Can I leave USA while Advance Parole is processing

[geowrian 22,335]

I concur...asking for an expedite is asking to be put in front of others. For something like a wedding, it's not only quite unlikely, but may (in part) just slow down somebody else's expedite request that needs it more urgently.

[natsusnowy1204 24]

3 hours ago, GabiMatch said:

Why don't you try an infopass appointment? There are many cases where the advance parole can be expedited (usually because of health issues or death) but if it's so important to you, give it a try, I saw that it's a family wedding right? take the invitation with you and everything that could possibly give you a chance of expediting and go to the office, I think it doesn't hurt to try.

Good luck! 

Thank you!

[GYnot 8]

Let me tell you my experience and before I do that let me also say I am not a lawyer, I do not know or have any visibility into the actual law or practice of processing an Adjustment of Status. I am one person with two data points. The most recent of which is not complete. I am not advising you what to do and I certainly agree that leaving the USA before you have Advanced Parole is a bad idea.

 

Case 1: My wife who came to the US, before she was my wife,  on a K1 visa. We applied for AOS  and requested Advanced Parole, the processing of AP took a long time.  After we were notified that she had Advanced Parole but before we had the actual card in hand, she returned to Colombia. She was there for several months. While she was gone her card arrived. I sent it to her overnight. She then used that card to re-enter the USA with no problem.

 

Case 2: My step son, 8 years old, entered the country 15 months after my wife on a K2 visa. He was in the country from April to December. We applied for his AOS and AP. My wife decided in December that he had to return to Colombia for the Holidays. I objected, she insisted. We did not have notice of his AP approval. He has been in Colombia since December. Yesterday, I got his notice of approval of AP. Obviously his application was not abandoned. I’m not sure how long it will be before his AP ID card arrives. When it does I will again overnight it to Colombia and I hope he will be able to re-enter the US using that document. We will see what happens...

 

I hired a lawyer who told me that the application would continue to be processed and our only significant risk was that they might schedule his interview before he got AP AND that if he didn’t show for the interview that would abandon his application.

[geowrian 22,335]

17 minutes ago, GYnot said:

Case 1: My wife who came to the US, before she was my wife,  on a K1 visa. We applied for AOS  and requested Advanced Parole, the processing of AP took a long time.  After we were notified that she had Advanced Parole but before we had the actual card in hand, she returned to Colombia. She was there for several months. While she was gone her card arrived. I sent it to her overnight. She then used that card to re-enter the USA with no problem.

No issue here...AP was approved and they only check/require AP upon return. It's not recommended to cut it so close, or to have to ship AP internationally (in case it gets lost or something), but is permitted.

 

17 minutes ago, GYnot said:

Case 2: My step son, 8 years old, entered the country 15 months after my wife on a K2 visa. He was in the country from April to December. We applied for his AOS and AP. My wife decided in December that he had to return to Colombia for the Holidays. I objected, she insisted. We did not have notice of his AP approval. He has been in Colombia since December. Yesterday, I got his notice of approval of AP. Obviously his application was not abandoned. I’m not sure how long it will be before his AP ID card arrives. When it does I will again overnight it to Colombia and I hope he will be able to re-enter the US using that document. We will see what happens...

This case is definitely riskier. Some people have been able to re-enter using AP this way, but then had their AOS denied due to being abandoned, and they needed to re-file. Others have been denied entry altogether since the I-485 was denied due to abandonment, which automatically revokes any EAD or AP associated with it.

The assumption that his application was not abandoned is inaccurate. It was abandoned by law (see below, which notes that abandonment occurs at the time of departure), but USCIS just hasn't caught on to it yet...they move as slow as molasses.

