A screwed up case, i need your help please

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desperate2

Registered Users (C)
To everybody,please help me with sincere advice:
I have 2 questions:
1) The following is my timeline for the last 5 years. i have my interview in a month and want to know what you think (Regarding physical presence and continuity of residence) and if that should cause me any problems:
Left in August 2001- came back in jan. 2002 (Less than 6 months): Attending medical school abroad
Left in Feb. 2002- came back in august 2002 (Less than 6 months): Attending school
Left in Sept 2002- came back in jan. 2003 (Less than 6 months): Attending school
Left in march 2003- came back in sept 2003 (Less than 6 months): Attending school
Sept 2003- present: Here all the time

I applied in May 2006, which is (according to my calculation) 3 months before being eligible (August 2006), so will they give me hard time coz i was going back there for school, even though i preserved the 6 months limit and the 30 months total stay rules ?

2) I was using a travel document (reentry permit) for most of these travels, then i had to send it back to get renewed, and i used the new one for the last 1 travel only. The new one is what i have with me now, and the old one is obviously with them. would this be a problem ?

I appreciate your replies.
Thank you.
 
For sure I think you'll be in for some tough questioning, but you do have two things in your favor:-
i. You were attending school, which according to feedback from previous cases, seems to be accepted as a valid reason for spending long periods abroad.

ii. Your didn't travel at all in the past 3-1/2 years, pretty much proving your prior trips were temporary and for a very specific purpose.

Please let us know how the interview turns out.
 
thanks boatbod,
how about question no. 2 ? somebody here said he got his record from CBP, does that help ? and how do u do that ?
 
I don't think #2 is a significant issue, probably not worth trying to get something from CBP anyway. If the IO asks, you can simply tell him you had to turn it in when you got the new reentry permit.
 
Why did you have to use your re-entry permit if you returned within 6months each time? Did they stamp your re-entry permit while entering? It is likely that there will be a question due to that. But I assume you have other evidence to prove your intent of being a resident.

I have a situation like yours but haven't been asked for the permit at all, though I did obtain one.

Please provide your timeline (PD, FP Dates, etc.). I am surprised that you haven't been to the interview yet.
 
Thanks for answering back guys,
well i really hope that no.2 would not a big deal, as i used the old reemtry permit as a travel document (coz i did not have a passport from my home country), so the old reentry permit has all the stamps except for the last 2 trips only. I have the stamps for the last 2 trips on the new permit, which i have with me now.
I have heard from some people that the IO insist on seeing a proof for the dates of travel in your application e.g.: passport or any docuemnt proving what you are saying.
So what do you think about that? Could they just reject my application based on the fact that i cannot provide a proof for the dates ??!!
And my timeline is:
applied in may 2006
fingerprints in jan. 2007
interview april 2007
I know, weird timeline, i called and went to infopass million times, it was all about name check of course !!!!
Waiting for your input.
Thank you
P.S.: rkmr, would u please share your experience ?
 
Whether your passport gets closely examined or not seems to be a bit of a lottery. Some people say the IO went through theirs page by page, while others didn't get so much as a brief look. The most common action seems to be a brief flip through, pausing anywhere "interesting".
 
Thanks boatbod,
actually what is scaring me is the fact that the only passport (travel document) i can provide has the stamps for only the last 2 trips. everything that happened before that in on the old travel document (reentry permit) that i had to send to department of justice, so i don't have it. So my question is, does me not having something for the IO to compare the dates in the application to be a problematic thing ? would he or she just reject the application just for the fact i do not have sth for him to confirm these dates ?
I am sorry i'm being anal about it, but i am not used to the process, and it is honestly scaring me. Thanks for your patience.
 
Prior to my natz I had travelled extensively by boat... what I learned along the way was not to expect passport stamping at a PoE. Quite a few of my trips weren't documented in my passport, and frankly the IO just didn't care. Apparently its not uncommon for missing or even wrong stamps.
 
If you have your airline ticket reciepts, itinerary, boarding pass....all those can be used to dispute information with USCIS. Chances are they have more accurate information in their record than your passport/travel document cause your Green Card is swiped each time you leave and enter, but your document may get stamped or not.

I think you will be fine
 
desperate2, To answer your question; no I haven't applied for N400 yet. My experiences are yet to be had!
I didn't know the GC gets swiped each time - does that mean they already have a record of your trips?
 
rkmr
When you depart, the airlines are supposed to swipe your Green Card and forward the information to USCIS.
When you arrive, the USCIS officer at POE is supposed to swipe your green card.

Their database is only as good as the agency that maintains it....you should assume that they will have fairly accurate information...but there have been many cases where their information has been incorrect.
 
harvydonald said:
If you have your airline ticket reciepts, itinerary, boarding pass....all those can be used to dispute information with USCIS. Chances are they have more accurate information in their record than your passport/travel document cause your Green Card is swiped each time you leave and enter, but your document may get stamped or not.

I think you will be fine
Click to expand...

GC swiped on entry for sure, but I don't recall ever having mine swiped on exit. Would the airline be responsible for this? Is this now part of the US-VISIT system?
 
Hey everybody,
i have 2 questions.
1) Now, if your application travel dates and your actual travel dates are slightly different i.e: 10 or 15 days difference, but would not change your status for physical presence or copntinous residence, is that a problem infront of the IO? do they consider that as fraud or it's okay ?
2) I have heard from some people that if you do not have your passport in the interview because it was lost or damaged or whatever, that the IO give you a very hard time. Some people say they can even deny your application as they have no means to compare the dates you are providing to any documentation to prove it. is that true ??
Thanks for reply.
 
You have to tell the truth. If your memory causes you to get a day or three off, but you are "telling the truth", then you are not committing "fraud". If you aren't telling the truth, well all sorts of bad things can happen.
 
Right on Flydog.

Some of my early travel dates were a little iffy, but I did my best to provide what information I had, or could deduce from passport stamps etc. (Wish I'd known in the beginning that I needed to keep accurate travel records). No problem at interview though.
 
Yes, I think that when they hand you your GC, they should also hand you a "now that your are a permanent resident" booklet as well as a "travel diary"
 
Interview successful

Mine is a similar case. So far 845 days out side conuntry, 6 trips but all less than 6 months. Today I had my interview. The officer verified all the dates and finally said he need to check with his supervisor. After a while he came back and said the interview is successful and the supervisor approved it may be because I am a student. Then I asked if the Oath date can be in June. He said if you are going out of country again then make sure that the 30 months in the country in the last 5 years is valid before oath. Otherwise he still can reject the case while oath ceremony. Can they do it? Do they check the trip details between interview and oath?
 
Kmm

Congratulations, well i hope this is a good sign for me. I have spent only like 600 days outside the country 5 years before applying (which was one year ago), all trips less than 6 months as well. Let me ask you a question though. You said the officer verified the dates, what do you mean by that ? how did he verify the dates ? thanks in advance for reply, and again congratulations, i hope i experience the same outcome :)
 
The officer verified the dates on my N400 application with the stamps in the passport.
 
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