Immigrant Visas
How to Apply for a Transportation Letter Due to a Lost or Stolen Green Card
If your green card has been lost or stolen, or if you forgot to take it with you the last time you left the U.S., you must personally appear at the U.S. Embassy in Dakar on Monday or Wednesday from 14:30 to 15:30 to apply for a transportation letter before you can return to the U.S.
You must present the following items at the U.S. Embassy:
- A valid passport - refugees can present a valid travel document;
- A police report if your green card has been stolen;
- Evidence that you are a Legal Permanent Resident of the U.S.; and
- Proof that you have not been outside the U.S. for more than one year.
Once you establish that you are a Legal Permanent Resident and that you have not remained outside of the U.S. for more than one year, the U.S. Embassy will issue you with a transportation letter that is valid for 30 days. You must pay $165 cash (payable in U.S. dollars or the equivalent in CFA) and provide two 2 inch x 2 inch photographs.
An airline may accept this transportation letter as an authorization to board you and transport you to the U.S. An officer from Customs and Border Protection at the port-of-entry will determine whether you are permitted to enter the U.S.
Please note that a lost or stolen green card cannot be renewed at the U.S. Embassy. However, a replacement may be issued in the U.S. upon filing the form I-90 at the port-of-entry. You can download this form from www.uscis.gov.
If you have spent more than one year outside the U.S. please click here.
