Baby born outside of US and GC approved when out of country

G

gsivaman

New Member
Background/Timeline:
· My wife (Derivative) and I (Primary) applied for I485 in July 2015.
· Primary's I485 got approved first in May 2016 and became LPR. My wife's I485 (Derivative) GC did not get approved along with the primary.
· Derivative’s (wife) AP/EAD combo card is valid until Nov 2018.
· We travelled out of country to India in May 2017. I used the Green Card and my wife used her Advance Parole for travel.
· My wife became pregnant in India and stayed back in India as she was advised not to travel due to medical complications.
· I returned to US in July 2017 and used the Green Card at the port of entry.
· My wife's I485 (Derivative) GC got approved in Dec 2017 while she was in India. I received her Green Card here in the US.
· My wife delivered the baby in May 2018.


My wife and my baby are planning to return to the US around Aug 2018.

Based on the above, what kind if issues she and baby will have to face at POE when she returns back in August 2018? Is she considered 8 months or 15 months out of country for LPR purpose (her GC was approved while she was in India in Dec 2017).

Did anyone face similar situation and please share your experiences.

Thanks in advance
 
Would be considered 15 months out of the country

Being out of the country. Means exactly that
Out of the country.

Make sure to Travel with the Greencard

Need not to even Mention the Ead/AP card

Which point of entry will you guys use? Some are more relaxed than others

As in they dont ask too many questions. Sometimes all you get is a “how was your trip” ?
And a “welcome back home”

Older folks and people with babies always get looked at with a smile. Lol. So she should be fine..
 
Hmmm, I don’t know technically if the change from AP to GC matters, but sure looks like she tried to game the system. 15 months is the entire pregnancy with a few months either side judging by your description. When did she originally plan to fly back? At what point during the trip was she advised against flying? Why didn’t she try fly back as soon as possible after the birth to try keep the absence to as close to one year as possible (especially with her husband in the US). All questions a CBP officer might ask. Rather than just assume CBP will smile sweetly at the baby, in your situation I would certainly at least take evidence of the medical advice not to fly as well as a copy of the ticket that shows her original intended return date. I’d think they’re more likely than not to let her in, but I think it would be naive not to expect some hard questions.

And of course she’ll need to process the baby for a green card on arrival too.

By the way the combo card expiry date has been irrelevant since her green card was issued.
 
Last edited:
SusieQQQ said:
Hmmm, I don’t know technically if the change from AP to GC matters, but sure looks like she tried to game the system. 15 months is the entire pregnancy with a few months either side judging by your description. When did she originally plan to fly back? At what point during the trip was she advised against flying? Why didn’t she try fly back as soon as possible after the birth to try keep the absence to as close to one year as possible (especially with her husband in the US). All questions a CBP officer might ask. Rather than just assume CBP will smile sweetly at the baby, in your situation I would certainly at least take evidence of the medical advice not to fly as well as a copy of the ticket that shows her original intended return date. I’d think they’re more likely than not to let her in, but I think it would be naive not to expect some hard questions.

And of course she’ll need to process the baby for a green card on arrival too.

By the way the combo card expiry date has been irrelevant since her green card was issued.
Click to expand...
Being out of the country your first 8 months of having a green card. Plus 7 months prior to that
Wouldnt that be considered Abandoning your LPR status?
 
Jbuff said:
Being out of the country your first 8 months of having a green card. Plus 7 months prior to that
Wouldnt that be considered Abandoning your LPR status?
Click to expand...

I don’t know the technicalities. There’s conflicting information about how long you can stay out on AP. It looks too long to me but there may be some technicality that allows it.
Even if it’s technically abandonment, A sympathetic CBP guy would allow her in if she can prove the story is genuine (I think there may be some scepticism about whether the length of stay really was justified) but with a valid green card the worst they can do is order her to see an immigration judge. I’m sure they’d parole her in rather than detaining her if that was the outcome.
 
SusieQQQ said:
Hmmm, I don’t know technically if the change from AP to GC matters, but sure looks like she tried to game the system. 15 months is the entire pregnancy with a few months either side judging by your description. When did she originally plan to fly back? At what point during the trip was she advised against flying? Why didn’t she try fly back as soon as possible after the birth to try keep the absence to as close to one year as possible (especially with her husband in the US). All questions a CBP officer might ask. Rather than just assume CBP will smile sweetly at the baby, in your situation I would certainly at least take evidence of the medical advice not to fly as well as a copy of the ticket that shows her original intended return date. I’d think they’re more likely than not to let her in, but I think it would be naive not to expect some hard questions.

And of course she’ll need to process the baby for a green card on arrival too.

By the way the combo card expiry date has been irrelevant since her green card was issued.
Click to expand...

Thank you for your comments. We have all the evidence however it looks like it would be at the discretion of CBP and if not then it would be judge.

Will this decision impact the GC processing for the baby?
 
gsivaman said:
Thank you for your comments. We have all the evidence however it looks like it would be at the discretion of CBP and if not then it would be judge.

Will this decision impact the GC processing for the baby?
Click to expand...
Legally I don’t know. AFAIK the wording of the law deals with an LPR mother returning. If your wife is paroled in then she won’t be admitted as an LPR therefore the baby won’t be the child of an LPR mother and not eligible for processing at entry. But still has LPR father present in US? Maybe you should talk to a lawyer.

By the way the evidence doesn’t excuse breaking residence requirements - it just might help if you get a sympathetic officer. Could go either way. The other option is applying for SB1 but afaik that’s a long process.
 
1AurCitizen said:
SB1 is next to impossible, rarely granted afaik. Unlikely in this scenario.
Click to expand...

I have seen other forum reports of them granted, admittedly rarely, but it's an arduous process, with a "pre-interview" interview to see if you even qualify to apply. If this is genuinely a case of unforeseen events -pregnancy and medical advice - it could certainly be argued to fit the definition. I'm still very dubious about how the timing adds up to the excuse provided, though.
 
I believe she should approach nearest US consulate in her country of residence, they might provide transportation letter to child. At the time of child birth both parents are LPRs
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top