Travel Question with AP, after interview

[zaira 0]

This is the situation, I have just received an email that my travel document has been approved, so I finally have my advance parole. I would like to travel on January 31, but my interview is on January 19. Would it be ok to buy the plane tickets, are there any situations under which I wouldn't be able to leave the US? Say I get approved at the interview, but I don't have the green card yet, or I get rejected at the interview? Thanks!

[Brother Hesekiel 2,235]

If you get approved at the interview, you are a Green Card holder and can travel.

If no decision has been made until you travel, you can travel on your AP, as long as you were not out of status.

If your petition gets denied, you again can travel, but you can't come back.

[zaira 0]

Thanks for the reply! How does traveling on AP work, do I still surrender my I-94 when I leave the country?

If I get approved at the interview, but don't have the green card in hand by January 31, should I ask for a I-551 stamp?

I apologize for all the basic questions. I'm excited the process is finally moving forward and I'm not stuck in the US anymore .

[Little_My 464]

You always surrender your I-94 card when you leave. If you return using the AP, you might have to fill out a new one - though they are not used as much anymore since the process is apparently going electronic.

If you get approved on the spot, you can ask for the stamp from the IO who interviewed you. It is possible he/she won't give it to you during the interview but will ask you to make an infopass appointment and get a stamp after the interview appointment. It might be a good idea for you to schedule an infopass now, maybe a week from your interview, so that in case the IO won't give you a stamp or in case it will take a few days from the interview to the approval, you already have the infopass scheduled and you can ask for the stamp before your flight. The stamp is as good as a GC.

[pot121 1]

Hi, I have the same question. About traveling with AP. I'm a bit confused though.

I overstayed my visa and got approved for AP. I know you can't use it if you over stay for more than 180 days cos you will trigger a 3 or 10 yr ban. But yesterday I had my AOS interview and got approved. No approval letter was given to me. And said will receive GC in 2-3weeks. Cos I asked when will I get the Gc in the mail because we are planning to travel out of the country in about two weeks. The IO asked if I have my EAD with me and would like to see it. I handed it to her and she said that my EAD will be my proof of status til I get my GC and can travel with it. I told her that I overstayed but she was pretty firmed that I can use it to travel. Im so confused!

Is there any truth about what the IO said?

Your advice will be very much appreciated. Thanks!

[Little_My 464]

You cannot travel with the EAD/AP combo card if you have overstayed your previous visa for more than 180 days. In your case, that card is also technically not valid anymore if you were really approved. If you were approved, you can make an infopass appointment and request the I-551 stamp, which is essentially as good as the physical GC and will allow you to travel while you're waiting for the physical card to arrive.

[pot121 1]

You cannot travel with the EAD/AP combo card if you have overstayed your previous visa for more than 180 days. In your case, that card is also technically not valid anymore if you were really approved. If you were approved, you can make an infopass appointment and request the I-551 stamp, which is essentially as good as the physical GC and will allow you to travel while you're waiting for the physical card to arrive.

How do I know if I am really approved? I asked the lady before we left her office if we are approved and she said YES to me and my hubby. But she did not give us the approval letter. And no txt/email confirmation at the end of the day. Im confused. May I ask did you get an approval letter on the day you got approved? Your interview day.

[zaira 0]

@pot121, did you check your application status on the USCIS website? I think the message on there should change after you get approved.

@Little_My, great idea to make an infopass appointment now. Thanks for all the info.

[pot121 1]

@zaira Yes. But it still on request for initial interview. So we are not approve yet?

[Dave&Roza 748]

The IO said you are approved before leaving correct? You were told the typical line that the GC will arrive in 30 days right? Your GC is on its way. Our interview was on a Thursday and the GC arrived that Saturday--this was back in May so the only holiday we had was Memorial Day. The EAD/AP card has a warning about using it, however; since you are approved for a GC you can use the EAD/AP card for travel until the GC arrives. The website never updated for us until well after the GC arrived. I did receive a text message, but I cannot remember when that was.

Enjoy your trip.

Dave

[pot121 1]

The IO said you are approved before leaving correct? You were told the typical line that the GC will arrive in 30 days right? Your GC is on its way. Our interview was on a Thursday and the GC arrived that Saturday--this was back in May so the only holiday we had was Memorial Day. The EAD/AP card has a warning about using it, however; since you are approved for a GC you can use the EAD/AP card for travel until the GC arrives. The website never updated for us until well after the GC arrived. I did receive a text message, but I cannot remember when that was.

Enjoy your trip.

Dave

Yes. She said that we are approved and will receive the card in 2-3 weeks. she did not give me approval letter before we left. did you get approval letter? Im scared to use my EAD/AP. :/

[Little_My 464]

Yes. She said that we are approved and will receive the card in 2-3 weeks. she did not give me approval letter before we left. did you get approval letter? Im scared to use my EAD/AP. :/

If you overstayed your previous visa, you should not use your AP. Once you are approved, your status on USCIS website should change and if you are signed up for email notifications, you should also get an email about approval. You can make the infopass, but if the status on USCIS hasn't changed and you haven't gotten an email or the welcome letter, I would try calling them first to see if they can see the approval in their system. If you haven't been officially approved yet, the infopass will be a waste of time since they won't give you a stamp until you are really approved.

[pot121 1]

If you overstayed your previous visa, you should not use your AP. Once you are approved, your status on USCIS website should change and if you are signed up for email notifications, you should also get an email about approval. You can make the infopass, but if the status on USCIS hasn't changed and you haven't gotten an email or the welcome letter, I would try calling them first to see if they can see the approval in their system. If you haven't been officially approved yet, the infopass will be a waste of time since they won't give you a stamp until you are really approved.

Yes. the status is still the same. no changes on the website. Okay, I will call USCIS to see if they can see the approval in their system. I hope the status change soon. :/

[pot121 1]

If you overstayed your previous visa, you should not use your AP. Once you are approved, your status on USCIS website should change and if you are signed up for email notifications, you should also get an email about approval. You can make the infopass, but if the status on USCIS hasn't changed and you haven't gotten an email or the welcome letter, I would try calling them first to see if they can see the approval in their system. If you haven't been officially approved yet, the infopass will be a waste of time since they won't give you a stamp until you are really approved.

Your advice to call USCIS worked like a charm!!! I just talked to them and said they mailed me a notice TODAY that they had registered my permanent resident status! followed by a txt/email confirmation! I'm so happy!

I guess my green card is on its way too! yay!

Thanks alot! And thank you ZAIRA for starting this thread! It helped a lot!