Travelled: Without AP approval - Unstamped H1B

lef

New Member
Here is my situation. I am on H1B(unstamped) and applied for I-485 in Aug 07. I also applied for AP in Aug 07 because I wanted to travel outside the US in Dec 07. Since I did not get my AP by that time I had to travel without it and immediately applied for H1B stamping at the US embassy. I was told that I needed the "administrative processing" aka background check.

Then all of a sudden the AP was issued in Feb 08(I have no idea why it took so long) and I have finally received it now but I am still waiting for the background check for my H1B stamping(It has been 3 months now). Now my lawyer says that I should withdraw my H1B visa application and instead come to the US using my AP. I read on this forum that you cannot use the AP if you leave the US before it is issued. Is that true? What should I do considering that there is no way of knowing how long the background check for my H1B stamping is going to take(there have been cases of it taking 3 years here)?
Thanks.
 
Your lawyer is mistaken. Legally, you cannot use your AP since it was issued after you left the US. Could you still enter the US with it? Possibly, due to officer error at the point of entry or humanitarian reasons. But the safe (and legal) thing to do is wait for your visa. It shouldn't take 3 years in 2008, maybe it did in 2003. Unless you're from N. Korea or Iran or something.
 
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