Wife going back Philippines due to a family emergency without green card

[LetItSnow 3]

My wife came to US with K-1 visa arrived on 10/16 and we got married a month later on 11/23. Her father has a serious stroke this morning and is admitted to hospital. Her family members did not say much about her dad's conditions and asked her to return to Philippines ASAP. She is under tremendous stress and will go back to Philippines tomorrow.

I have not file I-485 for AOS and as you know her K-1 visa is for single entry only. I asked her to take our marriage certificate with her and call US embassy next week. I am not sure what else can I do before she is leaving at 12 noon tomorrow. Should I or can I file I-485 after she left the country?

Please advice and thanks in advance!

[Merrytooth 5,748]

You have to start over with I-130 petition for CR1/IR1 visa.

[Hypnos 6,576]

If she departs before filing an I-485 then she won't be coming back anytime soon. You would need to file an I-130 for her, seeking a CR-1 immigrant visa. Expect the process to take around a year before her visa is issued.

Edited December 18, 2015 by Hypnos

[D N Medellin COL 75]

Our prayers with your father-in-law and family in this trying time. Yes you will need to start over and take the CR1 route.

[Transborderwife 4,666]

Sadly your k1 was a waste

[Pedrita 21]

I URGE to not let her do that!

I did something similar, all driven by emotions and came back to Brazil before my AOS was finalized. It´s being 7 months and counting that I don´t see my husband. Please don´t let her do that! It´s just so painful and costy to restart the whole thing again.

I wish someone had stopped me at the airport and put me back into my feet. Look up on myy timeline and you´ll see the journey this is being.

As much as I pray for your in law to get better, I´ve learned that when in this process we must be a little selfish.must be other ways for her to be present and supporting her family without being physically present. I learned that the hard way. Unfortunatelly, her family members will have to understand that she now has another family in another country and that she´s subject to a long and expensive process before she´s free to come and go whenever she wants. There If it was today, I would have never had done what I did.

Being physically present there won´t change anything after all. She can be there by other means.

It´s just too horrible and painful to go through all the journey again. It´s painful, very painful to be away from my husband for all this long and not knowing when I´ll be able to hug him again. Our lives were out on hold the second I boarded that plane.

PLEASE, TALK TO HER, OFFER HER COMFORT AND MAYBE ALTERNATIVES BUT DON´T LET HER GO BACK. PLEASE.

That´s just my personal experience and advice to you.

God bless your in law, your wife and all her family.

[arken 4,197]

As others have said, it might take up to a year before she can come back on cr1 visa once she leaves.

Not suggesting anything but sometime people have to make hard choices. One of my friend was in Similar aituation like your wife and he decided not to go. He went back home after he got AP three months later. His dad had already died by that time.

Under these circumstances, anyone would expect their family members to be by their side but sometimes you have to weigh out some options. I think you two should talk and lay out options and decide. Can she not go for now, apply AOS package and then go back few months later after getting AP considering anything could already have happened or might happen by that time? Even if she does not leave, she can maintain constant communication with her family till she can travel with AP. Is she prepared to stay in Phillipines for almost a year during cr1 processing especially after having already waited for so many months for k1 processing?

I hope you two talk together and choose one option wisely and nit in haste. Wish all the best.

Edited December 18, 2015 by arken

[tarzan31 27]

My wife came to US with K-1 visa arrived on 10/16 and we got married a month later on 11/23. Her father has a serious stroke this morning and is admitted to hospital. Her family members did not say much about her dad's conditions and asked her to return to Philippines ASAP. She is under tremendous stress and will go back to Philippines tomorrow.

I have not file I-485 for AOS and as you know her K-1 visa is for single entry only. I asked her to take our marriage certificate with her and call US embassy next week. I am not sure what else can I do before she is leaving at 12 noon tomorrow. Should I or can I file I-485 after she left the country?

Please advice and thanks in advance!

The others who have responded are correct. You will have abandoned the k-1 process once she leaves the U.S. You will have to start over. My suggestion would be to delay her flights, make an infopass appointment and file for emergency AP . Had you already filed the AOS documents, you would have been able to request an expedite for the AP, but as you have not done so already, you may be totally out of luck. You can not file the AOS once she leaves the U.S.

