Advice needed! Traveling before receiving Green Card

[Matt Z 0]

Hi Guys,

My wife's grandfather is celebrating his 80th birthday in China at end of March my wife is scheduled for her AOS interview on March 17th, there shouldn't be any issues with the approval. However, from what I read in this forum sometime the IO may do the "recommend for approval" instead of the immediate approval and stamp the temporary I-551.

So if we don't get the stamp and have to wait to receive her physical green card then we will most likely not be able to make her grandfather's birthday. I booked airline tickets on the 25th as spot holder.

So my question is, if my wife does not get the stamp, she still would have the I-94 card intact, so can we still depart for China on the 25th without receiving the physical card if the USCIS website shows approved? A family friend can just pick up our mail every day and fedex us the green card once its received, we'll be in China for at least 3-4 weeks.

Do you guys see any potential problems? Does it matter if she turns in the I-94 card or not on her way out?

Thank you!

Matt

[amykathleen2005 441]

Personally I would not travel without that green card in hand.

[Ryan H 3,810]

My advice is do not travel without the green card.

Edited March 12, 2011 by Ryan H

[Matt Z 0]

My advice is do not travel without the green card.

We would miss her grandfather's bday. If the card is confirmed to be on its way, is there anything illegal with leaving the country without physically receiving it?

[amykathleen2005 441]

You are welcome to leave the country whenever you want, it is if you want to risk all the money and time you put in getting the greencard if they don't let you back in.

[sciencenerd 56]

Hi Guys,

My wife's grandfather is celebrating his 80th birthday in China at end of March my wife is scheduled for her AOS interview on March 17th, there shouldn't be any issues with the approval. However, from what I read in this forum sometime the IO may do the "recommend for approval" instead of the immediate approval and stamp the temporary I-551.

So if we don't get the stamp and have to wait to receive her physical green card then we will most likely not be able to make her grandfather's birthday. I booked airline tickets on the 25th as spot holder.

So my question is, if my wife does not get the stamp, she still would have the I-94 card intact, so can we still depart for China on the 25th without receiving the physical card if the USCIS website shows approved? A family friend can just pick up our mail every day and fedex us the green card once its received, we'll be in China for at least 3-4 weeks.

Do you guys see any potential problems? Does it matter if she turns in the I-94 card or not on her way out?

Thank you!

Matt

Did you apply for AP? If so (and you're not adjusting status from an overstay), I believe you can use that until you get the green card. I wouldn't count on having the greencard before you go, though. And I wouldn't leave the country without it, but I do know there have been some folks on VJ who have done just that and then had someone check their mail and send them the greencard overseas so they had it to enter the US. That would make me really uneasy because there's so much that can go wrong, but it is possible.

[HeatDeath 430]

If she leaves the US after the interview, but before her AOS is officially approved, she will be in the exact same position as any AOS applicant traveling - she will need an AP document to reenter the US.

However, once her AOS is approved, her AP document will be null and void, and will not get her back into the US [unless the CBP officer at PoE is feeling nice and/or isn't paying much attention. Could happen, but never ever count on it!]. She will then need a GC in her hand at the time of PoE to get back into the US.

If she leaves the US without a GC, and is subsequently approved, you will need some way to get the GC to her before she can reenter the US. This is quite risky, because if the GC is lost in transit, she may have to undergo the expensive and massively inconvenient process of acquiring a travel document from the local US consulate to get back into the US [not to even mention the even more expensive and time consuming process of obtaining a replacement GC once she is back in the US!]. Most people here, myself included, are [quite reasonably] not comfortable recommending that risky a procedure.

Edited March 12, 2011 by HeatDeath

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

Hi Guys,

My wife's grandfather is celebrating his 80th birthday in China at end of March my wife is scheduled for her AOS interview on March 17th, there shouldn't be any issues with the approval. However, from what I read in this forum sometime the IO may do the "recommend for approval" instead of the immediate approval and stamp the temporary I-551.

