Travelling with AP

S

snk

New Member
Hi all,
I am doing my AOS through marriage, and have received my EAD and AP. I would like to travel in a month with the AP and have heard horror stories about people being detained outside the US - does this happen and if so, under what circumstances? Also, I was illegal for a few years (FI expired) - will this be a problem? Thanks!
 
AP will not help your illegal stay. Better wait for the GC approval before under taking any travel.
 
Hi - so why would they send me an AP if I have to wait for GC? BTW I'm not illegal any more, I'm married to a citizen and have my EAD and AP... why issue an AP if I have to wait for my GC to travel??
 
If you were out of status for more than a year, then you will be banned for entry into the U.S. for 10 years. You should contact your lawyer to make sure you can get back in before you leave.
 
Hi there - thanks for the replies. Wow - I've never heard of this. My question remains - why would they grant AP if it won't let me back in?? I'm confused. Even if I carry my 485 receipt and EAD? I'm not out of status now, doesn't that mean anything? Thank you!
 
snk said:
Hi there - thanks for the replies. Wow - I've never heard of this. My question remains - why would they grant AP if it won't let me back in?? I'm confused. Even if I carry my 485 receipt and EAD? I'm not out of status now, doesn't that mean anything? Thank you!
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Please see the instructions on the AP form. Specifically on page 2 on the right column -- the big box labeled "Travel Warning".
According to that its unlawful to overstay & you may trigger the 3 or 10 yr ban. Let me quote from that section:

=======
If you have been unlawfully present in the United States for one year
or more, you may be inadmissible for ten years from the date of departure
regardless of whether you left before, during or after removal proceedings.

Although advance parole may allow you to return to the
United States, your departure may trigger the three- or ten-year bar,
if you accrued more than 180 days of unlawful presence BEFORE the date
you were considered to be in a period of authorized stay.
=======

No idea why they would actually issue you an AP ... but yeah check with an attorney as the consequences don't appear trivial
 
snk said:
Hi there - thanks for the replies. Wow - I've never heard of this. My question remains - why would they grant AP if it won't let me back in?? I'm confused. Even if I carry my 485 receipt and EAD? I'm not out of status now, doesn't that mean anything? Thank you!
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I presume USCIS has issued you an AP based on the fact that your AOS petition is pending and at this point they do not examine somebody's lawful/unlawful presence in the past. This examination happens when your case is assigned to an INS officer. If an officer decides later to deny your AOS petition for some reason, it would automatically invalidate your AP & EAD.

Consult your lawyer - non of us know your case in details.
 
snk said:
Sorry - please note that by "illegal" I mean Out of Status.... (F1 expired)
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Looks like you were here illegally and not 'out of status'. If your I-94 expires then you are considered illegal, whereas if you violate the visa status then you are considered 'out of status'. e.g. A person on H4 takes employment. So please wake up and realize that just by marrying a citizen you may npt be safe. During 485 adjudication your 'I was illegal for a few years (FI expired)' may come back to haunt you.

Bottomline is DO not leave the country under any circumstance, whatsoever. You will not be allowed back in even though you have a valid AP. Being illegally present for a few years (!!!) is a big problem.
 
Travel with AP

Hi all,
i have a question. I was on a F1 Student visa for 4 years in college. On the visa itself there are dates :08/1999 - 05/2004 and then above it there is a Issue Date of 08/99 and Expiration Date of 08/2000, that is because i never travelled outside of US during college. So my question is, will i have problems with that when i travel soon on my AP ??? Please advise if you have any info. Thanks in advance.
p.s. I was never in a illegal or out of status before and want to know if anyone had any problems with entering bakc the US on Advance Parole?
 
sertra2002 said:
So please wake up and realize that just by marrying a citizen you may npt be safe. During 485 adjudication your 'I was illegal for a few years (FI expired)' may come back to haunt you.
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Actually, marriage to a US citizen means that any out of status periods or illegal presence is irrelevant at I-485 ajudication time. It's like 245i, except without the fine or sunset.

That being said, the 3/10 year bars will apply before permanent residency is obtained. If you even *think* you are subject to the bars, see a lawyer before you leave the US.
 
TheRealCanadian said:
Actually, marriage to a US citizen means that any out of status periods or illegal presence is irrelevant at I-485 ajudication time. It's like 245i, except without the fine or sunset.

That being said, the 3/10 year bars will apply before permanent residency is obtained. If you even *think* you are subject to the bars, see a lawyer before you leave the US.
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So it sounds like 3/10 years bars would apply to a person who is travelling on AP since I-485 is not adjucated yet.

However the best advise was already given - to contact a lawyer. And a good lawyer.
 
JJBBKK said:
Hi all,
i have a question. I was on a F1 Student visa for 4 years in college. On the visa itself there are dates :08/1999 - 05/2004 and then above it there is a Issue Date of 08/99 and Expiration Date of 08/2000, that is because i never travelled outside of US during college. So my question is, will i have problems with that when i travel soon on my AP ??? Please advise if you have any info. Thanks in advance.
p.s. I was never in a illegal or out of status before and want to know if anyone had any problems with entering bakc the US on Advance Parole?
Click to expand...

