Real-time Advance Parole Experiences

[Kanmani]

Friends,

Please share your experiences travelling and returning with AP. Information on Questions, documents requested at CBP in a situation travelling alone as a derivative of Immigrant Visa petitioner.

[gkjppp]

I travelled with my family this Jan . My self on AP ,my wife on H1 and both kids are citizens. It took less than 5 mins at JFK. no questions asked,just stamped on passport as paroled and given 1 yr validity.As long as primary I140 is not revoked( due to job change using AC21) you are good, else you may need to have new EVL of primary. Best of luck.

[goforgreen]

Kanmani,

Me and my spouse came back last year Sep on AP. I'm primary and spouse is derivative, both came back on AP. The officer did not ask any questions, we were done in few minutes, this was at Chicago. He was actually joking with the other officer that he is getting a jackpot of APs at his desk. My case is not exactly like your case since you will be coming alone, but thought might be useful.

[Pedro Gonzales]

a few experiences are noted here: http://www.qesehmk.org/forums/showth...n-AP-v-s-H1-L1

[vizcard]

I've done the AP thing 3 times (Newark-2x, JFK -1). Plus there was one other time where my wife used AP and I H1 (it was still valid then) in Montreal.
- give them your passport, EAD/AP card and customs form
- in every case they do the fingerprinting and picture at the primary inspection
- then they take you to the secondary place and ask you to wait. The waits were not more than 10 mins except Montreal which was about 45 mins
- no questions were asked at all. They just checked stuff on the computer
- most recently (last month) they asked me to fill out an I94 (they've gone to electronic I94s for the general public) and they stamped it

That's the end of that.

[venkat]

Port of Entry experience for me and my wife in Dallas (last week of June) was really very smooth...I guess based on vizcard's experience it appears the same procedure at any airport..

First you go to the main immigration line with your filled up i94 (the white card). This card is nowadays not given to majority of people entering US but it is still applicable for people like us who enter on Advance Parole...Even if you did not receive this card in the flight its not a problem...they will give it at the counter and ask you to fill it up there itself...That's what happened to me....Once you fill up the form they will take finger prints and take you to another room (2ndary inspection)...They will simply collect your passports+EAD card and check to make sure everything is OK in the system (this is my assumption..not sure what exactly they do) and return everything back with the white i94 card valid for 1 year.

This is the same procedure in whichever airport you land...For me the day I landed it took 2 hrs in the main immigration line (big queue but only few immigration officers, hence the delay) and another 20-25 mins in the 2ndary inspection room...
I asked if I could go to the PR/Citizens line but the lady refused saying I should go to the general queue

Nothing to worry..don't even think about this...Its all very easy.

Enjoy your vacation

[GCKnowHow]

Port of entry Newark, NJ - Presented the EAD/AP combo for me and wife and couple of minutes later taken to another room and was asked to sit. Then the officer verified in their system while we were sitting in the waiting area. 5 to 10 mins, Passport stamped and called for the name and one year I-94 given.
Hope it helps.

[dorais]

Another thing - I believe that the number on the paper I94 is not valid. After coming inside the country, get an electronic copy of your I94 from https://i94.cbp.dhs.gov/I94/request.html. Only the I-94 number that comes out in the website should be used for all future immigration purposes. In some airports, they strike the number of the paper I-94 form and write down the automated I-94 number generated. In my case they did not strike out the I-94 number on the paper form.

[pdfeb09]

After all the replies you have had so far, this one may just be a redundant one, but here it is anyways ..

Recently (last month) the family of one of my closest friend traveled on AP. You will have to get in a different line that is meant for AP. They will require your Passport and EAD. The wait depends on how many people you have in the same line and how long does it take for them to verify your docs. Questions are very trivial if any.

[Kanmani]

gkjppp, goforgreen, Pedro, Viz, Venkat, GCKnowHow, dorais, pdfeb09, Thank you all for the information and time.

[waitinglong]

My experience with AP was quite smooth. Our port of entry was Atlanta. Since this was our first time entering on AP, I was quite worried. In Atlanta, when you enter, you come to a very big hall. On one side there is a queue for citizens/gc holders, and on another side there is a queue for immigrants. We stood in the immigration queue, and when we were close to the counter, the officer who was directing the people to differrent counters (" you sir go to counter 25, you go to counter 30, etc.") asked us, you have AP, and we said yes. He then took our documents (EAD/AP card, passports,etc) and put them in a folder, and said follow me. He took us to another side of the same hall, which was separated out, and the AP processing was being done here. It was not a separate room. There were two officers in this counter, and he put the folder containing all the documents in front of the officer. We were told to sit nearby, our names will be called when our turn comes. About 20-25 min later, the officer called our name, and we went to the counter. The officer took our photos, fingerprints, then stamped our passport with paroled stamp, and we were done. He did not ask any questions before stamping, nor did he ask for any other documents (just EAD/AP card, and passport was sufficient for us). After stamping was done, he asked how long are we waiting for green card? I said I am in US for 10 years now, to which he said but how long ago did you apply for GC? I said since 2008. That was all. Then we went. We did not have to fill in any paper I-94 forms or any other forms.

But I have some questions regarding the parole stamp in my passport. My EAD/AP card is valid for 2 years, till March 2015. But here in the parole stamp it is written "paroled untill July 14, 2014" (1 year validity). So, does that mean I have to apply for EAD/AP renewal before 14-July-2014? What would be my status from 14-July-2014 till March 2015?

[goforgreen]

waitinglong,

You are good to stay/work in US till the EAD expiry date.

[qesehmk]

But I have some questions regarding the parole stamp in my passport. My EAD/AP card is valid for 2 years, till March 2015. But here in the parole stamp it is written "paroled untill July 14, 2014" (1 year validity). So, does that mean I have to apply for EAD/AP renewal before 14-July-2014? What would be my status from 14-July-2014 till March 2015?

waitinglong - that act of IO was most likely a remnant of old ways of paper AP when they would only provide AP for 1 year. You AP has nothing to with your status of AOS. AP is a document that allows you to go in and out without the need of visa. You AOS status is valid until your GC case decision is made or until you acquire any other status like H1 or F1 or whatever else.

So you have nothing to worry here IMHO!

[waitinglong]

Thank you goforgreen and Q.

[Vkkpnm]

Hi Guys, Has anyone gone into a situation where he/she has received EAD/AP combo card for both husband and wife but AP of kids haven't received on time? I have received EAD/AP for both myself and my wife but haven't received AP for my son yet. Any clue... I applied EAD/AP on 1Aug along with my I485 app

[suninphx]

Hi Guys, Has anyone gone into a situation where he/she has received EAD/AP combo card for both husband and wife but AP of kids haven't received on time? I have received EAD/AP for both myself and my wife but haven't received AP for my son yet. Any clue... I applied EAD/AP on 1Aug along with my I485 app

If its just AP document it may take 1-2 weeks for you to get it. Have seen this happen with couple of my friends.

[Vkkpnm]

Thanks suninphx