Passports

[Rodney Mills]

Johnno #67
From the US regulations:

"Can a U.S. lawful permanent resident leave the United States multiple times and return?

If you are a lawful permanent resident (green card holder), you may leave the United States multiple times and reenter, if you do not intend to stay outside the United States for 1 year or more.

If you intend to stay outside the United States for 1 year or more, you must apply for a re-entry permit with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) prior to leaving the United States. A re-entry permit allows a lawful permanent resident or conditional permanent resident to apply for admission to the United States upon returning from abroad during the permit’s validity without the need to obtain a returning resident visa from a U.S. Embassy or U.S. Consulate. Re-entry permits are generally valid for 2 years from the date of issuance. Therefore, if you are outside of the United States longer than the date the permit was issued, you may be denied entry into the United States.

To apply for a re-entry permit, you must file an application for a travel document (I-131) with the USCIS. If you applied for permanent resident status but are not yet officially a lawful permanent resident "green card holder" and you need to leave the United States on emergency, you must apply for and receive advance parole to leave the United States by filing a I-131 with USCIS."

I was on a green card for seven years before I took out my US citizenship. The only hassle with the green card was you had to fill out an address card every new year. Big deal!

The only difference between a green card and citizenship was you also had to notify the government when you changed address's and you could not vote in elections, other than that as you read the US gov't policy at the head of this post, a green card holder can come and go and stay out for a year, reenter the US by getting your passport signed then cross over to the exit station exit stamp in passport and get back on your plane or ship and leave for another year.

To me that seems a very liberal policy.

I became a citizen just as soon as I could. I had a love affair with the USA since the troops stationed or passing through England loaded us kids down with candies, and watching American movies.

I was away at sea when my stepfather died, and my mother was shattered. Our home in Southend had two spare bedrooms and she would rent them out as B and Bs. An American soldier and his English girl friend were staying there for a week. He took care of my mother and took over the funeral arrangements. That sold me on the generosity of the yanks. And I have neve been disappointed.

I have lived here since 1962, became a citizen just as fast as I could. I have said this before, my best friend who arrived in the States the same day I did has never taken out his citizenship. I think it's wrong.

The only thing that bugs me is almost every day, a stranger will say "I just love your accent, where did you come from?" My accent is a large part British (Essex English), American, a chunk of Australian and a hint of Canada...altogether a mongrel accent.

I've had some wonderful vacations in "Jolly". Every time I went over though there was an argument going on somewhere between my relatives, I finally never told anybody I was coming. gave them a miss and just had wonderful vacations in England, Scotland, Wales and Eire.

My late wife was American, my two sons are American, and I am one by choice.

Cheers,Rodney

When I took the oath of allegiance there were new Americans from sixty something countries being sworn in with me. It was a wonderful experience.

Cheers, Rodney

[Noel Kelly]

Yes Oz oath is very simple compared with that of USA.

Have a very good friend who had her son go to work in USA over 20 years ago, went on a Green card.
For 20 years he never left USA as he was told if he did he would not be allowed to return.
But a couple of years ago working for the biggest weather TV station there his boss stepped in.
He now has a passport which allows him to come and go as he wishes.

Don't know who would tell him that but they were wrong! Having a "Green Card', as I still do, gives you the unalienable rights to leave and enter the USA. Can't say how long you can be absent from the USA before it becomes a problem, as Austin says, the rules change. The first Green Card I was issued in 1959 was good for life but now they have to be renewed every 10 years.

[Noel Kelly]

Let me make something abundantly clear about my non-citizenship of the USA.
First, I arrived in California having a Green card which was given to me at the American Embassy in London before leaving for the USA.
On arrival had to go to the local State office to get a Social Security card which allowed me to go to work.
Within a certain time-frame I had to sign up for the draft. I did that and was listed as being 5-A and issued a draft-card. Reason for 5-A was because I was married and over 26 years old and put me low on the pecking order.
New entries were expected to take out citizenship after they had been in America 5 years. After 5 years I enrolled in an evening citizenship class at a local high school. It was in this class that I first became aware of the Oath of Allegiance that had to be taken as the final step towards citizenship. When I read it I immediately thought this is not for me, no way in this world am I going to absolutely and entirely renounce all allegiance and fidelity to England, so I quit the class. However, been a good citizen anyway, paid my taxes, never arrested, and a son who served in the United States army.
Most born Americans have never even heard of the Oath of Allegiance as it is only for those taking out citizenship.

