Do approval of AP and AP forms come at the same time?

[mazy_mae 0]

Help!

My husband are two months into waiting for his green card, and were supposed to travel today to Norway for his parents' 30th wedding anniversary celebration. We had pretty much given up hope that we would be able to go as we hadn't received any word on his I-131, Application for travel document, submitted two months ago. Today when we checked the USCIS site, it says they mailed us approval on February 4.

My question is: do the approval notice and the AP documents come at the same time? Our flight has been cancelled due to the snow in the Northeast and we're wondering if we should cancel for a refund, or if we can rebook assuming that we will receive the actual travel documents in the mail in time to travel within the next few days.

Thank you thank you thank you all for your help!

[Kathryn41 3,205]

You can't leave the US without the AP document in hand as your husband will need it to re-enter the US. If he doesn't have either the AP or the green card they won't allow him on the plane to return to the US, and they would turn him back at the US border as well.

So, the AP was approved on the 4th which is good news. Hopefully you should receive it within the next few days - although the snowstorm affecting the flight travels could also delay its arrival. If there is anyway to cancel the current tickets but hold them open to try and re-schedule when you do receive the AP you could try that. If not, then cancel for the refund and then when you receive the AP - ideally next week - you can rebook your tickets and hopefully not lose too much money in the process. You really need the AP in hand before you travel.

Now, since the AP has been approved and issued, technically he could leave the US and it would not cause his AOS application to be abandoned. His problem will be that the AP document is in the US and he is out of the US. There would need to be some way to get the AP document to him in Norway before he could return to the US. The problems with that is that the AP document could get lost in the mail either before it reaches your address (which is why you don't schedule a flight until the AP is in your hand) - in which case he would be marooned outside of the US - or lost or delayed on its way overseas which would have the same effect. So, as tempting as it might be to leave with it approved but not received it is also tempting fate in ways that might cause a lot of difficulties to resolve.

I hope it arrives quickly and you are able to re-arrange your tickets so you can travel shortly after its arrival.

Edited February 6, 2010 by Kathryn41

[Nik+Heather 121]

In our case, the approval notice came AFTER the AP documents. They arrived 6 days after approval, notice arrived more than a week after.