Approved but travel abroad in 1 week. Quick stamping possible?

B

bambiya_ghati

Registered Users (C)
My wife and I got I-485 approvals earlier this week and today we received the hardcopy courtesy notices. :)

But there is a problem: We are supposed to travel abroad on the 16th of October and unfortunately the earliest INFOPASS appointment which is available online in NYC is for the 21st of October. :( Is there any way to beg, borrow (or steal) an earlier appointment? I would be very grateful if anyone who knows what to do in this situation can guide us. Thank you!!

-Bambaiya
 
You can still go on any day as long as you dont mind waiting in line.. if its really urgent I would suggest go to the office as early as possible in the morning... still could take more then half of your day....good luck
 
I'd defintely confirm this with a lawyer but assuming you have AP I believe you can still travel and re-enter on that if you haven't been stamped yet. Someone asked about this recently, either here or on the murthy.com chat / forums.

ETA
 
bambiya_ghati said:
My wife and I got I-485 approvals earlier this week and today we received the hardcopy courtesy notices. :)

But there is a problem: We are supposed to travel abroad on the 16th of October and unfortunately the earliest INFOPASS appointment which is available online in NYC is for the 21st of October. :( Is there any way to beg, borrow (or steal) an earlier appointment? I would be very grateful if anyone who knows what to do in this situation can guide us. Thank you!!

-Bambaiya
Click to expand...
I suggest that you should take a day off and go to NYC office with your passports and approval letter(and all the others documents they asked you to bring)as soon as you can,also bring your travel tickets with you just in case they give you a hard time...
Be prepared to wait many hours...
Good luck.
PS:Go very early in the morning!
 
Thanks for the helpful suggestions everyone!

This morning my wife and I went to the BCIS office in Federal Plaza (downtown Manhattan). We reached there at 7:45 am (the office opens at 7:30). Huge place. Took about 20 minutes to get through security. Wasted 15 minutes standing in the wrong line and then 30 minutes getting an electronic token. Then a 1 hour wait and we were fingerprinted and then in 15 minutes more we had our passports with stamps. Then we took the elevator to the 31st floor of the same building and applied to get the "Not valid for employment" statement removed from our Social Security Cards. 3.5 hours total, entry to exit door.

I think we're all set!! :cool:

-Bambaiya
 
bambiya_ghati said:
Thanks for the helpful suggestions everyone!

This morning my wife and I went to the BCIS office in Federal Plaza (downtown Manhattan). We reached there at 7:45 am (the office opens at 7:30). Huge place. Took about 20 minutes to get through security. Wasted 15 minutes standing in the wrong line and then 30 minutes getting an electronic token. Then a 1 hour wait and we were fingerprinted and then in 15 minutes more we had our passports with stamps. Then we took the elevator to the 31st floor of the same building and applied to get the "Not valid for employment" statement removed from our Social Security Cards. 3.5 hours total, entry to exit door.

I think we're all set!! :cool:

-Bambaiya
Click to expand...

Congratulations. Did they try to give you a hard time for not having an infopass appointment? Or are walk-ins an accepted basis for service there? BTW, my office is the Washington District Office, and I have an Infopass appt for stamping late this month. I'm thinking of doing a walk-in and have this out of the way. Does anybody have a similar experience?
 
gilligan said:
Congratulations. Did they try to give you a hard time for not having an infopass appointment? Or are walk-ins an accepted basis for service there? BTW, my office is the Washington District Office, and I have an Infopass appt for stamping late this month. I'm thinking of doing a walk-in and have this out of the way. Does anybody have a similar experience?
Click to expand...

No problem at all without the InfoPass appointment. But my approval notice actually said that I can go any Friday between 7:30 and 4:00 to get my passport stamped. (I wouldn't rely on what is written on the notice though -- It still has lots of outdated and incorrect information about ADIT style photos.)

There is no downside (except for a wasted day) if you want to try your luck by going early. The worst thing that can happen is that they tell you to come later...

-Bambaiya
 
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