Wife and I about to file for AOS

[kevinsu 0]

Hi all:

I stumbled on this site and it looks like the perfect resource for us.

My wife is currently (legally) in the US on her OPT of her F-1 student visa. She has EAD through the OPT, but we're filing another with the AOS. We're just waiting for her to get her civil surgeons exam before we're going to file.

We live in the Boston, MA area.

A couple questions:

1. Although we live in Boston, we're supposed to file everything at the Chicago office, correct?

2. It looks like the general wait time between filing and AOS interview is +- 6 months. Any way to speed this up?

3. I am a licensed attorney, but I don't practice immigration law. As far as I know there is nothing about the legal practice that would prevent me from saying that I could practice immigration law. Should I bother filling out an attorney certification? Will it make the process faster? Or just more complicated?

4. I read somewhere that at the end of a successful AOS interview, the foreign spouse's passport will be stamped with a temporary green card "stamp." Is this true? Will she be able to travel on it, or should we just wait until the actual card comes in the mail?

5. We're applying for Advanced Parole to allow her to, hopefully, go back to her native country and see her parents. Her father recently had open chest surgery. Any tips on what to write to get this approved? Should we do multiple or single visit? Will we have to explain the multiple visit aspect in the letter?

Thanks. This forum is great.

Kevin

[WalCruz 0]

Hey, I'm gonna try to answer some of your questions! Guys, correct me if I write something wrong!

1. Correct. Everybody from all States file at the Chicago LockBox.

2. No. If there were any way to speed up, I think everybody would try that! (LOL)

3. I don't really know, but I don't think it will make any difference if you fill out an attorney certification. About the speeding up thing, I don't thing this is a reason to speed your AOS process up. (Sorry)

4. Some offices use the stamp at the passport, others don't. But if she DOES get a stamp on hers, than she can use it without a problem to travel to her Country.

5. I don't know this one because I didn't apply for AP.

I hope my answers helped a little!

[am1996 0]

Kevin, I was also curious about the statutory authority that specifies the parameters for AP applications. The statutory authority on this issue seems to be in 8 USC 1255a(B )(3)(A), which states the following:

"The Attorney General shall, in accordance with regulations, permit the alien to return to the United States after such brief and casual trips abroad as reflect an intention on the part of the alien to adjust to lawful permanent resident status under paragraph (1) and after brief temporary trips abroad occasioned by a family obligation involving an occurrence such as the illness or death of a close relative or other family need."

In other words, it appears that "any family need" is sufficient to allow us to qualify for AP. I also took a brief look at the cases and do not see any that would seem to conflict with the information in the above post, so it appears that USCIS has no discretion but to approve AP petitions that demonstrate such "family need" for AP.

I would definitely like to hear if people's practical experience with AP applications have been different.