need help with expediting 131

[smashly72 0]

Hi,

Here is my basic situation. I REALLY need some advice. I keep calling the USCIS customer service and they are useless. I live on an island and there is ONE lawyer here and he is useless. So anyways..

I came to the US from Canada in OCTOBER 2010. I came here as a Canadian visitor. I used my passport, and they do not stamp passports when you are just coming for a short trip. At least they did not stamp mine. So I do not have a proof of entry.

I have not left the country since then. I got married to my husband in March 2011. We didn't do anything right away because we weren't sure what steps to take. Also, we had a baby on the way so for us I guess it wasn't the biggest thing on our minds. So my son is a citizen but I am not! .

So in November 2011 I filed for the i130 petition for alien relative and thought that was that. I didn't know I had to do the 485 for green card or that I could file concurrently. I was approved for the i130 in May 2012. I still have yet to receive anything beyond my letter of approval.

I had planned a trip to Canada for this summer. My family has not met my son, and my parents are unable to travel due to health issues. Well, they could travel if it was completely necessary, but they are old and my dad has extremely painful arthritis. He is having tests and what not done for it currently.

So my husband and I planned to get my #### together and file for the green card, a travel permit - i131, and employment authorization, and hopefully get the travel expedited. Since the closest USCIS office is over 4 hours away, I assume we will need to make an appointment there? Once I file the 485 and i131, can I make the appointment to ask for expedited travel? I would like to travel end of July/August. Do I need to ask for the i131 to be expedited when I mail it in? Do I need to do anything special for it to be expedited? How much of a chance do I have that it will be expedited? Should I purchased airline tickets and just hold my breath? What about the biometrics? Will I need to do those at a USCIS office? How long does that usually take? Please, any advice is greatly appreciated. Even if it is direction to a lawyer that can help me just with info for a small fee or something. I live in Key West, Florida.

Thanks!

[Anh map 2,098]

Probably worth contacting the closest USCIS office to sort out your circumstances. https://egov.uscis.gov/crisgwi/go?action=offices.summary&OfficeLocator.office_type=LO&OfficeLocator.statecode=FL

Yes, you will have to go for biometrics and for an Infopass appointment to request the expedited Advance Parole once you've filed the proper forms.

Probably want to hold off on the travel plans for a bit.

[grrrrreat 109]

Hi,

Here is my basic situation. I REALLY need some advice. I keep calling the USCIS customer service and they are useless. I live on an island and there is ONE lawyer here and he is useless. So anyways..

I came to the US from Canada in OCTOBER 2010. I came here as a Canadian visitor. I used my passport, and they do not stamp passports when you are just coming for a short trip. At least they did not stamp mine. So I do not have a proof of entry.

I have not left the country since then. I got married to my husband in March 2011. We didn't do anything right away because we weren't sure what steps to take. Also, we had a baby on the way so for us I guess it wasn't the biggest thing on our minds. So my son is a citizen but I am not! .

So in November 2011 I filed for the i130 petition for alien relative and thought that was that. I didn't know I had to do the 485 for green card or that I could file concurrently. I was approved for the i130 in May 2012. I still have yet to receive anything beyond my letter of approval.

I had planned a trip to Canada for this summer. My family has not met my son, and my parents are unable to travel due to health issues. Well, they could travel if it was completely necessary, but they are old and my dad has extremely painful arthritis. He is having tests and what not done for it currently.

So my husband and I planned to get my #### together and file for the green card, a travel permit - i131, and employment authorization, and hopefully get the travel expedited. Since the closest USCIS office is over 4 hours away, I assume we will need to make an appointment there? Once I file the 485 and i131, can I make the appointment to ask for expedited travel? I would like to travel end of July/August. Do I need to ask for the i131 to be expedited when I mail it in? Do I need to do anything special for it to be expedited? How much of a chance do I have that it will be expedited? Should I purchased airline tickets and just hold my breath? What about the biometrics? Will I need to do those at a USCIS office? How long does that usually take? Please, any advice is greatly appreciated. Even if it is direction to a lawyer that can help me just with info for a small fee or something. I live in Key West, Florida.

Thanks!

Wait a minute, the maximum lawful visitor stay in the U.S. for Canadians is six months. You entered in October 2010. So you were unlawfully present starting sometime in April 2011? You began accruing unlawful presence, and now you have more than 365 days of it. As a result, you have likely incurred a bar from entering the U.S. This means that you cannot use advance parole to travel outside of the U.S.--you may be excluded from the U.S. upon returning for 3 or 10 years!

You cannot travel until you became an LPR--only then do the unlawful presence bars go away. You need to file I-485, but forget about I-131. Include a copy of your approval letter for I-130 with your Form I-485. And include a copy of your passport and all pages in it with your I-485 as it's the best proof of lawful entry that you have (but include the plane ticket you used if you have it too).

