Traveling while i485 pending

[Gman24 0]

Hi everyone new here so please help didn't know that the process would take this long on the I 485 can my wife exit the country as the case is still pending can she be approved even though she is not in the country? Or does the application get voided as soon as she exits the country she came here on a k1 visa but has since expired?

Please help

[dandk 72]

Hi everyone new here so please help didn't know that the process would take this long on the I 485 can my wife exit the country as the case is still pending can she be approved even though she is not in the country? Or does the application get voided as soon as she exits the country she came here on a k1 visa but has since expired?

Please help

Providing that your wife has AP or EAD combo card, then she can go outside the US. If she doesn't have AP, she will abandon her AOS application. Did you apply for AP and EAD along with your AOS?

[Gman24 0]

Providing that your wife has AP or EAD combo card, then she can go outside the US. If she doesn't have AP, she will abandon her AOS application. Did you apply for AP and EAD along with your AOS?

Thank you for your reply we did not apply for an AP because we field back In October and thought that it was not needed thinking that we are going to get something by now since friends of our got GC in 3 months but now we are stuck what if she leaves and stays till the GC is approved

[bigdog 377]

Providing that your wife has AP or EAD combo card, then she can go outside the US. If she doesn't have AP, she will abandon her AOS application. Did you apply for AP and EAD along with your AOS?

Good question and hard to tell without a time line or anything. AP/ EAD if you already filed the I485, should come quickly once you file the paperwork, see the guides.

Edited April 23, 2013 by bigdog

[dandk 72]

Thank you for your reply we did not apply for an AP because we field back In October and thought that it was not needed thinking that we are going to get something by now since friends of our got GC in 3 months but now we are stuck what if she leaves and stays till the GC is approved

If she left the US before the GC is approved, the AOS application is considered abandon. She cannot come back to the US. You will have to start the process again via CR-1 visa. Her K-1 visa is expired the minute she entered the US. Technically, your wife is out of status until the GC is approved.

[HK12 273]

You can still apply for AP for free as long as your AOS is pending. I would not count on the Green Card being approved without an interview, i.e. she would have to come back to the U.S. for the interview. I advise you to file for AP asap, and dalay any travel plans until you have the AP in hands.

[koosdur 0]

Apply for AP, you will be fine.

[Gman24 0]

Thank you all for the replies, one more question how long does the AP take and can you leave the country and have someone mail you the AP once approved and come back in the country?

Also what if the GC get approved while out of country can someone bring it to you and enter back with it

[vbtwo 54]

You are not allowed to leave and come back until you have gotten either the GC or an AP. You must have gotten the GC or AP before you leave. If it comes afterwards, it does not count. They have records of when you left and when things were approved. They should technically not even approve AOS or AP if you left the country, but even if they somehow do, the officer at the POE can deny you entry anyways as you left without first obtaining an AP or a GC.

If it's an emergency travel (like relatives are really sick in the hospital), make an infopass appointment to a local office, bring copies of hospital admission or something like that and apply in person for an emergency AP, and you will probably get it that same day.

Do not leave the country without first having an AP or a GC in hand if you want to come back.

Edited April 23, 2013 by vbtwo