Re-Entry with no AP & Green Card Interview

B

banano1842

Registered Users (C)
Hi all,

I have been a frequent reader of this forum and want to thank all of you for being part of this. I want to post my experience because something never seen before happened during my processing and want everyone out there that will go through what I went have peace of mind that things have happened before and everything will be OK.

I came in with b2 visa and got married with USC (the prettiest girl in the world, by the way).

I filed for i-485, i-130, and i-765, yes without the AP, which will come relevant at a later stage. Receipt notice was Jul. 29th, 2006. I filed in Miami with an attorney as we did not want to mess things up, and I was not (nor still am) a big fan of immigrations laws, etc.

Ok, so things started with my FP/Biometrics on Aug 17th; later, I got my EAD approval email on October 2, 2006. I already had a job offer in Atlanta just waiting for EAD to start new job. We moved to Atlanta on November and have heard nothing about my i-485 (no LUD or anything). I notified USCIS about my change of address and then got email from CRIS about my interview deschedule on Dec 12th. I said to myself "fkng sht". Well we had to wait for a 2nd interview notice then. Waiting...

Unfortunately, on jan 3rd 2007 at 5.45pm, I received one of the worst news a human being can receive (close family unexpected death). I had to leave and had nothing, no AP, no travel document, nada, ni mierda (as I would say in my own language) so on Jan 4th at 8.30am, we went to USCIS office in downtown atlanta for emergency AP and they couldn't issue one becuase they needed death certificate. I had no such thing at that time, and called home country and my brother told me they haven't issued one yet and all they had to certify death of family member was an article from newspaper, which they faxed but USCIS said it was not sufficient. What a surprise!!

So I thought this is too fukg much (wait wait for processing times for what??? Me voy a la mierda de este puto pais), we decided to leave without NI MIERDA (nothing). Attorney said if I left like that I wouldn't be able to re-enter. I thought, what the hell, I want to be with my family. So we went to airport bought ticket at counter, I almost had to give liver and a lung for them but you gotta do what you gotta do right. So we left Jan 4th.

So after spending 10 days in grief with family on Jan 13th we decided to give it a shot flying back (against all odds) to atlanta using miami as entry port. We arrived at miami at 7pm-ish. Immigration officer immediately sent us to 2nd inspection. We sat there for 30 mins when another IO called us, we approached him and in a nutshell he told us "why did you leave the country without re-entry permit, you will not be allowed in, bl bla bla" my wife replied with "we had to, it was an emergency and we tried to get AP, etc" he said back "i'll talk to my boss but things look bad"... To make the short story short, after 4 hours they paroled in, and the 2 reasons were my wife was traveling with me and we have a life (job,etc) here, luckily I had with me some pay stubs. But they clearly stated that my I-485 was abandoned and I should refile to adjust. FYI, they call this "differed inspection" where an IO thinks you are eligible to re-enter even though you are not currently authorized, so they give you some time to clear things up (which is why I had to "refile")

On Lat Jan we receive the interview notice (scheduled for March 8th @ 1.30pm here in Atlanta) for my I-485, which suposedly was abandoned, remember? I refiled later Mid-Feb just in case this interview did not occur. Anyway, we went to the scheduled interview and it went (thank god) very well, APPROVED, and IO didn't even mention anything about abandoned case. OF course, I didn't mention it either.

Interview experience was very basic sht, only relationship question was "where did you meet", and then he asked for documents, we gave him, bank, lease, health, auto, thats it. Got approved stamp and congratulations.

So now I am waiting for my card as many of you. Already got email from CRIS about my welcome stuff.

If you have any questions please feel free. Message is "things always happen for a reason" and "things will always happen as they are meant to happen".

BANANO
 
you simply got lucky - USCIS does make mistakes. The next person who thinks he will get just as lucky, should think again.

P.S. Sorry about your loss.
 
banano1842 said:
Hi all,

I have been a frequent reader of this forum and want to thank all of you for being part of this. I want to post my experience because something never seen before happened during my processing and want everyone out there that will go through what I went have peace of mind that things have happened before and everything will be OK.

I came in with b2 visa and got married with USC (the prettiest girl in the world, by the way).

I filed for i-485, i-130, and i-765, yes without the AP, which will come relevant at a later stage. Receipt notice was Jul. 29th, 2006. I filed in Miami with an attorney as we did not want to mess things up, and I was not (nor still am) a big fan of immigrations laws, etc.

Ok, so things started with my FP/Biometrics on Aug 17th; later, I got my EAD approval email on October 2, 2006. I already had a job offer in Atlanta just waiting for EAD to start new job. We moved to Atlanta on November and have heard nothing about my i-485 (no LUD or anything). I notified USCIS about my change of address and then got email from CRIS about my interview deschedule on Dec 12th. I said to myself "fkng sht". Well we had to wait for a 2nd interview notice then. Waiting...

