Help — Need to travel soon with pending AP/EAD :(

[zuchum 0]

Hi all , 

 

Would really appreciate some advice/similar experiences. I'm in a tricky situation. 

 

I'm an O-1 Visa holder and recently applied for Adjustment of Status after marrying my wife in October last. I applied at the end of April, and received a request for initial evidence (May 12).   My current status on USCIS (National Benefits Center) says that they received the response on June 25th, but I have heard nothing since. 

 

My problem is that my sister is getting married in Europe at the end of August (30th), when I applied at the end of April, I thought I would have more than enough time. If the 60-90 day timeline holds true, it means unless I'm lucky and my case gets approved within or at exactly 60 days, I won't have received my AP by the time I need to leave to attend the wedding. 

 

I have heard conflicting reports about traveling on an O-1 Visa while pending AOS:

 

• Is it possible to travel and gain re-entry on an O-1 Visa while waiting for AP?  (Even if that constitutes and abandonment of the application and I would likely have to start over again).
• Is there any way to get my AP approved any more quickly? We sent all the correct files at the beginning, but I'm assuming there must have been an error in one of the forms.  

 

In advance, I really appreciate your feedback and help on this, I don't want to disappoint my sister, and I also don't want to lose my job here

 

 

 

 

 

[Ontarkie 14,450]

~~Moved to Working and Traveling from AOS Family - As the Op is asking about traveling during the process.~~

[Coco8 1,042]

If you leave before AP, your AOS will be abandoned no matter what visa you are on. People have been waiting closer to 120 days for EAD/AP so I don't think you were unlucky, it is the new normal. Also, from what I've read, the RFE resets your time so you should count the days from the moment they go your response to the RFE.

 

If you don't mind about the abandoned AOS, you might be able to come back in with O1. O1 is dual intent so applying for a green card would not be a problem. And as I understand it, visas remain valid during AOS pending.  Maybe someone else knows about this more.

 

The other question to which I don't know the answer to is that if you abandon the AOS, it will be denied. I don't know if that will affect your future AOS and it might take a few months for them to deny the application. It might be better for you to withdraw the application and then start it again when you get back, rather than having AOS denied.

 

Did you know you could also do a GC through employment? With O1 you don't need labor certification. 

 

 

[zuchum 0]

Thanks for your response Coco.

 

You're right, it's the RFIE (and process reset) that is the real problem for me. Without that, I would be closing on 120 days at the end of August either way. My lawyer had both thought that the application would be complete in 60 days,(or less!) and thought that a request for initial evidence simply suspended the process, not a full reset.

 

I have not heard of withdrawing the application as an option until now. Are there ramifications to withdrawal? If I was able to withdraw the application, attend the wedding and reapply when I got back, ready to wait 120 days, I would do that in a heartbeat.