Can I-131 Advance Parole be used for leisure travel? (K1 visa)

[Maitremathieu 4]

Hi all,

 

My fiancée is applying for a K1 visa and thinking ahead I'm looking in to how things work once she gets here and applies for AOS. I was under the impression that she could apply for Advance Parole to be able to travel outside the US and this could be used for any reason, it didn't have to be an emergency or humanitarian situation. However, reading the instructions on the form carefully, this doesn't seem to be the case.

 

Specifically, the instructions state:

 

You must complete Part 4. of the form indicating how your intended travel fits within 1 of the 3 purposes below. You must also provide evidence of your reason for travel outside of the United States including the dates of travel and the expected duration outside the United States. If your advance parole application is approved, the validity dates of your Advance Parole Document will be for the duration of the documented need for travel. Below are examples of acceptable evidence: Educational Purposes (a) A letter from a school employee acting in an official capacity describing the purpose of the travel and explaining why travel is required or beneficial; or (b) A document showing enrollment in an educational program requiring travel. Employment Purposes A letter from your employer or a conference host describing the need for the travel. Humanitarian Purposes (a) A letter from your physician explaining the nature of your medical condition, the specific medical treatment to be sought outside of the United States, and a brief explanation why travel outside the U.S. is medically necessary; or (b) Documentation of a family member’s serious illness or death.

 

So if we wanted to travel just for leisure, obviously she wouldn't fit in to any of those categories. Can anybody confirm if this is indeed the case that she must strictly fit in to one of those categories, or if there is some flexibility for leisure travel?

 

Thanks

[powerpuff 6,674]

Yes, she can file I-131 for any travel including leisure.

 

You have to remember it’s one form but there are many visa categories that have to file, for other ones it’s strict. When I filled this out I put TBD on all those travel dates. 

[Allaboutwaiting 2,503]

When we did it, we just filled it with some random dates and places we would travel to.

 

We received the combo card some six months later. Mind you, that was years ago.

 

As mentioned by @powerpuff, it can be for leisure.

 

Look at the actual form, it is amazingly simple.

 

Btw, it is now $630 (used to be free when filed with AoS) and the GC might be approved soon after or even before the AP, so think if you will really need to travel while waiting (remember that if necessary, you can always get an emergency travel permit that will be issued the same day).

Edited April 21 by Allaboutwaiting

[Dashinka 24,476]

The biggest challenge with the AP is dealing with airlines that are unfamiliar with the AP as proper documentation to enter the U.S. legally.

[Sarah&Facundo 595]

We traveled for leisure several times with AP. Never had an issue.

[mam521 2,054]

Just on a side note, has there been any consideration of getting married and filing for a spousal visa, rather than a fiancé visa?  There are pros and cons to each, but a big pro these days is the spousal visa is significantly less expensive and would allow your partner to enter the US without restrictions on work and travel.  

[randomstairs 303]

18 hours ago, Dashinka said:

The biggest challenge with the AP is dealing with airlines that are unfamiliar with the AP as proper documentation to enter the U.S. legally.

Yes, especially if you lose the card. When I had it I wasn't traveling for this reason alone. (I wasn't familiar with the land border option then.)

[OldUser 6,599]

There's always a risk travelling on AP.

Ideally, one should not travel unless it's an emergency. I think somebody on VJ posted experience being lectured by CBP saying it should only be used for emergency when they're trying to enter the US. For the travel dates and destinations, one can always put "To be determined"

[Dashinka 24,476]

20 minutes ago, randomstairs said:

Yes, especially if you lose the card. When I had it I wasn't traveling for this reason alone. (I wasn't familiar with the land border option then.)

That and the CBP carrier guide.  Sometimes you have to educate the airline clerks, and others.  This is somewhat off topic, but often prior to COVID my wife and I would route through Beijing when traveling to Central Russia, I don't know how many people I had to educate that neither her nor I needed a China visa since China allowed 24 hr visa free transit.

 

https://www.cbp.gov/sites/default/files/assets/documents/2023-Nov/Carrier Information Guide ENGLISH.pdf

Edited April 22 by Dashinka

[Allaboutwaiting 2,503]

5 hours ago, mam521 said:

Just on a side note, has there been any consideration of getting married and filing for a spousal visa, rather than a fiancé visa?  There are pros and cons to each, but a big pro these days is the spousal visa is significantly less expensive and would allow your partner to enter the US without restrictions on work and travel.  

 

Seems they already applied for the K1. But applying for the spousal now would not be THAT bad considering that with the fiancee visa, they would still need to pay for AOS, EAD, AP and very likely, ROC.

 

3 hours ago, OldUser said:

There's always a risk travelling on AP.

Ideally, one should not travel unless it's an emergency. I think somebody on VJ posted experience being lectured by CBP saying it should only be used for emergency when they're trying to enter the US. For the travel dates and destinations, one can always put "To be determined"

 

The "risk" of being lectured and even being sent to secondary inspection is always there -AP or not-.

 

I agree with @Dashinka: the main issue is not entering the US but boarding the plane back.

Problem is that if people avoid traveling on AP, the airlines will never really get acquainted with the document.

 

I am guessing that now it costs 630usd, there will be way less applications and it will be just for actual emergencies.

[OldUser 6,599]

3 hours ago, Allaboutwaiting said:

The "risk" of being lectured and even being sent to secondary inspection is always there -AP or not-.

 

 

Being lectured or put in secondary is not the risk I was referring to. The risk of application decided not in somebody's favor while the one is overseas IS the risk I was referring to.

 

USCIS may deny the case (sometimes without RFE / intend to deny) whether correctly or wrongfully while somebody is on AP overseas. I don't believe AP would allow the entry if underlying petition (I-485) is denied. Essentially it "dies" with denied I-485. Others can correct me. 

Edited April 22 by OldUser

[Allaboutwaiting 2,503]

1 minute ago, OldUser said:

Being lectured or put in secondary is not the risk I was referring to. The risk of application decided not in somebody's favor while the one is overseas IS the risk I was referring to.

 

USCIS may deny the case (sometimes without RFE / intend to deny) whether correctly or wrongfully while somebody is on AP overseas. I don't believe AP would allow the entry if underlying petition (I-485) is denied. Essentially it "dies" with denied I-485. Others can correct me. 

Oh yeah, that is a risk, but in my experience, it can be somewhat "controlled", I think.

 

Have you read about a case like that? I haven't.

 

 

 

 

[Maitremathieu 4]

Thank you very much everybody for all of the great answers!

 

When we got engaged, for a few reasons we planned to get married in the US rather than in my fiancée's country so went the K1 route. At that time I was unaware how long AOS took and the issues with traveling outside the US during that time. If I knew then what I know now we would have gone the spousal visa route, but at this point we're less than a month away from the visa interview and just looking forward to being together.

[Julie865519 6]

On 4/21/2024 at 11:21 PM, Sarah&Facundo said:

We traveled for leisure several times with AP. Never had an issue.

Hi! May i know what the documents that you get from USCIS after I-131 got approved?

I just got approved 2 days ago and i’m confused what documents i will get, because i’m planning to go back to my country as my mother was sick.

thanks in advance! 😊

[Sarah&Facundo 595]

16 minutes ago, Julie865519 said:

Hi! May i know what the documents that you get from USCIS after I-131 got approved?

I just got approved 2 days ago and i’m confused what documents i will get, because i’m planning to go back to my country as my mother was sick.

thanks in advance! 😊

He received a card in the mail.