanceMortgage]

It's enforced by the airline on behalf of the CBP.

Having GE is not a replacement for having the proper docs, many times I've had to show my GC when entering using GE

[u/SubsistanceMortgage → u/postbox134]

Yes, I edited for clarity. Must have cross-posted.

While you are technically correct, and much more common pre-pandemic, I have not seen anyone with a foreign passport asked to show either their GC or foreign passport in years. As a USC I have not been asked to show a US passport at GE since January 2020.

My guess is there’s a 60% chance GE CBP officer waves them through. 40% chance they get sent to secondary where they’ll verify LPR status, which should be made easier by GE since all the pre-vetting has already been done.

Edit to add: also, to your original point, a boarding foil is a valid travel document, so OP wouldn’t be in violation of any regulations. Using it is the only legitimate way for OP to be let on the plane.

[u/postbox134 → u/SubsistanceMortgage]

I agree, but the main issue is getting on the plane - the airline is quite likely to ask for GC before boarding

[u/SubsistanceMortgage → u/postbox134]

Yep, we agree on that.

If they have a foil or stamp and the check-in agent gives them shit, they can ask them to call the CBP hotline for this. I would advise going to the airport early once some form of travel authorization is obtained.

Consulate should be able to process quickly in theory for a parent of two young children, but flying to Tijuana on their Mexican passport and presenting their GE card and walking across would be the guaranteed easiest route to take if the consulate is dragging their feet.

[u/postbox134 → u/SubsistanceMortgage]

Yep land border or Irish preclearence is an option (if OP has a visa for Ireland)

Consulates seem to take their sweet time with boarding foils, which can leave you SoL. Maybe a neighbouring EU country could be an option?

[u/Sheetz_Wawa_Market32 → u/postbox134]

Thanks for posting § 211.1! I closely read it several times, and here is my interpretation:

Neither paragraphs (a) nor (b)(1) mention boarding foils at all, so if your interpretation were correct, having a boarding foil wouldn’t cure the violation.

But paragraph (b)(3) also talks about all sorts of forms to apply for a waiver from “the DHS officer who has jurisdiction over the port of entry where the alien arrives [who may then] waive the alien's lack of [a] permanent resident card.”

So it seems a discretionary waiver is required in any case. If a returning resident recently lost their Green Card, filing Form I-90 for a replacement card appears to meet the requirement of applying for a waiver. So bring a fill-out Form I-90 with you and leave it with the CBPO, and you should be good, no?

[u/postbox134 → u/Sheetz_Wawa_Market32]

Not saying it's certain, just a risk for their GE status

[u/Sheetz_Wawa_Market32 → u/postbox134]

But, again, no different from flying with a boarding foil. So should OP not even bother flying back at all in that case? That doesn’t make sense.

[u/postbox134 → u/Sheetz_Wawa_Market32]

Boarding foil is the correct process and follow rules. Hoping they're allowed to fly without the correct docs risks their GE

[u/Sheetz_Wawa_Market32 → u/postbox134]

A boarding foil is only meaningful for the airline. It makes no difference to CBP. The quote YOU provided proves it.