Purpose of i-131

[Yuriy 0]

Hi, all

My AOS application process has gotten to i-131. Is this form meant to allow a specific trip or to generally allow the applicant (in this case a K-1 and a K-2) to travel outside of the US (while waiting for AOS)? The application seems to indicate the former, that is, if you plan on making a specific trip, you file an i-131, checking "d" in Part 2 and filling out Part 7 with specific dates and purposes of visit.

My wife and stepson do not have any trips planned outside the US, while waiting for their AOS, but would like to have the ability to go to Canada "on demand". If I understand i-131 correctly, they would need to wait till such a trip is a bit more definite and then file an i-131 for it.

Yuriy

[HeatDeath 430]

Hi, all

My AOS application process has gotten to i-131. Is this form meant to allow a specific trip or to generally allow the applicant (in this case a K-1 and a K-2) to travel outside of the US (while waiting for AOS)? The application seems to indicate the former, that is, if you plan on making a specific trip, you file an i-131, checking "d" in Part 2 and filling out Part 7 with specific dates and purposes of visit.

My wife and stepson do not have any trips planned outside the US, while waiting for their AOS, but would like to have the ability to go to Canada "on demand". If I understand i-131 correctly, they would need to wait till such a trip is a bit more definite and then file an i-131 for it.

Yuriy

There is a checkbox on the form that asks if you will use it for multiple trips. Check yes, and the resulting AP will be marked as good for multiple entires. In the part where they ask for specific details of your trip, just put anything you have tentatively planned, or you can probably even just get away with saying "to be determined." Just follow the example form, and do up the attachment letter with 2-3 reasonable sounding reasons for potential travel, and it'll be fine. The AP approval isn't a harsh adjudication process like a visa or AOS interview - they'll issue them to pretty much anybody, probably no matter what they put on the form.

At the time I filled mine out my brother had very tentative wedding plans, so I indicated an intention to attend his wedding, and it's approximate intended date. It didn't end up happening that way, but USCIS don't really care. Secondary reasons for travel I put on the attachment letter were "possible future health emergencies involving elderly grandmother," and "miscellaneous visits to family and friends".

Basically, the travel plans you indicate don't have to be very concrete. It's not like they check on you later to see if you actually used the AP documents, much less that you used them for the stated reasons. I'm pretty sure the vast majority of AP docs never get used at all. Mine never did. Like yours, they're mostly just for potential emergencies. Just follow the example here, indicate 2-3 vague but reasonably plausible reasons to travel, with a vague but reasonable intended date of travel [Filing in September 2009, I indicated an intended travel date of Jan-Feb 2010, and my GC ended up being approved on Dec 1, 2009. So the date can be quite a ways off], and it'll be fine.