Traveling outside before GC and withotu I-131

[JKD_88 0]

Please help me My wife's mother is sick, and she's very worried about her. Is there some way my wife could return to Brazil without her GC and without the I-131 and still be guaranteed that she'll be able to enter the country again? Is there a time limit that she has to stay in Brazil before coming back? Please I need answers... I have to work so I won't be able to go with her, would this look bad to the governement or whatever is judging our marriage?

[Barbarella UK 0]

Has your wife started her Adjustment of Status process yet?

She cannot return to the US without Advance Parole papers.

I would suggest that you start getting AOS paperwork together ASAP - and maybe she can then apply for Emergency Advanced Parole papers from your local USCIS office.

If she leaves without AP or GC then SHE WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO RETURN AND YOU WILL HAVE TO FILE FOR A WHOLE NEW VISA FOR HER - K3

Edited December 24, 2008 by Barbarella UK

[JKD_88 0]

What about the time she is allowed to stay there? She got here on a K-1 visa, we are married, does that mean anything? What about the fact that I can't go with her, will that look bad?

Edited December 24, 2008 by JKD_88

[Barbarella UK 0]

JKD:

IF YOUR WIFE LEAVES THE US (WITH OR WITHOUT YOU) SHE WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO RETURN TO THE US UNLESS SHE HAS ADVANCE PAROLE PAPERS IN HER HAND

She needs to apply for Advance Parole at your local USCIS office.

I don't know what effect the length of her departure will have when it comes to her Adjustment Of Status.

It makes no difference whatsoever if you go with her or not.

Edited December 24, 2008 by Barbarella UK

[JKD_88 0]

I haven't sent the papers in yet but I am planning to send my wife to spend christmas with her family in brazil next year, do you think by then she'll be able to leave the country if I send the papers in next month?

[Kathryn41 3,205]

If you apply for the AOS now, the AOS can be approved in as little as 3 months or take up to 2 years. 5 to 7 months seems to be more normal. Regardless, when you apply for AOS also apply for I-131 - Advance Parole. That should arrive within 3 months and is valid for one year. Your wife would be able to travel to her home country for Christmas next year and stay for a visit as long as she doesn't stay past the length of validity of the AP. If she has her Green Card she would be able to go for a visit and stay for up to 6 months without a problem. Anything longer than that would require additional documentation.

If your wife's mother is unwell, though, you will want to file for AOS and AP as soon as possible. Once those are filed, you can also request an Emergency AP if your mother-in-law's situation worsens and can get that fairly quickly. As long as you haven't filed the AOS your wife is without legal status in the US and has potential for problems with immigration; she is at risk until you file the AOS when her status again becomes legal. Being here on a K-1 and getting married carries no weight unless you complete the process - filing the AOS and getting the Green card as well. Until you do that and obtain the necessary documents your wife cannot leave the US and return without you starting all over again from the very beginning of the immigration process. If your wife did leave the US without starting the AOS process and has more than 180 days that she has been in the US without status she will incur a 3 year bar which means she would not be allowed back into the US for 3 years. This is a very important part of the process so please try not to delay much longer. She has been here 6 months already - 3 of those months without status. You are putting your wife at risk.

Good luck.

Edited December 26, 2008 by Kathryn41

[Kathryn41 3,205]

Please help me My wife's mother is sick, and she's very worried about her. Is there some way my wife could return to Brazil without her GC and without the I-131 and still be guaranteed that she'll be able to enter the country again? Is there a time limit that she has to stay in Brazil before coming back? Please I need answers... I have to work so I won't be able to go with her, would this look bad to the governement or whatever is judging our marriage?

To summarize: No, there is no way to guarantee your wife would be allowed back in the US if she leaves without her green card or her AP. She would, in fact, NOT be allowed back in the US whether you were with her or not. She needs either a green card or an AP in order to be allowed back.

Re: delaying getting her green card - even if she does get AP when you do file for AOS, if she has more than 180 days out of status at the time, the AP is useless. She would not be allowed back into the US even with the AP and would incur the 3 year ban.

The sooner you file, the sooner your wife will be able to visit her ailing mother and the less likely it is you would have to deal with re-starting the immigration process if she had to leave for emergency reasons.