General and probably lame question about traveling to Hawaii from New York- passport required?
 

I am considering traveling to Hawaii, and am wondering if it's like traveling to any other US state. The bottom line is that my father's green card is expired, and am wondering if we travel there from NY will we have any problems? Do you have to show a passport or birth certificate?

I thought that the green card was granted to permanent residents. But if you are worried because it is expired and your father has no other official ID, such as a driver's license, you might want to reconsider any place travel. A driver's license is otherwise sufficient to travel by plane within the States, including Hawaii.

Unless you are going by way of Mexico or Canada, neither are necessary. Having said that, with the increased level of security at airports, I suspect he will be at a higher level of risk to be detected and arrested in any U.S. airport.

He's a permanent resident, but from what we have gathered thus far it will take many months for him to get his new green card. He's been in the US 40 years, and we have traveled to Florida with no problem. He's just showed his driver's license. So from what you guys are saying, it's just like going to Florida basically? (requirement-wise)

Despite its wild, savage, and untamed nature, Hawaii IS still a state, and it's just like going to any other state--no passport needed.

In terms of a green card, does yr father have either a driver's license or other government issued ID card? If so, he can just show that at the airport and they won't have a clue what his legal status is, right?

Failing THAT, I have no clue what the deal with green cards is except for that awful movie with Gerard Depardieu and Crappy McDowell.

love
roxy

Sorry--in the time it took me to post my message, you all posted before me, and now I see that yes, he does have a driver's license. I'm sure that's sufficient for the airport, it is for everyone else. I can't imagine that his legal status would ever come up at a US airport--someone wrote "Having said that, with the increased level of security at airports, I suspect he will be at a higher level of risk to be detected and arrested in any U.S. airport"...Why? I travel a lot and don't see peoples' backgrounds being checked--sometimes I wonder how hard they're matching people to their IDs even. I really can't think of a reason to worry if he has a valid driver's license--he'll just look like everyone else traveling!

love
roxy

Why is it taking so long for him to get his green card reissued? My mom recently lost hers, along with her passport (obviously not US), driver's license and every other piece of identifying data she had. Ironically, it was left on a plane. She was carrying all that crap because of the increased security and inadvertantly left it in the seat pocket after having to show it a dozen times. She had no trouble replacing the green card, social security card, etc. The green card was one of the fastest and easiest things to replace. I think she just went into a local field office and filled out the paperwork, I don't think it even took her a week. The passport, well, that was another story.