hellofromku
Registered Users (C)
Hi, all!
I was granted Asylum Oct 4, 2006 and am preparing my documents for adjustment to permanent resident, which I plan to file Oct 6, 2007. I would like to share my experience of one day round road trip Travel on RTD to Mexico. I also have two questions and your help would be greatly appreciated:
1) I-94 not collected, but RTD stamped, should I include this first and only non-COP trip that I made as an Asylee on my I-485 application? If so, which part in the I-485 form, as none seems to be applicable to my case?
Background: I made my first and only trip to Tijuana, Mexico( Not my COP), as the principal asylee, using my RTD(alone), by land( train to the border then walk across the border, morning, Sep 22; cab back to the border, walk through customs, afternoon, same day). At first, the customs swiped my RTD, asked whether I entered the U.S. before as a student( which I did, in 1999, and maintained that status until my asylum approval), and told me that my case was out of his jurisdiction and sent me to secondary inspection. Secondary inspection told me to go to the U.S. Immigration Office nearby because of my "special case", where I got a stamp " admitted as a Refugee pursuant to Sec 207 of the I&N Act. If you depart the US, you will need prior permission from I&N to return, employment authorized, port SYS, date 9/22”. I told the IO that I am an asylee, not a refugee, and at my insistence, he hand corrected the word “refugee” to “asylee”. I went back to the customs line again, showed the officer my RTD and the stamp, who let me through, not swiping the RTD, not asking for anything else, and not sending me to secondary inspection . Throughout the whole process, I-94 was not asked for.
Here is my dilemma: The stamp on RTD only shows that I entered the US sep 22nd, but how would INS know when I departed the U.S. since there is no evidence of when I left the US? The road to Mexico from San Diego is wide open, and there is no surrender of I-94 or checking of any sort.
Would it ring the bell on my “1 year of continuous presence” if I include a copy of my RTD and I-94, or should I leave this one day trip completely out of my application as no I-94 change is involved at all?
Part C in I-485 asks the last entry to U.S., and the non-immigrant visa#, which applies to me only in the sense that I did enter the US as a non-immigrant student in 1999, and never left the US until Sep 22nd, 2007, when I entered as an Asylee, not on a non-immigrant visa.
Should I fill out in part C, my 1999 entry as a non-immigrant student, or my most recent entry as an Asylee?
2) The one year presence before adjustment to PR: two month gap when I was in the US yet with no official proof. I have employment verification from my previous employer for Oct 4- dec 31, 2006, and employment verification between March 19 to present from my current employer, as proof of my presence in US. I was actively looking for a new job in Jan and Feb this year, when I had no utility bills, phone bills or car insurance policy to prove my presence in US, when I was staying with my best friend in Los Angeles. I heard that bank statement is not acceptable as proof of presence. My best friend, who is a US citizen, wrote a letter for me vouching for my presence in the gap period and will get it notarized October 5th. However, I still have this question:
Would the two employment letters quietly let me through, and the inclusion of a vouch letter will only backfire because INS is probably not used to seeing such and it will only alarm them for RFE?
Last but not the least, I filed my Asylum application all on my own without hiring an attorney, so I would appreciate it if the response is not “ consult your attorney”. I am open to the option of getting one but believe that some forum members here have better knowledge and judgement than an attorney.
I apologize for such a long message. Any advice that you would like to offer me would be highly appreciated.
Shane
I was granted Asylum Oct 4, 2006 and am preparing my documents for adjustment to permanent resident, which I plan to file Oct 6, 2007. I would like to share my experience of one day round road trip Travel on RTD to Mexico. I also have two questions and your help would be greatly appreciated:
1) I-94 not collected, but RTD stamped, should I include this first and only non-COP trip that I made as an Asylee on my I-485 application? If so, which part in the I-485 form, as none seems to be applicable to my case?
Background: I made my first and only trip to Tijuana, Mexico( Not my COP), as the principal asylee, using my RTD(alone), by land( train to the border then walk across the border, morning, Sep 22; cab back to the border, walk through customs, afternoon, same day). At first, the customs swiped my RTD, asked whether I entered the U.S. before as a student( which I did, in 1999, and maintained that status until my asylum approval), and told me that my case was out of his jurisdiction and sent me to secondary inspection. Secondary inspection told me to go to the U.S. Immigration Office nearby because of my "special case", where I got a stamp " admitted as a Refugee pursuant to Sec 207 of the I&N Act. If you depart the US, you will need prior permission from I&N to return, employment authorized, port SYS, date 9/22”. I told the IO that I am an asylee, not a refugee, and at my insistence, he hand corrected the word “refugee” to “asylee”. I went back to the customs line again, showed the officer my RTD and the stamp, who let me through, not swiping the RTD, not asking for anything else, and not sending me to secondary inspection . Throughout the whole process, I-94 was not asked for.
Here is my dilemma: The stamp on RTD only shows that I entered the US sep 22nd, but how would INS know when I departed the U.S. since there is no evidence of when I left the US? The road to Mexico from San Diego is wide open, and there is no surrender of I-94 or checking of any sort.
Would it ring the bell on my “1 year of continuous presence” if I include a copy of my RTD and I-94, or should I leave this one day trip completely out of my application as no I-94 change is involved at all?
Part C in I-485 asks the last entry to U.S., and the non-immigrant visa#, which applies to me only in the sense that I did enter the US as a non-immigrant student in 1999, and never left the US until Sep 22nd, 2007, when I entered as an Asylee, not on a non-immigrant visa.
Should I fill out in part C, my 1999 entry as a non-immigrant student, or my most recent entry as an Asylee?
2) The one year presence before adjustment to PR: two month gap when I was in the US yet with no official proof. I have employment verification from my previous employer for Oct 4- dec 31, 2006, and employment verification between March 19 to present from my current employer, as proof of my presence in US. I was actively looking for a new job in Jan and Feb this year, when I had no utility bills, phone bills or car insurance policy to prove my presence in US, when I was staying with my best friend in Los Angeles. I heard that bank statement is not acceptable as proof of presence. My best friend, who is a US citizen, wrote a letter for me vouching for my presence in the gap period and will get it notarized October 5th. However, I still have this question:
Would the two employment letters quietly let me through, and the inclusion of a vouch letter will only backfire because INS is probably not used to seeing such and it will only alarm them for RFE?
Last but not the least, I filed my Asylum application all on my own without hiring an attorney, so I would appreciate it if the response is not “ consult your attorney”. I am open to the option of getting one but believe that some forum members here have better knowledge and judgement than an attorney.
I apologize for such a long message. Any advice that you would like to offer me would be highly appreciated.
Shane