[Tahoma 2,291]

There is not enough information given here. What is the father's condition? I would recommend leaving only if her father's condition is absolutely life threatening. Otherwise, she should wait until she gets an expedited advance parole.

[EricAndOrn 30]

File for Emergency AP Documents at your local office.

http://www.uscis.gov/green-card/green-card-processes-and-procedures/travel-documents/emergency-travel

Emergency Advance Parole Documents

If you are experiencing an extremely urgent situation, you may visit your local office to request an emergency advance parole document. When visiting a local office to request emergency advance parole, you should bring the following items:

• A completed and signed Form I-131, Application for Travel Document
• The correct I-131 filing fee
• Evidence to support the emergency request (e.g. medical documentation, death certificate)
• Two passport-style photos.

How to File

To apply for an emergency travel document, you must file Form I-131, Application for a Travel Document, complete with supporting documentation, photos and applicable fees. See the application for specific filing instructions.

Where to File

Where to file the Form I-131 depends on the benefit sought. See the form instruction pagefor details. Your local office may accept an emergency advance parole application if you are experiencing an extremely urgent situation. Business trips, weddings, holiday parties, and other planned events would usually not be considered an emergency situation. If you are filing Form I-131 for an emergency travel document at your local office based on an extremely urgent situation, you are encouraged to make an Infopass appointmentfirst. "Make an Appointment (Infopass)."

When to File

You must apply for the travel document before leaving the United States. Generally, an applicant for a travel document must also complete biometrics capture at an Application Support Center (ASC) prior to departure from the United States. Failure to do so may cause the applicant to lose permission to reenter the country and lead to the denial of any other applications pending.

Edited December 19, 2015 by EricAndOrn

[LetItSnow 3]

File for Emergency AP Documents at your local office.

http://www.uscis.gov/green-card/green-card-processes-and-procedures/travel-documents/emergency-travel

Emergency Advance Parole Documents

If you are experiencing an extremely urgent situation, you may visit your local office to request an emergency advance parole document. When visiting a local office to request emergency advance parole, you should bring the following items:

• A completed and signed Form I-131, Application for Travel Document
• The correct I-131 filing fee
• Evidence to support the emergency request (e.g. medical documentation, death certificate)
• Two passport-style photos.

How to File

To apply for an emergency travel document, you must file Form I-131, Application for a Travel Document, complete with supporting documentation, photos and applicable fees. See the application for specific filing instructions.

Where to File

Where to file the Form I-131 depends on the benefit sought. See the form instruction pagefor details. Your local office may accept an emergency advance parole application if you are experiencing an extremely urgent situation. Business trips, weddings, holiday parties, and other planned events would usually not be considered an emergency situation. If you are filing Form I-131 for an emergency travel document at your local office based on an extremely urgent situation, you are encouraged to make an Infopass appointmentfirst. "Make an Appointment (Infopass)."

When to File

You must apply for the travel document before leaving the United States. Generally, an applicant for a travel document must also complete biometrics capture at an Application Support Center (ASC) prior to departure from the United States. Failure to do so may cause the applicant to lose permission to reenter the country and lead to the denial of any other applications pending.

Thanks you all for such quick responses.

Apparently, I was far too optimistic on the issue and did not realize the consequences of the action for my wife to leave US without applying an emergency AP. I should have gone to the local office and submitted the application this afternoon. My wife is suspect her family members have been down playing her dad's conditions and I asked her to find out more details and see if she can postpone the trip at least till next Tuesday so I can file AP on Monday.

Thanks you all again!!! You guys are awesome!!

[Hypnos 6,576]

You cannot apply for AP, emergency or otherwise, until you've filed for AoS. Since you haven't filed an I-485, you cannot file an I-131 either.

[LetItSnow 3]

I see. My wife just checked with her sister again and her sister did say she will need to come back tomorrow. So we will have to bite the bullet and start all over again (applying for CR-1) and now I just hope she will have a safe and uneventful trip home.

Thank you.

[Hypnos 6,576]

I suspect in the long run she will regret it, but that's not what you asked. A year is a long time to be apart for a husband and wife. I understand that extended familial ties are commonplace in the Philippines though.

[EricAndOrn 30]

Oh, I overlooked that you didn't file for AOS yet. And you are already married, so the embassy can not reissue the K-1 visa. If you were not yet married, they could do that.

Looks like you fell between cracks of the two possibilities.