Friends, Our I-485 was approved on Dec 28, 2004. With travel pending on Dec 31st, we went to the local USCIS office (JFK Building, Boston). The officer refused to stamp us without the approval letter, he just would not accept the e-mail, or the online approval printout. He was rude, did not care that my 20-month old daughter was there with us, did not care that we had our India-travel tickets with us. He specifically asked us not to travel outside without getting stamped. It means a loss of $750 in postponing the tickets.
485 Approved, Stamping failed
- Thread starter pujar
- Start date
Same thing happened to a friend of mine. A day before he was about to leave for India, he got approval. He cancelled his trip at a loss of $ 1500 since the travel agent would not postpone the tickets.
It's one of those occassions in life when you have mixed feelings about recieving good news I guess.
But look at the bigger picture, you now have freedom and your wait is over.
Cheers, and good luck!
It's one of those occassions in life when you have mixed feelings about recieving good news I guess.
But look at the bigger picture, you now have freedom and your wait is over.
Cheers, and good luck!
My wife travelled 3 days after our I-485 approval. I spoke with my lawyer and he told me there is no way she will face any problems at the time of her return since:
1) I-485 was approved only a very few days before departure and apparently the immigration folks are a little understanding about this fact. The fact that we didn't recieve physical approval notice means that officially we didn't know of our case being approved.
2) She has a valid AP which does not (by default) become void once the I-485 is approved so she is not breaking any law by using that to return.
Rightly so she returned without any problems and then we got our passports stampped after her return.
1) I-485 was approved only a very few days before departure and apparently the immigration folks are a little understanding about this fact. The fact that we didn't recieve physical approval notice means that officially we didn't know of our case being approved.
2) She has a valid AP which does not (by default) become void once the I-485 is approved so she is not breaking any law by using that to return.
Rightly so she returned without any problems and then we got our passports stampped after her return.
We kinda got the word from the horse's mouth i.e.. the Immigration officer. He specifically asked us not to travel before getting the passport stamped. And again, it really depends on the whim and fancy of the IIO at POE. I have heard of another case where the wife was detained for about 6 hours for the exact scenario as mine. So I would much rather spend $750 as opposed to having my wife and 20-month old detained at POE for however short amount of time. Also, my wife would not have enjoyed her sabbatical in India as the return would be a continous uncertainty and worry. In hindsight, it was all worth it.
dazzling said:
hmm...well...not exactly right. I've seen cases where people travel before stamping, but on AP. They could always claim at the POE, that they were unaware of the approval and AP legitimise their travel. Worst cases, they would get a deferred inspection, but would still be able to enter back and then go for stamping on a later date.
dazzling said:
I doubt that is true. In the case someone travels out of the country three days after the approval, or before they receive the letter of approval, technically they do not know that they are approved. They do not have to check their on-line status daily, so there is always the possibility to claim that they were not aware of their approval.
The way I look at it guys is that, if for any reason, at the POE my wife and daughter were to meet with an IIO like the one at the JFK Building, Boston, it would have been one agonizing experience. Imagine traveling from India with the young one for ~24 hours and then be detained at the POE for questioning for even a few hours? The one and only factor that it depends on is the type and mood of the IIO you encounter at the POE. Was spending $750 worth it to ensure that family does not go through a hard time, the answer is an absolute yes!
Just fyi.. we received our approval letters in the mail yesterday, went for a walk-in early this morning and got it stamped. The lady IIO who did the stamping was extra sweet. Without an infopass, it took us much shorter than it did the other day with infopass!
Just fyi.. we received our approval letters in the mail yesterday, went for a walk-in early this morning and got it stamped. The lady IIO who did the stamping was extra sweet. Without an infopass, it took us much shorter than it did the other day with infopass!
pujar said:
That may be correct. However, that is a whole different issue from whether AP is invalidated at the time of approval, or whether you can reenter US on AP after the approval.
Congratulations!
PS Sorry for the inability to say what I want to say in one post. What to say, I am not a morning person
.Check following thread:
http://boards.immigrationportal.com/showthread.php?t=147533&highlight=Approved
http://boards.immigrationportal.com/showthread.php?t=147533&highlight=Approved
My 485 was approved while I was out of the country on 12/15. I had an email from the paralegal detailing answers to questions that might have been asked at the POE now that the 485 was approved.
I returned on 12/28 and went through secondary inspection at JFK. However, the secondary inspection was not related to re-entering on AP after 485 approval, but just re-entering on AP. The primary officer's exact words, after he had looked at all my documents were "let's get you into over there (gesturing back to the 2ndary insp room) where they can stamp your parole". I was out of the secondary inspection in < 10 mins (just had to wait my turn). The attorney's email had mentioned that I might be questioned about the approval at this point, but no questions were asked, nor did I volunteer any info.
IMHO, it is one thing to have your 485 approved while you are already out of the country, then to leave the country after you know it's approved but before you get your stamping. My attorneys specifically told me to NOT travel abroad before the stamping.
I returned on 12/28 and went through secondary inspection at JFK. However, the secondary inspection was not related to re-entering on AP after 485 approval, but just re-entering on AP. The primary officer's exact words, after he had looked at all my documents were "let's get you into over there (gesturing back to the 2ndary insp room) where they can stamp your parole". I was out of the secondary inspection in < 10 mins (just had to wait my turn). The attorney's email had mentioned that I might be questioned about the approval at this point, but no questions were asked, nor did I volunteer any info.
IMHO, it is one thing to have your 485 approved while you are already out of the country, then to leave the country after you know it's approved but before you get your stamping. My attorneys specifically told me to NOT travel abroad before the stamping.
I meant to say if you are not outside already. I think you were in India when your case got approved. Of course in this scenario it is not your fault. If you are aware that your GC has been approved and you are willingly violating that law, that is differentusnycus said:
pujar, Congrats and ver happy new year.
perhaps you are worrying too much. You will receive you approval letter in couple of days. Get it stamped and take a happy vacation.
Please don't think travalling with your own kid as a burden. There are far more people want to be in your shoes right now. Most of us go through phases in our life.
In a month you will not think about IIOs and
when you look back after some time, these thing does not look bad at all.
perhaps you are worrying too much. You will receive you approval letter in couple of days. Get it stamped and take a happy vacation.
Please don't think travalling with your own kid as a burden. There are far more people want to be in your shoes right now. Most of us go through phases in our life.
In a month you will not think about IIOs and
when you look back after some time, these thing does not look bad at all.
dazzling said:I meant to say if you are not outside already. I think you were in India when your case got approved. Of course in this scenario it is not your fault. If you are aware that your GC has been approved and you are willingly violating that law, that is different
still doesnt sound right. What law are you quoting..???? can you elaborate.
In case where they do not issue an approval stamp, they will issue a temporary green card which allows you to re-enter US.
They did not issue me a stamp in the passport due the fact that the officer did not want to take risk.. he could not check my records and the system was having some problems. so he issued me a temporary card which is same as stamp.
They did not issue me a stamp in the passport due the fact that the officer did not want to take risk.. he could not check my records and the system was having some problems. so he issued me a temporary card which is same as stamp.