Reentry issue for Green Card Holders

[Mike E 11,739]

27 minutes ago, Saadiah said:

I don't want my old parents to suffer in case they are denied the entry.

We spent a week arguing with a visa journey member last week on this issue. In the end, the member flew to JFK, and after time in secondary inspection was admitted as a returning resident.

 

See,

 

 

[Saadiah 0]

21 minutes ago, Mike E said:

We spent a week arguing with a visa journey member last week on this issue. In the end, the member flew to JFK, and after time in secondary inspection was admitted as a returning resident.

 

See,

 

 

 

23 minutes ago, Mike E said:

We spent a week arguing with a visa journey member last week on this issue. In the end, the member flew to JFK, and after time in secondary inspection was admitted as a returning resident.

 

See,

 

 

Pretty interesting. Even after sb1 got denied it could be an option?

[Saadiah 0]

5 minutes ago, Saadiah said:

 

Pretty interesting. Even after sb1 got denied it could be an option?

Sb1 rejected due to weak ties/ short stays. And my father mentioned that Pakistan airports check stay outside the USA and don't let you board the plane if it's over a year. 

Edited September 18, 2023 by Saadiah
Addition

[Mike E 11,739]

4 minutes ago, Saadiah said:

Even after sb1 got denied it could be an option?

Yes i have seen people be admitted as returning residents after SB-1 is denied

[Saadiah 0]

What is form I-824 for? My father was asked to submit it after his new approved I-130. My father is of the opinion to submit a single form I 824 for both of them. 

[Ontarkie 14,217]

~~MOved to Working and Traveling, from What Visa Do I Need - as the OP's father already has a GC.~~

[Mike E 11,739]

3 minutes ago, Saadiah said:

What is form I-824 for? My father was asked to submit it after his new approved I-130. My father is of the opinion to submit a single form I 824 for both of them. 

I-824 is likely because when I-130 was filed it either specified he would adjust status and/or no embassy was listed.

 

Since mom does not have an I-130 filed, I-824 is a not appropriate

 

[EM_Vandaveer 2,408]

6 minutes ago, Saadiah said:

What is form I-824 for? My father was asked to submit it after his new approved I-130. My father is of the opinion to submit a single form I 824 for both of them. 

It sounds like on the I-130 it was indicated in error that your father is applying for adjustment of status within the US rather than an immigrant visa therefore USCIS retained the I-130. Filing the I-824 makes the case move to NVC BUT it adds a year to the process. A process that shouldn't have been started in the first place, not without trying to enter the US first. How can an immigrant visa petition be filed for a Legal Permanent Resident? There should be some safe guards against that IMHO.

Plus your mother's case.... Never re-started... Quite a mess, honestly.

 

If your parents never filed I-407 then they need to take their valid GCs and travel to the US.

Edited September 18, 2023 by EM_Vandaveer

[Saadiah 0]

7 minutes ago, EM_Vandaveer said:

It sounds like on the I-130 it was indicated in error that your father is applying for adjustment of status within the US rather than an immigrant visa therefore USCIS retained the I-130. Filing the I-824 makes the case move to NVC BUT it adds a year to the process. A process that shouldn't have been started in the first place, not without trying to enter the US first. How can an immigrant visa petition be filed for a Legal Permanent Resident? There should be some safe guards against that IMHO.

Plus your mother's case.... Never re-started... Quite a mess, honestly.

 

If your parents never filed I-407 then they need to take their valid GCs and travel to the US.

Yes it now seems like a big mess. Do I need to backup with an immigration in case of issue at port of entry? Also what about their exiting airport that check their stay outside the US before putt8ng them on plane?

[EM_Vandaveer 2,408]

12 minutes ago, Saadiah said:

Yes it now seems like a big mess. Do I need to backup with an immigration in case of issue at port of entry? Also what about their exiting airport that check their stay outside the US before putt8ng them on plane?

As for Pakistani exit control, as stated earlier you can have them fly to another country like UAE or Qatar, then board a plane to the US.

I'm not sure what "Do I need to backup with an immigration in case of issue at port of entry?" means. As LPRs they cannot be denied entry IF they never signed I-407s. They may be asked to sign I-407s at POE. If so they need to politely refuse (they cannot be legally forced to do so).

[Mike E 11,739]

2 minutes ago, Saadiah said:

Do I need to backup with an immigration in case of issue at port of entry?

