pinac

We used a laywer and thought of it as mental insurance.

If your case is straight forward you probably do not need one as the forms are not that difficult and answers can be found here when you are not sure about something.

With that in mind what a good lawyer should be able to do is to help find out what is going on if/when there is a problem. When we applied for my K-1 we ran into a problem in that they could not find my old immigration file from when I had a green card in the 1970s (we lived here for a few years when I was very young).

It tooks months to resolve, even after getting congressmen and senators involved.

So going into the AOS process we wanted to hire someone who we could call and get answers just in case there was another problem.

It goes without being said, that as we did hire a lawyer this time we had no problems and I was eventually approved in an interview that took less than 10 minutes.

Each case in unique, I would recommend a good lawyer if you can find one. But do you need one? That is up to each person/couple to decide.

The best thing to do is to get an american express card before moving here. Amex will then issue you a new US card with the same limit as you had back home.

Assuming that is not possible now ...

Best suggestion on getting an unsecured card is to make an appointment with the bank manager where you have your checking and savings accounts and make the credit card request in person.

Explain the situation and have them tell you why they can not pull your canadian credit history (ask why they can not ... as opposed to can you ... - start with the assumption that they can get the information and make them explain why they can not get the information - they can get it, it is just more work).

This is what we did and they (Bank of America) gave me a card without even calling for the Canadian history.

I will be traveling to Italy on the 20th and i already had my AOS interview but still waiting on approval letter or greencard to come in the mail. If i dont get it by that date i will use with my AP and i was wondering it will be a problem when i board on the plane on my way to italy cause i no longer have the i94?(they took it at the interview)

Second question, when i come back having the advance parole do I fill up the I94 the white one??right? I gotta go through Atlanta POE and i already had very bad experiences over there...they put me in the "second room" for over an hour! I hope with the AP will be faster

thanks

If you were approved at the interview you should try and get the stamp in the passport.

If you were not approved at the interview and you still have not been approved by the time of your trip then you can travel on AP.

When you come back on AP you do have to fill in another I-94 and you will most likely go off into the "second room" for a few minutes while they process the AP. Not a big deal, they rarely ask any questions there, it is just part of the process.

there is a square on the bottom right side that says

'National Benefits Center Parole Stamp' but there is

no stamp. Is this a mistake? Should there be a

stamp there or is that something they do when

my wife is leaving or returning to the US?

Thanks,

-Q

It is normal that there no stamp on the letter when you recieve it. You should have recieved two copies; take both with you when you travel for the first time. When you come back into the US immigration will stamp both copies, keep one, and give one back to you.

They will then continue to add stamps to it each time you use it to come back into the US.

Please anybody knows if I can use the Advance Parole to re enter the USA if the " Green Card" is granted when i ll be in my country of origin?

thanks!

Not a guru but it would seem to me that if your green card arrives while you are out of the country you could do one of the following

- have someone fedex the green card to you

- have whoever is meeting you at the airport bring the card and their cell phone with them. At immigration explain the situation and they can call and get the card if needed

This assumes of course that there is someone to check the mailbox to find the card and that you clear here in Dallas.

I'm glad that they posted an updated message for you.

I was going to post to say that I actually found that the same thing had happened for me when I checked my status yesterday (AOS was approved at my interview last week). They have not updated the message for me yet, but I am glad to see I was not the only one to have this happen.

You should get two copies of the AP. The first time you use it they will stamp both copies, keep one, and give the other one back to you.

Hopefully your daughter's will will show up soon.

I put down "Adjusting Status" and nobody said anything.

Both us and our lawyer received copies. In fact we generally received our copy before our lawyer did.

This was the case for the AP, EAD, & AOS.

My wife got her advanced parole in the mail today and next to her picture there is a box that says"National Benefits Center parole Stamp" but the box is empty, theres no stamp. Is this normal or does an Imigration officer put a stamp here when coming back to the US?

Also when traveling overseas, back to her country and elsewhere is there anything else we need besides the advance parole? Her passport expires soon and she will get a new one so do we have to show the old passport with the K-1 visa as well as the new one? Or just the new one wit the advance parole?

Thanks!!!

They will stamp both copies of the AP when you use it for the first time. They will keep one copy and give one back to you.

You only need a valid passport and the AP document to get back in. That being said, if your wife gets a new passport it would probably be a good idea to bring the old one or at least a copy of the ID & visa pages.

Hello

No doubt this is a really stupid question but if anyone has the time to read it and reply I would be very grateful- my advance parole documents have arrived (before the EAD or anything else) and it occurs to me I have no idea how to use them. I have two separate (and identical) I-512L 'Authorization for Parole' forms- can each one only be used once? How do I get more? Does anyone know?

Sorry for all the questions- but if anyone's used one before I'd love to hear from you!

Thanks!

Paul

Take both copies with you when you travel on the AP for the first time.

You will most likely have to show a copy of the letter to the airline in order to get on the plane to come back.

Then when you arrive at immigration they send you off to secondary for processing. Once there they will stamp both copies, keep one, give you one, and send you on your way.

I have travelled on AP through Dallas three times now and it usually adds about 5 minutes to the time it normally takes to clear immigraiton.

One other thing to keep in mind is that as no one seems to be really sure which line (resident vs visitor) to get in (another frequently discussed question) I have been taking which ever looked like it might be faster.

I'm sure it's been discussed, but I can't find anything in a search.

What are the rules for Consulting for a foreign company, being paid in foreign $, deposited to a foreign bank account.

I'm asking because the USCIS says this:

What is an Employment Authorization Document?

U.S. employers must check to make sure all employees, regardless of citizenship or national origin, are allowed to work in the United States. If you are not a citizen or a lawful permanent resident, you may need to apply for an Employment Authorization Document (EAD) to prove you may work in the United States.

USCIS issues Employment Authorization Documents (EAD) in the following categories:

EAD: This document proves you are allowed to work in the United States.

http://uscis.gov/graphics/howdoi/ead.htm

It is pretty much a grey area.

The rules pretty much state that you are not allowed to work while waiting for the EAD. That said, if you do work you must declare the income and you can deduct all legit expenses (e.g. internet, etc). So even the US government can not agree.

I would guess that the answer really lies with how creative you can be in structuring the arrangement (e.g. invoice for the work while still in Canada), how much you need the money, and how comfortable you are living in the grey area.

It depends on the experience of the person checking the papers back in the other country.

I have travelled three times on my AP and returned through different countries each time (Mexico, UK, & Germany). In both Mexico and German there were no problems, and in the UK the airline rep asked a few more questions than normal and then took a photocopy for their records (took about 20 minutes).

The best approach is to allow a little extra time and to be patient. If there are problems with the first person be patient because they will eventually find someone who understands the AP letter and let you on the plane.