Up and Away

My Date of Decision was 10/14/2014. (I've corrected my original entry to reflect the same, thanks for pointing it out.)

Hey.. Congrats.. What's your approval date on your notice... ??

California Service Center (24 applicants, 20 approved - 83%)

VJName............Date of I-751....NOA1 Date.....Biometrics.....Approved
USER19000............03/31/14.......04/01/14......04/30/14......06/17/14
SMS78................03/31/14.......04/07/14......04/30/14......06/25/14
317935...............03/31/14.......04/08/14......05/12/14......07/07/14
CARYH................04/01/14.......04/03/14......04/30/14......06/24/14(Early Bio 04/18)
MRS.R................04/01/14.......04/02/14......05/01/14......08/08/14
PURSUEURDREAM........04/03/14.......04/07/14......05/02/14......07/07/14(Early Bio 04/28)
CRYSTALSOUND.........04/04/14.......04/07/14......05/02/14......06/17/14
LAINIEB..............04/08/14.......04/14/14......05/07/14......06/26/14(Early Bio 05/01)
PENNY LANE...........04/08/14.......04/10/14......05/02/14......06/24/14
SIMPLYNICE12.........04/14/14.......04/15/14......05/09/14......06/23/14(Early Bio 05/07)
STERNUM888...........04/18/14.......04/21/14......05/16/14......06/??/14
KISH.2328............04/18/14.......04/21/14......05/23/14......07/29/14
RAGHU2383............04/19/14.......04/23/14.......CURRENT......07/07/14
HINDI................04/21/14.......04/23/14......05/29/14......09/30/14
CHOOCHOOPANDA........04/21/14.......04/23/14.......CURRENT......08/18/14
SISYPHUS.............04/22/14.......05/05/14......--/--/--......--/--/--
GREENWINE............04/23/14.......04/24/14.......CURRENT......06/24/14
LUPA222..............04/23/14.......04/28/14.......CURRENT......--/--/--
CANUCK JULIE.........04/24/14.......04/25/14.......CURRENT......06/25/14
ISSEY................04/24/14.......04/25/14.......CURRENT......07/01/14
MDM24................04/24/14.......04/28/14......05/20/14......--/--/--
N_KEVIN..............04/25/14.......04/29/14......07/07/14......06/29/14(Early Bio 07/01)
NENE815..............04/26/14.......05/05/14.......CURRENT......07/11/14
PETER_MIRIAM.........04/29/14.......05/06/14......06/02/14......--/--/--


Vermont Service Center (46 applicants, 3 approved - 7 %)