[j.sabourn]

#69 Austin someone bought me the ride for my up coming at the time 70 th birthday. If I had been a bit younger I would have taken lessons and gone for the licence. Must be one of the easiest aircraft to fly , a couple of pedals and a joystick , would only have to be careful if had a castle boat steward as passenger in case he misused the joy stick. JS

[Austin Carl Largan]

#74
Hello J.S.
yes, those old bi planes 'want' to fly when they reach about 25 kts. and are a students dream. I took lessons when I was young for the simple reason that I had to start flying around between job sites and I found myself scared stiff on every flight. For some reason I had got it into my head that the situation in the cockpit between the pilots was one of uncontrolled panic at any given moment, with them grabbing and snatching at various controls and handles in a state of sheer terror as collision courses were suddenly discovered and recovered from at the last second and engine fire and compression loss alarms blared loudly on a continual basis. I thought to myself "I have to get this under control" and it was suggested that a course of lessons would do the trick. It did, in fact I enjoyed it so much that I entertained thoughts of going commercial. The big problem with that idea was that the war in Vietnam was drawing to a close and the job market was flooded with experienced pilots with thousands of combat flight hours under their belts. Me, with Zero hours and nothing to show except a hopeful smile and clean turn-ups would not have been able to (quoting a good friend who was commercial) not be able to get a job polishing the tires on the garbage truck that hauled away the hanger trash. So I abandoned the idea. I was also a little bit too fond of the sauce.

Austin

[Austin Carl Largan]

Hello Noel,

well, you have to want to swear allegiance and be committed in order to take the step. For my part the United States provided me with a very good career path and opportunities which were just not available to me the the U.K. Had I stayed in the UK I would never have been able to achieve my long time goal to become a marine engineer without having been an apprentice in an engineering company first. In the U.S.A. the career path to engineer was either by attending a marine academy and leaving with a 3rd engineer ticket, or by following the path know as 'hawse piping' which means that you put in your sea time as an unlicenced engine room hand and when you have enough you can take the engineer's examination. The same goes for deck tickets. By this means I became an unlimited chief engineer, I put in my time in the haswse pipe and passed all the tests. I could not have gone from ship's writer to chief engineer in the UK merchant marine. Also, citizenship was mandatory in order to be issued a licence. Not that this was my motivation, I wanted to become a citizen, as I mentioned previously, swearing allegiance was my proudest moment.

Austin

[j.sabourn]

#1 At the present time I have neither. If had to choose would have the Australian for convenience sake. JS

[j.sabourn]

#75 would have been useful today as would probably still have and could have flown everywhere since losing driving licence . I knew a bloke now dead who built two aircraft during his lifetime , I didn’t beleive him until he opened his garage door and showed me the second one. He was in his eighties then and still flying , it was a single seater built to his own specifications. He had the money to do it as was an ex garage owner. Australia was different to the uk , the uk one could but dream , Australia made anyone’s dreams come true if they wanted, however today fings aint what they used ter be. JS.

[j.sabourn]

#71 your favourite expression as a kid then Rodney must be similar to a lot of us “ Any Gum Chum ? “ . Always worked especially when the troop carriers were proceeding to the Southern English ports to join the invasion fleet. Think they used to empty their pockets as a last charitable gift. JS

[happy daze john in oz]

With this friend of ours living now in Texas part of the problem at the time was not wishing to become a USA citizen.
Not on board with all the facts just what his mother here tells us.
But ciiamed he could not leave USA at any time then.