POE nightmare - need advice!

[Lisa and Kano 2]

The woman is employed to process your paperwork, not air her views on it.

Amen. The woman is obviously an idiot. People shouldn't be treated like that at POE.

[polar1979 4]

I aggree with "brokenfamily", if you enter the US with an IV, you have to wait in the country untill you receive your real green card, if you leave before you got your real card, it will mean that you abandon your residency and you will have to start everything all over again.

[canadian_wife 1,829]

? this does not make sense to me. Why would you activate the IV if you have intent to return to Canada? The IV is an Immigrant VISA and you are it seems attempting to use it as a Visitor VISA. I think you have to request advance parole before you can leave and come back and it makes no sense what you were attempting to do. If/When you do finally enter , don't leave before you get your advance parole documents or it could mean you are abandoning your LPR status.

In any case the CBP officer probably did you a favor.

We are not here to judge what the OP did. IN fact, many people enter the US, activate their visa, then return home to complete job, family obligations, sell a home, settle debts. Many Candians do that, so do other nationals. No one is here to judge that.

No, advanced parole has nothing to do with Cr-1 visas. You DO NOT need advanced parole to leave after you have activated your Cr-1 visa - once you enter, you receive your stamp in your passport which acts as your travel/work authorization and you can turn around and leave the next day.

The OP's wife was never in danger of abandoning her residency EVEN IF she was allowed to enter under her CR1

Good luck

[OBX 51]

I aggree with "brokenfamily", if you enter the US with an IV, you have to wait in the country untill you receive your real green card, if you leave before you got your real card, it will mean that you abandon your residency and you will have to start everything all over again.

We are not here to judge what the OP did. IN fact, many people enter the US, activate their visa, then return home to complete job, family obligations, sell a home, settle debts. Many Candians do that, so do other nationals. No one is here to judge that.

No, advanced parole has nothing to do with Cr-1 visas. You DO NOT need advanced parole to leave after you have activated your Cr-1 visa - once you enter, you receive your stamp in your passport which acts as your travel/work authorization and you can turn around and leave the next day.

The OP's wife was never in danger of abandoning her residency EVEN IF she was allowed to enter under her CR1

Good luck

canadian_wife is absolutely correct! Once you are processed at POE and the visa in your passport is stamped your status is confirmed as a permanent resident and you are free to travel. You do not need to wait for the "real' card! Advanced parole has nothing to do with an activated spousal visa. I entered the US and returned to Canada a week after my POE to attend to family matters and had no issues returning to the US using my stamped passport whatsoever nor did I abandon my LPR status doing so.

The information posted by brokenfamily and polar1979 is incorrect.

[Sergi9 110]

We are not here to judge what the OP did. IN fact, many people enter the US, activate their visa, then return home to complete job, family obligations, sell a home, settle debts. Many Candians do that, so do other nationals. No one is here to judge that.

No, advanced parole has nothing to do with Cr-1 visas. You DO NOT need advanced parole to leave after you have activated your Cr-1 visa - once you enter, you receive your stamp in your passport which acts as your travel/work authorization and you can turn around and leave the next day.

The OP's wife was never in danger of abandoning her residency EVEN IF she was allowed to enter under her CR1

Good luck

Can't enter with B visa to immigrate, but can enter with Immigrant VISA to visit?

No wonder people end up out of status

Edited May 4, 2011 by Sergi9

[canadian_wife 1,829]

Can't enter with B visa to immigrate, but can enter with Immigrant VISA to visit?

No wonder people end up out of status

She didn't enter with an IV as a visitor, she entered as a tourist, she was unable to enter with her IV

[Deputy Purple 1,294]

? this does not make sense to me. Why would you activate the IV if you have intent to return to Canada? The IV is an Immigrant VISA and you are it seems attempting to use it as a Visitor VISA. I think you have to request advance parole before you can leave and come back and it makes no sense what you were attempting to do. If/When you do finally enter , don't leave before you get your advance parole documents or it could mean you are abandoning your LPR status.

In any case the CBP officer probably did you a favor.

The OP made it clear she was relocating permanently in a couple of months (after her son's finishes his school year).

There would have been no problem activating her LPR status at this entry.

[Sergi9 110]

The OP made it clear she was relocating permanently in a couple of months (after her son's finishes his school year).

There would have been no problem activating her LPR status at this entry.

Looks like a pretty long Post for it not to have been a problem. and she didn't get her LPR status activated.... I think maybe the CBP got confused... which is understandable... being told she was coming then immediately leaving after the weekend was over.

So she wasn't immigrating at that point she was visiting for the weekend? And as you said she also told the CBP she was immigrating in a couple of months... but not now... so maybe CBP figured it did not make sense to activate immigrant visa until the person was actually immigrating?

never a dull moment with immigration matters