As you wait for a permanent visa, you may wonder if it is possible to visit someone in another country before or during the process.
There are different circumstances, which both depend on whether or not you can travel freely without a green card.
Necessary paperwork
According to FindLaw, those who immigrated as a permanent resident are legally allowed to travel. If you look at your passport, you can see a stamped date on it, which indicates the last possible day you can travel to another country and return to the United States without a green card.
You may have to renew the passport at some point, especially if the time limit has expired. It is imperative you make sure you do not lose the permanent residence stamp that is on your old passport, so leave it with a trusted person if you do travel.
Travel
Once you arrive in the other country, make sure to not reside there too long or else you may face abandonment. This is when you stay so long in another place that officials assume you are now committed to living there instead of in the United States. The average time to stay in another country is typically around six months.
Other issues
In circumstances where you do not have a green card, you still may travel. However, you need to first complete paperwork from the state entitled an Employment Authorization Document.
From there, you should submit a temporary travel document in order to allow you access to staying in other countries. If your green card is still pending, you should make sure you are paying close attention to filling out these forms properly in order to travel.
