05 Nov 2025 I’m Afraid to Travel
Since Donald Trump was re-elected president on a platform of strict immigration enforcement, people have expressed how they are afraid to travel by airplane, whether within or outside the United States. Some people, especially those who are out of status, are afraid to even go outside their house, out of fear of being picked up by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and driven straight to the airport.
What are some of the do’s and don’ts when traveling on an airplane, depending on your immigration status?
1. Traveling while out of status:
If a person has been out of status for more than six months and departs the U.S. without an approved provisional waiver, they could be banned or prohibited from returning to the U.S. for between 3 and 10 years. Also, if they do depart, they need a way to be able to return, typically by already having an approved petition with a current priority date. Otherwise, they will never be issued another tourist visa and may never be able to return.
If flying within the U.S., they would not be able to obtain a Real ID to present to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), since they are out of status. However, according to the TSA website, an unexpired Philippine (foreign) passport is an acceptable form of identification for TSA. Also, when flying domestic (within the U.S.), Customs and Border Protection (CBP) ordinarily does not monitor such flights, and TSA should not be asking for visas or immigration status.
2. Traveling as a lawful permanent resident (LPR):
Ordinarily, it should be safe for LPRs to travel within or outside the U.S. However, some points to consider while traveling abroad:
- Try not to stay outside the U.S. for more than six months. Otherwise, it’s considered that you are “seeking admission” to the U.S. and have to undergo a more rigorous inspection upon your return.
- If you stay outside the U.S. for more than a year, it could be considered that you have ABANDONED your green card and would have difficulty trying to re-enter the U.S., as you may be placed in removal proceedings. If you anticipate being outside the U.S. for more than a year, it is best to apply for a reentry permit before you leave. A reentry permit allows you to remain outside the U.S. for approximately 23 months.
- If you obtained a green card through fraud, misrepresentation, or when you are not eligible, you could face problems upon your return to the U.S. For example, if a person obtained a green card as single, but they were secretly married. Or a person obtained a green card through an employer but never worked for that employer. This is especially true if the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has already discovered your fraud, such as your naturalization application was denied, with USCIS stating you were never “lawfully admitted” to the U.S. If you travel outside the U.S., that denial could appear in the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) systems and you will face problems.
- If you committed a crime after you got your green card, and that crime makes you deportable, traveling outside the U.S. could be dangerous, because when you reenter the U.S., your immigration and criminal records could appear on CBP’s systems, triggering the issuance of a notice to appear (NTA), placing you in removal/deportation proceedings.
3. Traveling as a U.S. citizen:
If a person is already a U.S. citizen, they should not have any problems traveling within or outside the U.S. Moreover, as a U.S. citizen, they can stay outside the U.S. for as long as they want without ever having to worry about abandoning their citizenship. The only risk I can imagine to a citizen traveling is if they obtained their green card or citizenship improperly, whether by fraud or mistake, and DHS is pursuing denaturalization proceedings against them. But a person cannot be stripped of citizenship except by a federal court judge after denaturalization proceedings.
If you have any questions or issues about your immigration status and whether it is safe to travel, you should consider first consulting with an attorney, who can evaluate your situation so you can be sure it is safe to travel. You don’t want to find out you’re banned from returning after a long flight from the Philippines, after being interrogated by CBP at the airport.
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