Emergency travel to Canada after filing for AOS

[ACanAmCouple 0]

Today I received my NOAs for my recent I-485/I-130 applications... so my paperwork is officially under review. Since getting these in the mail earlier this afternoon, I received a phone call from back home to inform me that my grandfather has passed away.

Obviously filing for advanced parole won't work due to the time frame I'd be looking at (feel free to correct me if I'm wrong) and I know ideally you just shouldn't leave the US during the AOS process... but has anyone left the US under similar circumstances? Is my re-admittance left up to the discretion of the officer at the border when I would cross back into the US? Or would my crossing back in be automatically denied because of my paperwork filed/intent to immigrate?

(For context: I'm a Canadian citizen, last crossed to visit my (then) long-time boyfriend and his family for the holidays, got engaged... civil ceremony just after the new year, and concurrently filed I-130/I-485. Also, my husband and I are now expecting, so going back home for the funeral services and not being able to get back to the US is really not an option.)

Any insight is appreciated. I'm obviously preparing for and expecting that there isn't much hope for me to get back home, but I figure its worth checking if anyone else has experienced something similar, or knows whether it is a risk worth taking.

Thanks in advance

[amykathleen2005 441]

Do not leave unless you have proper clearance. Schedule an infopass appointment at your local USCIS. Bring as much proof as you can about your need to go to Canada, hopefully they will give you emergency AP.

[canadian_wife 1,822]

Agreed, leaving the US means an abandonment of AOS. Make an infopass apt and inquire about emergency AP

http://infopass.uscis.gov/

Good luck

[Kathryn41 3,205]

ACanamCouple wrote:

Obviously filing for advanced parole won't work due to the time frame I'd be looking at (feel free to correct me if I'm wrong) and I know ideally you just shouldn't leave the US during the AOS process... but has anyone left the US under similar circumstances? Is my re-admittance left up to the discretion of the officer at the border when I would cross back into the US? Or would my crossing back in be automatically denied because of my paperwork filed/intent to immigrate?

It isn't 'ideally' - it is 'not at all' until one of two things happens: you have your green card or you have the Advance Parole. It isn't left up to the discretion of the officer at the border. If you leave the US without one of those two items then you are considered to have abandoned the whole AOS process and will not be allowed back into the US without a spousal visa. That means you have to start the whole AOS process all over again but this time it would be processed through the Consulate in Montreal, and you would be giving birth to your child in Canada, not the US.

You can take proof of your grandfather's passing and the arrangements for the funeral, along with your NOA1 for the I-130/I-485 to your nearest USCIS office and request an emergency AP. You will have to pay the fee for the AP but you should be able to get it processed within 24 to 48 hours.

The other consideration is you have not said what your status was in the US prior to filing the AOS. Were you still within the 6 month time period from your entry or had that expired? Do you have any 'out of status' days (days since the visa or the permission you used to enter the US expired). If you do, you may still encounter problems using the AP. USCIS will issue the AP but if you have out of status days, the border patrol may still refuse you entry. In addition, if you have more than 180 out of status days you would incur an immediate 3 year ban on re-entry to the US when you left. If you have more than 1 year's worth of out of status days you would incur an immediate 10 year ban on re-entry to the US when you left. An AP is not a guarantee of re-entry, but without one you definitely would not be allowed to re-enter.

Edited March 29, 2011 by Kathryn41