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

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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.
 
She can return anytime before her AP expires - it doesn't matter if its 1 month or 10 months.

Contrary to what you might hear, AP does NOT become invalid when GC gets approved - you can reenter after GC approval - you'll mostly be given a deferred inspection (maybe not anymore as I551 stamping is history)
 
Max, are you sure about this? My lawyer had told me otherwise- that if GC gets approved while out of the country, it becomes a messy (though not a total loss) situation.

I could be terribly wrong- and I apologize in advance for putting a paranoia in your mind, gcbayarea. But this is what my lawyer told me and this is what I've read from a few others on this forum as well. I just want you to hear both sides.

Any one else can confirm this issue?
 
I do not know if one can enter using AP when the GC is approved while abroad.
But when I asked my Lawyer about this, they just told me that "IT IS BEST TO BE IN USA WHEN YOUR 485 GETS APPROVED"
So I think, it is just safe and not a messy thing when you are in USA when your GC gets approved. But it should be possible to re-enter when the GC is approved when outside USA.
 
justfiled said:
Max, are you sure about this? My lawyer had told me otherwise- that if GC gets approved while out of the country, it becomes a messy (though not a total loss) situation.

I could be terribly wrong- and I apologize in advance for putting a paranoia in your mind, gcbayarea. But this is what my lawyer told me and this is what I've read from a few others on this forum as well. I just want you to hear both sides.

Any one else can confirm this issue?
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Nope - it will get messy if you leave & reenter WITHOUT a valid AP (i.e on a non-immigrant visa).
If you re-enter with AP, it will be fine.

Lawyers always choose the path of least resistance - it is of course very easy to understand that there is no complication when you stay in the US.
But to determine if using an AP is valid or not, involves some amount of research by the lawyer and its cheaper for them to not do the research !!

Anyways, you should always follow whatever your lawyer says :p
 
Well, I guess the OP will find out either way- his wife will have to come back at some point :p

But to the OP- I think it's better if you get a professional opinion on this.

I agree w/ you regarding lawyers Max- but this was my way of rationalizing the situation:

Technically speaking, isn't the AP only valid while i-485 is pending? So once the i-485 is approved, AP shouldn't be valid anymore. But perhaps that also depends on the officer at the POE too.
 
as mentioned by Justified, technically speaking, your AP, EAD etc are invalid, when your 485 is approved. But the POE will let you enter for one time. I don't see a time limit any where (at least I didn't see anything), but lawyers always say, come immideatly. They don't mention any time limit. At least couple of lawers told me this, and when asked precisely about time, they don't like to answer anything. Always the answer is "You have to come back imm......)
 
Thanks for all the replies.. Yes, thats what my lawyer told me too - come back immediately.. But later I talked to a couple friends who were in the same situation - their GC got approved while they were outside on AP. Both of them said they got back in using their AP without any issues.

Lawyer also mentioned that there is no black-and-white answer in this case. It all depends on the office at the POE. She said that as long as my wife has a valid reason to be outside (studies), it shouldnt be too difficult though to come back on AP.
 
gcbayarea said:
Thanks for all the replies.. Yes, thats what my lawyer told me too - come back immediately.. But later I talked to a couple friends who were in the same situation - their GC got approved while they were outside on AP. Both of them said they got back in using their AP without any issues.

Lawyer also mentioned that there is no black-and-white answer in this case. It all depends on the office at the POE. She said that as long as my wife has a valid reason to be outside (studies), it shouldnt be too difficult though to come back on AP.
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Right -- that's my understanding as well ....

In a way AP does become invalid - but since you left before the approval, it kinda doesn't apply to you.
If you leave after 485 approval and try to use AP on re-entry, you are more likely to encounter some confusion.

In the OP's case, since the wife was abroad when the 485 was approved, she should be OK to come back using AP.
(esp. since she has a valid time-bound reason for the stay (i.e to complete studies))
 
What happens in this case......

I-485 pending and spouse travels on H4. If 485 gets approved b4 she returns will she be paroled @ POE? I heard abt this somewhere but can't make much sense of it.
 
danmagaji said:
I-485 pending and spouse travels on H4. If 485 gets approved b4 she returns will she be paroled @ POE? I heard abt this somewhere but can't make much sense of it.
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She can be paroled at the POE, or granted deferred inspection. Really, it's no different than if she has AP; AP is just a nice letter from the Service Center director asking the POE to parole her, nothing more.
 
Good 2 know that. With her job situation outside, she cannot be in the US long enough 4 us to get the AP approved and so i think we'll go the H4 route when she travels.
 
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