VJName.............Date of I-751....NOA1 Date....Biometrics.....Approved
XPRSURSLF............03/27/14.......04/01/14......05/01/14......--/--/--
KENNY874REAL.........03/27/14.......04/15/14.......CURRENT......--/--/--(waiver)
MIKE N SANDY.........03/28/14.......04/01/14......04/30/14......--/--/--
SILVERLINE75.........03/29/14.......04/03/14......05/06/14......--/--/--
DOUG&PAM.............04/02/14.......04/04/14......05/01/14......--/--/--
DAVEnROXY............04/03/14.......04/07/14......05/06/14......--/--/--
MILKI422.............04/03/14.......04/07/14......05/14/14......--/--/--
PPLOVER..............04/04/14.......04/07/14......05/06/14......--/--/--
GEORGERAMSARAN.......04/04/14.......04/07/14......05/13/14......--/--/--(Early Bio 05/09)
DC85.................04/04/14.......04/07/14......05/13/14......10/16/14(former myafi1985)(Early Bio 04/23)
DIMPLES..............04/05/14.......04/10/14......05/16/14......--/--/--
UP AND AWAY..........04/07/14.......04/09/14......05/08/14......10/14/14
JAY21................04/07/14.......04/10/14......05/21/14......--/--/--
ABEDOX...............04/07/14.......04/15/14......04/28/14......10/14/14
APRILPAM77...........04/08/14.......04/11/14......CURRENT.......--/--/--
NEVLUVSNAE...........04/08/14.......04/11/14.......CURRENT......--/--/--
MAKA.................04/08/14.......04/10/14......05/25/14......--/--/--(Early Bio 05/13)
INYONG...............04/09/14.......04/10/14.......CURRENT......--/--/--
PETERANDROBIN........04/09/14.......04/11/14.......CURRENT......--/--/--
WRIGHTFAMILY.........04/09/14.......04/21/14......05/14/14......--/--/--
GAMUT................04/09/14.......04/14/14.......CURRENT......--/--/--
BOND007..............04/09/14.......04/14/14......--/--/14......--/--/--
TORONTOGAL4388.......04/10/14.......04/14/14......05/27/14......--/--/--
MESSI10..............04/10/14.......04/11/14......05/23/14......--/--/--
NY123................04/11/14.......04/--/14......05/30/14......--/--/--
KELAD................04/12/14.......04/16/14......06/04/14......--/--/--
SULHAQ...............04/12/14.......04/15/14......--/--/14......--/--/--
KHUSAL...............04/12/14.......04/16/14......06/02/14......--/--/--
NEVIN................04/12/14.......05/05/14.......CURRENT......--/--/--
SL2014...............04/13/14.......04/18/14......--/--/14......--/--/--
JOYBEE...............04/14/14.......04/18/14......06/04/14......--/--/--
NEELA & JITU.........04/15/14.......04/18/14......06/04/14......--/--/--(Early Bio 05/16)
EVOPC................04/15/14.......04/17/14......--/--/14......--/--/--
SCRAPPYPICKLES.......04/16/14.......04/17/14......--/--/14......--/--/--
GOOGLED..............04/17/14.......04/22/14......--/--/14......--/--/--
MADISONJAX...........04/17/14.......04/22/14.......CURRENT......--/--/--
BLANK STARE85........04/17/14.......04/21/14.......CURRENT......--/--/--(RFE received dated 10/07)
ALEX AND SOFYA.......04/21/14.......04/28/14.......CURRENT......--/--/--
PATRICK&SARAH........04/21/14.......04/22/14.......CURRENT......--/--/--
SNAPDRAGON...........04/23/14.......04/28/14......--/--/14......--/--/--
MAHYLAND.............04/24/14.......05/01/14.......CURRENT......--/--/--
MDBR.................04/24/14.......04/28/14......--/--/14......--/--/--
LIZKA................04/24/14.......04/28/14......06/05/14......--/--/--
DLR & M..............04/26/14.......04/29/14......06/03/14......--/--/--
PETER D..............04/26/14.......04/29/14......06/10/14......--/--/--
VICANO...............04/28/14.......04/29/14......--/--/14......--/--/--


IMPORTANT!

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Date of I-751 = The Date you sent your petition
NOA Date = The Receipt Date on your original NOA letter
Biometrics = The Date of your biometrics appointment
Approved = The Date your case was approved

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Got our approval letter in the mail today!

California Service Center (8 applicants, 0 approved - 0%)

VJName.............Date of I-751....NOA1 Date....Biometrics.....Approved
USER19000............03/31/14.......04/01/14......04/30/14......--/--/--
CARYH................04/01/14.......04/03/14......04/30/14......--/--/--
MRS.R................04/01/14.......04/02/14......05/01/14......--/--/--
PURSUEURDREAM........04/03/14.......04/07/14......05/02/14......--/--/--
CRYSTALSOUND.........04/04/14.......04/07/14......05/02/14......--/--/--
LAINIEB..............04/08/14.......04/--/14......--/--/14......--/--/--
PENNY LANE...........04/08/14.......04/10/14......--/--/14......--/--/--

SIMPLYNICE12.........04/14/14.......04/--/14......--/--/14......--/--/--

Vermont Service Center (13 applicants, 0 approved - 0%)