Unfortunately, on jan 3rd 2007 at 5.45pm, I received one of the worst news a human being can receive (close family unexpected death). I had to leave and had nothing, no AP, no travel document, nada, ni mierda (as I would say in my own language) so on Jan 4th at 8.30am, we went to USCIS office in downtown atlanta for emergency AP and they couldn't issue one becuase they needed death certificate. I had no such thing at that time, and called home country and my brother told me they haven't issued one yet and all they had to certify death of family member was an article from newspaper, which they faxed but USCIS said it was not sufficient. What a surprise!!

So I thought this is too fukg much (wait wait for processing times for what??? Me voy a la mierda de este puto pais), we decided to leave without NI MIERDA (nothing). Attorney said if I left like that I wouldn't be able to re-enter. I thought, what the hell, I want to be with my family. So we went to airport bought ticket at counter, I almost had to give liver and a lung for them but you gotta do what you gotta do right. So we left Jan 4th.

So after spending 10 days in grief with family on Jan 13th we decided to give it a shot flying back (against all odds) to atlanta using miami as entry port. We arrived at miami at 7pm-ish. Immigration officer immediately sent us to 2nd inspection. We sat there for 30 mins when another IO called us, we approached him and in a nutshell he told us "why did you leave the country without re-entry permit, you will not be allowed in, bl bla bla" my wife replied with "we had to, it was an emergency and we tried to get AP, etc" he said back "i'll talk to my boss but things look bad"... To make the short story short, after 4 hours they paroled in, and the 2 reasons were my wife was traveling with me and we have a life (job,etc) here, luckily I had with me some pay stubs. But they clearly stated that my I-485 was abandoned and I should refile to adjust. FYI, they call this "differed inspection" where an IO thinks you are eligible to re-enter even though you are not currently authorized, so they give you some time to clear things up (which is why I had to "refile")

On Lat Jan we receive the interview notice (scheduled for March 8th @ 1.30pm here in Atlanta) for my I-485, which suposedly was abandoned, remember? I refiled later Mid-Feb just in case this interview did not occur. Anyway, we went to the scheduled interview and it went (thank god) very well, APPROVED, and IO didn't even mention anything about abandoned case. OF course, I didn't mention it either.

Interview experience was very basic sht, only relationship question was "where did you meet", and then he asked for documents, we gave him, bank, lease, health, auto, thats it. Got approved stamp and congratulations.

So now I am waiting for my card as many of you. Already got email from CRIS about my welcome stuff.

If you have any questions please feel free. Message is "things always happen for a reason" and "things will always happen as they are meant to happen".

BANANO
Click to expand...


You are blessed! :) Some things only are by FAITH. Your determination in this is the "key" God watched over you. Ain't that something. ;) There is a
Greater Power than the USCIS and that is the Almighty God of Heaven.
:p
 
Dude you have been blessed I loved the post btw, I couldn't believe it and truely Im sorry for your loss.

I myself filed everything except AP, I totally regret it and well I took advice from an Immirgation officer, Wont do that again! lol. So I filed for AP today after 8 months of not seeing my family cause of me not filing the AP.

Congrads btw.
 
banano, you are lucky. I am lawful green card also. never went home for 11 years. My father is very sick I don't know what to do. I heared if you have a lawful green card you can't go back. iunless i became USA citizen. now my country are ok. what should I do? should i take the risk and go? or what should i do guys.. I am crying here every day. when i came back to USA what is going to happen to me?
 
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happyme11 said:
banano, you are lucky. I am lawful green card also. never went home for 11 years. My father is very sick I don't what to do. I heared if you have lawful green card I can't go back in my country unless i became USA citizen. now my country are ok. what should I do? should take the risk and go? or what should i do guys.. I am crying here every day. if I came back what is going to happen to me?
Click to expand...

You can stop crying now because once you got your green card you could definitely go back home. 11 years is a long time.:eek:

Who told you u had to be a citizen? :eek: That is incorrect.
 
Who told ya?

happyme11 said:
banano, you are lucky. I am lawful green card also. never went home for 11 years. My father is very sick I don't know what to do. I heared if you have a lawful green card you can't go back. iunless i became USA citizen. now my country are ok. what should I do? should i take the risk and go? or what should i do guys.. I am crying here every day. when i came back to USA what is going to happen to me?
Click to expand...

WOW! Where did u hear that from? I got my card in nov, went home w/ my husband like a month later. Go home tomorrow!
What happened to banano could be pure luck, but I think coming back here with your wife "kinda" guaranteed your entrance. Not that I would try it thought, VERY VERY RISKY. I used to come to the US like twice a year w/ my tourist visa for a while. When it was only a few months apart, I got detained a couple times at POE, grilled, searched, put in a room w/ a camera, just like a prisoner. But when I brought my daughter (US citizen) with me, always a smooth sailing.
Banano, sorry to hear about your loss.
 
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congratulation! I am pending h-1 myself, and my wife will become a US citizen in Dec 2007. Basically I have 1 year where I am out of status, so it's good to hear good news. All I know is I am going to have a big ass party when I receive my green card after waiting for more than 16 years.
 
pipitastro said:
WOW! Where did u hear that from? I got my card in nov, went home w/ my husband like a month later. Go home tomorrow!
What happened to banano could be pure luck, but I think coming back here with your wife "kinda" guaranteed your entrance. Not that I would try it thought, VERY VERY RISKY. I used to come to the US like twice a year w/ my tourist visa for a while. When it was only a few months apart, I got detained a couple times at POE, grilled, searched, put in a room w/ a camera, just like a prisoner. But when I brought my daughter (US citizen) with me, always a smooth sailing.
Banano, sorry to hear about your loss.
Click to expand...

