Can Rachid travel back to Morocco before his AOS is approved??

sarah

He can travel any time he wants.

Problem is, he can't get back into the U.S. on the same fiance visa. A K-1 is for ONE entry only. So if he wants to come back to the United States, better wait until AOS is finished, or you'll have to go through the immigration process all over again.



-MK

If he files for and receives his AP (advanced parole, not administrative processing), yes he can. You file it when you file the AOS paperwork.

Only if you apply for Advanced Parole with your AOS petition AND I believe he has to have a reason other than leisure travel, like family emergency. But others here can better address that part.

Maggie

Sarah if you applied for AP with AOS then he can travel before he has his greencard when his AP is approved. If there is an emergency he can get emergency AP which I believe is processed really quickly. Good luck and I hope Rachid is doing ok here during Ramadan, I kno wit's hard.

Sarah

thanks guys...

his father is sick and in the hospital ... he is waiting word from his mother and sister... I just want to assure him a little bit so he does not feel trapped here... i'll keep you guys posted...

thank you again

Hmmm I did a quick scan of the process, and it gets a bit complicated.

Generally, you have to have *already* filed for your AOS, *and* have a pressing reason to leave the country such as an "emergent" (urgent) personal or bona fide business reason.

http://www.uscis.gov/graphics/formsfee/forms/files/I-131.pdf

hi,
Please read the following thread about 'emergent' with special attention to comments by Folinskyinla:
http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=400743

I read the thread you linked. It seems that Folinskyinla is of the opinion that people tend to confuse the terms "emergent" and "emergency." That may be, but I am not sure how his point was relevant to the issue in question. At any rate, the person in the thread was apparently successful in getting the Advance Parole due to a family member with a serious medical condition. Note -- it was not a "medical emergency" per se, but considered (at least for immigration purposes) an "emergent" (or "urgent") matter.

Good link -- it's very recent, so it should be helpful to the OP.

Emergent reason means something has come up and you need to travel, It's not necessarily urgent. In other words, the advance parole can not be used to just feely travel in and out of the country. If you need to travel home to take care of personal matter that arise that could be an emergent cause.

Maybe for the urgent AP you can't use it for just anything, but with regular AP you can. I put as our reason that any of Abdel's relatives might get sick, or marry or have some other event he would want to attend and we would want to have the ability to attend those things. He got two copies of his AP (I guess for multiple entries) but ended up getting the green card not long after so it really wasn't worth the extra money or effort. Of course there's no way to know that up front so it's definitely worth it to apply for everything at once.

You've already had your biometrics, so you might be getting the AP soon, depending on how fast your office is moving. If you do need the urgent AP the fact that they already have the biometrics finished should make things move fast with it.

Emergency AP's can be denied, therefore if you know that travel may be necessary, you may want to consider paying the $170 to have the AP processed with your AOS. You do not necessarily need to list a specific date or reason for applying, end result is you have it ready in case you need it.

Difference is it may take 2-3 months to receive the AP vs. Emergency AP takes little to no time but is quite subjective depending on your local office.

ETA : i just noticed you filed AOS in Aug w/o AP. Same above still applies, however you may want to look into your local office processing as your AOS interview may be a few months away.

Thank you everyone... I just talked with Rachid and he spoke with his mother.... she said he is better .. we will see tomorrow...

Glad to hear that, Sara.... I hope she is back up to 100 % very soon.

Now about this AP business. I have read a bit more now. It seems that "emergent" refers to any situation that "comes up" or "emerges"... anything at all. It doesn't have to be "emergent" in the sense of "pressing" or "urgent"... Liz and Laura have mentioned that you can get one without even giving a specific reason or date for travel (however, I see that the form asks for such info -- do you just write "I'm not sure" or "n/a" or what ?)

If you can get it in advance of actually having a reason to travel, it seems you *could* use AP just to go shopping, smell the flowers, view the sunset, or whatever back in your home country (as long as you meet all the requirements.)

Now as far as "Emergency AP" -- is this where you haven't filed for regular AP, but suddenly need permission to leave the country for an actual emergency, and need expedited processing for immediate travel ?

This has been a very educational thread !

For our 1st AP, i cited unknown for our travel date and put nothing in the purpose for AP section, nor did i attach an *essay* describing what we would be using the AP for. I wouldn't suggest leaving these thing out ... it was my mistake - but we were approved anyway!

For our renewal AP, i also cited unknown for the travel date and typed up the purpose as needed for work purposes (HQ in Canada) and possible travel to home country due to elderly parent.

Emergency AP is exactly as you described WOM! You would make an Infopass appt at the local office, bring your AOS NOA and explain the situation. It can be denied! If the process it, I believe it will be good only for that one trip (correct me if i am wrong here!) whereas you can choose to select on the standard AP multiple entries (ie: multiple trips).

This is how I understand WOM, and why I pointed out that thread. Ian's comments actually clarify it the most, but MrF has the JD behind his name.

Upshot: you don't need any 'reason' other than "I want to" to get Advance Parole.
Getting an emergency issue AP is a whole other thing, and quite difficult (or at least, a gamble). The DAH's mother's health is the very reason we didn't mess around with any non-immigrant options--he had to be able to leave at the drop of a hat. Applying for AP is a good piece of insurance.