REENTRY APPROVAL FOR FAMILY WITHOUT CREDIT CARD, DRIVERS LICENSE, NOR PROPERTY DEEDS

• Client: Mr. Han
• Nationality: China
• Case: LPR Reentry
• Processing Time: 5 days
• Challenges:
  1. Only 5 days to create a reentry package.
  2. The client had few provable ties to the United States.
  3. The client had limited English skills.
  4. Short time period to gather all documents.

BACKGROUND

Mr. Han felt growing anxiety as he planned his return to the United States with his daughter Xi. Despite both of them having Legal Permanent Resident (LPR) status, they’d been out of the country for longer than six months. Mr. Han feared that the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer at Los Angeles International Airport would deny their entry. CBP officers feel any LPR traveler who stays out of the U.S. longer than six months is abandoning their permanent resident status. Had Mr. Han consulted with the immigration professionals at Tsang and Associates, the firm would have advised him to apply for a Reentry Permit before departure. A Reentry Permit is a travel document that looks like a passport and can function as a passport. The document allows a U.S. permanent resident to reenter the United States after traveling abroad for longer than a year, but less than two years. Unfortunately, Mr. Han did not apply for a Reentry Permit for himself and his teenage daughter. He’d already booked their flight, and they’d be arriving in Los Angeles in five days. Mr. Han was worried he could not get everything done in such a short amount of time, and the consequences that may come because of it. In a panic, he called the immigration specialists at Tsang and Associates.

KEYS TO SUCCESS

Tsang and Associates offer Mandarin-speaking attorneys for clients with limited to no English-speaking ability, as was the situation with Mr. Han. After a thorough consultation, the firm devised a plan to make Mr. Han and his daughter Xi’s re-entry into the U.S. go smoothly. However, the case would not be easy. Mr. Han had little proof to show his ties to the U.S. Neither he nor his daughter had a driver’s license, a credit card, or property deeds. They couldn’t even provide a phone number or a bank account statement in their name. (Mr. Han shared a joint bank account with other family members — not uncommon for their culture). Despite the challenges, Tsang and Associates had experience with similar situations. The firm drafted a concise two-page entry letter for presentation to the CBP officer. The document explained how Mr. Han and his family had obtained their legal residency through an EB-5 Investor Program visa in 2016. Mr. Han had a history of filing taxes with the Internal Revenue Service and his daughter was planning on attending Occidental College in Los Angeles. Further, the letter explained that while Mr. Han and his family were traveling in China in 2018, he’d suffered a herniated disc that caused him great pain and limited his ability to walk or sit. Mr. Han had elected to stay in China for specialized treatment that lasted longer than six months. in order to prove the Han family’s strong ties to the United States, the package presented to the CBP officer included Mr. Han’s U.S. tax returns, Xi’s acceptance letter from Occidental College, her scholarship award letter, and bank statements. Mr. Han also included a medical diagnosis letter to support his injury claims. The final step for preparing Mr. Han for his interview with the CBP officers was a mock Q&A in both Mandarin and English. 

OUTCOME

The entry letter, the supporting documents, and the interview preparation were successful in allowing Mr. Han and his daughter Xi reentry into the United States. Tsang and Associates are honored to have helped the Han family continue their dream of prospering in the United States.

*Name has been changed to protect client identity