Uh-oh... traveled on AP and US Customs Officer took my old I-94

[Up and Away 10]

Hi there,

I am preparing for our AOS interview and realized that I no longer have the original I-94 that I had when I submitted my AOS application back in December. The reason is that we had left the country on AP for our honeymoon, and upon our return, the US Customs Officer removed my old I-94 and I filled out a new one.

I still have front and back color photocopies of the old I-94, which I will certainly bring to the interview.

But... I won't have the original.

I searched through VJ and it seems like the proper thing to do is to remove the old I-94 from your passport before you travel so that they don't take it from you at Customs. Ugh!!!

I guess my question is: For those of you who went to your AOS interviews withOUT your original I-94, did you encounter any trouble with the IO? Did they ask why you didn't have your original I-94, and what was their reaction when you said that it was removed at POE when you traveled on your AP?

Not sure if this is relevant but I am a Canadian citizen and I was here on an F-1, no overstay issues, etc.

Thank you!

[CC90 90]

You're not supposed to have an I-94 from a previous entry. The whole reason it's there is for the airline/CBP to take it before you leave so your departure is recorded properly.

You're only supposed to have the I-94 from the most recent entry, which it sounds like you do. As such, you should experience absolutely no trouble as you are not expected to have the old one--and would probably even have some record issues if you still did.

Good luck at the interview!

[Up and Away 10]

Thanks CC90, I hope you are right. The other view I've read in my search of old VJ posts is this (scroll down to mid page)....

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/295244-ap-and-i-94/

Keeping fingers crossed...

[jdh 103]

Being that Canadians don't need an I-94, I can't see it being an issue...

If you do have a new one, bring it to the interview and explain...no biggy.

[Up and Away 10]

You guys were totally right --I had my interview yesterday and it was absolutely a non-issue. She just took the new I-94 out of my passport, no questions asked. I also asked a lawyer about it beforehand and he said it was a non-issue as well.

[jdh 103]

You guys were totally right --I had my interview yesterday and it was absolutely a non-issue. She just took the new I-94 out of my passport, no questions asked. I also asked a lawyer about it beforehand and he said it was a non-issue as well.

Good to hear! Be sure to post your interview review for us, if you didn't!

[Up and Away 10]

Good to hear! Be sure to post your interview review for us, if you didn't!

Thanks! Here is the review I posted in the New York thread:

We got to the waiting room at Federal Plaza 15 minutes early and ended up waiting for over 2.5 HOURS!!! We watched as all the other people in the room were called in one by one. And then the room filled with new people and still, we waited!

But the one good thing about the long wait is that eventually I stopped being nervous and was just really, really hungry and wanted to get the interview over with.

Finally, we were called in by a woman who was very, very professional. She was never rude or mean or disrespectful or sarcastic, etc. That was terrific. Her manner was very brisk --she asked how we met and cut me off after one sentence! She did not want to shoot the breeze or have any small talk. Honestly, that was totally cool with us. The questions she asked were very straight forward:

Spouse's full name

Spouse's parents names

Where spouse was born

Where spouse lived when you were dating

When did you move in together

Etc.

Very very basic things that were in our forms already. As she asked, she went through the forms and ticked things off. She did not try to trick us.

After that she asked what "joint documents" we had. We had a lot --lease, income tax filing, wedding present cards, bills, etc. But I knew from reading on VJ that the first thing you should show are the photos. So I took those out and went through them with her. I had maybe 24 photos but she only went through half of them before she said it was enough. She kept some and gave me back the rest.

I asked if she wanted to see our other evidence but she said it was fine, so we never ended up showing her our additional stuff. I hope that's ok.

Finally she said that she is going to review the evidence and we should expect to hear a verdict within 60 days. Then she gave us a form that said the same thing. She took my I-94 but let me keep my EAD/AP card. I told her that my husband and I are going to go to my parents' house in Canada and asked if I could travel on my AP, before I get the GC. She said that was fine. She wrote something in my passport about my application being under review.

Then she added that she was going to recommend that we get approved! That was nice to hear! She walked us out and wished us good luck and gave us a big smile.

Overall I feel pretty good about it. Of course I'm a little jealous of those couples who were approved right on the spot, but I understand that some IOs don't have the authority to do that, so it's just luck of the draw.

FYI, the line in the lobby was full when we entered --if it had been much longer, people would have had to wait outside or something. That said, it moved quickly and it took us 20 minutes to go through the line, up the elevators, and to our final destination.

FYI #2, we were allowed to bring in cell phones and I saw a bunch of people talking on their phones in the waiting room, including lawyers.

[grrrrreat 109]

Thanks! Here is the review I posted in the New York thread:

We got to the waiting room at Federal Plaza 15 minutes early and ended up waiting for over 2.5 HOURS!!! We watched as all the other people in the room were called in one by one. And then the room filled with new people and still, we waited!

But the one good thing about the long wait is that eventually I stopped being nervous and was just really, really hungry and wanted to get the interview over with.

Finally, we were called in by a woman who was very, very professional. She was never rude or mean or disrespectful or sarcastic, etc. That was terrific. Her manner was very brisk --she asked how we met and cut me off after one sentence! She did not want to shoot the breeze or have any small talk. Honestly, that was totally cool with us. The questions she asked were very straight forward:

Spouse's full name

Spouse's parents names

Where spouse was born

Where spouse lived when you were dating

When did you move in together

Etc.

Very very basic things that were in our forms already. As she asked, she went through the forms and ticked things off. She did not try to trick us.

After that she asked what "joint documents" we had. We had a lot --lease, income tax filing, wedding present cards, bills, etc. But I knew from reading on VJ that the first thing you should show are the photos. So I took those out and went through them with her. I had maybe 24 photos but she only went through half of them before she said it was enough. She kept some and gave me back the rest.

I asked if she wanted to see our other evidence but she said it was fine, so we never ended up showing her our additional stuff. I hope that's ok.

Finally she said that she is going to review the evidence and we should expect to hear a verdict within 60 days. Then she gave us a form that said the same thing. She took my I-94 but let me keep my EAD/AP card. I told her that my husband and I are going to go to my parents' house in Canada and asked if I could travel on my AP, before I get the GC. She said that was fine. She wrote something in my passport about my application being under review.

Then she added that she was going to recommend that we get approved! That was nice to hear! She walked us out and wished us good luck and gave us a big smile.

Overall I feel pretty good about it. Of course I'm a little jealous of those couples who were approved right on the spot, but I understand that some IOs don't have the authority to do that, so it's just luck of the draw.

FYI, the line in the lobby was full when we entered --if it had been much longer, people would have had to wait outside or something. That said, it moved quickly and it took us 20 minutes to go through the line, up the elevators, and to our final destination.

FYI #2, we were allowed to bring in cell phones and I saw a bunch of people talking on their phones in the waiting room, including lawyers.

Congratulations. I sounds like you are OK, but this particular USCIS officer lacks the authority to issue the approval on the spot. She probably has to run it by a superior.

Edited May 6, 2012 by grrrrreat