Urgent Help on Advance Parole usage

S

sg1973

Registered Users (C)
Hello,
I have a question on using Advance Parole to travel outside the country and the possibility of 485 getting approved/denied while away.
We recently went out of US and came back using Advance Parole.
As soon as we got back, due to an unfortunate loss, my wife wants to go back to be with her family for a couple of months.
We have the finger prints scheduled for end of March. So she is planning to travel after the FP date. Her Advance Parole is valid for another 4 months.

However, my lawyer advised us against long trips after FP as she thinks the 485 may get approved after FP, while my wife is away, and if its approved, my wife won't be able to enter back using the Advance Parole.
I am completely confused as my understanding was Advance Parole is used to enter into the country incase the 485 gets approved while away, in which case we cannot use any other visas. I have seen many of the experts on these forums suggest the same.
I am not sure what to do now as my wife desperately wants to go to her family.
Please advise on the possibilities.

Thanks in advance.
SG
 
sg1973 said:
However, my lawyer advised us against long trips after FP as she thinks the 485 may get approved after FP, while my wife is away, and if its approved, my wife won't be able to enter back using the Advance Parole.
I am completely confused as my understanding was Advance Parole is used to enter into the country incase the 485 gets approved while away, in which case we cannot use any other visas. I have seen many of the experts on these forums suggest the same.
I
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Your attorney has very little knowledge about immigration rules. I hope his/her bill is not big. There is no problem to use AP for re-entry when I-485 gets approved while staying abroad. Many people in this forum did that. Search this forum.
It's a question of basic common sense. If you have an valid AP but cannot travel then what's the purpose of having AP (or spending money for it)? It defeats the very purpose of AP. Did USCIS tell your attorney the exact timeline when your wife's case will be approved? It can be approved within few days after FP or it can take more than a year after that.

As a side note, I-485 approval does not make any existing H1/L1/H4/L2 visa invalid automatically. In fact it's perfectly OK to use those dual-intent visas for first time re-entry after approval (in case someone does not have AP).
 
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Thanks

Thanks for the response.
I thought the same and I found the same information on the forums.
However, I am not sure why I got this info from my lawyer. She has been very good so far in that I got my 140, applied using substituted labor, approved in 3 months and everything else (EAD/AP for my self and my wife) approved as well without any issues.
That makes me think whether the lawyer is playing it safe thinking of the remote possibility of 485 getting into any issues, in which case my wife can't come back with her AP. However, she has a valid H4 visa, not stamped though. So not sure how that would work.. any thoughts?

Other than that, i can't think of any other reason why she cannot travel on AP.

Thanks,
SG
 
Calling VSC

I am even thinking of calling VSC to confirm this.
Can anyone provide me the number to call?

Thanks,
SG
 
sg1973 said:
Thanks for the response.
I thought the same and I found the same information on the forums.
However, I am not sure why I got this info from my lawyer. She has been very good so far in that I got my 140, applied using substituted labor, approved in 3 months and everything else (EAD/AP for my self and my wife) approved as well without any issues.
That makes me think whether the lawyer is playing it safe thinking of the remote possibility of 485 getting into any issues, in which case my wife can't come back with her AP. However, she has a valid H4 visa, not stamped though. So not sure how that would work.. any thoughts?

Other than that, i can't think of any other reason why she cannot travel on AP.
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Some attorneys are good at processing-oriented jobs (filling up immigration forms, preparing and then filing applications), but they hardly put any effort to know "other" rules.

Just valid H4 approval is not enough. She needs H4 stamp on her passport to enter. She can get a new stamp before I485 approval, but not after I485 approval (sometimes consulate can grant that one too, but it's better not to apply after approval).
But she has AP. So why worry about H4 stamp.
 
Thanks and..

Thanks Pralay for the reply,
I was referring to H4 stamping incase the lawyer advised against travelling outside due to a remote possibility of 485 getting into issues. so if someone's 485 gets into issues while they are away, they might still be able to go to the consulate and get the H4 stamped, though they might have used the AP before.
correct me if I am wrong.
I have checked with my friend's attorney and they also confirmed that she can travel and come back using AP.

SG
 
sg1973 said:
so if someone's 485 gets into issues while they are away, they might still be able to go to the consulate and get the H4 stamped, though they might have used the AP before.
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Yes, she can apply for a new H4 stamp before her I-485 approval. Using AP in past is not a factor here.
 
pralay said:
Yes, she can apply for a new H4 stamp before her I-485 approval. Using AP in past is not a factor here.
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Just make sure you are maintaining H1 status, and do not use EAD. If you lose your H1 status, she cannot go for visa stamping.
 
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