My Experience with Advance Parole

[chancecody 125]

One of the most asked questions here and on reddit is traveling on AP while your AOS is pending. Yes, you can use it to travel without a question but there is always an element of risk that you should be prepared in the event that things go sour. The ultimate discretion to let you back in rests on the CBP Officer you get that day. It depends on who you get and if they have not had their coffee, are having a bad day or if the officer is simply just a jerk. I got the latter.

 

I traveled back home to Canada for 1 week. On Friday, 8/26 at around 1pm, the CBP agent in Halifax was very belligerent and tried a "gotcha" approach. He said "so you entered the US on B2 after getting married and adjusted status in the US to beat the system, didn't you?". I was very calm and politely said no. He kept accusing me hoping that I would bend. He said "why did you not wait in Canada to apply" and he kept saying "I knew you wanted to cheat the system". At that point, I lost my cool and the only thing that I kept saying repeatedly to the jerk 5 different times after another 5 accusatory questions was "That's not what happened and I can prove it" over and over again. Towards the end, I stopped answering his questions and just looked at him in disbelief from those questions (Side note: I have copies in my computer showing that I never intended to adjust status from B2 as we were locked out of COVID. I had proof that when I entered on B2, it was supposed to be temporary. We had a return ticket and we only sold our house in Canada 1 year after I adjusted). I was very confident about my case so I responded in kind to the belligerent officer. He never asked for proof. He just wanted to rile me up which he did and gave up.

 

When his attempt to frame me was unsuccessful, he finally sent me to Secondary Passport Control where I just waited for 30 minutes to be processed. As I was waiting in Secondary, I reflected that the way I handled the first belligerent CBP officer could have gone bad. The rude CBP Officer could have denied me entry even though I thought at that time that I had a strong case. The lady at the Secondary called my name and was very nice. She did not ask any question. She stamped my passport and told me that the stamp is valid for 1 year.

 

Would I travel with my AP again? The answer is NO if I can help it. This is just my experience. I am a Canadian Citizen, married to USC and adjusted from B2 over a year ago still waiting for my greencard. No overstay or any other immigration issue.

Edited August 27, 2022 by chancecody

[Boiler 45,820]

Understandable, must be a very common situation and the officer knew he was powerless.

 

AP is handled  by Secondary

[Family 4,094]

1 hour ago, chancecody said:

That's not what happened and I can prove it" over and over again. Towards the end, I stopped answering his questions and

Best thing you did is NOT offering to prove anything and NOT engaging in the details. Pressure tactics, fishing expeditions that even LPR are subjected to at times. 
I am always flabbergasted when people turn over their phones/passwords at POEs. 
You did Great! Welcome Home

[Adujarric 67]

On 8/27/2022 at 12:50 PM, Family said:

Best thing you did is NOT offering to prove anything and NOT engaging in the details. Pressure tactics, fishing expeditions that even LPR are subjected to at times. 
I am always flabbergasted when people turn over their phones/passwords at POEs. 
You did Great! Welcome Home

I was shocked to find out CBP has the authority to search your phone. What do you think an immigrant facing that type of scrutiny could do in that situation?. Just asking to see if there is something that could be done about it. On you tube a saw a good amount of ppl getting their entry deny at POE’s over things found on their phones. The one thing i heard the intending immigrant could do and should do is put the phone on airplane mode before handing it to CBP because they are not allow to search for evidence online or your social media. 

[Lemonslice 4,935]

9 minutes ago, Adujarric said:

I was shocked to find out CBP has the authority to search your phone. What do you think an immigrant facing that type of scrutiny could do in that situation?. Just asking to see if there is something that could be done about it. On you tube a saw a good amount of ppl getting their entry deny at POE’s over things found on their phones. The one thing i heard the intending immigrant could do and should do is put the phone on airplane mode before handing it to CBP because they are not allow to search for evidence online or your social media. 

This might be of interest to you:

https://www.eff.org/issues/border-searches

[Adujarric 67]

5 minutes ago, Lemonslice said:

This might be of interest to you:

https://www.eff.org/issues/border-searches

Thank you deff alot of good information there. 

[Family 4,094]

 

Once they get your phone, even if you refuse to unlock the unit, they simply take it , hack it and Gotcha ! 

How is this for a shocker…..
 

CBP policy allows agents to clone your device and everything on it, making what they call a "gold copy". The agents can share that with other federal law enforcement agencies like the DEA or the Counterterrorism Center if they decide they need help with translation, decryption, or to "determine...the meaning, context or value of information." Without probable cause, however, they’re supposed to not only delete but also forensically wipe all your data from their system.

 

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/what-if-u-s-border-agents-ask-your-cellphone-n742511

[Palawan 131]

On 8/27/2022 at 11:02 AM, Boiler said:

Understandable, must be a very common situation and the officer knew he was powerless.

 

AP is handled  by Secondary

When I entered the USA with my K1 fiance, the female officer asked me if I had paid my taxes, and then told me to go to my local USCIS office and process my AOS there.  I just smiled and nodded my head, it's been almost 20 years since that was the process.

[chancecody 125]

On 8/27/2022 at 9:50 AM, Family said:

Best thing you did is NOT offering to prove anything and NOT engaging in the details. Pressure tactics, fishing expeditions that even LPR are subjected to at times. 
I am always flabbergasted when people turn over their phones/passwords at POEs. 
You did Great! Welcome Home

Thanks for your message. I was surprised about the treatment I got from the CBP officer that day because my experience with hundreds of border crossings before my AOS were 100% positive. I guess once I adjusted from B2, I got labelled. 

 

Question: The Secondary CBP Officer was very nice and told me that I can use the stamp in my passport in lieu of I-512L to enter the US even after my I-512L expires in Nov 2022. My I-512L is expiring in Nov 2022 as an example but the stamp says valid for 1 year up to 8/26/2023. She said I can re-enter the US at anytime until 8/26/2023 even though my I-512L is expiring soon. Somehow I think this is not correct info. Do you know if she's right?