Travel during concurrent filing

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manny6

Registered Users (C)
I recently became a U.S. Citizen and would like to apply for my mother to get a green card. She has a 10 year visa, has been here in the U.S. on her visitor visa for 5 months, i.e. only 1 month before she has to go back to India. If I submit the concurrent filing (I-130 + I-485) in the next 1-2 weeks, does she still have to leave within the next month or can she stay longer?
Also, if she leaves the U.S.A. while the concurrent filing has been submitted (I assume I would have to submit the Advance Parole thing as well), would there be any sort of complications - for example would she have to suddenly fly over to the US for an interview without much notice, or would she have to do show any additional documents to the immigration officers at the airport when entering on her visitor visa?
 
Once her I-485 is acknowledged she can stay until USCIS makes a decision. It is convenient to also file I-765 and I-131 for employment authorization + advance parole document which serves as a temporary federal photo ID and allows her to travel out of US and return while I-485 is pending. Her B2 visa will cease to be valid once she files I-485. There is no additional fees for advance parole/EAD, only forms + photos. You can send it together I-130 + I-485.

She will have to be fingerprinted (unless older than 79 years). Usually interview notices are sent before 1 month or so of the interview date. Notice for fingerprinting might be shorter.

Please note that USCIS will not process I-485 without Affidavit of Support I-864 and medical exam report I-693 and will send an RFE to request these documents if you don't send them along with the main application packet.
 
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Thanks for your reply. I understand it is best to send in I-485,I-864,I-693,G-325A,I-130,I-765,I-131 all together.

Realistically how long will it take me to get all this paperwork done including medical tests etc.? Is it approx 1 week or 1 month? Right of the top of my head, I know that I do not have a birth certificate for my mother. I also know she would need a medical exam, but don't know what that entails and how long it takes.

How long does it take to receive the I-485 acknowledgement from the time I drop all these documents in the mail (assuming overnight Fedex/USPS)? I am just trying to ascertain if I can count on this happening with the next 1 month. What happens if I cancel her flight now and we don't receiver the I-485 receipt/acknowledgement?
 
Advance Parole takes about 2-3 months to be approved. While waiting for it she needs to remain in the US, otherwise the I-485 will be canceled if she leaves before the AP is approved. So forget about traveling in 1 month, unless she wants to pursue the process through a consulate in her country instead of filing I-485.

The medical exam end-to-end is about 2-3 weeks; there will be 2 appointments a few days apart, then you wait for the doctor to mail the results to you. The results in the sealed envelope* must be included with the I-485 application.


*you can open the envelope on the outside with your name on it, but the inner envelope must remain sealed.
 
manny6 said:
Thanks for your reply. I understand it is best to send in I-485,I-864,I-693,G-325A,I-130,I-765,I-131 all together.

Realistically how long will it take me to get all this paperwork done including medical tests etc.? Is it approx 1 week or 1 month? Right of the top of my head, I know that I do not have a birth certificate for my mother. I also know she would need a medical exam, but don't know what that entails and how long it takes.

How long does it take to receive the I-485 acknowledgement from the time I drop all these documents in the mail (assuming overnight Fedex/USPS)? I am just trying to ascertain if I can count on this happening with the next 1 month. What happens if I cancel her flight now and we don't receiver the I-485 receipt/acknowledgement?
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For the medical, she needs to make an appointment with an accepted civil surgeon, and maybe go back for a followup to the tests after a while. I would think the birth certificate would be the slowest part, as you would need relatives in her birth country to get it and mail it to you.

It doesn't matter if you file for AOS after she overstays. As the immediate relative of a U.S. citizen, that doesn't matter. So definitely cancel her flight. And just file it ASAP when you have everything ready.
 
Are you sure the application won't be affected if she overstays?
Assuming it takes 3 weeks to get all the paperwork done (including medical and birth certificate), when can I expected receipt of the I-485? Would it be a few days/weeks/months?
Also, what if I send in the application without a birth certificate for her?

newacct said:
For the medical, she needs to make an appointment with an accepted civil surgeon, and maybe go back for a followup to the tests after a while. I would think the birth certificate would be the slowest part, as you would need relatives in her birth country to get it and mail it to you.

It doesn't matter if you file for AOS after she overstays. As the immediate relative of a U.S. citizen, that doesn't matter. So definitely cancel her flight. And just file it ASAP when you have everything ready.
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The I-485 receipt takes about 2-3 weeks to arrive at your home. But it will be backdated to when USCIS received it, with a possible adjustment for business days (e.g. if it physically arrives on Wednesday the 21st at 6:30pm, the receipt date may be Thursday the 22nd. Or if it arrives on Saturday the receipt date would be the next Monday). So if the receipt date is before the I-94 expiration date, there would be no overstay.

She only needs to send a copy of her birth certificate (and more importantly your birth certificate because that is the primary evidence of the mother-child relationship), not the original. So if she already has a copy, or somebody can scan it and email it to you, you could use that. The original isn't required until the interview, so you'll have more time to get your hands on the original.

Overstays are forgiven for parents of US citizens who entered legally* and file I-485, so don't worry if the I-485 is a little late.


*except those who entered with the visa waiver, many of whom were denied for overstaying the 90 days ... however USCIS seems to be acting more leniently towards them recently. Not something for your mother to worry about, since she entered with a tourist visa.
 
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