GC approved while outside the US on AP. How long can stay abroad

G

gcbayarea

Registered Users (C)
Hi All,

My wife's greencard got approved this week and she is currently outside the US. She had gone out on her Advance Parole and is studying in India. How long can she stay outside the US at this time before she definitely needs to come back ?

She needs another 5 months to complete her studies in India. Her Advance Parole expires in November. I am deciding between the two options below

1. She can come here sometime in June/July for 1 month on her Advance Parole ; then collect her permanent resident card ; stay in the US for 1 month and go back to India and complete her studies by sept/oct ; and then come to the US for the long term.

2. She can stay in India till sept/oct to complete her studies and then come to the US on Advance Parole ; and be in the US for the long term. But in this option, her duration of stay abroad (april - sept) would be almost 6 months.

I am unable to decide which option would be better. Could you please advise ?

Thank you.
 
Hi,

I'm not a lawyer but I will quote exactly what my lawyer told me:

If you are outside of the country on AP, and your GC gets approved while you're out, it becomes a bit of a messy situation.

Technically you are only allowed to travel on AP as long as your status is 'pending'. Once you are actually 'approved', your AP is void. So it may be a problem for her to come back at all, using AP.

My lawyer told me, it's not that they won't allow that person in at all, but it's just a bit complicated and may have to go through the local US consulate where that person is.

Hope this helps but I think you should ask around for more opinions since really, I am just quoting my lawyer. I believe there's an AP forum on here, somewhere, try there. May have better luck with responses.

Otherwise, perhaps ask your wife to go to the US consulate and inquire there.
 
I don't think you have any problem. I am simply at a loss to understand how come it is complicated as some lawyers/members say. It is ridiculous. Your wife went out on a valid AP. It is quite natural that GC can be approved any time. That doesn't mean that we should be in US until it is approved. If that is the case, the very purpose of advance parole is defeated.
My suggestion is
Just follow the option1. It is always better to come as soon as possible, get the stamp in passport (She doesn't need to wait for the actual plastic card) which will be valid for one year. Some times you may receive the plastic card directly in mail. In that case you don't even need stamp in passport. She can stay for a month as you said and come back in Nov after studies.
 
Trying to contact a consulate would complicate things unnecessarily. The airlines will let her board the flight based on unexpired AP, and at the port of entry, she would be let in after secondary inspection. If her case status indicates that a card is being ordered (if she had done FP code 3), then it is even possible to mail her the GC after it arrives, and ask her to enter using that.
 
gcbayarea:
You should not have any problem entering the country within the period of the AP. In POE, if the officer says something, you can request a deffered inspection. But you should be ok. But it is better to come for a short period to get the GC and go back.
 
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