JJBBKK,

You have messed up something in your message - what do you mean by "then above it there is a Issue Date"? What dates are on your visa and what dates are (or were) on your I-94? Not visa but I-94 determines how long you can stay in the country.
 
DaG said:
JJBBKK,

You have messed up something in your message - what do you mean by "then above it there is a Issue Date"? What dates are on your visa and what dates are (or were) on your I-94? Not visa but I-94 determines how long you can stay in the country.
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OH Sorry,
My I-94 has the following stamp: August 1999 (tahts when i arrived) and then below it says "Admitted Until________ and in handwriting it says F1/D15 - what is that mean????
At the same time on my visa it says: Issue Date Jun1999; Expiry Date Jun2000. And then below there is an Annotation: I-20 University of ....., Business Administration 08/20/1999 To 05/31/2004.
Hopefully this is more clear. Can anyone assist? I know the F1 is for 5 years since its a student visa but i dont want to have any problems with the Officer in the airport.
Thank you.
 
Can anyone assist with one more question:
When travelling with Advance Parole, do i need to go to the immigration office in my country before leaving? Or do i just present the AP, tickets and other documents to the Offiicer at the Airport? How Does it Work? please help
thank you
 
It is F1/DS ( Duration of Study ) and not F1/D15. It means that the I-94 is valid till you graduate from the degree mentioned in the I-20 you initially enrolled. So the question is when did you graduate? Because after that date you are technically accuring illegal stay unless you changed to other status like H1-B. And if you did get H1-B then you should have the new I-94 which comes along with the I-797 notice of action ala approval letter. That determines the length of your legal stay.


HTH
 
JJBBKK said:
OH Sorry,
My I-94 has the following stamp: August 1999 (tahts when i arrived) and then below it says "Admitted Until________ and in handwriting it says F1/D15 - what is that mean????
At the same time on my visa it says: Issue Date Jun1999; Expiry Date Jun2000. And then below there is an Annotation: I-20 University of ....., Business Administration 08/20/1999 To 05/31/2004.
Hopefully this is more clear. Can anyone assist? I know the F1 is for 5 years since its a student visa but i dont want to have any problems with the Officer in the airport.
Thank you.
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JJBBKK,

Unfortunately it doesn't make your situation more clear. Again, validity of your visa only shows the period of time, within which you can enter US - in your case between 06/1999 and 06/2000. At the POE the Immigration Officer makes a decision how long you can stay in US - this what "Admitted Until" line is for and you have to follow that date but not the one on your visa if you are not going to travel after your visa expiration date. I don't believe that "Admitted Until" was left empty for you (F1/D15 is the class of your visa). So if your I-94 card(s) covers the whole time which you spent in US and you have never been out of status, you are not going to have any problems using AP now. If not - consult your lawyer.
 
hathwar said:
It is F1/DS ( Duration of Study ) and not F1/D15. It means that the I-94 is valid till you graduate from the degree mentioned in the I-20 you initially enrolled. HTH
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Oh, OK - it makes sense. I am not very familiar with F1 visas. But still you have to be covered by I-94 the whole time.
 
JJBBKK said:
Can anyone assist with one more question:
When travelling with Advance Parole, do i need to go to the immigration office in my country before leaving? Or do i just present the AP, tickets and other documents to the Offiicer at the Airport? How Does it Work? please help
thank you
Click to expand...

AP is for US Immigration only. Depending on the country you are from, you might be asked to show an AP going through the passport control at the airport and your airlines may ask for a copy to make sure you are allowed to enter US since they would be penalized for bringing somebody without a visa.
 
Traveling with Advance Parole

Hi all,
my wife and i have never been out of status in the US. our last H-1B/H4 extension expired in August 2007 and we have applied for another 1-year extension. while this is still pending, we received EAD & AP for both of us, valid through next August.
We want to travel to India in December. Before posting (and consulting the experienced members) on this forum, i emailed my lawyer about it, and she replied as follows

If he leaves prior to the approval of the H-1B/H-4 Extension both will be considered abandoned and denied. However, since they both have valid advance paroles and EAD card they can forego their H-1B/H-4 status and use the advance parole and EAD card to work and travel.
If they can wait it is best to travel after the H-1B/H-4 extension is approved and apply for the H-1B/H-4 visa stamps so they will have an underlying H-1B/H-4 status.
now, while we can hope for the approvals to arrive before December, since we have APs, we don't want to go to the consulate to get H visas stamped again... this is a huge pain. Also, in spite of EAD/AP, would we have trouble at re-entry because we had valid H approvals and did not get H visas stamped? to which she responded
If they enter the US using the APV they will no longer be in H-1B/H-4 status even with H-1B/H-4 Approval Notices.

So my question to the forum is, is that correct? of course we don't want to lose our H status (invaluable backup in case 140 gets rejected). I read many posts here about people re-entering using AP... of course they would be also on some non-immigrant status at the same time, if i am not mistaken..? In other words could we not re-enter with AP and have the H approvals (not visa stamps) as backup when we are here?

thanks for your patience in reading and i'll look forward to replies.
 
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