need to leave the country, AOS still pending

[kristinakiko 0]

We filed for our AOS in July of 2012 and our status online is still pending. We bought non-refundable tickets to England for his brother's wedding - we purchased them months ago thinking that we'd be OK to travel by April of 2013. It's March now so we finally were able to get someone on the phone to discuss our pending application and explained our situation. They said there was nothing that they could do and if we needed an extension we'd need to request it in person. We are trying to make an appointment but every office in our area does not have appointments available in the next month (we are in Los Angeles). I have heard very conflicting advice about whether it's OK to travel during this waiting time, and I am wondering if 1) someone can confirm if it's OK to travel out of the country and 2) if there's something we can do if in fact we cannot get an in-person appointment to request an extension - I don't understand why we need an appointment for this in the first place?!

Edited March 4, 2013 by kristinakiko

[Dave-n-Oksana 49]

We filed for our AOS in July of 2012 and our status online is still pending. We bought non-refundable tickets to England for his brother's wedding - we purchased them months ago thinking that we'd be OK to travel by April of 2013. It's March now so we finally were able to get someone on the phone to discuss our pending application and explained our situation. They said there was nothing that they could do and if we needed an extension we'd need to request it in person. We are trying to make an appointment but every office in our area does not have appointments available in the next month (we are in Los Angeles). I have heard very conflicting advice about whether it's OK to travel during this waiting time, and I am wondering if 1) someone can confirm if it's OK to travel out of the country and 2) if there's something we can do if in fact we cannot get an in-person appointment to request an extension - I don't understand why we need an appointment for this in the first place?!

When you filed your ROC paperwork, you should have received a letter from USCIS extending your Green card for 1 year. You should be able to travel without any issues or making an appointment with your local office as long as you present this letter. If you don't have a letter, you must make an appointment and get and extension stamped in your passport.

[Brit Abroad 166]

When you applied for your AOS did you also send in Employment Authorisation and Advance Parole forms? (included in the price of the AOS provided submitted at the same time). If so, your Advance Parole document would cover your absence. The only potential drawback would be if you received a letter for an interview date while you were away. Hopefully, you have a trusted family member/friend to check your US mailbox while away.

If you didn't then you will need to make an Emergency appointment with your local USCIS office and request a stamp in your passport. It's normally dated around your expected return date and confers the same rights as a conditional green card. You may need to be insistent with the office and you will need to take your passport and all travel documents (flight tickets, proof of booking) with you to verify the request is valid.

[LIFE'SJOURNEY 970]

We filed for our AOS in July of 2012 and our status online is still pending. We bought non-refundable tickets to England for his brother's wedding - we purchased them months ago thinking that we'd be OK to travel by April of 2013. It's March now so we finally were able to get someone on the phone to discuss our pending application and explained our situation. They said there was nothing that they could do and if we needed an extension we'd need to request it in person. We are trying to make an appointment but every office in our area does not have appointments available in the next month (we are in Los Angeles). I have heard very conflicting advice about whether it's OK to travel during this waiting time, and I am wondering if 1) someone can confirm if it's OK to travel out of the country and 2) if there's something we can do if in fact we cannot get an in-person appointment to request an extension - I don't understand why we need an appointment for this in the first place?!

First please used the correct acronym, you are in ROC(Removal of Conditions) on a 2 year conditional green card. Second, if you have received your extension letter and the bio has been completed, then you can travel with the extension letter without any problems.

[kristinakiko 0]

Thank you for the replies, very helpful!

LifesJourney thanks for the correction, had no idea.... honestly I feel these forums are very hard to use/follow and I'm not a forum n00b..... Please move this to the appropriate forum, would not be the first time

Edited March 4, 2013 by kristinakiko