So if we don't get the stamp and have to wait to receive her physical green card then we will most likely not be able to make her grandfather's birthday. I booked airline tickets on the 25th as spot holder.

So my question is, if my wife does not get the stamp, she still would have the I-94 card intact, so can we still depart for China on the 25th without receiving the physical card if the USCIS website shows approved? A family friend can just pick up our mail every day and fedex us the green card once its received, we'll be in China for at least 3-4 weeks.

Do you guys see any potential problems? Does it matter if she turns in the I-94 card or not on her way out?

Thank you!

Matt

In all likelihood, she won't have her I-94 anymore. The IO usually takes it at the interview.

You're taking a risk leaving without the green card in hand. Bad things happen, and Murphy is always waiting with his infamous law to prove it. The approval could get held up. You could get called back for a second interview - out of the country and unable to return, the green card would be denied. Fedex could lose the green card. The possibilities are simply endless.

Try to persuade the IO to stamp her passport with the I-551 stamp.

[caeremonarius 26]

If you're recommended for approval at interview, you can ask for an I-551 stamp. You can even explain the situation and show the ticket. My wife's grandmother is 93 years old, and right after our interview, we asked IO about returning to Spain if something were to happen to her (grandma) before getting the physical GC. Our attorney said we'd be able get the I-551 (which is the SAME THING as a physical GC) if we showed our ticket and explained the situation at an Infopass appointment.

The points above are well taken, though. Don't leave without the physical GC or stamp in your passport. The AP is no longer valid if the GC is approved, so it can't be used to enter the States. I wouldn't trust the mail or any carrier with the GC. The only situation I can think of where I'd have let my wife leave without her GC before getting it would have been if I would have followed her immediately with the GC.

Good luck!

AJ

[Krikit 1,163]

Merging two threads from two different AOS sections and moving to the Travel forum.

[Darnell 8,478]

one of the two freebies when filing the AOS package is the Advanced Parole form.

Did you file that when filing the I-485? Yes? No?

Is possible to file for emergency AP after the I-485 was submitted, suggest you get an infopass appointment, set it up, arrange for the biometrics soonish.

Edited March 12, 2011 by Darnell

[BMW4me 12]

persuade the IO/insist on i-551 stamp

if not

don't travel, surely i wouldn't!

i understand family's important, above all else but this process is serious!! gotta think about what ifs ( i always like to think the worst case scenarios)

Edited March 12, 2011 by vkn & jsb

[caeremonarius 26]

one of the two freebies when filing the AOS package is the Advanced Parole form.

Did you file that when filing the I-485? Yes? No?

Is possible to file for emergency AP after the I-485 was submitted, suggest you get an infopass appointment, set it up, arrange for the biometrics soonish.

Again, the AP is irrelevant once the OP's wife is approved for her GC. GC holders can't use an AP to re-enter the country. That's what the GC is for! At our interview, we were told specifically NOT to use the AP if we planned on leaving the country before receiving the physical GC. If we needed to leave the country, we were told to get the I-551 stamp (which, again, is the same thing as a GC) by making an Infopass appointment, showing our plane tickets and explaining the situation.

As Jim and others suggested above (and as I recommended in my previous post), the OP's best bet is, if the interview goes well and the IO recommends for approval, explain the situation, show your plane ticket and ask for an I-551 stamp. AP and I-94 aren't relevant if your wife is considered a GC holder after the interview.

Good luck!

AJ

Edited March 12, 2011 by caeremonarius

[Darnell 8,478]

Again, the AP is irrelevant once the OP's wife is approved for her GC.

AP is relevant prior to GC issuance. They show some 'need' to travel prior to GC issuance, hence my post about AP and inquiry for 'if AP forms were filed concurrently with the AOS package'.

Still wanna know if the OP actually filed for AP with the AOS package, or not.

[Krikit 1,163]

Again, the AP is irrelevant once the OP's wife is approved for her GC. GC holders can't use an AP to re-enter the country. That's what the GC is for!

Quasi true. If you are out of the country when your GC is approved and delivered, you can still re-enter using the AP.