Travel to US during time between NIW and GC

expredator

New Member
Hi,

so the title sums up my question. I earned a PhD earlier this year from a US university and decided to return to my home country for some unfinished business. I want to tie loose ends over the next 1.5 years and return to the US in 2020 for good. Is there any harm in submitting an NIW petition some time soon, even if I may get (hopefully) an approval say next summer? I plan on travelling to the US on a B and/or F1 visa until I'm ready to return with a GC. Would it look bad/weird to the customs officer when he sees that I have an approved I-140, yet travel with a non-immigrant visa?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.
 
I should perhaps add that I could well get the GC and travel with that, I'm just not sure how it looks to the customs officers when they see me travelling with a GC for matters not related to what I got the GC for.
 
Your last question/comment is puzzling: if you can get a GC, get it ASAP. Later on, if needed, you can get a reentry permit.

I got my GC in the NIW category over 3 years ago. As a GC holder you're allowed to travel abroad without a problem as long as you actually reside in the US and spend most of the time in the US. I've been out of the country for at least 10 times since I got the GC (short periods), and was never asked upon my return how was my visit abroad related, if at all, to my research/scholarship for which I was granted the GC. They only ask you what do you do for a living, and how long were you abroad.


There's no harm in waiting to submit your I-140 application, but as things are getting tougher under the current administration, I wouldn't postpone it.
 
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