Going back home with AP while waiting for AOS interview

[AdelineF 6]

Hello everyone,

 

I would really appreciate some advice on a complicated matter. However, I don’t need any judgment on my situation and decision, just advice from whoever thinks they can help with their experience. Let me explain myself :

 

I came here on a K1 visa last October. I applied for AOS on December 23rd, 2019. My EAD/AP was approved a couple days ago (May 27th), and I should receive my combo card anytime now. 

 

I have been struggling a lot mentally for a few months now, even before the whole COVID-19 thing. Our « big » wedding was supposed to be celebrated with my family coming from France on April 5th, but was cancelled. My grandmother passed away 2 weeks ago, and I wasn’t able to go back to my country for the funeral. And in general, I have been struggling here as a foreigner, with big relationship issues with my mother in law and feeling very very homesick.
I am very close to my family and leaving them to come here was a huge sacrifice for me, but I did it for love. I now have severe anxiety and panic attacks and have had to see a therapist.
 

Thanks to this therapist, we got a letter explaining our situation and my husband is going to get special/emergency unpaid time off so that him and I can go visit my family for 6 weeks, from July 31st to September 12th. We already booked plane tickets a while ago, knowing that we could cancel if I didn’t get my AP in time. Those 6 weeks are not just important to me, I need this time with my family for my mental health, and that will always come first. 

 

With the field offices reopening soon, I could get an interview notice anytime (although my status for I-485 was never scheduled for an interview, just « ready to be scheduled » since February 27th). 

 

So, with that, here are my questions :

 

- Should we move our trip to earlier in July (instead of July 31st) and come back August 22nd ; or should we keep our dates to July 31st to September 12th ? With the backlog, I know the people who had their interview canceled because of the coronavirus will come first, but there’s also a chance my turn could come fast too, I guess ?... Is it better to go earlier for that reason ?

 

- If we do receive an interview notice with an interview date while we are away (we will have someone getting our mail twice a week), can we reschedule from my country via phone and explain our situation ? Will our letter from the therapist help ? 

 

 

Again, I am not interested in judgment in regards to my decision to go back home with an AP and for such a long time. I am very well aware that it is not recommended at all to reschedule an AOS interview, and that there is no guarantee that I will be let back in the US. But my mental health comes first and I am willing to take the risk. I am just trying to make the best decision with this situation and minimize this risk, if I can, with any advice I can get. 
 

 

Thank you for reading me and thank you in advance for your help and advice.

[Quarknase 1,072]

Hi!

I’m sorry for what you’re going through. Having immigrated myself I can relate - after over 6 years I still miss my people at home dearly.

I personally don’t think it’s worth changing plans due to immigration. Go now if you please (once you have AP in hand), or later. 
I went on vacation when my biometrics was scheduled in 2015 and simply asked for re-scheduling with travel itinerary attached as proof.

I am now waiting for my naturalization interview, but am outside the US with my husband in Iraq for 2-3 months. I placed the same question in the forum a couple of weeks back (if an interview can be rescheduled online or via call) but did not receive a response, and decided to go anyhow. I don’t want to put my life on pause not knowing when an interview will be held.

My plan is to wait for the interview date and then either attempt to re-schedule via email/call, or possibly fly back for the interview, but since we’re now looking at a 3 months delay (offices have suspended interviews mid March) it might not even come to this.

[AdelineF 6]

11 hours ago, Quarknase said:

Hi!

I’m sorry for what you’re going through. Having immigrated myself I can relate - after over 6 years I still miss my people at home dearly.

I personally don’t think it’s worth changing plans due to immigration. Go now if you please (once you have AP in hand), or later. 
I went on vacation when my biometrics was scheduled in 2015 and simply asked for re-scheduling with travel itinerary attached as proof.

I am now waiting for my naturalization interview, but am outside the US with my husband in Iraq for 2-3 months. I placed the same question in the forum a couple of weeks back (if an interview can be rescheduled online or via call) but did not receive a response, and decided to go anyhow. I don’t want to put my life on pause not knowing when an interview will be held.

My plan is to wait for the interview date and then either attempt to re-schedule via email/call, or possibly fly back for the interview, but since we’re now looking at a 3 months delay (offices have suspended interviews mid March) it might not even come to this.

Thank you so much for taking the time to respond to me, I really appreciate it. I am sorry to did not receive a response to your question, so thank you for answering mine  
 

It feels so good to be understood and not be lectured on why it is not acceptable to reschedule an interview and why it should always come first. You saying you don’t want to « put your life on pause while waiting for an interview » spoke to me a lot. It is so true ! 
 