Let’s be precise. Issue here means:

 

* CBP illegally removes them from the U.S. You would hire a lawyer to order CBP to admit them

 

* CBP issues an NTA and releases them.  You hire a lawyer to deal with it. I am fuzzy on the details but it wound entail you them filing I-485 packages and getting the court action dismissed

 

* CBP issues an NTA and transfers them to ICE custody. I have never heard of this for abandonment of status, and I do not know if it is legal. But men with guns and a badge have absolute power.

 

* CBP threatens any of the above to coerce  them into filing I-407. Afaik, CBP has stopped doing that. Regardless you hire a lawyer as CBP will have blundered

* Your parents decide of their own free will to file I-407.  If so, no lawyer needed, provided you properly file I-130. Given the history, I recommend a lawyer. USCIS might or might not admit them on a B-2 status

 

13 minutes ago, Saadiah said:

 

 

 

 

2 minutes ago, Saadiah said:

Also what about their exiting airport that check their stay outside the US before putt8ng them on plane?

This js why @Dashinka advised them to fly to Doha first. Pakistan’s immigration agency will ask them how long they have been outside the U.S. if they show a boarding pass for a flight to the U.S.  

 

They are less likely to do so if they show a boarding pass to Doha for a round trip that ends in Doha.

 

So far, afaik, the Pakistani immigration agency is not confiscating green cards.

 

The back ground here is that DoS hates that people like your parents get re-admitted to U.S. with no consequences. So DoS is pressuring foreign immigration departments to do DoS’s bidding. DoS has won over Pakistan. I know of no others so far.
 

DoS and USCIS are also in a war with CBP in terms of influencing airlines to not board LPRs. So far Delta and PIA (soon to go out of business) have complied with DoS and USCIS. 

 

Qatar Airways is, so far, obeying CBP.

 

 

[Saadiah 0]

1 hour ago, Mike E said:

Let’s be precise. Issue here means:

 

* CBP illegally removes them from the U.S. You would hire a lawyer to order CBP to admit them

 

* CBP issues an NTA and releases them.  You hire a lawyer to deal with it. I am fuzzy on the details but it wound entail you them filing I-485 packages and getting the court action dismissed

 

* CBP issues an NTA and transfers them to ICE custody. I have never heard of this for abandonment of status, and I do not know if it is legal. But men with guns and a badge have absolute power.

 

* CBP threatens any of the above to coerce  them into filing I-407. Afaik, CBP has stopped doing that. Regardless you hire a lawyer as CBP will have blundered

* Your parents decide of their own free will to file I-407.  If so, no lawyer needed, provided you properly file I-130. Given the history, I recommend a lawyer. USCIS might or might not admit them on a B-2 status

 

 

 

 

This js why @Dashinka advised them to fly to Doha first. Pakistan’s immigration agency will ask them how long they have been outside the U.S. if they show a boarding pass for a flight to the U.S.  

 

They are less likely to do so if they show a boarding pass to Doha for a round trip that ends in Doha.

 

So far, afaik, the Pakistani immigration agency is not confiscating green cards.

 

The back ground here is that DoS hates that people like your parents get re-admitted to U.S. with no consequences. So DoS is pressuring foreign immigration departments to do DoS’s bidding. DoS has won over Pakistan. I know of no others so far.
 

DoS and USCIS are also in a war with CBP in terms of influencing airlines to not board LPRs. So far Delta and PIA (soon to go out of business) have complied with DoS and USCIS. 

 

Qatar Airways is, so far, obeying CBP.

 

 

Thank you so much for the detailed reply. I now have to convince my dad in doing so as he is insisting on moving forward with I-824. 

So, the first step is to get to Qatar with a return ticket and then get a separate ticket from Qatar to USA and board plane to the US. 

[manyfudge 285]

Round trip to Qatar.

 

1 way to JFK.

 

Get mobile passport control for your parents on their phones so they are taken to the front of the line and are fresh when talking to immigration officer.

 

@Mike E, are you suggesting that people buy their one way from Doha to JFK after they leave Pakistan?

 

Not to have the itinerary show up at the check in in Pakistan?

[Saadiah 0]

Does UAE follow CBP like Qatar? Asking as with Etihad airlines they will be facing the US immigration in the UAE and not here (Washington DC). Which one is the better option?

[Saadiah 0]

6 minutes ago, manyfudge said:

Round trip to Qatar.

 

1 way to JFK.

 

Get mobile passport control for your parents on their phones so they are taken to the front of the line and are fresh when talking to immigration officer.

 

@Mike E, are you suggesting that people buy their one way from Doha to JFK after they leave Pakistan?

 

Not to have the itinerary show up at the check in in Pakistan?

Would it be possible for them, being Pakistani citizens, to get ticket to travel from Qatar to USA?