Monday, February 25, 2013

Advance Parole entry via DFW



Last month, we came to US using our Advance Parole. I had a paper version of Advance Parole and Aditi had the new card version -- which is both EAD and Advance Parole.

This is the second time we are entering in Advance Parole. We got out of the plane and we in the line for immigration at DFW -- Dallas Fort Worth international airport. When our turn came, I wished the officer and gave our documents. He asked us to do the finger prints and took our picture and took us to secondary inspection area. He asked us to sit in waiting area and he gave our papers to one of officers there and left. There were about 25 people waiting there along with us. After some time, one the officers called my name, we went there and he just gave us the papers. No questions. I opened the advance parole paper and saw it had a stamp with last date in advance parole as the validity date. Both our passports where stamped. We are good to go.

Last time when we entered via EWR, the officer stamped one of the AP papers and didn't stamp the other one. But, he gave both to me. This time in DFW, he stamped both the AP papers and he kept one to himself and gave the other to me.

The inconvenience in DFW compared to EWR was the time it took. It took about 2 hours in the immigration line and about 1 hour in the secondary inspection  There were only about 5 officers in the CBP area and 2 officers in the secondary inspection side.

As many know, Congress is working on the sequestration, to avoid budget cuts at this point. According to Capitol Immigration Lawgroup website, if the deal is not reached, it will affect the CBP area -- which will mean even less number of CBP officers at the port of entry and more wait time. Typically, USCIS is run through the funds it receives from application fees, it won't be affected by federal cuts.

To read more on this from Capitol Immigration Lawgroup -- Please click here

10 comments:

  1. Hi,

    I have EAD/AP combo card and I plan to maintain my status using H1B. Is it mandatory to use AP when entering US ? If just H1B stamping is used, should we still get to the secondary inspection since I have approved AP ?

    Thanks

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    Replies
    1. Yes you can maintain only one status, which in this case is the EAD/AP

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    2. we can use AP to enter the country and once we enter we still maintains H1B status.
      enter or leaving doesnot change the status untill you company HR notifies USCIS that you are using EAD to work .

      Alot of people have this confusion regarding this.

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  2. Here my personal experience at both EWR and JFK Airport. The lines are faster as they cater to the largest passenger traffic in the world next comes to Los Angeles, Chicago and Atlanta in that order. During one of the visits abroad, my boss (an American) and I returned back on the same flight. He carries an US passport and sailed through immigrations and customs. To give you a perspective, he had reached his home which was about an hour from the airport, by which time I had just stepped outside to hail a taxi! The C&BP are understaffed and overworked but they are courteous which you do not see in Europe, Africa or Asia.

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  3. Can I use my H1 and AP and enter into the country, without showing my EAD.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Me and my wife came back using our EAD/AP cards on April 4 2013. We had a similar experience and had to wait in the secondary inspection area. They called my name after an hour and handed over my documents. No questions. However I noticed that my I-94 was stamped with April 2014 i.e one year from date of entry. I asked the officer why it was for only one year even though my EAD and AP was valid for almost 2 years. He said it was a normal practise to stamp only one year and that I might get my green card within a year. I reminded him that dates were backlogged for GC for people from India. He said you may have to check with local USCIS office. Anybody with similar experience? What happens when the I-94 date is reached? I am assuming we are legally allowed to overstay that date since I-485 will be pedning.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I looked all over the internet and here I find the question I have? but no answer. Ganesh do you know about this?

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    2. As for as my understanding goes, yes you can stay as long as your I-485 is pending and you have your AP validity date longer and you don't have to do anything about it. But, it is better to show your specific AP and stamping and ask a good immigration lawyer.

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  5. I am also in the same boat. Can anyone reply to the above question. Do we have to renew the I-94? What are the options?

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  6. Hello did u get an i-94 when you entered United states?

    ReplyDelete