VJName.............Date of I-751....NOA1 Date....Biometrics.....Approved
MIKE N SANDY.........03/28/14.......04/01/14......04/30/14......--/--/--
SILVERLINE75.........03/29/14.......04/03/14......05/06/14......--/--/--
DOUG&PAM.............04/02/14.......04/04/14......05/01/14......--/--/--
GEORGERAMSARAN.......04/04/14.......04/07/14......--/--/14......--/--/--
MYAFI1985............04/04/14.......04/07/14......--/--/14......--/--/--
DIMPLES..............04/05/14.......04/10/14......--/--/14......--/--/--
UP AND AWAY..........04/07/14.......04/09/14......05/08/14......--/--/--
JAY21................04/07/14.......04/10/14......--/--/14......--/--/--
KELAD................04/12/14.......04/--/14......--/--/14......--/--/--
NEVIN................04/14/14.......04/--/14......--/--/14......--/--/--

EVOPC................04/15/14.......04/--/14......--/--/14......--/--/--

NEELA&JITU...........04/15/14.......04/--/14......--/--/14......--/--/--

SNAPDRAGON...........04/--/14.......04/--/14......--/--/14......--/--/--

IMPORTANT!

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* Please PREVIEW before posting to make sure it is properly formatted.
* Please check that you have not deleted anyone's NAME & DATA. Also please check that you have not deleted the name of the Service Center.

Date of I-751 = The Date you sent your petition
NOA Date = The Receipt Date on your original NOA letter
Biometrics = The Date of your biometrics appointment
Approved = The Date your case was approved

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California Service Center (7 applicants, 0 approved - 0%)

VJName.............Date of I-751....NOA1 Date....Biometrics.....Approved
USER19000............03/31/14.......04/01/14......04/30/14......--/--/--
CARYH................04/01/14.......04/03/14......--/--/14......--/--/--
MRS.R................04/01/14.......04/02/14......--/--/14......--/--/--
PURSUEURDREAM........04/03/14.......04/--/14......--/--/14......--/--/--
CRYSTALSOUND.........04/04/14.......04/07/14......--/--/14......--/--/--
LAINIEB..............04/08/14.......04/--/14......--/--/14......--/--/--
PENNY LANE...........04/08/14.......04/--/14......--/--/14......--/--/--

Vermont Service Center (8 applicants, 0 approved - 0%)

VJName.............Date of I-751....NOA1 Date....Biometrics.....Approved
MIKE N SANDY.........03/28/14.......04/01/14......04/30/14......--/--/--
SILVERLINE75.........03/29/14.......04/03/14......--/--/14......--/--/--
DOUG&PAM.............04/02/14.......04/04/14......05/01/14......--/--/--
GEORGERAMSARAN.......04/04/14.......04/--/14......--/--/14......--/--/--
MYAFI1985............04/04/14.......04/07/14......--/--/14......--/--/--
DIMPLES..............04/05/14.......04/--/14......--/--/14......--/--/--
UP AND AWAY..........04/07/14.......04/09/14......--/--/14......--/--/--

SNAPDRAGON...........04/--/14.......04/--/14......--/--/14......--/--/--


IMPORTANT!

* Make sure that your VJ Text Editor setting is set to Rich Text Editor.
* Go to the MOST RECENTLY POSTED VERSION of this list (go to the last post and scroll UP) and "Reply" to it, deleting the "quote" tags in your reply.
* Please DO NOT change the font, font size, add colors, stuff like that.
* Please PREVIEW before posting to make sure it is properly formatted.
* Please check that you have not deleted anyone's NAME & DATA. Also please check that you have not deleted the name of the Service Center.

Date of I-751 = The Date you sent your petition
NOA Date = The Receipt Date on your original NOA letter
Biometrics = The Date of your biometrics appointment
Approved = The Date your case was approved

* Please Capitalize your VJ Name when adding it to the list.
* When you're on this list, please come back to update your information accordingly.
* If you cannot add your information yourself, please ask another VJ member to help you do so.

