Travel after entering via K1?

[Phoenix314 9]

My fiance's family lives in France, and his grandmother in particular is in very poor health. I'm really concerned that she could pass away within the period between him coming to the US and getting married/filing for employment authorization and all that. From what I understand, the only thing that lets him travel back to his home country in that "in-between" period is "advanced parole", but that takes 90 days to process... What happens if an emergency comes up and he needs to leave the country? Does that really mean the entire application will have to be started over again....? That would be absurd and inhumane. I know this is a depressing topic to worry about, but I'm concerned for him and us.

[KULtoATL 1,551]

Direct info from USCIS website

 

Is emergency advance parole available?

Yes. Applicants may submit Form I-131 and request expedited processing. Additionally, applicants may request an emergency Advance Parole document at their local USCIS field office, however, this should only been done in extremely urgent situations.

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.

[Hypnos 6,576]

If he leaves before receiving a valid Advance Parole then the process would be abandoned and you would need to begin over from scratch. 

 

After you marry and he's filed his I-485 but before he's received his AP, you may be able to expedite his AP if an emergency situation arises. This may or may not be granted by USCIS. 

Edited April 2, 2017 by Hypnos

[geowrian 22,337]

Once you enter on a K-1, the visa itself is no longer valid. It's one-use only. Once in the US, you must marry within 90 days and then you can file for AOS + EAD + AP. AP takes about 3-4 months currently. Once you get AP, you can leave the US.

 

If you leave the US before getting married, you need to either try for another K-1 or get married (anywhere) and file for a CR-1 visa.

If you file for AOS and leave the US for any reason without AP, your AOS will be treated as abandoned.

 

In the event that something comes up that requires travel after filing for AOS but before obtaining the AP document, you can request an expedite. If this occurs prior to getting married and filing AOS, you will need to either get married and file quickly and request the expedite, or just have to start over with another K-1 or CR-1.

Edited April 2, 2017 by geowrian

[USC1961 251]

I'm not so sure if an emergency travel permit would be granted to attend a funeral.  The sense I get is it wouldn't.  If I were in his shoes: Tie up all loose ends before coming to the USA.  I would say my goodbye to grandma.  Let family and friends know beforehand that I won't be attending the funeral if it happens before getting my AP.   The silver lining in all of this is at least he can prepare himself mentally.  Good luck!