Emergency Travel Outside US for Medical

[redwhitebluestar 0]

Hello all.

 

My wife (beneficiary) and I (US citizen) got married and sent AOS (I-130, I-485, and I-765 filed concurrently) last year. My wife was already in the US. We did not file for I-131, because we had no plans to travel and our lawyer didn't inform us that we could've put 'TBD' for travel dates. As of now, the I-130 and I-765 have been approved, and the I-485 is pending. Interview has not been scheduled.

 

My wife has family history of cancer and has recently found some masses on herself. Our doctor confirmed the masses via imaging, but could not determine if they're cancerous or not. The only way confirm is through biopsy apparently. With her family history, we don't want to risk it and just do the surgery to remove the masses. However, the cost is too high in the US even with our insurance. So, we thought she could get the surgery in her country.

 

I tried looking through the posts here, but most expedite requests seem to be for family emergencies or traveling INTO the US for medical reasons. We've read through this page, which says we can call the contact center or request an appointment through myUSCIS. For the evidence, we'll be providing the imaging results and records showing her family history. We were wondering if anyone has applied for emergency issuance of a travel document to get surgery outside the US, and find out:

 

- if the request was approved

- how long the process took

- any issues that came up

- any advice

 

I understand many requests get denied, and people in worse situations have not been able to get AP. The cost of the form is not cheap, so it would be nice to know if others have applied with a similar situation before and gotten denied. If that's the case, we might as well just use the filing fee towards getting her treated here somehow.

[Crazy Cat 41,811]

38 minutes ago, redwhitebluestar said:

With her family history, we don't want to risk it and just do the surgery to remove the masses.

I would strongly consider getting the biopsies done before undergoing full surgery.  It is impossible to know if USCIS will grant emergency travel.

@SalishSea

Edited August 4 by Crazy Cat

[SalishSea 17,801]

I don’t see an expedite being approved, as obviously the treatment is available here in the U.S.

 

I agree with the Cat, have the biopsies done asap.

 

I’m confused about what you wrote about doing the biopsies vs surgery.   In general, that would be a discussion to have with the surgeon or oncologist- not something you decide on your own, based on cost.  There are rationales (medically and surgically) for biopsying tissue prior to resecting an entire organ or body part.

[TBoneTX 45,259]

The respondents seem to be focusing on the medical aspects precisely because the form, even if expedited, runs a highly uncertain chance of approval.  Even expedite requests can take many months.  Meanwhile, the medical risk to your wife may increase over that time.  Don't count on USCIS to come through for you.