pappu245

6 hours ago, pappu245 said:

My father recently traveled to Europe on a business trip and had his laptop bag stolen while catching a train in Brussels. Unfortunately, aside from his laptop, the bag also contained ALL his travel paperwork (EAD, Advance Parole, Indian passport, you name it...). He approached the U.S. embassy the day after, and was given the cold shoulder as many AOS travelers have come to expect. However, he was able to convince them to work with them via a method I will detail further along this post.

 

While we were scrambling to figure out what to do next (as you may be doing now) I compiled a list of options, from most ideal to worst case scenario, by scouring through all the forums. Therefore, I wanted to create a centralized post which contains all methods that I read have worked in the past (with varying success rates...) including the personal method that worked for us.

 

Options (Best to worst case scenario):

 

1. Visit U.S. embassy: The EAD card that you receive in the mail (after each renewal period) comes attached to a letter with personal information in the front and generic information in the back. I scanned the front and back of this letter and sent it to my father in Europe. The key part in this letter is in the generic part which says that the U.S. embassy will assist you if you lose your combo card while abroad (the back of the letter with the line, highlighted, has been attached to this post). You'll need to scan over the letter that YOU received with the front part that contains your personal information along with the back portion. My father was able to convince the workers at the embassy that they were supposed to help him, according to the rights he earned associated with the card. The embassy are ONLY familiar with Greencard holders and American citizens. Thus, they usually do not help any other type of visa holders because there's too many visa types and too many unique details associated with each visa that they end up dismissing everyone who's not a citizen nor a permanent resident. However, my father was able to show that his combo card came with the right to assistance from the U.S. embassy. The Embassy employees were very understading from that point forward and very helpful as well. His trip was only extended by one extra week on aggregate. That being said, AOS travelers with lost paperwork are known to be in a "grey area" because what works for one individual, may not necessarily work for another individual. Thus, I have listed other options that I have read have also worked for other people in the past.

 

2. Customs Border Patrol (CBP) has a hotline —> Regional Carrier Liaison Group (RCLG) which airline employees are supposed to call to determine whether to let certain passengers board their planes.

Talk to airline to call RCLG to confirm that CBP will approve entry into US; you will have to call CBP to get their approval prior to calling the airlines. Entry into the U.S. up to the discretion of CBP and if you can prove to them that you had a valid AP (copy of the card or the approval letter) they will let you in at the POE. The airlines are the biggest problem because they have most to lose if you're not allowed the entry (because they’re fined by the CBP). Thus, boarding a plane is hard. So, if you can get the OK from CBP prior to boarding, and get the airline to see that approval then the airline will let you board. 

Therefore, this option does not deal with the US Embassy nor USCIS. The Embassy merely provides the documentation that CBP and airlines use to let you travel; you physically interact only with airlines and CBP. So if you can individually convince the CBP and airlines that you are indeed legitamate, then you can travel without the parole. Based off experiences I read in other forums, the CBP officers at the POE seem to be perfectly understanding and the easiest of parties to deal with. 

 

3. Pre-clearance Locations - if the airport has pre-clearance, then you can get to CBP that way. they have CBP officers at international airports Canada, UAE, Dublin and more. CBP Officers conduct the same immigration, customs, and agriculture inspections of international air travelers typically performed upon arrival in the United States before departure from foreign airports.

 

4. Take a flight to Canada/ Mexico. Try to drive across border. As I said POE seems to be the easiest hurdle. Physically getting back to the border seems to be the hardest part. 

 

5. Apply for Humanitarian Parole. But coming in under a different designation may null disqualify your Greencard application. So you'll have to look more into it...

 

9

My father recently traveled to Europe for a business trip and had his laptop bag stolen while catching a train in Brussels. Unfortunately, aside from his laptop, the bag also contained ALL his travel paperwork (EAD, Advance Parole, Indian passport, you name it...). He approached the U.S. embassy the day after, and was given the cold shoulder as many AOS travelers have come to expect. However, he was able to convince them to work with them via a method I will detail further along this post.

While we were scrambling to figure out what to do next (as you may be doing now) I compiled a list of options, from most ideal to worst case scenario, by scouring through all the forums. Therefore, I wanted to create a centralized post which contains all methods that I read have worked in the past (with varying success probabilities...) including the personal method that worked for us.

Options (Best to worst case scenario):

1. Visit U.S. embassy: The EAD card that you receive in the mail (after each renewal period) comes attached to a letter with personal information in the front and generic information in the back. I scanned the front and back of this letter and sent it to my father in Europe. The key part in this letter is in the generic part which says that the U.S. embassy will assist you if you lose your combo card while abroad (the back of the letter with the line, highlighted, has been attached to this post). You'll need to scan over the letter that YOU received with the front part that contains your personal information along with the back portion. My father was able to convince the workers at the embassy that they were supposed to help him, according to the rights he earned associated with the card. The embassy are ONLY familiar with Greencard holders and American citizens. Thus, they usually do not help any other type of visa holders because there's too many visa types and too many unique details associated with each visa that they end up dismissing everyone who's not a citizen nor a permanent resident. However, my father was able to show that his combo card came with the right to assistance from the U.S. embassy. The Embassy employees were very understading from that point forward and very helpful as weel. His trip was only extended by one extra week on aggregate. That being said, AOS travelers with lost paperwork are known to be in a "grey area" because what works for one individual, may not necessarily work for another individual. Thus, I have listed other options that I have read have also worked for other people in the past.

2. Customs Border Patrol (CBP) has hotline —> Regional Carrier Liaison Group (RCLG). Talk to airline to call RCLG to confirm that CBP will approve entry into US

Entry into the U.S. up to the discretion of CBP and if you can prove to them that you had a valid AP (copy of the card or the approval letter) they will let you in at the POE. 

the airlines are the biggest problem because they have most to lose if you're not allowed the entry (because they’re fined by the CBP). Thus, boarding a plane is hard.

Thus, if you can get the OK from CBP prior to boarding, and get the airline to see that approval then the airline will let you board. 

Therefore, this option does not deal with the US Embassy nor USCIS. The Embassy merely provides the documentation that CBP and airlines use to let you travel; you physically interact only with airlines and CBP. So if you can individually convince the CBP and airlines that you are indeed legitamate, then you can travel without the parole. The CBP officers at the POE to be perfectly understanding and the easiest of parties to deal with based off experiences I read in other forums) .

3. Pre-clearance Locations - if the airport has pre-clearance, then you can get to CBP that way. they have CBP officers at international airports Canada, UAE, Dublin and more. CBP Officers conduct the same immigration, customs, and agriculture inspections of international air travelers typically performed upon arrival in the United States before departure from foreign airports.

4. Take a flight to Canada/ Mexico. Try to drive across border. As I said POE seems to be the easiest hurdle. Physically getting back to the border seems to be the hardest part. 

5. Apply for Humanitarian Parole. But coming in under a different designation may null disqualify your greencard application. So you'll have to look more into it...