Even if you could use I-131 to travel, I doubt you could get it expedited. You haven't articulated a great reason to need it on an urgent basis, and the huge gap between filing your I-130 and I-485 makes your case less sympathetic.. Check out the expedite criteria here: http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f614176543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=16a6b1be1ce85210VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD&vgnextchannel=db029c7755cb9010VgnVCM10000045f3d6a1RCRD

Biometrics are scheduled by USCIS by letter to you after you file I-485. They take place at the local USCIS office. There is way more than 1 lawyer on Key West.

UPDATE: perhaps the situation isn't as dire as I thought. Canadians who were admitted without a visa or I-94 do not accrue unlawful presence until an Immigration Judge orders their removal. http://elpasotimes.typepad.com/files/unlawfulpresence-1.pdf at p. 12. I still don't think you can get AP expedited as you don't have a good case.

Probably worth contacting the closest USCIS office to sort out your circumstances. https://egov.uscis.gov/crisgwi/go?action=offices.summary&OfficeLocator.office_type=LO&OfficeLocator.statecode=FL

Yes, you will have to go for biometrics and for an Infopass appointment to request the expedited Advance Parole once you've filed the proper forms.

Probably want to hold off on the travel plans for a bit.

She can't use advance parole--way too much unlawful presence. Most likely would incur a 10 year ban.

Edited June 13, 2012 by grrrrreat

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

Yes, you cannot use AP. Sorry.

You need to file I-485 at the Chicago lockbox. Your I-130 by itself gives you no immigration benefit AT ALL. You will have to wait for the Greencard to travel.

[smashly72 0]

Thanks for the tips. But to the poster who claims there is "way" more than one lawyer in Key West .. um ok? Do you reside on the island? Yes, there is more than one lawyer ... obviously I am referring to IMMIGRATION lawyer .. what good is a civil lawyer or criminal lawyer when I need an IMMIGRATION lawyer? There IS only one immigration lawyer and I have had many people with first hand experience who warned me not to waste my time/money. But thanks, tips!

[ceadsearc 516]

Well, a quick google search found at least 2 immigration lawyers in Key West. That doesn't mean they're worth anything (immigration lawyers are a dime a dozen!), and you really don't need a lawyer for your case anyway. You may not have technically accumulated illegal presence per the link posted above but trying to leave with AP when you came as a visitor in 2010 is extremely risky and you may well not be paroled back into the US if you leave. Even if none of that was an issue, expedited AP is typically granted for emergencies only.

Your best bet is to file the I-485 and make your travel plans once you have your green card in hand. Good luck.

[smashly72 0]

what about the employment authorization form ? would i be able to work with that ? or is it a waste of $400 ? do i need a job set up first ?

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

EAD is free when filed in conjunction with I-485. It is meant as a stop-gap, temporary employment measure. It gets approved in about 3 months, and the GC takes about 4-6 months. You can work with EAD when it is approved. Once you get the Greencard, you no longer need the EAD. The GC gives you the right to work by itself.

[smashly72 0]

ok good to know about the job thing ! i am very , very upset i can't travel. my family will be devastated. it is my fault but i had a newborn on my hands and trying to do immigration stuff by myself and i had no idea what i was doing . i didn't know i even had to do this green card thing. so if i would have just done it when i did the i130 it wouldn't even be an issue. but i really, really want to start looking for work. i am losing my mind not working ! ahh SAHM sucks. haha.

[grrrrreat 109]

ok good to know about the job thing ! i am very , very upset i can't travel. my family will be devastated. it is my fault but i had a newborn on my hands and trying to do immigration stuff by myself and i had no idea what i was doing . i didn't know i even had to do this green card thing. so if i would have just done it when i did the i130 it wouldn't even be an issue. but i really, really want to start looking for work. i am losing my mind not working ! ahh SAHM sucks. haha.

Just go ahead and file I-485 according to the instructions and with supplemental materials and include a copy of the letter approving your I-130. Also add form I-765, which will provide you an employment authorization document. There's nothing else to do for you.

Again, technically you have not started to accrue unlawful presence, although you are subject to being placed in removal proceedings, which would begin that accrual. As others have said, other aliens in your situation would still find it unacceptably risky to travel outside of the U.S., even if they had advance parole. In fact, other undocumented immigrants would probably simply feel lucky that they had a route to legal status and look forward to traveling home as soon as they became a lawful permanent resident.

Sorry you didn't know the proper route to adjust your status, as the Green Card could have already been obtained for you. But the initial overstay of your visitor status was entirely your fault.

Edited June 14, 2012 by grrrrreat

[Ontarkie 14,658]

Moved to Adjustment of Status from Work, Student, & Tourist Visas