kanch

Hello everybody,
I have a family emergency and need to go out of the US. I have a marriage based GC pending, went to the interview and asked to provide transcript of latest tax returns and bank statements. we gave them 4 months ago. (this is the Philadelphia office)
I did over stay my student visa for about a year before I applied for the GC.
So, I understand that i could get advance parole and leave. Is it a good idea even though I did over stay for more than 6 months.
Is it best to travel with my wife and son (both are citizens), so if we run into problems at the point of entry, or does it even make a difference?
Thank you

snowbunny

How long ago did you attend the interview? You might get your GC faster than you would be granted AP. Yes, if you have irrevocably decided to leave the US to tend to your family emergency, you *should* file for AP. As to whether or not you want to add uncertainty to your case by *using* AP and leaving the US -- that's the risk you take. AP is not granted instantly, so how emergent is your situation?

I am beginning to feel like the answer to most of these questions is really "how much risk are you willing to take?" There are some things which seem like automatic death penalties, and a handful that seem relatively safe, but everything else falls in the middle.

What you pay a lawyer for is risk assessment and "best guess" as well as advice on the best way to achieve your goal and minimise your risk.

Carl

No idea about your our of status question - I would think the USCIS could answer this. You could get the AP application started anyway. In MN they had really good turn around. I got AP twice and it only took about a week both times.