tortoise

hiya,

i was just wondering how advance parole actually works - i've fouund it fairly confusing so far and wondered if you guys could help me.

can i ask for a multiple entry advance parole stamp/form, or do i have to get a single entry form? i came over on a visa waiver and am applying for A.O.S. - i haven't got my social security number as yet.

i was advised by someone to wait for my SSN and then only go in and out of the country on a single entry form. i'm wondering why this would be.

also, because they ask you the dates of travel, do you have to have booked your ticket in advance? isn't this a bit risky?

some feedback would be great as i miss my dear old mum and my sister and her kids and want to see good ol' blighty again soon.

thanks :)

tortoise

*bump*

if anyone can help me out or point me to a thread/page with this info, that'd be great : )

Andrew Wilson

If you applied for Adjustment of Status, it would have needed to be as an immediate relative in order to adjust off of coming in on VWP.

I am not sure why anyoen is talking about a SSN. If you have AOS paperwork pending, you Cannot travel outside the US until you obtain your advance parole approval. (Unless you had a valid H-1B or L-1 visa) It is multiple entry and it should be good for one year.

Regards,

Andrew

Andrew M. Wilson, Esq.
[email protected]

tortoise

yes, i got married to an american man in july 2003 and so as a relative of my husband have now applied (as of this monday just gone) for A.O.S.

but that's what i'm confused about... do i fill in the advance parole paper work now, even though i have no idea when i'll be going back to england? or do i have to have a ticket in my hand with scheduled dates?

i haven't filled in any advance parole paperwork because i'm so confused about it.

aah ok, so being a visawaiver person, i'll be a single entry person.

Andrew Wilson

You do not need specific travel plans in order to file your advance parole. However, you will need advance parole before you leave the US or else you would abandon your green card paperwork.

Regards,

Andrew


Andrew M. Wilson, Esq.
[email protected]

tortoise

wow, that was a quick reply! :)

thanks for that - that clears it up for me. i guess i should get started on it straight away. here comes another couple of hundred $$$$.

majken

You might want to make sure that the period between the expiration of your I94W and the date your application for AOS has been accepted is less than 180 days.

tortoise

i found out that it was 194 days. does that mean i'm absolutely buggered now? is there anything i can do, or does this mean i have to stay here till my paperwork is finalised?

i'm so homesick for england - this is killing me :(

please, anyone, is there ANYTHING i can do

Jozef

"tortoise" <member13298@british_expats.com> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > Originally posted by majken
    > > You might want to make sure
    > that the period between the expiration of your I94W and the date your
    > application for AOS has been accepted is less than 180 days.
    > i found out that it was 194 days. does that mean i'm absolutely
    > buggered now?

If you leave the US you will inadmissable for 3 years, even if you have an
AP.

    > is there anything i can do,

You could file for a waiver but this type of waiver is reportedly extremely
hard to get.

    > or does this mean i have to
    > stay here till my paperwork is finalised?

Yes.

    > i'm so homesick for england -
    > this is killing me

Well, you shouldn't have married outside your tribe then!
Patience - it'll work out. Since you married a USC, you're one of the
'lucky' ones.

    > please, anyone, is there ANYTHING i can do
    > --
    > Posted via http://britishexpats.com

tortoise

i just cannot believe i was given such bad advice by an immigration advocate. i was told that it didn't matter when we filed our papers. then today when i questioned her about this 180 limit for the ap forms, she told me that her husband hasn't been able to go home for 3 years because of the same thing.

we just weren't looking for this as she advised us to wait until i get my SSN before we file ap, so of course we didn't read the forms. we were doing our homework, but not for ap because we were told to wait on filing that.

i'm deeply deeply upset and bitterly disapointed and it seems so unfair that something so simple went so wrong. this needn't have happened. i was over the 180 day limit by only 19 days. you would think that they would have some kind of grace period for this kind of thing. it's also not as though i'm trying to stay here to just work - i am married, have a home and a step-daughter who needs to meet her family in england. i need to see my baby brother who i've not met yet.

by the way, does anyone know how long it will take me to get legal? i know that the office has now moved to missouri. if anyone can shed light on this fact then that'd be great. if i don't have to wait for 2 years for an interview i'd be very happy.

obviously, there are no guarantees with the BCIS.

sorry to sound so bitter. i know there are worse scenarios.

tortoise

i did some phoning around and found a fab woman in denver (thanks to andrew) who has told me that the missouri centre is doing very well right now - the are processing forms pretty quickly and i can expect to see an interview date in about 8 months to a year. i can handle that : )

thanks to all of you who've helped me with this information and gave me free and good advice.

Hnchoksi

    >Subject: Re: Advance Parole Question
    >From: tortoise member13298@british_expats.com
    >Date: 2/26/04 10:22 PM Eastern Standard Time
    >Message-id: <[email protected]>
    >i just cannot believe i was given such bad advice by an
    >immigration advocate. i was told that it didn't matter when we filed
    >our papers. then today when i questioned her about this 180 limit for
    >the ap forms, she told me that her husband hasn't been able to go home
    >for 3 years because of the same thing.
    >we just weren't looking for this
    >as she advised us to wait until i get my SSN before we file ap, so of
    >course we didn't read the forms. we were doing our homework, but not
    >for ap because we were told to wait on filing that.
    >i'm deeply deeply
    >upset and bitterly disapointed and it seems so unfair that something
    >so simple went so wrong. this needn't have happened. i was over
    >the 180 day limit by only 19 days. you would think that they would have
    >some kind of grace period for this kind of thing.

180 days IS the grace period. They could have made it 10 days or even no
days...

tortoise

yes, indeed they could've done.