Q: What should I do if my green card has been lost, stolen or damaged?

A: If you are a lawful permanent resident (LPR) or green card holder and wish to apply for a travel document that allows you to board an airline or other transportation carrier, you may apply for a ‘boarding foil’ through the Immigrant Visa Unit of the US Embassy’s Consular Section.

If you are returning from temporary overseas travel of less than one year, and your permanent resident card (also known as a green card or Form I-551) has been lost, stolen or destroyed, or you are returning from temporary overseas travel of less than two years and your re-entry permit has been lost, stolen or destroyed, please see the instructions below.

Note that the length of your absence from the US is measured from the time you departed the US to the time you pay the Form I-131A fee.

You must have been an LPR when you left the US and still be an LPR when you return to the US.

If you abandoned your LPR status or if it was terminated, do not file Form I-131A.

Please follow the instructions below to apply for a boarding foil and schedule an appointment with the embassy:

Complete an I-131A, which can be found on the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) website on the page entitled I-131A, Application for Travel Document (Carrier Documentation) or at the following link www.uscis.gov/i-131a . The form should be printed and submitted at your interview.

Pay the boarding foil fee of US$575. This fee must be paid before coming for the consular appointment. Payment must be made online at: my.uscis.gov/travel-document/  Please note that this fee is not refundable.

Print the payment confirmation and bring it to your interview, along with the following documents:

• A police report, if applicable;

• A passport photo taken within the last six months;

• Current passport.

Once you have these documents and you have paid the fee, please email the embassy at KingstonIVAppointment@state.gov to make an appointment. In that email, you should also include the following information:

• Complete name;

• Date of birth;

• Alien Registration # (A#);

• A copy of the payment receipt;

• A Jamaican contact telephone number.

The Immigrant Visa Unit will then contact you with a date and time for an appointment, along with instructions on what you will need to bring to the interview. At your interview, a consular officer will take your fingerprints and review your application to ensure that you qualify for a boarding foil.

In most cases, the boarding foil can be approved during the interview and made ready for you on the following business day, when you will have to return to the embassy to pick it up.

For more information about visas, please visit our website jm.usembassy.gov and the website of our authorised service provider at www.usvisa-info.com. Keep on top of embassy news on our Facebook page, www.facebook.com/USEmbassyJamaica and by following @USEmbassyJA on Twitter. We also answer general visa questions on our Facebook and Twitter pages.

If you have additional questions about LPR status or US citizenship, we encourage you to visit the USCIS website at www.uscis.gov