F-1 active, married USC, Pending i-130, i-485, Approved AP. Question about using AP / visiting Canada ??

[brucewayne 0]

Hi Community!

You have been a great resource for me and my wife over the last 6 months.

I moved from Canada to the US in 2012 on a F-1 visa for graduate school. Got married to the love of my life after a couple of years of dating, in May 2015. Marriage took place in the USA. With the guidance of the VJ community we submitted the i-130 and i-485, along with the i-131 for advanced parole (and supporting docs) in June 2015. I had my biometrics appointment 1 month later in July 2015.

Currently:

i-130 status online states that "my case was received", status since June 2015

i-485 status online states that "my case is ready to be scheduled for an interview", status since July 2015

i-131 approved and received Advanced Parole 40 days later, in mid-August 2015

My F-1 visa is still valid until May 2016.

My questions are:

1) if I travel back to Canada and re-enter the USA after visiting my family for a weekend, will I still be considered a F-1 visa holder, or is it considered abandoned ?

2) With my AP, what supporting documents would they ask from me at the port of entry, coming back into the USA after a weekend in Canada?

3) Finally, will the i-130 status be updated after i-485 interview is completed? Kind of confused about this part

Thank you all in advance, you have been a great help

Edited October 16, 2015 by brucewayne

[newacct 688]

1. You can only go into F-1 status after entry when you enter on an F-1 visa. You cannot use an F-1 visa to enter at this point as you are doing Adjustment of Status. You also cannot enter as a Canadian visitor. You can only use AP to enter. When you enter on AP, you don't have F-1 status or any other status; you are a parolee.

2. AP and passport should be enough. Maybe also I-485 receipt to be safe.

3. It doesn't really matter. Maybe I-130 and I-485 will be approved together or I-130 first then I-485, but what really matters is the I-485.

[brucewayne 0]

@newacct Thank you ! much appreciated.

[Hypnos 6,576]

Since you filed the I-130 and I-485 together then they will be adjudicated together.

[DeKi 10]

brucewayne,

I am not sure the answer you got is fully accurate. (I am not saying it is necessarily wrong in the final recommendation, but I think the responder interpreted your situation not quite right. You wrote that you DID enter on F-1 in 2012.)

Since you are at an F-1 granting institution, you must have access to an immigration/foreign students advisor there. If I were you, I would consult with them directly. In my experience, these are very knowledgeable people (often with legal education) and have seen a variety of less than straight-forward cases. See also here -- I think this describes the same situation (except, after the fact, and not in preparation of departure from the US as you): http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/marriage-based-adjustment-status-denied-after-f-1-reentry-may-i-reapply.html.

Good luck!

[Sean and Kristina 24]

brucewayne,

I am not sure the answer you got is fully accurate. (I am not saying it is necessarily wrong in the final recommendation, but I think the responder interpreted your situation not quite right. You wrote that you DID enter on F-1 in 2012.)

Since you are at an F-1 granting institution, you must have access to an immigration/foreign students advisor there. If I were you, I would consult with them directly. In my experience, these are very knowledgeable people (often with legal education) and have seen a variety of less than straight-forward cases. See also here -- I think this describes the same situation (except, after the fact, and not in preparation of departure from the US as you): http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/marriage-based-adjustment-status-denied-after-f-1-reentry-may-i-reapply.html.

Good luck!

Link is broken

[DeKi 10]

Link is broken

Click on it and the delete everything after the html portion. VJ does something weird to links sometimes -- not sure how to prevent it.