Question:
My best friend got merried to a girl from Europe and they are going
through the process of getting her a permanent residency here in the
US. They filed the paperwork themselves with teh ehlp of the INS
phoneline and she received a work permit, went a gave fingerprints, and
also was able to travel to her home country last summer on an advanced
parole. everything is smooth, right?. This August it will be their 2
year anniversary and they plan on visiting her country again. However,
they have not received a reciept for their case in the mail and no
intervire date has been scheduled. Somebody told them that if they are
called for an interview after their 2 year anniversary, she will
receive a premanent green card instead of a temporary one. so she has
been hoping not to get called for an interview before august. in order
for them to go in europe thought in august to celebrate their
anniversary, she has to appy for advanced parole. the question is -
would filing for advanced parole make INS call them on an interview
before their 2nd anniversary? Should she apply for the parole at all?
Answer:
First, *all* green cards are temporary... although there is a 10-year
flavor and a 2-year flavor. The 2-year card is "conditional" and the
beneficiary has to file to remove the conditions in the 90-day window
prior to the 2nd anniversary of the date on the card. Regardless, the
person is a PR with everything that entails. Second, applying for AP
will neither speed up nor slow down the process... and there is no
connection between AP and an interview. And, if she does get the
interview, there is no guarantee that she will be approved on the spot.
There are many things which can still delay approval.
So, since you ask for advice, I'll offer some... she should apply for
AP now, so that it arrives prior to her travel. If she gets her GC
prior to leaving, that's a bonus... and she's only out the filing fee
for the AP. This is far superior to needing to leave the US without the
ability to return.
An excellent question. The most common reason is that the background
checks have not been finished at the time of the interview. They will
not approve an application without a completed background check.
Similarly, the alien's name may show up on a terrorist watchlist. It's
entirely possible that this person is not the same as the one on the
list, but it has to be checked out anyway. An interview does not mean
automatic approval... and some people have waited many months or a year
or more for the background checks to be done after they've had an
interview.
Not that I disagree, but FWIW, I've seen it both ways. I, too, do not
use the "d", but I can see the logic given the fact that "parole"
happens at the border when one considers the status of people notionally
at the port of entry. The status of people at the border can be tricky
at times: an interesting, but elderly, BIA case was "Badalmenti" -- he
was brought to the United States via extradition to face criminal
charges in the US -- of which he was tried and AQUITTED. He then wanted
to simply up and leave but had problems in finding a country which would
let him in -- and the US wanted to treat him as an "applicant for
admission" and order him excluded. His response was "Whaddya mean I'm
applying for admission? YOU brought me here to put me in jail and
failed. Now let me out of here!"
On the flip side, there were the "re-entry" cases -- they guy who took
the overnight sleeper train from Detroit to Buffalo -- which tranversed
Canadian territory without stopping. Or the sailor on a US coastal ship
which was torpedoed by a German U-boat, and rescued by a Cuban ship. An
interesting area of law.
Several points. There is no INS. It is the USCIS. There is no
advanced parole but advance parole. No "d". There is no temporary
green card. There is only a green card. There is a conditional
permanent resident status, however, that is conveyed upon a person
whose petition has been adjudicated before their second wedding
anniversary. One applies for removal of conditions by submitting form
I-751 to the appropriate service center 90 days before the expiration
of the status. Although the green card one receives says it is good
for two years, it does not mean the status has ended. One is still a
permanent resident until the I-751 has been adjudicated. And no,
filing for renewal Advance Parole will not alert the USCIS to the lack
of an interview. Many district offices take one to two or even three
years to adjudicate an AOS.
