Travel overseas with RTD

Yes to both questions. Apply for RTD and travel at your leisure, just make sure you don't go back or close to your home country. Your eligibility for a GC will not be affected.

Yes and yes. Please click the link below for additional information. --------- Carl Shusterman, Esq. Former INS Trial Attorney (1976-82) Board Certified Immigration Attorney (1986 - Present) Subscribe to our Free Immigration Newsletter 600 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 1550 Los Angeles, CA 90017 (213) 394-4554 x0 Web: www.shusterman.com (English) www.inmigracion-abogado.com (Spanish)

Thanks for your inquiry. The answer is that you can travel anywhere that you would like to go. The refugee travel document does not specifically restrict you from travel. Someone who is granted refugee status or asylum status in the US has told the US government that she cannot return to the country from which asylum was granted because if she returns she will face harm. So it stands to reason that the moment that an individual is granted status in the US that protects that individual from having to return the target country that there will be no reason to return unless there is no longer a fear of harm. And that is the key to all of this. If an asylee or a refugee travels to the target country, it is something of a statement that there is no longer a fear of returning. So if a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer encounters an individual with such status having returned to the target country, issues regarding whether the protections which were previously accorded are no longer needed. Now concept of drawing concern to a CBP officer when an individual granted protection travels to the target country is not a problem that goes away once the individual become a resident. The only time this issue disappears is when the individual becomes a US citizen because at that point, the CBP officers rarely have reason to have any concern about traveling to the target country. I know that this response may be somewhat off the track of what most individuals asking the question expect. But having been asked this question with frequency, it always makes me wonder why the applicant who just successfully completed an application for asylum is so concerned about traveling right back to the target country as the first order of business after completion of their cases. Traveling to a country other than the target country is perfectly acceptable and not likely to create a problem. with that said, keep in mind that CBP officers are aware of the less than stellar border control in different countries and if a CBP officer sees that you have traveled to a country contiguous with the target country, questions could be asked about why you traveled there and whether you did travel to the target country. My recommendation would be that you do not travel by any means other than by using your passport and to present it at every border checkpoint that you encounter. Although rare, I have seen CBP attempt to terminate a grant of asylum where the client traveled back and forth with some frequency to the target country. And while it may sound very harsh that the US government would be so concerned about an individual traveling for reasons like a funeral or a close family member being ill, the reality is that this same individual earlier informed an immigration services officer or an Immigration Judge that any return to the target country would lead to a very bad problem. Another important consideration is that most CBP officers have little in the way of an understanding of the process of applying for asylum and the procedures that occur before an Immigration Court. So often times I find that dealing with CBP officers looking at the issue of travel back to that target country can be made more difficult by the fact that the CBP officer does not have a firm understanding of the ins and outs of US asylum law. My recommendation would be to speak with a licensed, competent and experienced US immigration attorney if you have any doubt about anything. Travel outside of the US should not affect your eligibility to apply for residency one year after having been granted asylum. But if there are any concerns it is far better to ask someone who knows that to assume that you know the answer and have to deal with adverse consequences later on. Good luck.

Yes you can travel using the RTD. You should NOT use the passport from your native country NOR travel there. You should be sure to apply for the RTD while in the US and return while the RTD is valid.