AP received after leaving the country ... entered back on H1

[prashant_jain]

Friends,
I went on a emergency trip to India in July/2007. I received my AP/EAD after 7 days of leaving the country.

I came back in September/2007. I entered the country on H1B and my family entered on H4. I picked up my AP and left in October/2007 for India.

I am now going back to the U.S in Feb/2008. I have been advised not to use the AP. The reason given is ... because I received my AP after I left the U.S.

My question is: Does it pose any risk to my green card if I use my AP (which is valid till July/2008) to enter the U.S. If yes, what is the risk?


I also found some articles/news on the internet ...
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Link 1: http://www.murthy.com/news/n_aostrv.html

Question 4. Should I wait for the approval of my application for AP before I travel?
©MurthyDotCom
Under current regulations, an AP document cannot be granted to a person outside of the U.S. One hears about people who did not wait for the Advance Parole document to be issued and had someone send it to them while they were outside of the United States. This is not the accepted procedure, and if the person left without having AP or without having H1B, H-4, L-1 or L-2 status, s/he is deemed to have abandoned the I-485 Adjustment of Status application.
©MurthyDotCom
While there may be some people who were allowed reentry into the U.S., either in error or on humanitarian grounds, it is risky to depart before the AP is issued. There are provisions for situations in which a person has the AP and requests an extension prior to departure, then does not rely on the AP extension to reenter the U.S., but uses it for a future trip abroad. This situation is different from leaving without having AP at all.
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Link2: http://immigrationroad.com/green-card/ead-ap.php

An advance parole is a travel document issued to an applicant with a pending i-485 adjustment of status case in order for him/her to return to the United States. If you leave the US without an advance parole, your i-485 will be considered abandoned. However, there is an exception for people in H, L, K or V status: you may return to the US using either an AP or a valid visa (H1, H4, L1 or L2), and it won't jeopardize your AOS application.
It is very important to note that a person who has been out of status during their stay in the US is not advised to travel abroad until their I-485 is approved. Leaving the US may trigger a bar on re-entry, regardless of whether or not an AP was applied. If one has been out of status for more than 180 days but less than one year, s/he may be inadmissible for 3 years; an unlawful stay of one year or more would mean a 10-year bar from the date of departure.
An advance parole may also be issued to people outside the United States and need to visit the US temporarily for emergencies. This usually happens when there is not enough time to apply for a visa. AP under such conditions are granted on a case-by-case basis by US consulates.
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Link3: http://www.murthy.com/news/UDnewins.html

 

[ananth_i]

You can use AP if your issuance date was before you left in July 2007

The only rule that stands out about AP (for people in H category) is that Ap should have been issued before leaving the country.. does not say anything about actually receiving the doc before leaving the country. Also, it does not make sense logically.

My take would be that you can use your AP for the next trip as long as it was "issued"/ approved before you left first time.