How ling until my wife and I can travel outside the US?

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Rick Lee

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How long until my wife and I can travel outside the US?

Noobie here. Not married yet, but I am a USC and will be marrying my longtime Chinese (PRC) gf (now fiance) in October. We want to file for I-485 and I-130 the week after the wedding. She is currently here on an H1, was on a F1 before that, has been gainfully employed for over a year, never out of status, no criminal record, blah, blah. After we file for this stuff, assuming that's all we need to file, how long thereafter until she will be able to travel outside the US and be reasonably certain of re-entry? Does advanced parole even exist anymore and do we need that or just proof of filing for the I-485 and I-130? We want to have a wedding reception in China early next year. Is this possible? Thanks.
 
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If she has a valid H-1 visa, she can use it for reentry even after she files for AOS, if she continues to maintain her H1 status.

In all other cases, she needs to get an advance parole before she leaves the US. It does exist, and you need to read the instructions in it.

Neither H1, nor the advance parole guarantee a reentry.
 
Thanks LuckyMo. So what are the chances of being denied re-entry while having an H1 and/or AP? I doubt there could be the slightest suspicion of our marriage or intentions. Is denial of re-entry just totally arbitrary and capricious? And is there anyway to parlay the fact that I deal with USCIS for my job and they are a client of mine?
 
LucyMO said:
Neither H1, nor the advance parole guarantee a reentry.
Click to expand...

How so? I would like more input on this as I plan to travel with my wife on AP. While the petition is pending. But the thought of being denied re-entry is... scary.

What is the purpose of AP then? :confused:
 
There are no potential issues with an H-1B holder returning with a US spouse. The H-1B holder has nothing to fear even if the marital status is known to the POE inspector.

Rick Lee said:
Thanks LuckyMo. So what are the chances of being denied re-entry while having an H1 and/or AP? I doubt there could be the slightest suspicion of our marriage or intentions. Is denial of re-entry just totally arbitrary and capricious? And is there anyway to parlay the fact that I deal with USCIS for my job and they are a client of mine?
Click to expand...
 
An AOS applicant can be denied re-entry on an AP if either of the following holds:-
(1) The AOS applicant had accrued 180 days or more of illegal presence in the US
(2) The basis of the AOS application no longer exists/holds

PraetorianXI said:
How so? I would like more input on this as I plan to travel with my wife on AP. While the petition is pending. But the thought of being denied re-entry is... scary.

What is the purpose of AP then? :confused:
Click to expand...
 
Thank you for the info. :)

I have never been out of status and I am still very much married to my USC Wife I-130 Petitioner :)

pd: So, you would advise against someone with an overstay of 180+ days to travel on AP right?
 
What if I overstayed say 3 days??? I happened to send application on last day I was legal here, but it was late for same day delivery. Though it was Saturdays and USCIS doesn't work on that day anyways. Monday was holiday as well.
My question is how are they gonna know if I overstayed or not? And will it be a problem?
 
Rick Lee,

your wife's immigration intentions are not a problem while in H-1B status, since this is a dual intent visa. If she maintains H-1B status until and after you travel, you don't need AP (reentry on H-1B is fine, but need H-1B visa in passport also from consulate), but I think the new high $$$ AOS application will give you AP for free with the application so why not take it. (Before it was $180 extra.)

Your bigger concern should be the timing of your interview. If you file in October, expect your interview some time between end of this year and early next year, so your interview could fall right into your travel time. (I'm in the same situation, filed in May, will travel in August.) If the interview is after you return then there's no problem. If it is before, your wife could be held up with what's called an FBI name check after the interview; or you could get an interview date that falls right into your travel plans, then you have to try to reschedule, but I hear it's not as easy as it sounds. Or you might get an interview notice while you're gone and then have little time to prepare when you come back. All these are solvable problems in my opinion, but it can mean some additional headache.

I wonder if perhaps it would help to submit an explanation with your application that says you will travel from this to that date and you'd like the interview to be outside those dates ... anyone think that's a bad idea? I'm considering perhaps submitting this also, but right now I'm tending towards just waiting what interview date I'll be assigned before I mention my travel plans.

Another option for you would be that you wait with the filing until you're back from China (again, your wife would have to get an H-1B visa in the passport if she doesn't have one already, so some additional effort and cost involved perhaps), especially if your wife would keep working the same job as her H-1B anyway for a while.
 
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