I hope if it ever comes to having to reschedule, that they won’t be any problems and that it won’t be considered a « no show ». 
 

I wish you all the best for your naturalization and I hope it goes smoothly. 
 

Again, I can’t thank you enough for your words and reassurance. 

[Quarknase 1,072]

6 minutes ago, AdelineF said:

Thank you so much for taking the time to respond to me, I really appreciate it. I am sorry to did not receive a response to your question, so thank you for answering mine  
 

It feels so good to be understood and not be lectured on why it is not acceptable to reschedule an interview and why it should always come first. You saying you don’t want to « put your life on pause while waiting for an interview » spoke to me a lot. It is so true ! 
 

I hope if it ever comes to having to reschedule, that they won’t be any problems and that it won’t be considered a « no show ». 
 

I wish you all the best for your naturalization and I hope it goes smoothly. 
 

Again, I can’t thank you enough for your words and reassurance. 

You're very welcome  For full transparency - I did receive feedback now and it appears that re-schedule needs to take place in paper form. Linking my topic below so you can read through.

It honestly still doesn't make me regret my decision. And especially for you being in France - I believe there are daily flights to the US and with average notice of 4 weeks for an interview you could just return if the interview comes up (or have the person that checks your mail send the slip with request to reschedule, along with your itinerary).

 

 

[AdelineF 6]

4 hours ago, Quarknase said:

You're very welcome  For full transparency - I did receive feedback now and it appears that re-schedule needs to take place in paper form. Linking my topic below so you can read through.

It honestly still doesn't make me regret my decision. And especially for you being in France - I believe there are daily flights to the US and with average notice of 4 weeks for an interview you could just return if the interview comes up (or have the person that checks your mail send the slip with request to reschedule, along with your itinerary).

 

 

Thank you for that information, it is good to know ! We just talked about it with my husband and we will prepare a letter to ask to reschedule with a copy of the letter from our therapist and a letter from my husband’s employer explaining our situation. This way the person who gets our mail can send it for us if we need to reschedule. 
 

There are flights but it is kind of unclear for some airlines. They can cancel their flights and mainly, the prices are outrageous. But oh well 😅

[rubanitka 15]

19 hours ago, AdelineF said:

Hello everyone,

 

I would really appreciate some advice on a complicated matter. However, I don’t need any judgment on my situation and decision, just advice from whoever thinks they can help with their experience. Let me explain myself :

 

I came here on a K1 visa last October. I applied for AOS on December 23rd, 2019. My EAD/AP was approved a couple days ago (May 27th), and I should receive my combo card anytime now. 

 

I have been struggling a lot mentally for a few months now, even before the whole COVID-19 thing. Our « big » wedding was supposed to be celebrated with my family coming from France on April 5th, but was cancelled. My grandmother passed away 2 weeks ago, and I wasn’t able to go back to my country for the funeral. And in general, I have been struggling here as a foreigner, with big relationship issues with my mother in law and feeling very very homesick.
I am very close to my family and leaving them to come here was a huge sacrifice for me, but I did it for love. I now have severe anxiety and panic attacks and have had to see a therapist.
 

Thanks to this therapist, we got a letter explaining our situation and my husband is going to get special/emergency unpaid time off so that him and I can go visit my family for 6 weeks, from July 31st to September 12th. We already booked plane tickets a while ago, knowing that we could cancel if I didn’t get my AP in time. Those 6 weeks are not just important to me, I need this time with my family for my mental health, and that will always come first. 

 

With the field offices reopening soon, I could get an interview notice anytime (although my status for I-485 was never scheduled for an interview, just « ready to be scheduled » since February 27th). 

 

So, with that, here are my questions :

 

- Should we move our trip to earlier in July (instead of July 31st) and come back August 22nd ; or should we keep our dates to July 31st to September 12th ? With the backlog, I know the people who had their interview canceled because of the coronavirus will come first, but there’s also a chance my turn could come fast too, I guess ?... Is it better to go earlier for that reason ?

 

- If we do receive an interview notice with an interview date while we are away (we will have someone getting our mail twice a week), can we reschedule from my country via phone and explain our situation ? Will our letter from the therapist help ? 

