We had our interview this morning. It went well. It lasted about 20 minutes. We had a ton of evidence and pictures, but the officer didn't ask for anything except for our IDs. Basically, he just went through the application line by line verifying the important details (names, dates and places of birth, SSNs, etc.). The whole thing was very relaxed and the officer made jokes and small talk throughout. In the end he told us my name check was cleared and our application was approveable, but he would have to look things over one more time. I think we spent more time talking about other things than the application itself. Oh, and my wife pretty much forced the officer to at least look at our wedding album before she agreed to leave!
One curious thing did happen that I am very confused about. I asked if I could travel using my AP before my card came (he said they don't do passport stamps anymore). He said that because I was out of status I might trigger the 3/10-year ban and that I should just sit tight till I got my card. Now, I have never been out of status in my eight years here. I have always been in valid F-1 status, and am now also. My F-1 visa did expire two years ago, but that should be irrelevant to my status (my I-94 says D/S and my I-20 is still valid). I have always had the required number of courses, reported my address changes through SEVIS, and all that stuff you have to do to stay in F-1 status. When I mentioned this to the officer, he said because my visa had expired I was out of status. What is going on here? I am very confused! Can I travel on AP or not?
One curious thing did happen that I am very confused about. I asked if I could travel using my AP before my card came (he said they don't do passport stamps anymore). He said that because I was out of status I might trigger the 3/10-year ban and that I should just sit tight till I got my card. Now, I have never been out of status in my eight years here. I have always been in valid F-1 status, and am now also. My F-1 visa did expire two years ago, but that should be irrelevant to my status (my I-94 says D/S and my I-20 is still valid). I have always had the required number of courses, reported my address changes through SEVIS, and all that stuff you have to do to stay in F-1 status. When I mentioned this to the officer, he said because my visa had expired I was out of status. What is going on here? I am very confused! Can I travel on AP or not?