Had our interview today, panicking right now

[Stocksj01 1]

So my wife and I had our GC interview this AM. My wife was an F1 student when she filed AOS and I am a US citizen. Overall the interview went well, we had everything in order. One major problem though - several months ago my wife had gone to Canada on a mandatory business trip. Her F1 status was still valid when she made this trip. She had called the foreign student services group at the university before the trip and per their direction she was "fine" to travel as long as her F1 was still valid, regardless of the AOS. During the interview the fact that she made this trip without separate AOS papers was flagged and now our case is under additional review. 

 

We thought we were nearing the light at the end of the tunnel when we went in to the interview today, now we're pretty much in a nightmare. Her F1/OPT status just expired a few days ago and she has been working with the C09 EAD card since. What happens if our application gets denied because of this technicality? Does her EAD card immediately expire? Is she going to have to leave her job while we refile? Is she fine to stay in the states during this lapse - if denied we would refile immediately.  Just hoping someone can offer some advice - we're just trying to get a grasp on our situation. 

[little immigrant 801]

She came back with a valid status. She was let back in. Honestly I think you guys are fine. Going through additional review is normal. 

[Clara B. 119]

Congrats on the interview.

 

few questions:

1: you had already filled the AOS paperwork when she did that trip?

2: did she already have her EAD/AP combo card?

 

If she was waiting for AOS and left before receiving the advanced parole her AOS will be considered abandoned and you guys would have to fill everything again. Her currend EAD would be voided and you would have to file for a new one with the new AOS package. So no work until its approved again.

 

if she was not on AOS process or if she dar AP at the time of travel you should be fine and green card should be approved in the end.

[azblk 338]

On 12/12/2017 at 10:37 AM, Clara Monteiro said:

Congrats on the interview.

 

few questions:

1: you had already filled the AOS paperwork when she did that trip?

2: did she already have her EAD/AP combo card?

 

If she was waiting for AOS and left before receiving the advanced parole her AOS will be considered abandoned and you guys would have to fill everything again. Her currend EAD would be voided and you would have to file for a new one with the new AOS package. So no work until its approved again.

 

if she was not on AOS process or if she dar AP at the time of travel you should be fine and green card should be approved in the end.

Not entirely correct. She had dual status and can/could travel on her F-1 OPT

[Clara B. 119]

17 minutes ago, azblk said:

Not entirely correct. She had dual status and can/could travel on her F-1 OPT

I’ not sure what you mean by dual dual status. 

I believe if she applied for AOS she need AP to be able to travel abroad. Otherwise the application is considered abandoned.

 

Can you explain why you believe she was allowed to travel on her F1 (non-immigrant visa) while Aos was pending without AP? 

[azblk 338]

3 hours ago, Clara Monteiro said:

I’ not sure what you mean by dual dual status. 

I believe if she applied for AOS she need AP to be able to travel abroad. Otherwise the application is considered abandoned.

 

Can you explain why you believe she was allowed to travel on her F1 (non-immigrant visa) while Aos was pending without AP? 

F1 status allows the bearer to leave and return to the US as long as they are still in status.

[Stocksj01 1]

5 hours ago, azblk said:

F1 status allows the bearer to leave and return to the US as long as they are still in status.

This was our understanding at the time of her trip as well. And to everyone else - yes we had already filed for AOS but did not have the travel docs. We had contacted her university's ISO and explained to them that she still had her F1 and had submitted for AOS, they told us as long as her F1 is still valid that she was fine to travel. While not technically incorrect, they failed to mention that traveling with F1 May invalidate her AOS. 

 

So we're pretty much preparing for the worst at this point - we're getting the forms and documentation ready for an immediate re-submission if she gets denied. Anyone have any experience with this - since she'll be out of status upon our re-submission are there any major differences in the forms we should be filing? I noticed that there was a form i485 supplement a but that only seems to apply to people out of status before certain years. Is there any such equivalent that we need to use to address her situation (F1 expires tomorrow). Thanks in advance. 

[azblk 338]

1 minute ago, Stocksj01 said:

This was our understanding at the time of her trip as well. And to everyone else - yes we had already filed for AOS but did not have the travel docs. We had contacted her university's ISO and explained to them that she still had her F1 and had submitted for AOS, they told us as long as her F1 is still valid that she was fine to travel. While not technically incorrect, they failed to mention that traveling with F1 May invalidate her AOS. 

 

So we're pretty much preparing for the worst at this point - we're getting the forms and documentation ready for an immediate re-submission if she gets denied. Anyone have any experience with this - since she'll be out of status upon our re-submission are there any major differences in the forms we should be filing? I noticed that there was a form i485 supplement a but that only seems to apply to people out of status before certain years. Is there any such equivalent that we need to use to address her situation (F1 expires tomorrow). Thanks in advance. 

It never hurts to be prepared but I think you will be ok. I personally never applied for or used AP yet I left and returned several times on F1 while doing my first AOS. It was never brought up and i got my green-card with no issues.

[Stocksj01 1]

1 minute ago, azblk said:

It never hurts to be prepared but I think you will be ok. I personally never applied for or used AP yet I left and returned several times on F1 while doing my first AOS. It was never brought up and i got my green-card with no issues.

When they asked what the last time you entered the states did you mention your rentry under F1?

 

When we were asked we both didnt think it was going to be an issue and didnt want to omit anything so we disclosed fully the nature of the trip. Had it not been discussed I have little doubt that we would have made it through, tbh the agent seemed to think it was odd that we even made it to the interview since her leaving the states should have immediately invalidated her AOS. And yet it didn't, and she was readmitted with the F1 - which according to some people online shouldn't have been able to happen(AOS automatically invalidates F1?). Not really sure how to take that since some of the things people have said seem to be conflicting....

[azblk 338]

14 minutes ago, Stocksj01 said:

When they asked what the last time you entered the states did you mention your rentry under F1?

 

When we were asked we both didnt think it was going to be an issue and didnt want to omit anything so we disclosed fully the nature of the trip. Had it not been discussed I have little doubt that we would have made it through, tbh the agent seemed to think it was odd that we even made it to the interview since her leaving the states should have immediately invalidated her AOS. And yet it didn't, and she was readmitted with the F1 - which according to some people online shouldn't have been able to happen(AOS automatically invalidates F1?). Not really sure how to take that since some of the things people have said seem to be conflicting....

Well at this point there isn't much you can do but wait for their decision. If they deny you can submit another petition right away. The only problem with that is the extra time and money you have to spend.