Advanced Parole Query

[SL2024 315]

Hi all,

 

Just wondering if anybody has to applied and paid for the Advanced Parole option at all? And if so how long did it take for it to be approved/processed? As this is something I am looking at doing at the moment.

 

Hope you can help!

[EatBulaga 485]

6 hours ago, SL2024 said:

Hi all,

 

Just wondering if anybody has to applied and paid for the Advanced Parole option at all? And if so how long did it take for it to be approved/processed? As this is something I am looking at doing at the moment.

 

Hope you can help!

The VJ data for Advanced Parole is at

https://www.visajourney.com/timeline/apstats.php

 

We got AP in the EAD combo card, which took 191 days for us.

[Legal Alien 182]

17 hours ago, SL2024 said:

Hi all,

 

Just wondering if anybody has to applied and paid for the Advanced Parole option at all? And if so how long did it take for it to be approved/processed? As this is something I am looking at doing at the moment.

 

Hope you can help!

 

I decided against it. It is so expensive and would have only been worth it if you would receive it quickly, but I saw some people getting their green card a few weeks or maybe 2 months later. Which is fine if you don't have to pay more than $600 extra for it, but if I pay that amount of money it needs to come quicker IMO. Maybe that will change but so far seems like a waste of money unless you really need to travel ASAP, in that case a few weeks/months earlier may be worth it.

[OldUser 10,388]

54 minutes ago, Nous Eb said:

 

I decided against it. It is so expensive and would have only been worth it if you would receive it quickly, but I saw some people getting their green card a few weeks or maybe 2 months later. Which is fine if you don't have to pay more than $600 extra for it, but if I pay that amount of money it needs to come quicker IMO. Maybe that will change but so far seems like a waste of money unless you really need to travel ASAP, in that case a few weeks/months earlier may be worth it.

AP is insurance policy. GC can take over a year to receive. AP can take 6-9 months.

If something happens to family outside the US at least there is a hope one can travel without abandoning AOS.

But yes, it's totally optional and everybody have their priorities and risk tolerance level. When I filed for mine, it was a no brainer because it was free with pending I-485 back in the days.

[Legal Alien 182]

7 minutes ago, OldUser said:

AP is insurance policy. GC can take over a year to receive. AP can take 6-9 months.

If something happens to family outside the US at least there is a hope one can travel without abandoning AOS.

But yes, it's totally optional and everybody have their priorities and risk tolerance level. When I filed for mine, it was a no brainer because it was free with pending I-485 back in the days.

 

Yeah, when it was free it was definitely a no-brainer. I flew April 8th and I honestly considered flying sooner to avoid the higher fees. But the ticket got more expensive + the hassle, I just decided to get the GC only and leave the rest be. Fortunately I can, I know many others can't. 

6-9 months is a long time. I think for this amount of money you should receive that within 2 months. In fact, I think the AP should always be free or have a tiny administrative fee of $10 and it should approved within 2 months. That should be your 'reward' for filing your paperwork and doing things the right way. 

 

If you think you have a straight forward case and don't see a lot of problems ahead of you, or if you don't need to travel, I would honestly save the $$. But if you expect that your GC might take a while because of whatever circumstances and it's important for you to be able to travel at least as soon as possible, then go for it. I think that decision is different for everyone.

[OldUser 10,388]

25 minutes ago, Nous Eb said:

I think for this amount of money you should receive that within 2 months. In fact, I think the AP should always be free or have a tiny administrative fee of $10 and it should approved within 2 months. That should be your 'reward' for filing your paperwork and doing things the right way. 

We can only dream!

 

26 minutes ago, Nous Eb said:

If you think you have a straight forward case and don't see a lot of problems ahead of you, or if you don't need to travel, I would honestly save the $$. 

But none of us have a crystal ball to tell the future.

 

Thank you for sharing your thoughts on this subject, I understand your point.

[Legal Alien 182]

32 minutes ago, OldUser said:

But none of us have a crystal ball to tell the future.

 

That's true, but I'm living on the edge! Haha

[SL2024 315]

Thank you both for your point of view. I completely understand both points of view as well.

 

The timelines are interesting as I have seen people receive theirs fairly quickly but have also seen people still waiting for theirs as well.

 

It is a lot of money to spend as well. I think me and my fiancée have both said it would be a good thing for me to have but we don’t want to be waiting ages for it.

 

I looked on the USCIS processing times for the Advanced Parole applications for the California Service Centre and it said 80% of cases are usually processed in within 14.5 months. Of course this is just a guide and timelines can vary.

[OldUser 10,388]

On 9/15/2024 at 2:57 AM, SL2024 said:

Thank you both for your point of view. I completely understand both points of view as well.

 

The timelines are interesting as I have seen people receive theirs fairly quickly but have also seen people still waiting for theirs as well.

 

It is a lot of money to spend as well. I think me and my fiancée have both said it would be a good thing for me to have but we don’t want to be waiting ages for it.

 

I looked on the USCIS processing times for the Advanced Parole applications for the California Service Centre and it said 80% of cases are usually processed in within 14.5 months. Of course this is just a guide and timelines can vary.

This statistics probably includes other documents obtained by filing I-131 such as Refugee Travel Documend Re-entry Permit. Those take longer than Advance Parole.

 

Yes, it's a lot of money, but nobody can also guarantee your GC will be processed fast.

Edited September 16, 2024 by OldUser

[SL2024 315]

1 hour ago, OldUser said:

This statistics probably includes other documents obtained by filing I-131 such as Refugee Travel Documend Re-entry Permit. Those take longer than Advance Parole.

 

Yes, it's a lot of money, but nobody can also guarantee your GC will be processed fast.

I don’t think that they do as when you select some categories you can then select the relevant form and then the relevant service centre and the timelines do vary between the I-131 forms on there.