Travelling while AOS is pending

[Trochilidae 0]

Hi everyone,

I haven't received my K1 visa yet but my interview is in about a week. If all goes well I hope to move to live with my fiance by the end of the year. However, both of my parents are somewhat older and it is very important to me that I am able to travel back to my home case in the event of an emergency. Obviously in such an event, I would not want to invalidate either my visa or my AOS process.

I understand that you can apply for an Advanced Parole in order to get permission to travel while the AOS is pending. However, it is also my understanding that under normal circumstances it can take a while for the Advanced Parole to be approved. In the event of an emergency I'm going to be on the first plane back and that's not a matter of debate with me. In these circumstances, what is the proper protocol?

Thank you for your time and help.

[Hypnos 6,578]

Your visa will be invalidated the moment you exit CBP upon entering the US, since it's a single-use visa.

A combo EAD / AP card is usually issued within 90 days of application.

If you depart the US without having either your green card or AP then you will not be able to return, and would need to seek an immigrant visa overseas (which would take around ~8 - 10 months) in order to be able to re-enter.

Edited August 3, 2013 by Hypnos

[L and T 9]

Under normal circumstances Advance Parole is approved within 2-3 months (in my case it took 63 days from filing), but you can only file together with AOS after you got married. In case of an emergency you can make an infopass appointment with your closest USCIS office and apply for an emergency AP, but you will need to present evidence, such as Doctors' notes or similar, in this case I believe you can get the AP within a few days.

However, if you need to leave the country before getting married, you might have a problem, as the K1 visa is only valid for a single entry. In this case you can only try to contact your consulate and ask them to revalidate it, but course there is no guarantee they will do that.

[Dave&Roza 748]

I'm going to be on the first plane back and that's not a matter of debate with me. In these circumstances, what is the proper protocol?

Hopefully you have the AP before this happens. Otherwise you will have to file for a spousal visa or for the finance visa if you happen to not be married and do the whole process all over again. There are some options already mentioned, but they required time to accomplish and you will not be on the first plane back. I guess you will have to weigh which is more important--your parents or your new family in the US--and make your decision and then deal with the ramifications of that choice (it sounds to me like you have already made up your mind). For us the AP took 46 days, so you are looking at a 2-3 month period after filing the AOS where this will be an issue. As I stated before, hopefully the AP arrives before this becomes an issue.

Good luck,

Dave

[NikLR 13,232]

Honestly if travel was so important why not go the spousal route to begin with?

You have to wait for the AP to travel or else you will be starting over. There may be emergency AP available but it'####### or miss and you'd have to prove why you need it.

[TBoneTX 46,214]

Here are some ways to cut a little time off the process:

1. Complete the AOS/AP/EAD paperwork as much as possible, as far in advance as possible. At least, this will be good practice for the final versions.

2. Marry as soon as possible after admission to the U.S. See next item.

3. Ahead of time, do some research as to a Justice of the Peace or other official who can perform the ceremony quickly. Also ahead of time, learn what's required to procure a marriage license.

4. At the actual ceremony, ask the JoP or other officiant if, afterwards, you can hand-carry the signed marriage license to the county courthouse yourselves, to apply for marriage certificates. (Explain, if necessary, that this is for immigration purposes.) The officiant will almost certainly have no objection.

5. Hand the signed marriage license to the courthouse clerk and request multiple copies of the official marriage certificate. Have cash ready in case of payment-method restrictions. (Sidebar: I got 7 of our certificates and ended up using 5 of them.) If the clerk can't make them on the spot, politely ask for a supervisor, explain the situation as clearly and simply as possible, and ask for approval to make the certificates up "on the spot."

6. Blow home with your certificates and proceed to complete the USCIS packages.

(Organizer hat on)

*** Thread moved from K-1 Process forum to the main AOS/Family-Based forum -- query pertains to this stage. ***

[Pitaya 2,577]

In particular, the K-1/K-3 AOS guide:

http://www.visajourney.com/content/k1k3aos

Excerpt from that guide, under EAD and AP processing (the guides say it best):

"As a note, in an emergency where travel outside of the United States is needed (while a beneficiary's I-485 in still being processed) an Advance Parole can be obtained quickly by scheduling an Info-Pass appointment at your local USCIS office. You must show proof (doctors note, etc) that the travel is a true emergency (such as to see a critically ill relative or other true emergency) and file an I-131 (AP) in person. If approved the AP is likely be issued the same day. Do not attempt to leave the country without an AP as this can result in the beneficiary's I-485 being considered "abandoned" and will require a new Visa to enter the US (and refiling of the I-485)."

Hopefully such a trip will not be necessary.

Good luck.