travel with AP approval notice?

[shorouq123 20]

Hello,

I really want to travel to see my family during November but so far I only have the hard copy approval notice paper for AP that I received on October 12th and no actual card not combo card has been mailed to me. My question is can I reenter the USA with just my approval notice and not the card considering it has the validity dates on it?

I appreciate any response.

thank you

[SAMBOLAK 0]

I'm traveling to my country at the end of this month and have the same question. I received the approval AP notice on 10/17 and still waiting on the card. I hope I get it on time before my flight.

[MariaR323 199]

Personal opinion here since I haven't seen anything else posted... but I wouldn't leave the U.S. without the actual AP card. I would suggest maybe going to a local office and asking for a temporary stamp in your passport instead of just taking a document.

[IslandQueen 45]

I don't think you should leave the country with just the approval notice. I suggest you wait on the card. Don't be alarmed if You are sent to secondary inspection upon your return. It seems to be routine. Good luck and I do hope you both will receive your cards soon.

[agrabs 250]

I would not travel without the card. The airline will need to see the card before issuing a boarding pass for the return flight.

[Ash.1101 1,756]

What is the current status on your AP on the USCIS page?

Chances are, since you just had your EAD go into production, your EAD is going to serve as both EAD and AP. I'd say you should have it within a week or so of when ever your EAD status changes too "My new card has been mailed to me!", or what ever status it is showing that the EAD card has been mailed out.

Again like others said though, Approval Notice is not the same as the physical card. Even on approval notices they note that they are not to be considered the "real thing", that is just an approval notice and should be considered nothing more than that.

Edited November 2, 2016 by Ash.1101

[Canerican 242]

Agree with the Ash. 1101 post. Do not travel until you get the actual card.

[shorouq123 20]

Thank you everyone that's what I thought I should have done honestly but wanted other opinions I thought maybe who knows. I'll just postpone my trip for now I guess hopefully it doesn't take too long to get here.

[embay16 12]

Does anyone have experience with getting a temporary AP stamp in your passport once you have gotten the approval?

My spouse ended up requesting expedition of his AP (due to severe personal and financial loss), and they approved it finally on Friday October 28th. He spoke with a customer service rep on Monday who told him that he can go to the local office and get an "ADIT" stamp with a copy of the approval print out from online. We looked it up and it's typically only something they give after you get your green card approval, but there isn't much information out there for getting it for AP.

He was able to get a last minute INFOPASS appointment for Tuesday morning, and drove the two hours to our "local" office (Lawrence MA) after talking with the USCIS customer service. However, our local office refused to give him the stamp (among some other things including a severely rude officer who told him to go back to his country and just wait the whole AOS process out... doesn't make any sense, AOS doesn't work any other way), despite his needing to travel out of the country next week, which was enough to approve the expedite.

We are curious if this was just us, or if anyone else has actually gotten the stamp.

[KierenHby 899]

Does anyone have experience with getting a temporary AP stamp in your passport once you have gotten the approval?

My spouse ended up requesting expedition of his AP (due to severe personal and financial loss), and they approved it finally on Friday October 28th. He spoke with a customer service rep on Monday who told him that he can go to the local office and get an "ADIT" stamp with a copy of the approval print out from online. We looked it up and it's typically only something they give after you get your green card approval, but there isn't much information out there for getting it for AP.

He was able to get a last minute INFOPASS appointment for Tuesday morning, and drove the two hours to our "local" office (Lawrence MA) after talking with the USCIS customer service. However, our local office refused to give him the stamp (among some other things including a severely rude officer who told him to go back to his country and just wait the whole AOS process out... doesn't make any sense, AOS doesn't work any other way), despite his needing to travel out of the country next week, which was enough to approve the expedite.

We are curious if this was just us, or if anyone else has actually gotten the stamp.

You have several posts in numerous threads worded verbatim.. bear in mind the risks associated with AOS, including an inability to travel outside the US until certain processes are complete. An expedite for a Phd presentation and getting an approval are mutually exclusive.

The Infopass officer denying the stamp could have clouded your spouse into viewing him as rude, but it's doubtful he said what your spouse claims.

[embay16 12]

You have several posts in numerous threads worded verbatim.. bear in mind the risks associated with AOS, including an inability to travel outside the US until certain processes are complete. An expedite for a Phd presentation and getting an approval are mutually exclusive.

The Infopass officer denying the stamp could have clouded your spouse into viewing him as rude, but it's doubtful he said what your spouse claims.

I know I made a few posts, because there were several recent posts discussing AP, so I was trying to see if anyone had actually had any luck with the stamp - and wasn't sure if others would see my posts on other discussions. You can't delete things here, so they are just stuck there now.

I cannot say for certain if the wording I used is verbatim to what the officer said, but the officer definitely was rude to him and said he could've just returned to his country and gotten an immigrant visa there.

We understand the risks associated with the AP - but there isn't much out there about actually getting an stamp prior to the card being processed and mailed. Unfortunately, now we really need the card as an Uncle has passed away and he would like to attend the funeral, but it is not considered an emergency because he is not an immediate family member. Guess we are just stuck waiting for the card in the mail.