AOS Interview after 5 months out of US

[123winner 0]

Hi,

My mother filed 485/140/AP/EAD last year under GC for parents of US citizen. She has been out of the country for 4.5 months after she got the AP. When she was away 140 got approved. She recently got a letter to come for an interview in March. She plans to be back in the US on March 1 (the date was decided before the letter arrived).

I assume the interview is about her absence.

Should she come earlier than that - immediately? The issue is the obamacare insurance starts only on March 1 since we enrolled after Jan 15. I don't want to take a chance without that insurance. Should we mention that in the interview?

I cannot find any guideline about how long one can remain outside on AP. I hope 5 months is OK.

Her sister passed away last year. She has been visiting all her family and staying with her mother. She had some health issues which were not too major but required hospitalization for a couple of days. She also took care of things related to my rental properties. Should we mention any of the above during the interview as justification for absence?

I am the only child and she definitely she plans to be with me. She does not own any property or have any ties to country of birth other than her mother and sisters. Is that enough to convince the immigration officer? Should we simply state visiting family or mention previous reasons?

Thanks

[Pitaya 2,577]

There are no set guidelines. According to USCIS, this type of thing is handled on a case-by-case basis. Take a look at this USCIS link: https://www.uscis.gov/green-card/after-green-card-granted/maintaining-permanent-residence . It sounds like USCIS wants to know the reason(s) for the extended absence from the US, all she can do is to tell the truth.

Report back with the results of the interview.

Good luck on your immigration journey.

Edited February 15, 2016 by Pitaya

[Dohan 133]

140? as in I-140? Why did you submit that with AOS? The interview is not about her absence it's about her green card most likely. She cannot go for the interview ASAP because her appointment is in March so she will only be seen on the day of the appointment. However, it would be a good idea to come back before March to prepare for the interview because evidence needs to be submitted.

They likely won't ask where she was and why on her AP, that's why it was given to her, so they don't really care. You can just in case prepare an affidavit and explain that she was there taking care of sick family members, etc etc. DO NOT give that affidavit unless they ask about it. And DO NOT offer up explanations that she was out of the country unless specifically asked about it. She has AP and she has the right to be out, end of story, none of their business.

She will likely be asked about her AP at the entry point at her return, that's where she should explain she was caring for a sick relative. check the original AP application, if you did not specify how much time to be out for, they don't normally have a limit, there is a limit when you ask for humanitarian or emergency AP.

[Boiler 46,147]

Also agree that nothing to do with her trip.