Karen

Silly question. For those of you who arn't yet US citizens and want
to leave the country before your status if officially changed. I know
we are supposed to pay $95 or something to beable to leave the
country. For those who have done that, were you actually asked for
such a document? I know you can get in a lot of trouble if your
caught without it but I'm just wondering how often they check?
When we were engaged I travelled over the border a few times to pick
up my fiance which was not supposed to be done. Not once was I asked
anything and I certainly didn't volunteer the information so if I want
to travel to Canada but fly within the States and then cross the
border...well I wouldn't need a passport since I'm travelling within
the States and I would only be asked a question at the border crossing
where I would say I'm visiting my family and my citizenship would
still be Canadian. I guess the only problem would be that I could get
asked where I live in which case I would be screwed. It just seems
ridiculous. Not only do I have to pay to visit my family but I also
have to pay the INS $95 to do so. What a scam!

Any info. would be most helpful.

Thanks

Rete

Advance Parole is required via form I-131 for the fee of $110 for those who are not yet permanent residents and are still in the holding pattern for approval. A/P can be issued for up to one year and for multi-trips if so requested all for the same cost. US Citizenship has nothing whatsoever to do with it as you mentioned as when one becomes a permanent resident one can leave and return to the US for up to a year without need of applying for a re-entry permit.

As for your assertion that "When we were engaged I travelled over the border a few times to pick up my fiance which was not supposed to be done" there is no law saying that you can't do this. The issue is one of having to prove, if asked, that you will return to your own country at the end of your trip.

As for the need to produce the A/P when entering Canada to visit and the US when you return, I will tell you of our many experiences on doing just that. I'm married to a Canadian now for over four years. During our engagement he visited the US numerous times while our Fiancee Visa was being processed. While Jim was honest and said he was going to visit his fiancee for a month or a week or whatever, he told them of our going through the INS processing for the FV and that he still owned a home in Ottawa, etc. and would be returning to complete the legal processing. He was allowed in each and every time.

Once we were married and wanted to travel to Canada to visit family and check on property he needed Advance Parole. Note we drove each time. At the entry into Canada at Lake Champlain, Jim showed his Canadian passport and was asked where he lived. He said Somewhere, NY with his wife. He then was asked to show his A/P to the Canadian official. Canadian officials insisted on seeing the A/P on each of our/his crossings which if I recall correctly was ten times in two years.

Upon re-entry the first time using the A/P, he again gave his Canadian passport to the agent at the drive-thru and was asked where he was going. When he replied "back home to Somewhere, NY" he was asked his status in the US. He told them pending adjustment. He was then asked for his A/P. After giving it to the agent he was directed to a parking bay and told to enter the INS building. Inside his A/P was processed. The information typed into the computer, two I-94's stapled to the A/P and marked with the date and that he was paroled into the US 'indefinitely' and the agent retained one copy of the A/P for their records. He was then free to leave and return home. After the initial processing of the A/P this procedure is not repeated. You need only show the A/P to the agent at the POE and you are waved through.

Now will you be asked for A/P when you go back to Canada for a visit? Most certainly if you use your Canadian passport and say you are living in the US. You will have to show proof of your legal status in the US. If you just use your driver's license and fake being a USC and cross the border in that manner that is out and out fraud and adds to the issue that you re-entered the US without the use of A/P thus abandoning your AOS. Will it come out at the interview? I don't know the odds but Canadians, as well as Americans, think that crossing the border via vehicle means there is no record of your crossing. Wrong! When you cross by car your car's license plate is photographed and your driver's license is scanned through a machine. There is indeed a record of your crossing. Does this pertain to passengers as well? I know that when we took two friends to Canada on a day trip, the agent held all our driver's licenses in his hand. Were they scanned? Again, I'm not a bookie and don't know the odds on that.

Is it a scam as you claim? You're free to think of it that way if you wish to. However, for the sake of saving $110 the odds of being caught without it and having to face any one of following scenarios is too great for me.

1. No A/P and discovered by the US agent that you have a pending AOS in the states, refusal to allow you to re-enter and your husband will have to file for your return through the I-130 processing while you remain in Canada.

2. No A/P and not discovered by the US agent and you are allowed back in, discovery at the AOS interview and your AOS is denied and you have to start over.

If money is an issue for you, have your family send you the money for the A/P as a belated Christmas or early birthday gift.

Rete