Oh man --I really shouldn't have left it to the last minute! They will receive it on Nov. 19th and I have a ticket to fly back to Canada (from U.S.) on Dec. 21st. I hope I'm as lucky as those of you who got it back in under a month. But I didn't leave myself much room for error.

AandB --what additional info did you have to send in?

I got my Canadian photo taken at a Walgreens that had a "Canadian" option for its passport photo taking software. Hopefully that's good enough.

Anyone else out there remember how long it took to renew their passport by mail?

Thank you!

Anyone get their Canadian passport renewed in 2012?

I just sent mine in today by Fedex Express. It is suppose to be delivered on Monday, the 19th to Passport Canada.

Because I left it to the last minute, I'm afraid that I won't get it back in time for my trip back to Canada for the holidays.

The website says 20 business days starting from when they receive it... but that there might be delays, and estimated times may vary.

So I was wondering how long it's taken you guys to get yours renewed by mail?

Also --is there ANYWAY to travel back to Canada w/o one? I'm a PR with a green card and a Canadian citizenship card.

THANK YOU!!!

GC in the mail today!!!!! :dance: :dance:

Next stop, removal of conditions in 21 months!

best luck for those still waiting!!!

Yay! Congrats!!! Feels good, doesn't it? I traveled with my GC last month and it was a breeze. Whoooo!

Received my green card in the mail today, hooray!

Up and Away,

How did your interview go? Any unusual questions?

Here's my re-cap of the interview that I posted on the NYC thread!

I had my interview at Federal Plaza today as well.

We got to the waiting room 15 minutes early and ended up waiting for over 2.5 HOURS!!! We watched as all the other people in the room were called in one by one. And then the room filled with new people and still, we waited!

But the one good thing about the long wait is that eventually I stopped being nervous and was just really, really hungry and wanted to get the interview over with.

Finally, we were called in by a woman who was very, very professional. She was never rude or mean or disrespectful or sarcastic, etc. That was terrific. Her manner was very brisk --she asked how we met and cut me off after one sentence! She did not want to shoot the breeze or have any small talk. Honestly, that was totally cool with us. The questions she asked were very straight forward:

Spouse's full name

Spouse's parents names

Where spouse was born

Where spouse lived when you were dating

When did you move in together

Etc.

Very very basic things that were in our forms already. As she asked, she went through the forms and ticked things off. She did not try to trick us.

After that she asked what "joint documents" we had. We had a lot --lease, income tax filing, wedding present cards, bills, etc. But I knew from reading on VJ that the first thing you should show are the photos. So I took those out and went through them with her. I had maybe 24 photos but she only went through half of them before she said it was enough. She kept some and gave me back the rest.

I asked if she wanted to see our other evidence but she said it was fine, so we never ended up showing her our additional stuff. I hope that's ok.

Finally she said that she is going to review the evidence and we should expect to hear a verdict within 60 days. Then she gave us a form that said the same thing. She took my I-94 but let me keep my EAD/AP card. I told her that my husband and I are going to go to my parents' house in Canada and asked if I could travel on my AP, before I get the GC. She said that was fine. She wrote something in my passport about my application being under review.

Then she added that she was going to recommend that we get approved! That was nice to hear! She walked us out and wished us good luck and gave us a big smile.

Overall I feel pretty good about it. Of course I'm a little jealous of those couples who were approved right on the spot, but I understand that some IOs don't have the authority to do that, so it's just luck of the draw.

FYI, the line in the lobby was full when we entered --if it had been much longer, people would have had to wait outside or something. That said, it moved quickly and it took us 20 minutes to go through the line, up the elevators, and to our final destination.

FYI #2, we were allowed to bring in cell phones and I saw a bunch of people talking on their phones in the waiting room, including lawyers.

