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AP mess ... suggestion?
- Thread starter jasont2x
- Start date
jasont2x said:My wife left the country 2 weeks after we applied for her AP.
AP was approved and I sent it to her later on.
At that time we did not know that you have to be "in the US to apply, wait for approval and then leave".
What are the implications now?
Your wife has to come back on the same AP if it is still valid. In other words, one has to use the same AP from departing and arriving in US. I don't think she can use new approved AP.
It is the first time she will be using the AP. But the AP was approved after she left US and I mailed it to her. So when she departed US, the AP was still under process.
hopeofgc said:Your wife has to come back on the same AP if it is still valid. In other words, one has to use the same AP from departing and arriving in US. I don't think she can use new approved AP.
Talk to an attorney. She has effectively abandoned her green card application. Unfortunately, this isn't just by the word of the law, but is also by the USCIS interpretation of the law outlined in a memo a while back.jasont2x said:My wife left the country 2 weeks after we applied for her AP.
AP was approved and I sent it to her later on.
At that time we did not know that you have to be "in the US to apply, wait for approval and then leave".
What are the implications now?
This of course assumes that the USCIS find out, but given that she probably surrendered an I-94 on departure, they have all the data they need. I'm not sure exactly how the system works. I know that pre-9/11 it was believed that the then-INS didn't actually process surrendered I-94s, instead putting them in storage. However, I'm sure they do now get entered into the system somehow. If your wife's got enterered prompty after she left then it may well have flagged that she had no AP, and this could be big trouble. Also, on re-entry they may ask how long she has been outside the country, and it wouldn't take a genius to work out that the departure date was before the AP approval.
minn_labor
Registered Users (C)
How long has your wife been out of the country and when is she expected?
I think you should talk to a good attorney and have her return back immediately so as not to prolong her stay out of the country if possible.
I don't have too much AP knowledge except what others have mentioned here.
Goodluck and hope everything works out.
I think you should talk to a good attorney and have her return back immediately so as not to prolong her stay out of the country if possible.
I don't have too much AP knowledge except what others have mentioned here.
Goodluck and hope everything works out.
Your wife has not abandoned her Green Card Process. She has abandoned only Advance Parole APplication. Now if the reason for her departure is emeergency then when she comes back if there is a problem she can explain that to the immigration officer.
YOu can give it a try. Dont think negative. She has a approved AP now. You have tried your best. Its upto the Immigraton Officer now
YOu can give it a try. Dont think negative. She has a approved AP now. You have tried your best. Its upto the Immigraton Officer now
jasont2x said:My wife left the country 2 weeks after we applied for her AP.
AP was approved and I sent it to her later on.
At that time we did not know that you have to be "in the US to apply, wait for approval and then leave".
What are the implications now?
Answer me this - Does she have valid H4 VISA STAMP in her passport when she left USA. If so, her GC case is still VALID. And to re-enter she has to use H4 VISA and can not use AP that is not approved prior to departure.
Is she does not have valid VISA STAMP (not just paper H4 approval notice) and left USA before AP is approved you need to talk to your lawyer because her GC case may be considered abandoned by USCIS!!
HTH
Unfortunatelty despite what 'dw1800' has said, I think the actual GC application is abandoned. Take a look at the the article here: http://www.murthy.com/news/ukpbadpl.html. The first sentence in the section section reads: "INS considers a pending I-485 to be abandoned when the applicant departs the U.S. unless s/he was granted AP before leaving the U.S." Sadly, I think that is pretty clear what it means.jasont2x said:Is it confirmed that in this situation the application would be considered as abandoned?
However, I wouldn't panic yet, but I would get the best immigration attorney you can afford and seek urgent advice.
We have almost 6 months remaining on H4. But no visa stamp on passport.
She will apply at the local embassy. Hopefully they wont scrutinize too much and she should be able to reenter using H4.
Fingers crossed.
She will apply at the local embassy. Hopefully they wont scrutinize too much and she should be able to reenter using H4.
Fingers crossed.
dms said:Unfortunatelty despite what 'dw1800' has said, I think the actual GC application is abandoned. Take a look at the the article here: http://www.murthy.com/news/ukpbadpl.html. The first sentence in the section section reads: "INS considers a pending I-485 to be abandoned when the applicant departs the U.S. unless s/he was granted AP before leaving the U.S." Sadly, I think that is pretty clear what it means.
However, I wouldn't panic yet, but I would get the best immigration attorney you can afford and seek urgent advice.
jasont2x said:We have almost 6 months remaining on H4. But no visa stamp on passport.
She will apply at the local embassy. Hopefully they wont scrutinize too much and she should be able to reenter using H4.
Fingers crossed.
If you are maintaining your H1 status, meaning you have not used AP when you last entered USA, your wife can get H4 VISA renewed. If you used AP last time and your stamped status in passport now is "PAROLED UNTIL...", your wife CAN NOT renew H4 visa stamp. I was in this mess before!!
Not sure which country you are from, but if you are from INDIA, you have to schedule appointment with consulate ASAP since the wait time now is about 6 Months!!
HTH
H1 status is valid and I have not used Parole at all. Wait time for interview is 4 to 6 weeks.
damascus said:If you are maintaining your H1 status, meaning you have not used AP when you last entered USA, your wife can get H4 VISA renewed. If you used AP last time and your stamped status in passport now is "PAROLED UNTIL...", your wife CAN NOT renew H4 visa stamp. I was in this mess before!!
Not sure which country you are from, but if you are from INDIA, you have to schedule appointment with consulate ASAP since the wait time now is about 6 Months!!
HTH
You missed that rather important fact out of your original posting. With this, your wife is OK. She just needs to get the stamp. I believe that the newly approved AP will also be valid for future use, though you may want to confirm that before using it.jasont2x said:We have almost 6 months remaining on H4. But no visa stamp on passport.
She will apply at the local embassy. Hopefully they wont scrutinize too much and she should be able to reenter using H4.
Fingers crossed.
Yes but there are under 6 months remaining on the H4. Not sure if that makes any difference for restamping. Nothing is guaranteed but now using AP is out of question.
dms said:You missed that rather important fact out of your original posting. With this, your wife is OK. She just needs to get the stamp. I believe that the newly approved AP will also be valid for future use, though you may want to confirm that before using it.
merovingian
Registered Users (C)
I believe your wife will be OK. She left having the H4 status. She intended to get a visa stamp. Even if she cannot get the visa stamp ( due to 6 month wait or something else) she MUST give it try to enter with Parole - just my opinion.
When I was entering with AP, I was not even asked a question, how long I was away... I surrended all my I-94 cards but still got the RFE to prove, that I was legal in the country.
Good luck.
When I was entering with AP, I was not even asked a question, how long I was away... I surrended all my I-94 cards but still got the RFE to prove, that I was legal in the country.
Good luck.