Sorry for the recent immigration type questions, but I’m having a heck of a time getting my lawyer on the phone to answer them. Here’s the situation:
I am currently a Permanent Resident, holding a Green Card, in the US. I am from Canada. My husband (a US citizen) and I are planning on taking a trip home at the end of the month to New Brunswick, Canada. I have a Green Card and a Canadian Passport - valid until June this year (we will be back before May). I have other ID, such as a WA state ID, my birth certificate from Canada, my SSN, etc. My mother emailed me some passport information, and it said something along the lines of: if I were to cross the border by plane, a passport is required, however, if we were to drive across the border (say, fly to Bangor and cross the border in Calais, Maine/St. Stephen, NB) that a passport isn’t necessary.
ERG! So my questions here are:
Is any of the info my mother sent to me true?
Even if we decided to simply fly Air Canada and cross the border by plane, with the Green Card/Canadian passport, will I run into any trouble (barring anything else)? I wouldn’t need a US passport, would I? I could come back home to Seattle without too much problem, right? I hope?
Thank you in advance for your answers (and your patience).
Your mother is correct. No cites (I’m going on what I learned from a recent visit to a Canadian passport office), but I’m sure you can find plenty if you look–it was all over the news here in Canada when the new rules went into effect in January. You shouldn’t need your lawyer to answer these questions; there ought to be plenty of information on this at both the Canadian government and the US government web sites.
In a nutshell, as of right now, flying out of the US is done like it always has been: get on the plane and off you go. But take your passports, both of you. You’re a Canadian; your valid Canadian passport means that you won’t have any problems entering Canada when the plane lands. Similarly, your husband will have no difficulty when he presents his US passport to Canadian customs authorities.
But flying into the US (in your case, “back to the US”), even from Canada, now requires a valid passport, from both Canadian and US citizens. The rules basically say “Everybody crossing the US border by air needs a passport.” But they do not say “Everybody crossing the US border by air needs a US passport.” So your Canadian passport coupled with your Green Card should convince US customs authorities that you are indeed a Canadian who is also a US Permanent Resident on your return. Your husband will also need to produce his US passport to US customs authorities.
However, driving across the border still does not require a passport. It will, I believe, in January 2008. But we’re not there yet; it’s only April.
If I can interject a bit of opinion, I just plain find it easier to cross the Canada/US border with a passport, even at a road crossing. I only have my Canadian passport (I’m not an American and so am not qualified to hold a US one), but my Canadian passport has allowed me into the US with no difficulties, and allowed me back home again with minimum hassle. Carrying a passport when crossing the border is just a good habit to get into, IMHO.
You can’t get a US Passport, you are not a US Citizen. You have a Canadian Passport and a US Green Card. That’s all you need for any trip. Even if you go to Europe and back to the US via plane, all you need is your Canadian Passport and your US Green Card. If you leave the United States for more than one year, you need to file some extra paperwork with US Immigration explaining why you were gone so long. But that’s it.
You hold a Passport from your country of citizenship. Once you become a citizen here (if that’s your plan) then you can get a US Passport.
Okay, thanks guys, makes perfect sense. I just wanted to be sure before gallavanting off to another country that I wasn’t doing something totally idiotic.
Also, my humble thanks again for your patience with my ridiculous questions. Immigration is obviously not one of my strengths; it makes my head spin. I know Google is my friend, but sometimes there’s too much information for this ADD-addled brain to take in. I appreciate your time and layman’s terms.