Can I leave US without an AP document?

BenIvan

Registered Users (C)
Hi,

A few months back I was fretting about my sons parol document.

My son's parol has been approved. The message says that it was also posted and we should get it anytime.

Do you need the parol papers for exit to India? Can I leave US with the documents? I can get the papers during my time there as I need it only for re-entry, right?

Thanks
 
The exact rule is , you should have advance parol document approved before leaving the country.

Raju
 
Let me put it this way. I assume that you plan to mail the AP to youself. Can you take the consequence if your AP gets lost and you are still outside of USA.

If you are willing to take this risk, go for it; otherwise, stay and get your AP.
 
I agree with chinabee. You get two original AP documents right? If someone mails the AP to you, and it gets lost, you still have another one to try with.

either way, have someone make a copy before sending the original, in case the original does get lost in the mail
 
Thank you, guys.

I have been waiting for the past week, and finally received my sons AP this afternoon. Thanks again for all your comments...
 
curiousGeorge
for the record, it is true that you receive two AP documents, but the first one is for the Officer to keep, and the other is for them to stamp and return to you. So you need both when you come in the country the first time..
 
Harvy.
The officer gives both copies back to you. He/she is not going to keep any of them.

Thanks
 
ba1234
When I arrived at houston in Feb 2004, I gave the officer at POE in Houston only one copy, he asked for the other one, and said he was going to keep one copy, stamp the other and give it back to me...
This was the first time I was entering the country on AP..
 
Guys, I have re-entered two times using AP docs.

First time (Jan 2003) thru Atlanta -- both AP copies returned to me.

Second time (May 2004) thru Detroit -- one copy returned to me, other one retained by POE officer.

Bottomline: don't be surprised if you (don't) get back both copies -- make sure you get back at least one stamped copy and also insure that the officer does not make a mistake in things like the date up to which you are paroled in, purpose (AOS), your A# etc.



ba1234 said:
Harvy.
The officer gives both copies back to you. He/she is not going to keep any of them.

Thanks
 
CAUTION -- This is RISKY!!!

curiousGeorge said:
I agree with chinabee. You get two original AP documents right? If someone mails the AP to you, and it gets lost, you still have another one to try with. either way, have someone make a copy before sending the original, in case the original does get lost in the mail

With all due respect, I should say that this information is wrong. When an AP is not having a paroled stamp, the border agent clearly knows that this AP was not validated. Therefore, if you give him/her just one-copy, pat comes the response, "You should be having two, where is the other one?" Please note, I wanted to verify this very fact and I tried doing this when I validated my AP recently. After I gave the two copies, the officer went in and did all the major background checks for 10-15 minutes and finally stamped both the copies and then handed one to me and kept the other for INS records.

Previously, it used to be three -- one for the airline. Now, it seems like they have stopped with just TWO. So, if you have only one copy with an invalidated status, you will be risking yourself when countered with a question as to what happened to the other copy.

Also, I don't think you should take the risk of leaving the country without the AP approved document in your hands.
 
It's risky, unless you and your son have valid visa that you can use for re-entry. As he is approved already, it's posssible to get his AP in India by mail (though the USCIS rule prohibits that). But, there lots of cases when AP got lost in mails (when USCIS send them to your home address). That could be troubling. He will get stuck in India. However, most of the approved AP reach the applicant's mailboxes safely. So, it has to be your personal decision, whether you want to take that risk or not.
 
poongunranar said:
With all due respect, I should say that this information is wrong. When an AP is not having a paroled stamp, the border agent clearly knows that this AP was not validated. Therefore, if you give him/her just one-copy, pat comes the response, "You should be having two, where is the other one?"
I think you might be wrong, poongunranar. I went out of the country five times during the validity period of my current Advanced Parole. I was always taking one copy of AP, leaving other at home. This last time, however, I took the other copy with me. I was to return to the US through Cincinnatti, but my plane to London was delayed enough that I did not make the Cincinnatti connection. Delta then rerouted me directly to Atlanta (my final destination), saving me a total of 3.5 hours :)

Once I arrived in Atlanta I felt adventurous and gave the officer the EMPTY AP page (the one I had stored in my home and that was never validated). He just verified the information, stamped it and off I went. A total of 4 minutes. No mention of "the other page", etc. I had never had this question asked "where is the other page".

This is from my personal experience though. YMMV.

poongunranar said:
Also, I don't think you should take the risk of leaving the country without the AP approved document in your hands.
Nevertheless I 100% agree with this :)
 
If you don't offer both up front, will they ask for the second one? What if you don't have it with you? They won't let you in? I doubt it. You have a valid AP. Nowhere are you informed that you must have both with you at the POE.

Correct me if I am wrong.
 
eltoro

Dear Friend:

Both of us are right :) from our own experiences. In your case, you did not have any problem with a single invalidated copy because of an oversight by the officer concerned. In my case, I was clearly asked to provide the other copy for validation as the officer was clearly aware of what he is doing. BTW, this was in Canada.

In issues such as these, one cannot be Pollyannaish with probability. Rather, one has to take a decision with a holistic outlook on probable outcomes, IMHO. Thanks for sharing your own experience.
 
Definetly risky

BenIvan:


Congratulations on your son receiving his AP doc.

For ALL here's my thoughts:

Under ideal conditions it is OK to have the document posted. But if USCIS never mails or USPS/International mailer/courier loses it or sends it to someone else(dont assume this did not happen to anybody). Imagine the nightmare it could turn out to be.

The more reliable option could be to postponing the trip (if it is not an emergency)
 
Travelled outside US (to India) w/o AP , EAD was approved 12/17

All Immigration gurus,

currently I am in India on vacation, My VISA (stamped on passport) has expired when I was in US. I do have H1 extension valid until Aug 2006. I was planning to get VISA stamped while in India. Now I am planning to use Advance parole which I had applied before leaving for India, I have asked one of my friends to send me advance parole by FedEx as soon it comes in mail.

can I travel on advance parole ? I have already got my EAD.

please let me know
thanks,
gc_seeker2004
 
Exit Stamp

Guys,

I have one question, especially for those guys who have travelled into Atlanta on AP and are citizens of SR registrations. Did you guys have to go through Exit stamp at Atlanta airport at departure and special registration at arrival and if you guys did then can you provide details about the whole processes.

Thank You,
 
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