Question about I-131 and travel while waiting on Green Card

[jkpenrod]

My wife and I are in the process of applying for a green card through marriage for her. We were Married Dec 17th and had planned a wedding celebration in England with her family for April. Our intention was to file for AOS after returning from England, but after speaking to a lawyer realized we needed to start the process now. As a result we have had to shift the plans for the Englan celebration. The location we booked was kind enough to allow us to reschedule without a penalty, but the date that we had to reschedule is Aug 19. It is possible, but not likely that my wife will have her Green Card before we travel so I want to make sure she has permission to travel while we are waiting. My understanding is that this means filling out Form I-131 for Advanced Parole, but while filling the form out it indicates that you need to apply for and recieve a waiver of inadmissibility before your 485 process can continue. I am trying to do the right thing here, but I am a little unsure. Should I just put down the reason for travel is to visit family and have a wedding celebration in Part 4 of the I-131 form? What about Part 7 where it asks you to provide a seperate sheet describing the circumstances that warrant issuance of advance parole? I was under the impression that requesting Advance Parole was not a big deal.

Someone please help!

 

[Jackolantern]

Did she overstay her visa or visa waiver before filing the I-485? If yes, by how long?

Your answers will affect her eligibility to use Advance Parole.

Note that issuing Advance Parole is almost automatic for AOS applicants, regardless of inadmissibility. Being allowed back into the US another matter -- some people make the mistake of thinking the approval of Advance Parole means they're OK, and then they travel abroad and are refused entry when they try to return.

 

[jkpenrod]

Thanks for the quick reply. My wife is here 100% legal. She is currently here on an E-2 work visa that is valid through 2013.

What is the inadmissability thing? What else would we need to do to make sure she has no problems coming back?

 

[BigJoe5]

Thanks for the quick reply. My wife is here 100% legal. She is currently here on an E-2 work visa that is valid through 2013.

What is the inadmissability thing? What else would we need to do to make sure she has no problems coming back?

IF she has fallen out of lawful non-immigrant status and remained in the U.S. in excess of 180 days and then left, that would trigger a bar to re-entry for 3 years (staying longer than one year triggers a bar for 10 years). However, you say that she does not have this problem. Inadmissibility can be caused by other things also, like criminal convictions and immigration fraud. You say she already got the E-2 visa, so she should be OK in that respect.

USCIS has just made a positive change in processing...now they are issuing a combined work authorization card annotaed as an Advance Parole approval. The I-765 and I-131 are included in the same price as the I-485...file all 3 together with the I-130.

Good luck and have a happy trip.

 

[jkpenrod]

So I still not understand what they mean by give the circumstances that warrant advancEd parol? Is this just a formality for me and all I need to put is that we will be going to England for a wedding celebration with family?

 

[Jackolantern]

Is this just a formality for me and all I need to put is that we will be going to England for a wedding celebration with family?

Yes, it's basically a formality to tell the US govt. that your departure is temporary and you want to keep the adjustment process alive while abroad. Without an approved AP, upon departure the I-485 would be considered abandoned (except for H1B/H4/L1/L2 holders). She'll show the AP when returning to the US.

She should also apply for the EAD (I-765); she'll need it to continue working after reentering the US with Advance Parole (unless the GC itself is approved before she returns).