Question on Travel on AP

P

pingpong02

Registered Users (C)
Hi all,

My wife is planning to Travel to India on AP and appreciate your responses.

-- I am the primary applicant and have used my EAD.

-- My wife has changed her last name to my last name. She has applied and received a new passport with the new last name from Indian Consulate.

-- She has filed a new I485 1.5 months ago with the same A# for the name change. The lawyer has received a communication from USCIS that both the I485s have been consolidated under the same A#.

-- She received 2nd FP notice with old last name last week and had given the 2nd FP last week (early FP).

-- Her current 2nd AP is valid upto First week of March , 2004. The 2nd AP is still with the old Last name.

-- She has applied for her third EAD and third AP 1.5 months ago with the new last name.

She is planning to Travel to India in First week of Jan, 2004 and would like to stay for atleast 4 months in India but is returning back in last week of Feb, 2004 since her current 2nd AP is expiring in First week of March,2004.

She is planning to carry with her the old and the new passports with old and new last names.

She is also planning to carry her current 2nd AP which is valid upto March , 2004.

Questions
=============

-- Is it advisable to carry EADs also with her ? She has 2 EAD and waiting for the 3rd EAD.

-- Is it advisable to carry with her the 1st AP also which is already expired ?

-- Assuming that her 3rd AP will be approved after she has left (First week of Jan,2004) the US to India but before she returns (last week of Feb,2004), can she extend her vacation if I mail the 3rd AP to her in India.

-- Do you forsee any problems in using 2nd AP with the old Last name ?

-- Does she needs to carry any other documentation ?

-- Any other suggestions are welcome.

Thanks in advance for your responses.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Questions
=============

-- Is it advisable to carry EADs also with her ? She has 2 EAD and waiting for the 3rd EAD.

Not required, but no harm in carrying.

-- Is it advisable to carry with her the 1st AP also which is already expired ?

Absolutely not.

-- Assuming that her 3rd AP will be approved after she has left (First week of Jan,2004) the US to India but before she returns (last week of Feb,2004), can she extend her vacation if I mail the 3rd AP to her in India.

This is a tricky one. Some might say it's OK since she applied for the AP before she left the US, but I've heard some caution against doing it. Contact your lawyer.

-- Do you forsee any problems in using 2nd AP with the old Last name ?

Again, contact your lawyer on this one.

-- Does she needs to carry any other documentation ?

Copy of 485 Receipt Notice, any previous visas, your employment letter. Neither is required but good to have for just-in-case situations.
 
1) EAD and 1st FP not required
2) 3rd AP can be used even if it is approved after she leaves.
AP is only for re-entrance. I know of similar experiences from friends. You can mail it to your wife.
3) No problem in using AP with previous last name. But she needs to carry proper documentation to prove that her last name has changed recently. I guess she still has the previous passport. That should help.
4) No other documentation is necessary. Don't worry too much in this holiday season.
 
One caution

Technically speaking, you are considered to have abondoned the pending AP if you leave the country before it is approved. The question is how efficient are USCIS in implementing this. Perhaps your wife can leave and re-enter using the current (valid) AP without any problem, or she may be able to extend her stay and re-enter using her new AP if you send it to her after it is approved. The worst case scenario, and I am not sure of the likelihood of this, is that at the POE, the officer notices that she departed before the pending AP got approved and decides to give her a rough time. Is it worth this risk? I don't know.
 
Originally posted by dsatish

2) 3rd AP can be used even if it is approved after she leaves.
AP is only for re-entrance. I know of similar experiences from friends.
Click to expand...
Wrong.

USCIS says...
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
If you travel before the advance parole document is
issued, your application will be deemed abandoned if:

1. You depart from the United States; or
2. The person seeking advance parole attempts to
enter the United States before a decision is made on
the application.
-------------------------------------------------------------

It is always advisable to return before the current AP expires or leave US after the approval of new AP.
 
Thanks everyone for your responses.

I think we will plan that she will return before her current AP expires.

Now with regards to the 3rd AP, I understand from your responses that it will be considered abondoned. Can this create any problems for the I485 approval itself ?

Once she is back in US , can we again apply for a new 3rd AP again without any problem ? Will the procedure to apply new 3rd AP be the same as applying for an AP without any abondonment ?
 
My understanding is that her 3rd AP application will still be valid, so you won't need to reapply the 3rd AP.
 
As she has an approved AP until March 2004, she can leave US and come back before the expiry, without abandoning the 3rd AP application. Mavishka is right, you won't need to reapply.
 
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