** AP or H1B? **

[fast_gc_seeker]

Folks, I believe AP serves only 1 purpose which is to allow u
permission to enter if ur 485 is pending.

This following thread has some interesting information


http://boards.immigration.com/showthread.php?t=143482

Herein, there is quote from attorney Sheila Murthy which says u can enter
on valid stamped H1B to enter even if ur 485 is approved
and u dont have AP.

My question is if above is true why would USCIS make
a document like AP and people pay to have such a document?

All comments are most welcome.

 

[max2k1]

Folks, I believe AP serves only 1 purpose which is to allow u
permission to enter if ur 485 is pending.

This following thread has some interesting information


http://boards.immigration.com/showthread.php?t=143482

Herein, there is quote from attorney Sheila Murthy which says u can enter
on valid stamped H1B to enter even if ur 485 is approved
and u dont have AP.

My question is if above is true why would USCIS make
a document like AP and people pay to have such a document?

All comments are most welcome.

Reasons ...
(a) Most people don't have a valid H1 visa stamp - they just have H1 status
(b) Equal number of people don't maintain H1 - they use EAD for work and hence need AP to travel
(c) It used to be that everyone needed AP for re-entry when you had a 485 pending - that has changed - but that "old school thought" is still out there
(d) With all the new delays in visa renewal abroad, most people don't want the bother and just use AP instead
and so on .....

Atleast getting an AP is voluntary -- if someone feels that they won't need to use it, then they don't have to apply

 

[fast_gc_seeker]

max and unitednations, I'm with u..but Sheila murthy's statement
contradicts what we think. She says if u dont have AP and if 485
is approved you can still enter on H1

your comments please...

 

[fast_gc_seeker]

I agree with her comments. I didn't even bother to renew my wife's ap and she spends most of her time in Canada.

I think Max and myself are saying that AP isn't really needed. Max did a pretty good job of explaining why someone would want both.

My attorney dosent agree with Sheila. He says what she says is funny


He says if what she says is true then why could people spend
so much money on AP1,AP2,AP3(? hope not). He also says
he had seen cases where people have been stoped at POE
b'se they are AOS folks with NO AP.

 

[fast_gc_seeker]

Some members had debated this before as to why lawyers were not advising their clients to use consular processing because it was so much faster then AOS.

Most people concluded that lawyers make more money from filing AOS due to multiple EAD/AP filings. When I was discussing with my lawyer which route I should choose, she told me that AOS would allow one to change jobs using ac21 but that option is not there with consular processing. When it came to renewing my wife's AP/EAD I told my lawyers not to do it because she had valid h-4 and does not plan on working. My lawyer did not present any downside risk to this.

I believe lawyers have vested interest in being cautionary on this issue. If your lawyer told you that it wasn't necessary to get AP/EAD what do you think your reaction would have been to him?

I'm in Canada right now and I plan on coming back on Monday and will ask POE of this issue. I will post what they say.

Unitednations, why attorney INSISTS on using AP so there is no question of my reaction if they had suggested to go without AP.

From what I understand, I agree with my attorney that H visa is automatically
invalidated after 485 approval and there is no way somebody can enter
on H visa if 485 is approved and they dont have AP.

By the way, I've a related but different question...I've BOTH valid H1 stamped
in PP and also valid AP. Which one should I use @ POE?. My H1 is valid
until mid of 2006 and AP until Oct 05. I read somewhere that if I use H1
my next I-94 will be valid until mid of 2006.

 

[proas999]

AP to H1

Can you switch back from AP to H1? In other words, after using AP to enter can you go back to the H1 status without a H1 stamp in the passport? And later if you get h1 stamp, enter using the h1 stamp? Thanks for your reply.

 

[fast_gc_seeker]

Well I just got back in from Canada. As promised I asked the POE of the issue of if my 485 got approved while I was outside the country and I didn't have AP but a valid H-1 would that cause any issues for me in abandoning the 485 or being refused entry. He actually laughed and said I would still be allowed in the country in this scenario if I had a valid h-1/

I have a valid AP and H-1. I don't use my AP, not for any particular reason other than it would be a hassle to complete a new i94 card and I would have to go to the secondary inspection at the POE. You are correct that if you use H-1 the validity date of the i94 will be 2006. Just as an FYI when my wife used her AP the validity date was one year from when she used it (POE always does this wrong as it is valid from one year of issue and not when used). She later switched to h-4 and received stamp with a validity date of my h-1 which was a fresh three years.

Unitednations, U know my question on H1 or AP usage earlier.
what do u think, should I use AP or H1?

 

[Live_in_USA]

Upto you but many people are in the same scenario and if they have valid h-1 stamp they continue to use the h-1.

I'm sticking with the h-1.

Hi United Nations
I live in Buffalo, and as I am a Canadian I commute there quite often. I will write to you on the email nyousaf@ureach.com you provided. Where are you based?

 

[GC-App]

Hi Unitednations,

I do not have a valid H1 visa stamp on my passport, if I use AP to enter US, can I keep my H1B status? If so, my H1B expire date will be based on the I-94 for my H1 or for AP? Thanks.