 

 

Again, I am not interested in judgment in regards to my decision to go back home with an AP and for such a long time. I am very well aware that it is not recommended at all to reschedule an AOS interview, and that there is no guarantee that I will be let back in the US. But my mental health comes first and I am willing to take the risk. I am just trying to make the best decision with this situation and minimize this risk, if I can, with any advice I can get. 
 

 

Thank you for reading me and thank you in advance for your help and advice.

I have been where you are now. I totally understand how it feels. 

In my opinion it is totally okay to go home on AP. I did the same and it really helped my mental well-being.

What would be great, if somebody could check your mailbox while you're gone to notify you if USCIS sends you an invitation for the interview. They do it well ahead, like 4-6 weeks in advance, in my case I received it with a 5 weeks notice.

What is also cool these days, due to the Covid-situation most major airlines offer free date change for your travel itinerary. So you could return right before the interview.

If I may suggest, I'd rather not postpone the interview because of the trip, but instead fly in for the interview and go back to your home county again. It might be pricier but time is money and the clock starts ticking once you get your residency. It will give you way more freedom, flexibly, and ease of mind too. 

[Giovanna024 442]

I think because of all this Covid 19 situation and travel ban, many people are waiting to be united with their familly, and many of them are stuck over seas or here or in  Canada and cant trabel. 

So I would not reschedule the interview just come back when is scheduled. 

I also hope that USICS will have some understanding about staying long outside US and beeing stucked somewhere. 

[AdelineF 6]

3 hours ago, rubanitka said:

I have been where you are now. I totally understand how it feels. 

In my opinion it is totally okay to go home on AP. I did the same and it really helped my mental well-being.

What would be great, if somebody could check your mailbox while you're gone to notify you if USCIS sends you an invitation for the interview. They do it well ahead, like 4-6 weeks in advance, in my case I received it with a 5 weeks notice.

What is also cool these days, due to the Covid-situation most major airlines offer free date change for your travel itinerary. So you could return right before the interview.

If I may suggest, I'd rather not postpone the interview because of the trip, but instead fly in for the interview and go back to your home county again. It might be pricier but time is money and the clock starts ticking once you get your residency. It will give you way more freedom, flexibly, and ease of mind too. 

Thank you so much for taking the time to respond to me and for your advice. We will definitively have someone check our mailbox. 
 

We actually already booked flights with Delta Airlines and they are waiving change fees but you still have to pay the price difference if it’s higher and the prices are getting worse everyday. So if we had to change our ticket last minute, we would have to pay at least $700 each, if not more. If we had to go back after that, it would be another $1500 each minimum too. 

[AdelineF 6]

3 hours ago, Giovanna024 said:

I think because of all this Covid 19 situation and travel ban, many people are waiting to be united with their familly, and many of them are stuck over seas or here or in  Canada and cant trabel. 

So I would not reschedule the interview just come back when is scheduled. 

I also hope that USICS will have some understanding about staying long outside US and beeing stucked somewhere. 

I agree and I do hope that they will be more understanding. If we can come back we will definitely do so  
 

Thank you for your time and advice, it helps a lot !

[AdelineF 6]

On 6/17/2020 at 6:23 AM, VIP_LadyLuck said:

I feel you. Mental health is truly a priority and praying you will be healed soon!

 

My father died on April 30th(in the Philippines), the same day my husband was in a critical condition at the hospital. I couldn't fly back home to be with family and I couldn't visit/stay with my husband at the hospital due to no visitors policy. My siblings couldn't go back home too as we are scattered all over the world (there's 5 of us). Mom had our neighbors, friends and relatives for support during my father's wake, and after. She is strong. My only consolation is Dad was able to talk to her before he passed.

 

I had to be strong and my outlet for my grief is my faith in God and gardening. I cry while doing chores etc. I only sleep maybe 3-4 hours a night. Thanked God for the internet, my family back home often have video calls and the nurses at the ICU's are very nice as they Facetimed me with my husband although he was sedated. Also, my MIL stayed with me at the house until my husband came home and our neighbors were the ones who mowed my lawn and backyard for me.

 

My husband is back home and on the way to full recovery. Mom is doing okay and had accepted our loss. Friends, relatives and neighbors still visit her everyday. Two of my brother's friends  lost their job due to covid and are staying with her full time now. We have set up a mini-store for her (like 7-11 but smaller and not as fancy) and it keeps her busy and she mostly get her social interactions that way.

 

Like us, you will and can survive this!

 

I am so sorry for what you are going through. I can only imagine how hard it must be  

I hope and wish the very best for you ❤️