Southy_SWFC

I'm sure this has been covered a thousand times but with having several bits to my application I'm hoping someone will be able to advise me on things.

Everything with the marriage visa was fine and we got married at the end of October. Finally got the adjustment of status, work permit and advanced parole forms sent off at the end of December. About 3 weeks ago we got letters saying they'd been received and were being processed so I assume all is well with that. 2 weeks ago I had a letter asking to attend the Homeland Security place for biometrics etc so thats all been done.

Now I'm wondering whats next. With my request to go home, do I have to wait for something to be posted to say its been accepted or can I go ahead and book my flights. Originally I was going home for a week and thats what I've put on the advanced parole request but it looks like I'll be going for longer than that now. Hopefully that isn't an issue.

I'm going home at the end of April so I'm hoping nothing urgent comes through (like an interview) while I'm there.

Hopefully this all makes sense, any questions about my situation then let me know. I'll look forward to the responses

Noorah101

K-1 visa.

You are free to book flights, but you should not travel until you have your AP document in hand. If you don't mind rescheduling your flights, you can book now, or you can wait until you have AP in hand and book then. Do NOT leave the USA until you have your AP document IN HAND. It takes about 90 days after filing AOS to get the AP in hand. If you filed AOS in Dec, you can expect to have AP by about March.

That's not an issue. Just make sure you are able to come back to the USA for your AOS interview, if you happen to be outside the USA when the appointment letter comes.

If it does, you'll just have to come back.

Rene

jeffreyhy

For the avoidance of misunderstanding, you did not request to go home. You are free to "go home" any time you wish, but recognize that one of the things you have requested is to make the USA your home.

What you have requested via the I-131 you submitted is the opportunity to be paroled back into the USA should you leave while waiting for your request to make the USA your home to be approved.

Regards, JEff

Southy_SWFC

Thanks for your help.

I think I'll end up going back for less time rather than more to reduce the chance of something I need to be here for happening while I'm away. I'm going back for my brothers wedding so there'll be certain dates that I can't come back here on. Can it be rearranged if needs be? Considering I've requested a certain week to be back in the UK, hopefully they'll not schedule anything for the time that they know I'll be out of the country.

Noorah101

USCIS will not take your schedule into consideration when scheduling your AOS interview date. They will set a date, and they expect you to show up.

It's not a good idea to try to reschedule that important date. Chances are your notice will not get into the right hands at the USCIS office, and you will be considered a no-show at the interview because no one heard otherwise.

Best bet is to return to the USA for that AOS interview date, no matter what.

Rene

jeffreyhy

"We are the 18,000 government employees and contractors of USCIS working at 250 offices across the world. " The person who schedules your interview is not likely to know that you applied for Advance Parole, or if it was approved, and certainly is not going to know what information you put on the application.

Regards, JEff

Southy_SWFC

Damn, they don't like to make things easy do they.

Any idea when I should expect to hear of my interview date?

Noorah101

A typical AOS case right now takes less than 6 months, from filing AOS to getting approved. If you have to attend an interview (not everyone does), they usually let you know about 4 - 6 weeks in advance. So plenty of time to get back to the USA once you know the date.

Rene

Southy_SWFC

Oh thats fine then. I'll leave it a while to book my flight back and then hopefully I'll have heard before I go.

Thanks for all of your advice, you've been really helpful.

jeffreyhy

Easy for who?

Before you answer, be aware that your applications now in progress are but 3 of some 1.8 million* immigration-related applications that are pending. Including another 300,000 applications for naturalization, the total is 2.1 million pending applications.

*from the October 2011 monthly reports, the latest I've seen
http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/usc...00082ca60aRCRD

Regards, JEff

Southy_SWFC

I understand that there are a lot of applications on the go but it doesn't seem that things are worked on efficiently. Systems don't seem to have changed in a while which takes more time than necessary. I can only imagine the amount of work that goes into sorting all these things and for that i'm grateful but I think they're making things harder than it needs to be which passes down to the applicant and adds frustration at an already tough time.

Noorah101

They've actually made things easier! In the not so distant past, the EAD and AP came separately, and folks had to wait for two separate things. Now USCIS combines the EAD and AP into one document, so you'll be getting them both at the same time! That's a huge improvement.

Doesn't help you with your specific scenario, but overall they ARE making things easier, in general.

Rene

jeffreyhy

Exactly. When you have some knowledge you might be able to make informed judgements.

Regards, JEff

craig_sp

That sounds a bit sharp.

Southy_SWFC

I don't know if you've noticed but I'm on here asking questions because I don't know the answer. Thats generally how questions work.