Got a text and email that my I-130 was approved and that my GC is in production and should arrive in the mail within 30 days! Gosh, the whole thing took only five months --for NYC, that ain't half bad!

check out this topic, it has many interview experiences in NYC, including mine

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/300454-new-york-city-aos-timeline-interviews/page__pid__5351403__st__390#entry5351403

Mine too. Also, just search "Federal Plaza" and "AOS interview" on VJ and you will get a lot of relevant hits. That's what I did before my interview.

For what it's worth, I was in the US on a F-1. After my boyfriend and I FIRST discussed getting married, I purposely did not leave the country because I did not want to come back on an F-1 visa when I already had an intent to marry. I did not want to take the risk.

Just to follow-up... the card I received was a combo card.

Just to follow-up --had my interview yesterday and although I was not granted a GC on the spot, she said that she would recommend that we get approved. I think it was one of those cases where the IO does not have the authority to approve a GC. Anyway, I asked her about traveling to Canada before obtaining my GC and she said it was fine as long as I have my EAD/AP combo card. She also wrote something in my passport about my AOS pending, and signed it with her name and other info. Thanks everyone for your good advice!

Good to hear! Be sure to post your interview review for us, if you didn't!

Thanks! Here is the review I posted in the New York thread:

We got to the waiting room at Federal Plaza 15 minutes early and ended up waiting for over 2.5 HOURS!!! We watched as all the other people in the room were called in one by one. And then the room filled with new people and still, we waited!

But the one good thing about the long wait is that eventually I stopped being nervous and was just really, really hungry and wanted to get the interview over with.

Finally, we were called in by a woman who was very, very professional. She was never rude or mean or disrespectful or sarcastic, etc. That was terrific. Her manner was very brisk --she asked how we met and cut me off after one sentence! She did not want to shoot the breeze or have any small talk. Honestly, that was totally cool with us. The questions she asked were very straight forward:

Spouse's full name

Spouse's parents names

Where spouse was born

Where spouse lived when you were dating

When did you move in together

Etc.

Very very basic things that were in our forms already. As she asked, she went through the forms and ticked things off. She did not try to trick us.

After that she asked what "joint documents" we had. We had a lot --lease, income tax filing, wedding present cards, bills, etc. But I knew from reading on VJ that the first thing you should show are the photos. So I took those out and went through them with her. I had maybe 24 photos but she only went through half of them before she said it was enough. She kept some and gave me back the rest.

I asked if she wanted to see our other evidence but she said it was fine, so we never ended up showing her our additional stuff. I hope that's ok.

Finally she said that she is going to review the evidence and we should expect to hear a verdict within 60 days. Then she gave us a form that said the same thing. She took my I-94 but let me keep my EAD/AP card. I told her that my husband and I are going to go to my parents' house in Canada and asked if I could travel on my AP, before I get the GC. She said that was fine. She wrote something in my passport about my application being under review.

Then she added that she was going to recommend that we get approved! That was nice to hear! She walked us out and wished us good luck and gave us a big smile.

Overall I feel pretty good about it. Of course I'm a little jealous of those couples who were approved right on the spot, but I understand that some IOs don't have the authority to do that, so it's just luck of the draw.

FYI, the line in the lobby was full when we entered --if it had been much longer, people would have had to wait outside or something. That said, it moved quickly and it took us 20 minutes to go through the line, up the elevators, and to our final destination.

FYI #2, we were allowed to bring in cell phones and I saw a bunch of people talking on their phones in the waiting room, including lawyers.

You guys were totally right --I had my interview yesterday and it was absolutely a non-issue. She just took the new I-94 out of my passport, no questions asked. I also asked a lawyer about it beforehand and he said it was a non-issue as well.

I had my interview at Federal Plaza today as well.

We got to the waiting room 15 minutes early and ended up waiting for over 2.5 HOURS!!! We watched as all the other people in the room were called in one by one. And then the room filled with new people and still, we waited!

But the one good thing about the long wait is that eventually I stopped being nervous and was just really, really hungry and wanted to get the interview over with.

