Some outstanding information and step to step guide on applying to expedite Advance Parole
"We read thru the posts on the forums, and we saw how some people applied for EXPEDITED advance parole in person, or thru the phone.
We sent the AOS packet with the 131 early january, and got the NOA for all that jan 26. As my wife wishes to travel by end of this month, we wanted to expedite the AP, so we went to the local office in person, after making the info pass appointment.
When our turn came, the officer at the window said that expedited APs cannot be done in person. We asked the man, 'are you sure? we know of cases where this has been done in person.' And the man said, 'no, this needs to be done through the mail.' We left and proceeded to call the 800 number on the notice 2 different times.
We spoke to 2 different agents, and after they read a script of how you can qualify for an AP, then they ask, how can they help. We asked if we could expedite the AP, and two different people on the phone told us to mail in the form as instructed on the instructions for the 131. We asked if we could do it over the phone, and both of them said no. We decided to call again next day. By the way, so sit in and navigate through all the options, takes about 10 min... wacko.gif
We called again today, and this time we spoke to an agent that after reading the same script that we got read yesterday, said: 'do you qualify for an expedited ap?' we said yes. Then she said, 'which of the following reasons do you qualify for?' We then said, emergency case. Then she said, "to expedite the ap over the phone, i need your receipt number and alien number." we gave those details and then she said, 'give me a brief reason why this needs to be expedited. If we need more proof, we will request it from you.' We gave the brief reason, she gave us a number as a reference for the call, and that was it.
Now, to get to the agent, we went through the following menus:
-When you call the 800 number that is in your NOA, you first choose 1 for english.
-in the next option, we select 2, which is to report a problem.
Then it says, 'if you know your receipt number, press 1' We pressed 1, and then you have to dial in your receipt number that starts with MSC....
-The automated voice reads back your number, and you press 1 again to verify that the number is correct.
The automated voice then gives you the status of your case, such as the date it was received, the date they sent the notice, etc.
Then when it finishes with all that, it asks you to select again from another menu.
-From that menu we selected 3, which was something like 'to report a problem with your case....'
-Again, another long menu, and this time we choose 6, to request expedited parole.
-Then we chose 1, and I don't recall what the choice was, but i think it was expedited processing.
-Then an agent comes on the line, and she is reading from a script saying stuff like, 'to qualify for an expedited ap, you must satisfy the following criteria...' When she is finished with that, then you can talk to her!!!!
So bottom line, call, and call and call, until you get somebody that can expedite it for you. AS you have read, 2 different agents told us yesterday that it couldn't be done thru the phone!!!! wacko.gif wacko.gif wacko.gif With the agent today, we didn't even open our mouth, she asked, if we qualified, and after that, she asked for details, and that was that. Of course, we don't know if it will be approved or not, and we have to wait 5 days for the answer, but, yes, you can request your expedited ap thru the phone.
Also, our appt for the biometrics is in florida; because of work we are temporarily in texas and as we are next door to the ASC, we went there to see if we could do our biometrics there, and that was not a problem. So yes, you can do your biometrics as a walk in, in a completely different office from your appointed place.
Hope this helps others. "