 

INA 245.2 (a)(4)(ii)

https://www.uscis.gov/ilink/docView/SLB/HTML/SLB/0-0-0-1/0-0-0-11261/0-0-0-24520/0-0-0-24707.html

" (ii) Under section 245 of the Act . (A) The departure from the United States of an applicant who is under exclusion, deportation, or removal proceedings shall be deemed an abandonment of the application constituting grounds for termination of the proceeding by reason of the departure. Except as provided in paragraph (a)(4)(ii)(B) and (C) of this section, the departure of an applicant who is not under exclusion, deportation, or removal proceedings shall be deemed an abandonment of the application constituting grounds for termination of any pending application for adjust ment of status, unless the applicant was previously granted advance parole by the Service for such absences, and was inspected upon returning to the United States. If the adjustment application of an individual granted advance parole is subsequently denied the individual will be treated as an applicant for admission, and subject to the provisions of section 212 and 235 of the Act. (Paragraph (a)(4)(ii) revised effective 7/1/99; 64 FR 29208 ) "

[GYnot 8]

So all I can tell you is what my lawyer, told me. That yes USCI is slow, that the likelihood of him getting the advanced parole processed was high, and that it was likely he would be able to reenter with that document.  That filing for the Advanced Parole was practically  a certain thing and that given the current delays they are handling them more casually. 

 

The approval arrived yesterday, and I'm certainly going to try and bring him back into the country with it.  What happens next is something of a ####### shoot, but the alternative is to start the 14 month process all over again and pay the price of all that process again. If they fail to approve his AOSM we may have to do all that, but it feels reasonable to try and continue the process.  

[GYnot 8]

So all I can tell you is what my lawyer, told me. That yes USCI is slow, that the likelihood of him getting the advanced parole processed was high, and that it was likely he would be able to reenter with that document.  That filing for the Advanced Parole was practically  a certain thing and that given the current delays they are handling them more casually. 

 

The approval arrived yesterday, and I'm certainly going to try and bring him back into the country with it.  What happens next is something of a ####### shoot, but the alternative is to start the 14 month process all over again and pay the price of all that process again. If they fail to approve his AOSM we may have to do all that, but it feels reasonable to try and continue the process.  

[doggieandsam 765]

2 hours ago, GYnot said:

Case 2: My step son, 8 years old, entered the country 15 months after my wife on a K2 visa. He was in the country from April to December. We applied for his AOS and AP. My wife decided in December that he had to return to Colombia for the Holidays. I objected, she insisted. We did not have notice of his AP approval. He has been in Colombia since December. Yesterday, I got his notice of approval of AP. Obviously his application was not abandoned. I’m not sure how long it will be before his AP ID card arrives. When it does I will again overnight it to Colombia and I hope he will be able to re-enter the US using that document. We will see what happens..

interesting and i agree with the others that this is pretty risky. please report back if you can with how it goes for your stepson's re-entry. it will be good info for others who might find themselves in a similar situation.

[GYnot 8]

Trust me, I didn't want to be in this position, and I wouldn't recommend it for anyone and based on what was said to me here, I was astounded when my lawyer suggested we might still be able to follow up on this process. I absolutely will keep people updated on what happens.  That's why I replied here to start with.

[GYnot 8]

Just an update.. about a month ago I got notified that AP and Permission to Work have both been awarded. About two weeks ago the card came in the mail. So having left the country for an 8 year old who had an application for advanced parole did not stop his paperwork from being processed.

 

we still have an interview to go through and a green card to acquire but so far it’s not been an impediment.

 

Boy am I surprised...

[moosy 139]

Just one added thing for this entire topic: an AP does not give you the RIGHT to re-enter the country.

 

The border people actually have the right to refuse you entry if they so wish for whatever reason.

 

A befriended immigration lawyer has been getting contacted more and more lately for cases wherein they have an AP, and get rejected despite everything looking in order. She has a hard time getting them back into the country through a hearing, because of the way an AP works. 

 

It basically depends on the officer in front of you whether or not you are allowed back in. Could be a huge gamble.

 

She therefore suggests not leaving the country on an AP unless it is urgent. You could have a similar problem with a greencard, but she hardly ever sees that, maybe twice a year in her office (which is just one tiny one in California, btw).

 

Just to give a perspective from the "other side" where things aren't always so rosy and where you can't just hop back into the country whenever you please.

 

Discretionary power can be a real pain in the ***.

 

 

Edit: GYnot, I'm happy everything went okay with you, this is not a direct comment on you, I hope you understand that.

Edited April 27, 2018 by moosy

[GYnot 8]

Moosy, I recognize what we did was risky as... well frack.  When I tell you that I was so upset about my wife taking him back  that it casued significant marital strain that is no exaggeration. We got lucky. I do NOT suggest anyone follow our path. I am certain there was a large chance this was going to blow up in our faces, and we just got lucky.