travel confusion

S

srican

Registered Users (C)
I have a problem ... I am currently on a H-1 Visa valid till dec 2006 ... I did a concurrent filing ( 140 and 485 ) in sept 2003 ... I got my AP and Ead in Nov 2003 The AP/EAD expired in Nov 2004 and I did not bother applying for a new one as my H-1 was valid till 2006 and I use it frequently to travel to europe/india ... All this suddenly changed when I recieved i 140 approval notice last week ... I have booked a six week trip to india ( the tickets are not changeable / non refundable ) .. The problem is that it is very likely that my 485 will be approved while I am in India ..My lawyer tells me that I 'may' have problems returning on H-1 if my 485 is approved while I am out ... I called up the national customer service and they said that it will not be a problem as H is a dual intent visa.... I am very confused my lawyer is advising me to cancel the trip ... That will mean that I will lose the airfare ..which is a lot of money for me ... I am very stressed ... Has anyone been in a similar situation? ...please help..
 
Your lawyer is a jerk (and let him know that he is).
If you serach this forum, you will see many of them got approval while traveling abroad and they successfully re-entered either thru H1 visa or AP.

What's the probability of getting I-485 approval within a few months? USCIS was never predictable. Should you cancel your ticket and sit quiet - even if your I-485 takes years? Absolutely not. That defeats the very purpose of having an AP.
 
Pralay is right.
Your lawyer is a JERK.
Just use your H1 till you get ur GC stamped and also receive your plastic card.
 
technically speaking, you should have ap for travel if 485 is pending. Having said that if your h1 visa stamp (not only 797 approval notice) is still valid you can still draw benefits from "dual intent" clause . Just make sure to have all documents ( 485 receipts, employment letter..ect ) with you and get ready for a pleasant surprise of an approval while you are in India.
 
thank you

I thank you all for bolstering my confidence ... I am going ahead with my trip ..I am probably done with my lawyer ...but to be fair ..he said there might not be a problem in returning on H1 without AP ..but it is safer to cancel the trip than not .. as this is a gray area of law.. he is probably being overly conservative..

I would appreciate continuing to recieve input from people who have had some experience with this....

thank u all once again.. :)
 
srican said:
but it is safer to cancel the trip than not .. as this is a gray area of law.. he is probably being overly conservative..
Click to expand...

The safest thing is to do nothing, don't even come to the US in the first place. ;) In the real world, it's a little different. You'll be fine. My I-485 was pending almost 3 years and I *never* used AP to re-enter the US, always my H-1 approval notice.
 
it is happening to me!

oh my... what you feared has happened to me. while away from the us, i checked online and realized i got both by i140 (approval mailed dec 16) and my i485 approved (approval mailed dec23)! i left on dec23, neither notice had arrived on the mail, i am on h1b visa, and never got ap or anything like that!
what should i do other than panic? i am scheduled to fly back on january 2nd...
THANKS FOR YOU ADVICE IN ADVANCE!
 
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