Finally, we were called in by a woman who was very, very professional. She was never rude or mean or disrespectful or sarcastic, etc. That was terrific. Her manner was very brisk --she asked how we met and cut me off after one sentence! She did not want to shoot the breeze or have any small talk. Honestly, that was totally cool with us. The questions she asked were very straight forward:

Spouse's full name

Spouse's parents names

Where spouse was born

Where spouse lived when you were dating

When did you move in together

Etc.

Very very basic things that were in our forms already. As she asked, she went through the forms and ticked things off. She did not try to trick us.

After that she asked what "joint documents" we had. We had a lot --lease, income tax filing, wedding present cards, bills, etc. But I knew from reading on VJ that the first thing you should show are the photos. So I took those out and went through them with her. I had maybe 24 photos but she only went through half of them before she said it was enough. She kept some and gave me back the rest.

I asked if she wanted to see our other evidence but she said it was fine, so we never ended up showing her our additional stuff. I hope that's ok.

Finally she said that she is going to review the evidence and we should expect to hear a verdict within 60 days. Then she gave us a form that said the same thing. She took my I-94 but let me keep my EAD/AP card. I told her that my husband and I are going to go to my parents' house in Canada and asked if I could travel on my AP, before I get the GC. She said that was fine. She wrote something in my passport about my application being under review.

Then she added that she was going to recommend that we get approved! That was nice to hear! She walked us out and wished us good luck and gave us a big smile.

Overall I feel pretty good about it. Of course I'm a little jealous of those couples who were approved right on the spot, but I understand that some IOs don't have the authority to do that, so it's just luck of the draw.

FYI, the line in the lobby was full when we entered --if it had been much longer, people would have had to wait outside or something. That said, it moved quickly and it took us 20 minutes to go through the line, up the elevators, and to our final destination.

FYI #2, we were allowed to bring in cell phones and I saw a bunch of people talking on their phones in the waiting room, including lawyers.

Thanks CC90, I hope you are right. The other view I've read in my search of old VJ posts is this (scroll down to mid page)....

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/295244-ap-and-i-94/

Keeping fingers crossed...

Agree with Vanessa&Tony. Your best bet is to marry and file ASAP and hope you'll get the AP in time. In addition, maybe look into postponing the honeymoon and get in touch with the travel agent to see if this is possible - any fee you will need to pay for moving the trip is bound to be smaller than 1) cancelling the whole trip, or 2) abandoning AOS and losing the roughly $2,000 it takes to file the papers and get the medical done.

I agree with the above. I may be too risk-averse, but I would not go on the honeymoon, call it a vacation, return on F-1, then get married, as some have advised. I'd do my best to avoid dual-intent issues. The last time I entered the US on my F-1, I had no freakin' idea that my then-boyfriend was thinking about getting married!

Hi there,

I am preparing for our AOS interview and realized that I no longer have the original I-94 that I had when I submitted my AOS application back in December. The reason is that we had left the country on AP for our honeymoon, and upon our return, the US Customs Officer removed my old I-94 and I filled out a new one.

I still have front and back color photocopies of the old I-94, which I will certainly bring to the interview.

But... I won't have the original.

I searched through VJ and it seems like the proper thing to do is to remove the old I-94 from your passport before you travel so that they don't take it from you at Customs. Ugh!!!

I guess my question is: For those of you who went to your AOS interviews withOUT your original I-94, did you encounter any trouble with the IO? Did they ask why you didn't have your original I-94, and what was their reaction when you said that it was removed at POE when you traveled on your AP?

Not sure if this is relevant but I am a Canadian citizen and I was here on an F-1, no overstay issues, etc.

Thank you!

Be bold, and assume that you are right to be in the USC line with your spouse!! (Of course, be polite and listen to instructions).

I like this attitude! I'll try to be bolder the next time I interact with border officials and/or USCIS. I have a tendency to get super nervous in these situations!

