Is it safe to travel on AP under several conditions...

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maryrose

Registered Users (C)
I would like to know the details of travelling with AP..especially about the risks..I was searching regarding this and I got an info (it's under this on red color) abt that.please read the question and answer (posted under this in red)My questions are how do we know whether we were illegal for 180 days or more?I am asking this question because My pouse didn't work here around 8 months when he was on H1.so that time no salary too..does that mean that he was illegal for more than 180 days?please help ..and give me valuable advices..b'cos we planned to visit home country next month..this is the first time we are going outside with AP..



Can travel abroad still have severe consequences for certain aliens, even if they have obtained Advance Parole?

Yes, due to changes to U.S. immigration law, travel outside of the United States may have severe consequences for certain aliens who are in the process of adjusting their status or changing their nonimmigrant status. Such aliens may be found inadmissible to the United States upon return and/or their applications for adjustment or change of status may be denied.

Under the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, aliens who depart the United States after accruing certain periods of unlawful presence in the United States can be barred from admission, even if they have obtained Advance Parole. Those aliens who are unlawfully present in the United States for 180 days but less than one year become inadmissible for three years; those who are unlawfully present for more than one year become inadmissible for 10 years.
 
This post, if you read carefully, refers to "certain aliens". The second red paragraph above makes it clear that the "certain aliens" in question are those who have accrued unlawful presence in the US.

Usually, if an individual has accrued unlawful presence in the US, they may still apply for a green card if they pay a penalty and IF their unlawful presence does not exceed 180 days (somebody please verify this). If an individual accrues over 180 days of unlawful presence, they trigger what is called a 3-year bar, which means that if they leave the US under any circumstance, they are barred from returning for 3 years - even if they have a visa, or advanced parole. If the period of unlawful presence exceeds 365 days, the bar is 10 years.

If you have not accrued days of unlawful presence, there is no reason to be worried about using advanced parole unless you have a legal trespass that may jeopardize your reentry in to the US. Generally, permission to stay in the US is separate from permission to enter it, which is why they are able to bar people from returning even if they were able to apply for AP or a green card previously while still in the US.
 
jk0274,
Thanks for your reply..
could you please help me to find whether or presence was lawful or unlawful?
my husband came here on 1999March (on H1) and he worked for a company around 2 months...after that he was not working for around 9 months.on 2000 march he got another job.by god's grace he got new H1 without any problem.but the sad thing was he didn't get W2 for the year 1999.he continued working with new company upto April 2002.but Eventhough he had valid visa they didn't pay for him for 8 months.after that he started working continiously(got new H1 and all).started GC processing on 2002 October and were on EAD on 2004 Nov onwards.please advice me...
 
This is tricky. Technically, if the following is true, you did not accrue any unlawful presence:
1- Your I-94 cards were stamped "D/S" and not an actual date;
2- You were not informed by USCIS that you are out of status or that you do not qualify for a benefit due to being out-of-status, or were not informed by USCIS or an immigration judge that you are denied an immigration benefit or were proclaimed unlawfully present.

If both of the above are true, then you did NOT accrue any unlawful presence. You DID, however, fall out of status by virtue of not working while on an H-1 visa. Because you fell out of status, you may be deemed to have accrued unlawful presence should USCIS decide to proclaim so. But until then, you are not considered to have accrued any unlawful presence.

I know this is confusing, but this is how immigration law works. Others can feel free to correct or add more info to my post if needed.
 
jk0274,

please explain this in detail

1- Your I-94 cards were stamped "D/S" and not an actual date;

according to your previous post second case is true...please explain the first one...
 
This is the little white card that is placed in your passport when you enter the US (part of the bigger card you fill out on the plane). The immigration officer will stamp that card and then write your class of entry (H-1B) and date of expiration, then staple it to your passport. If the date of expiration is written as D/S and not an actual date, that that's #1 above. D/S means "duration of status". Check your passport and see what's on that card, and also if you have copies of older cards (in case you traveled since 1999), see what is on those photocopies as well.
 
jk0274,
My husband travelled only once and the date of expiration shows May 2003 (depending on the visa stamped that time on his passport it's expiry date as I-94's expiry date)...that's ok right?
My expiry date was also may 2003 and I went to India on Nov 2003 With new visa stamped on my passport which was upto Nov 2004.So in my I-94 it shows Nov 2004..
 
I'm confused: Are the dates above the visa expiration date? or the date written by the immigration officer at the airport when you last entered on the I-94 card? or both? The expiration date on the visa rarely matched the expiration on the I-94 card.

Please confirm that you are reading the date written on the loose white I-94 card that should be stapled (or just hanging loose) in your passport (or next to it). If indeed your I-94 has an actual DATE on it, and you have stayed in the US past that date, and you did not apply for change of status (including green card) BEFORE the date on your I-94 card, you may be in a little bit of trouble. This can't be true, because you would not have qualified for AP if it was.
 
his first visa was valid upto nov 2001...In between he got another H1 and that stamped May 2003...On 2001 Jan he travelled after stamping this new visa and came back..on that I-94 the visa officer entered the exp date as may 2003.After that he stamped another visa which was upto oct 2004...but he didn't went out of country after that...On 2003 itself we got EAD and AP too...this is our condition...
 
...and you have since renewed both your EADs and APs because, as I understand it, they are only valid for 1 year each.

At least the AP is valid for one year, which means you have renewed it since the first one you got in 2003. And you haven't had any problems renewing it.

Assuming that your AP and EADs are part of an adjustment of status package (I-485), that you applied for in 2003, then you should be okay.

However, it is clear to me that immigration officials may have overlooked some trespasses (i.e. falling out of status) in the past, but that doesn't guarantee that they will again in the future. The fact that you both were able to leave the US and return AFTER the time when he wasn't working, means that you may have been lucky before, but just to be on the safe side, I really think you should consult with a lawyer. A $100 or $200 consultation fee might be worth it to save you from much larger headaches later on.

Again, other advice on this thread would be welcome.
 
Thank you so much jk0274 for all your valuable advices...

our AP and EADs are part of an adjustment of status package (I-485) that we applied in 2003..We are renewing EAD every year and AP now only..By God's grace all the time we got it without any problem ..

But I asked all the questins to you b'cos one of my friend said on the p[ort of entry after showing our AP they will ask us to go and sit on some place..then they will verify something and then only they will allow to enter like that...so I thought to ask all regarding it...
thanks a lot for all your help....
 
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