Raeesa

hi there, thanks for you post as I am traveling back to China using AP in 2 weeks...a bit nervous~

can you help me with couple questions?

1--did you give anything like I-94 to anyone at the airport when you leave US?

2--when you return, i guess you went through visitor ;line-did you show them your marriage certificate or anything?

thanks!!!

Hi there!

To answer your questions:

1. Leaving the US only requires your foreign passport as you are allowed to leave whenever you want and do not require additional paperwork to do so. I just showed them my Canadian passport when leaving Newark and then my Canadian passport again to Canadian Customs upon arriving in Toronto.

2. Yes you go through the visitor line and the only thing I had to show them was my combo card and my foreign passport again. They did not ask for my marriage certificate but I think it's best to carry it just incase! Especially if your married name is different than what is on your passport.

Have a safe trip!

No one can assure you that you will be let back in regardless of the article you posted. It is solely up to the customs officer if they allow you back in or not. So its a risk either way.

When I traveled on AP, they barely knew how to handle the new combo card (2 months ago) and I have no idea how well their "communication" between offices is now and if they are even aware of the decisions of the higher ups. Good luck though and I hope everything works out for you.

No it is not a guarantee, as I stated at the bottom of my post. But neither is a green card a guarantee for entry, it is ultimately always up to the customs officer. However they would need a reason to turn you away as well.

The article was posted to simply show an actual fact (not speculation) that the ban does not apply to those adjusting status because I've read hundreds of posts where people were falsely saying otherwise scaring those wanting to travel.

Thanks!

No problem I'm happy to help!

Hi everyone!

Just wanted to share my travel experience with you all.

I came to the US while my i130 was pending in May 2014 and decided to stay. After it was approved I filed for AOS in November (I had overstayed 6 days at the point when they received the request). I received my AP and EAD in February.

I visited my parents in Toronto this past week and was nervous but everything was fine. I went through US customs with my husband and my in-laws (also traveled with us to Canada) and when I presented my Combo Card and CDN passport the officer told me I had to go to secondary to be paroled in. My husband came with me. We waited in secondary for about 20 mins before the officer called my name, handed us our passports/combo card and told us we were good to go. It was THAT simple.

My only suggestion is to allow extra time at the airport as I believe the wait was around 2-3 hours. Luckily, my extremely friendly father in law was speaking to an officer and told him about our situation and our fast approaching flight and they handled our case early.

So please don't worry about traveling it should be perfectly safe! They didn't even ask me what the purpose of my trip was so no it does not need to be emergent.

Hope that helps!

If her passport is stamped until August, that is her authorized stay. If she leaves now she will likely have trouble reentering. That's what I feared when I came here in May and just ended up staying and waiting for the i-130 approval. Once I got that, we applied for AOS and received my AP less than 3 months later.

Why not just file the AOS while she's in US with you rather than risk her being denied reentry? You should receive you i130 approval soon as you described then she can get Advance Parole within 3 months and travel back to Canada.

After doing a TON of research and worrying about traveling with AP after overstaying etc. There seems to be a HUGE misconception on this forum (understandably with USCIS' use of intimidating language) I discovered this on NYDAILYNEWS:

The Board of Immigration Appeals, the agency that reviews USCIS and immigration judge decisions, has ruled that travel with advanced parole does not trigger the dreaded “unlawful presence” bars to permanent residence. Those bars apply to a person who leaves the U.S. after having been here unlawfully more than 180 days. The unlawful presence bars do not apply to overstayed individuals who travel abroad with advanced parole. That makes sense. If USCIS gives you travel permission, the agency shouldn’t then be able to penalize you for your travel. Individuals with outstanding deportation orders should consult an immigration law expert before traveling with advanced parole.

Source:

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/citizenship-now/travel-advanced-parole-safe-permanent-residence-applicant-article-1.1743469

To my understanding, this means even if you overstayed more than 180 days or 10 years, IF you are in the process of I-485 and using Advance Parole, the 3/10 year ban does NOT apply to you. I have confirmed this through DHS website directly as well.

The Board of Immigration Appeals held that travel on advance parole was not a "departure" within the meaning of the statute and hence did not trigger the ground of inadmissibility that bars admission after the accrual of unlawful presence .

Source:

http://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/14_1120_memo_arrabally.pdf

Of course that is still not a guarantee of reentry, nothing but a citizenship is, but it makes travel a little less scary. I hope this helps some of you! It has eased my mind quite a bit and thought I should share.

Hi everyone,

I'm just looking for some advice and/or past experiences.

I came to the US from Canada to see my husband on May 21, 2014 and ended up staying. My I-130 was approved while here and I applied for AOS which was received by USCIS on November 26, 2014. This put me out of status for 6 days basically as my passport was stamped with authorized stay until November 20, 2014.

I received my advance parole/EAD combo card in February and am traveling to Toronto next week to file taxes, collect belongings, etc.

My question is if the 6 days out of status will impact me upon reentering and if anyone has any experience using AP with less than 180 days overstay. (I know that is when the 3-year ban is triggered)

Thanks for the help!

Hey!

I don't know how much this will help you but I am a CAN citizen and my husband is a US citizen so I know what you're going through. We got married legally in November 2013 and sent out our i130 in mid April 2014. While the petition was pending I came to visit in May 2014 and was honest with the CBP about our current immigration status. I was supposed to return to Toronto a week later and told him that. He stamped my passport for 6 months (normal time allowed for a CAD in US) even though he warned me I shouldn't be visiting for extended periods of time.

Long story short I decided to stay because we couldn't stand the idea of living apart and risking denial at a POE the next time. My petition was approved on September 30, 2014. I spoke to a lawyer and was advised not to leave the country and to file form i485 (adjustment of status) which would allow me to stay until I got my interview etc. I sent the paperwork end of November for AOS as well as AP and EAD and received my the AD and EAP a week ago. Basically I changed from US consulate processing to US NVC processing.

If you decide to follow my path just advise your husband that he cannot leave the US while paperwork is pending until he receives the AP or they won't let him back in. But if he stays in Canada while all this is processing you're looking at more time apart as you still have to receive approval for i130 and then send out immigrant visa processing.

Hope that helps!