Travelling w/o GC allowed??

[vny 0]

Hi all,

Not sure if this was asked/answered before, but will post so maybe can get some answers while I still search the archives.

Anyway, so my wife is scheduled for her CR-1 interview on June 8 and we figured that if all goes well with the interview, she should get her passport back within a week (from reading other posts here from others in her country). She needs to be in her country until the 17th anyway to take care of some work issues so she was planning on coming to US (first POE on CR-1) on around the 18th, 19th or 20th depending on flight situation. But due to some issues back home, she will need to be there for her work situation a couple of weeks a month until September.

So she is thinking that she will will come here and spend a couple weeks every month and go back for a couple weeks every month until September when all the loose ends are tied up (meaning 2 or 3 trips back and forth). This will also allow her to move her things here (from her parent's house) on these trips (2 or maybe 3 suitcases/boxes at a time) in the mean time.

So ... #1 we're not sure how long it will actually take for her GC to get here after she first arrives; #2 Do they actually stamp or show some sort of approval in the passport so that they know she has been approved for a CR-1 or does she actually need the GC in hand before travelling back to her country (or actually returning here); #3 Would it be a problem for her to be going back and forth (i.e., with customs/immigration at airport) or should she just stay and take care of her business before actually coming (worst case scenario).

Just wondering if anyone had any thoughts or experiences on something like this.

Would appreciate any info.

Thanks,

vny

[kaffy 2]

#1 usually within 4-6 weeks

#2 the visa in her passport and a stamp serve as temporary green card for up to one year so yes, she can indeed travel without the physical green card. See this thread for a pic: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=181547

#3 makes more sense to me to take care of everything at once before coming over. You'll save on airfare too

[lucyrich 19]

The visa will be in her passport. When she enters, she'll get an entry stamp (can't remember if it's on the visa itself or on one of the "stamp" pages, or both). But the stamp says she's been admitted. The stamp plus the visa plus the passport itself will work as evidence of status for one year.

The visa contains her A number, and I believe the officers can look up her file on the computers and verify that she's been approved for the green card by using that number. I'm not 100% sure of what info they look up by what means, but I know that she can re-enter with her stamped visa. I confirmed this by asking the same question to the CBP officer when we entered our first time with the CR-1 visa.

For example, after she enters with an immigrant visa (IR-1 or CR-1), she could turn around and leave the US that same day, and then re-enter again the next day or a few weeks later, using just stamped visa.

The Green Card will come a few weeks after the initial entry, and as soon as she receives it, she should carry it and use it. But if it arrives while she's overseas, no worries. Likewise if an administrative problem or mailing error delays it a bit more than the usual couple of weeks. She can still re-enter using just her passport with the visa and entry stamp.

[vny 0]

Thanks for your replies. Didn't expect anything so fast, but I guess that is the kind of responses we get here from our VJ family members.

I guess I forgot to mention one more option (which I would prefer, but don't want to be selfish):

She could just give up on the job thing and just come here and stay from June. But she says that if she goes back and takes care of her business, the extra money she receives will cover her plane fares (plus a little extra, which we wouldn't get here because she doesn't have a job yet here), PLUS she can spend some time with her parents and move her things here vice paying extra for shipping everything. Of course if she just comes she can actually start looking for a job, but the economy will probably not favor her now.