AP - How long can you stay outside the U.S. consecutively

[Gypsee_traveller 0]

Hey all,

My wife and I applied for the AP and should get it soon. Her mom, who's sick, lives in Germany and my wife needs to be with her. We've called the USCIS hotline several times, but no one can tell us how long my wife can stay in Germany without it adversely affecting her green card application status. Ideally, we'd like her to stay there for approx. 2 months. Need to buy the ticket soon, but without knowing the rules, I can't determine her return date. Does anyone know what the regulations are regarding the number of consecutive days you can remain outside the United States on an AP without jeapordizing your PRA status?

Thanks in advance

Gypsee_traveller

[Sweetgirl 0]

Hey all,

My wife and I applied for the AP and should get it soon. Her mom, who's sick, lives in Germany and my wife needs to be with her. We've called the USCIS hotline several times, but no one can tell us how long my wife can stay in Germany without it adversely affecting her green card application status. Ideally, we'd like her to stay there for approx. 2 months. Need to buy the ticket soon, but without knowing the rules, I can't determine her return date. Does anyone know what the regulations are regarding the number of consecutive days you can remain outside the United States on an AP without jeapordizing your PRA status?

Thanks in advance

Gypsee_traveller

HI! If you are travelling abroad with AP,you can stay outside of the U.S no more then 6 month., if you are planning to stay longer you should obtain a reentry permit.

Take care!

Sincerely.

P/S. ,but i would suggest toy ou to wait for the Conditional Card ,its not gonna take a long time .

[Gypsee_traveller 0]

Hey all,

My wife and I applied for the AP and should get it soon. Her mom, who's sick, lives in Germany and my wife needs to be with her. We've called the USCIS hotline several times, but no one can tell us how long my wife can stay in Germany without it adversely affecting her green card application status. Ideally, we'd like her to stay there for approx. 2 months. Need to buy the ticket soon, but without knowing the rules, I can't determine her return date. Does anyone know what the regulations are regarding the number of consecutive days you can remain outside the United States on an AP without jeapordizing your PRA status?

Thanks in advance

Gypsee_traveller

HI! If you are travelling abroad with AP,you can stay outside of the U.S no more then 6 month., if you are planning to stay longer you should obtain a reentry permit.

Take care!

Sincerely.

Sweet girl,

Thanks for the quick response. Regarding the 6 month parameter, I was under the impression that applied to people who already had green cards, and not those still awaiting approval for a green card. Not sure if my message was clear enough. Does this make a difference? Thanks again, gypsee_traveller.

P/S. ,but i would suggest toy ou to wait for the Conditional Card ,its not gonna take a long time .

[Boiler 45,486]

There are no time limits for AP, I am guessing that it was never thought of as an issue when the regulations were drafted.

AOS I believe was not supposed to take so long, the AP was for use during the short wait and then for emergency purposes.

Now you can people wait years and AP's are given out freely.

I have seen the question raised several times, at least once on another board where an immigration lawyer contributed.

I have seen reference to some who have gone home to await their interview, I have seen others talking about being away for 6 months.

I have yet to see anybody post who has had an issue returning after a very long stay.

2 months does not strike me as long, I did 4 weeks.

Edited May 26, 2006 by Boiler

[Gypsee_traveller 0]

Boiler,

Thanks for the info. Maybe that is why no one at USCIS could answer my question or find info in the regs to support one.

Gypsee_traveller

[Satellite 1]

Does anyone know what the regulations are regarding the number of consecutive days you can remain outside the United States on an AP without jeapordizing your PRA status?

Just to clarify. If PRA means permanent resident status, then as an AP holder you would not have it by virtue of needing at least a green card, I-551 Stamp, or some kind of adjudication of your AOS application, thus you can't put it in jeopardy by being out a long time on AP. That being said like Boiler commented, you can be out of the country as long as your AP is valid and you must return before it expires or to be present at your interview date if it is scheduled before the AP expires.

If you are travelling abroad with AP,you can stay outside of the U.S no more then 6 month.

This is false. See above for explanation.

f you are planning to stay longer you should obtain a reentry permit.

A reentry permit will not be granted to an AP holder. Those are reserved to green card holders only.

would suggest [you] wait for the Conditional Card...its not gonna take a long time.

Depending on your jurisdiction and local office the wait time can vary drastically from a few months up to a few years. Waiting for a conditional card might not be the best course of action for people who are in the lengthy extremes.

[Yodrak 7]

Satellite,

I suspect that the 'P' in Gypsee_traveller's PRA acronym stands for 'pending'. (It would be nice to know what he meant by the full acronym.)

Yodrak

Does anyone know what the regulations are regarding the number of consecutive days you can remain outside the United States on an AP without jeapordizing your PRA status?

Just to clarify. If PRA means permanent resident status, then as an AP holder you would not have it by virtue of needing at least a green card, I-551 Stamp, or some kind of adjudication of your AOS application, thus you can't put it in jeopardy by being out a long time on AP. That being said like Boiler commented, you can be out of the country as long as your AP is valid and you must return before it expires or to be present at your interview date if it is scheduled before the AP expires.

Edited May 30, 2006 by Yodrak

[meauxna 15]

There are no time limits for AP, I am guessing that it was never thought of as an issue when the regulations were drafted.

AOS I believe was not supposed to take so long, the AP was for use during the short wait and then for emergency purposes.

Now you can people wait years and AP's are given out freely.

I have seen the question raised several times, at least once on another board where an immigration lawyer contributed.

I have seen reference to some who have gone home to await their interview, I have seen others talking about being away for 6 months.

I have yet to see anybody post who has had an issue returning after a very long stay.

2 months does not strike me as long, I did 4 weeks.

I researched this not long ago and picked through regulations, the law, newsgroup postings and articles. I could find NO time limit for AP other than the validity of the AP document itself.

Edited May 30, 2006 by meauxna

[Yodrak 7]

Boiler,

My wife did 10 weeks.

Yodrak

...

I have yet to see anybody post who has had an issue returning after a very long stay.

2 months does not strike me as long, I did 4 weeks.

[bamdame 0]

Good info - Thanks!