Hi:

I suspect that Happyme received the GC through asylee status. The comment does not apply to most GC holders.

Also note that the OP was extremely lucky - what happened is not the norm. It should NOT be seen as an encouragement for those without AP to take a chance. That being said, I am very glad it worked out well for the OP.

Also note that what happened to the OP is extremely unus
 
Agree... Just to let you know, our attorney told us "Don't come back! stay in your Country and we'll arrange things from here so you can come back safely in about a year". So the recommendation is NEVER leave the country without AP unless you have an extreme emergency as I had and really can't wait for DHS, USCIS, USA, or anyone who thinks process is more important than life.

Thanks for all your comments and words about my loss, it takes time to understand but thanks again.

By the way, got my welcome notice yesterday. Expecting GC on March 21st.
 
Lucky son-of-a-roach....

B,

You are one lucky son-of-a-roach.....:eek: Under different circumstance, your ass could have been hanged on the back of your next plane and send to Siberia....:rolleyes:

NOTE TO ALL FILING: Under no circumstances should you do what Banana did, after all he is a ripe yellow fruit....:D 100 out of 100 times, you are deported and banned if you were an overstay....:p USCIS is one cold blooded agency with no feelings for people whom is purports to serve..:(

B... enjoy your greencard and I hope you won't leave your GC here and visit your country, in hope to sticking it to the POE officers for the second time. I suspect you have a hot wife, and the officers couldn't see themselves keeping her away from you for that long period of time...:eek: So, enjoy your wife....plus your GC....:D

B, don't advise people to be stupidly brave and leave the country without an AP, because I know people on this forum, they want to test the limits of the law themselves, and next thing we know, a distressing post from Saigon from one of the would-be-filers about how they were busted for traveling without an AP...:mad:
 
Travel with your GC

happyme11 said:
banano, you are lucky. I am lawful green card also. never went home for 11 years. My father is very sick I don't know what to do. I heared if you have a lawful green card you can't go back. iunless i became USA citizen. now my country are ok. what should I do? should i take the risk and go? or what should i do guys.. I am crying here every day. when i came back to USA what is going to happen to me?
Click to expand...



Happy,


Sorry to hear about the situation with your father. I wish him a speedy recovery, so that you can reach home with his life still in his bones. :eek:

You have to travel to your home country very soon. ;) Once you have a greencard, it is a permanent visa to the US and you won't be denied entry to the United States of America, under any circumstances. :) If you father is ill, then get some time off your work, and buy your cheap ticket on some website and travel to your home country, and you will be allowed back into the country.:rolleyes:

NO ONE CAN DENY YOU ENTRY INTO THE UNITED STATES, unless you bring in drugs and other illegal contrabands on your way to the US, and which is unlikely in your case or your post. :p Man... go...go...go...go...go...go...go..

Happy travels.....:D Carry your unexpired passport and your greencard when you leave the US and when you come back into the country, and your travel will be smooth....:D
 
ooops

pianoplayer said:
Hi:

I suspect that Happyme received the GC through asylee status. The comment does not apply to most GC holders.

Also note that the OP was extremely lucky - what happened is not the norm. It should NOT be seen as an encouragement for those without AP to take a chance. That being said, I am very glad it worked out well for the OP.

Also note that what happened to the OP is extremely unus
Click to expand...

Yeah, i didn't think about the asylum thing.... But is it really? u can't go back to your home country, even though u were issued a GC? I thought it's only for the time being while u're waiting for your GC, not after u get it. However, I've heard about that before.

YES, don't do what banano did! Prolly extreme case, maybe the fact that it was a real emergency. I do know a friend of mine who lost her parent during AOS process, there was nothing she could do. She just stayed here until she got the GC, then went home. Very devastating.
 
happyme11 said:
banano, you are lucky. I am lawful green card also. never went home for 11 years. My father is very sick I don't know what to do. I heared if you have a lawful green card you can't go back. iunless i became USA citizen. now my country are ok. what should I do? should i take the risk and go? or what should i do guys.. I am crying here every day. when i came back to USA what is going to happen to me?
Click to expand...


I believe your concern comes from USCIS fact sheet published last December. It did not say you can not come back to COP, however, it says you may be questioned why you went back to COP. If you have a good reason such as family emergency or so rather than enjoying vacation in COP, you'll be fine.
One more remark is you mentioned your country is OK now. If it means fear of persecution no longer exists, there is no reason to believe you cannot travel to COP.

Only concern I can think of is.... Do you have national passport or use RTD ?
I heard it might be tough to enter COP if you use RTD rather than passport, especially if the asylum claim comes from government persecution.
 
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Al,

I agree, I will never advice people to do what I did. I just posted as personal experience as I felt the need to share for others that might have some questions should they face similar problems in the future.

Good luck all and Al and keep those post rolling!
 
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