Just wanted to share my recent experience travelling out of the country on a honeymoon with my husband, and returning to the USA using my combo card. These were the documents I had brought with me:

-passport

-combo card

-appointment letter for my GC interview (to show that my application is pending)

-marriage certificate

Since my husband is a USC, we asked the customs employees which line we should wait in --the USC line or the visitors line. They told us the visitors line, so that's where we went. Later, another customs employee told us that next time, we should go in the USC line. There probably won't be a "next time" but I think that might be a better route because the officer at the USC kiosk might be less... scrutinizing. Don't know, just a theory.

Anyway, we went to the visitor line and I had to fill out a new I-94. The officer looked at my combo card as if he had never seen it before in his life. He was like, "What is this?" He was very nice but he was puzzled. He went away to ask someone about it, came back, took my prints, stamped our stuff, and sent us to secondary processing. We asked why and he said it was because he had never seen the combo card before. Like I said, he was very nice throughout the whole thing.

We went to secondary and waited until we were called up. The officer seemed to be familiar with the card and simply stamped my stuff a couple more times and wished us on our way.

They did not ask to see more documentation, not even our marriage certificate. Pretty easy.

If I had to do this again, I would definitely bring the cover letter that came with my combo card. That way I can just hand it over to the first officer instead of saying, "It's a combo card" without providing any additional info. And perhaps if I had done that, we would not have gotten sent back to secondary.

I was surprised that the combo card was not recognized since I was at a big airport (Maimi!) and that card has been around for a while now.

Hope this helps anyone else out there curious about traveling on AP!

I also agree with Harpa and Little_My here. The AP is for travel --they have to cover their a*s and say that entry is not guaranteed, but that doesn't mean it is regular practice to deny entry with a valid AP and no overstay (and I don't think there is overstay in OP's case). I traveled out of the US on AP and it was fine, although the BCP officers had never seen the AP/EAP combo card before, so if you're using a combo card, I would advise bringing in the cover letter that came with your combo card.

Of course it is true that the safest thing is to not travel, period. And it is a matter of personal opinion whether you are willing to assume the risk, just like flying in airplanes or riding in roller coasters.

Thank you so much for sharing your experience in such helpful detail! I wonder if I should ask the interview officer about it at the end of the interview? I mean, as long as things are going well?

There are varying opinions on this, and the general consensus seems to be that once GC is aproved, technically the EAD/AP card becomes invalid. While this might be true, in practice CBP will let you use it to re-enter the US, even if the GC was issued while the petitioner was abroad.

My interview was on July 20, 2011. I wasn't approved on the spot, and had to leave the US the following day because of our wedding which was taking place in Finland in a week. I left on July 21, 2011. Two days later I received an approval email, and once I got my GC I actually noticed that the "issued on" date on my GC is the date of my original interview, 20th of July. I returned to the US early August with my AP, while my GC was waiting in our apt in Brooklyn. At POE this wasn't an issue at all, they can see that the GC has been issued, but because I did not have the physical card on me, they paroled me in with the AP. the Officer told me that as long as I traveled internationally within the next 12 months, I wouldn't have to take any action and just had to make sure to use my GC to re-enter the next time I traveled so that my status in their system would update from a "parolee" to "permanent resident". If I wasn't going to travel, he said I could just come to JFK back to POE and have them manually change my status. He also told me this happens all the time, and people get their GCs issued while they are abroad and use the AP to re-enter on a daily basis. It is of course important to note that this is one experience based on the protocols of one POE, but according to my experience and the information I was given by the officer at POE, using the AP to re-enter when a GC has been issued while the petitioner was abroad is really not very rare, nor that big of a thing.

Thanks for the additional insight... yikes so I have to hope that I get someone who has the authority to approve me at the interview? I've read that the reason they don't approve on the spot is because they don't have the authority to approve it on the spot. Is that true?

What are the % breakdowns like, between those who get approved on the spot and those who don't?

And just in case I don't get approved on the spot, what are the chances that I'll get my gc within 2 weeks of the interview?