Advanced Parole

[Kathie2009 0]

Hi....I posted a question couple of days ago but when I checked it...it was gone... Oh oh I am new here so maybe I posted it somewhere..Well, I really need your help guys. I came to US thru K1 last November 2009 and followed all the requirements, etc. I have received already my Employment Authorization ID. Now, I need to back to the Philippines. I was granted Advanced Parole. I am a little bit scared bout this because there is no clear instructions on what to do. How many months should I stay there? I mean the allowable length of stay out of USA. What are the things I need to bring with me? Are they gonna ask me about all the documents? or they just need the marriage certificate? I was held at the immigration office last time due to incomplete papers and it was kind of traumatic for me. I want to make sure this time that I have all the necessary papers they will require for me to come back to US after visiting my sick mother in the Philippines.

Thank you so much in advance. I hope and pray you can enlighten me about this.

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

When you arrived in the US with the K1 visa you would have filled out an I-94 card. The CBP officer would have taken this card, stamped an expiration date on it (90 days from the day you entered) and stapled it into your passport. As long as your green card application was accepted by USCIS less than 180 days after the expiration date on the I-94, then you should be able to use your AP without any problems. You don't need your marriage certificate. You only need your passport and the I-512L AP document to return to the US.

If your AOS application was accepted more than 180 days after your I-94 expired (which isn't likely, if you entered last November) then you MUST NOT LEAVE THE US, EVEN WITH THE AP DOCUMENT. Overstaying by more than 180 days will incur an automatic 3 year ban which the AP document will not overcome. There is a warning about this on the I-512L.

There is an expiration date on the I-512L AP document. It is usually one year from the date the AP was approved. However, if you are given an AOS interview date then you MUST be back in the US to attend the interview. If you miss the interview then your green card will be denied, and your AP will become invalid. You might not be permitted back into the US.

Interview appointments are usually sent at least two or three weeks before the interview. It would be prudent not to plan a trip abroad for longer than this amount of time.