I was granted Temporary Residency under the CSS/LULAC Settlement. Does any one has or knows of anybody that have traveled abroad while being a temp. resident?
I'm filing form I-698 to adjust my temp. card to a permanent resident, but my lawyer has suggested to wait until I've been granted permanent residency because if I travel abroad right now upon returning, the customs officer at the point of entry might miss interpret the laws/regulations thus not letting me in.
I did travel with my I-766 last year. I had no problem getting back in, but the officer at the POE had never seen such a card before (valid for 48 months, valid for reentry to the U.S.). He was kind of puzzled and showing the card to other officers. They were just being curious, but never hesitated letting me in.
I did travel with my I-766 last year. I had no problem getting back in, but the officer at the POE had never seen such a card before (valid for 48 months, valid for reentry to the U.S.). He was kind of puzzled and showing the card to other officers. They were just being curious, but never hesitated letting me in.
Hi hjv and thanks for your reply.
That's what I'm thinking of. The approval notice does have my picture on it and it says very clear that I'm authorized to gain entry back to the U.S.
hjv, if you don't mind me asking, have you filed for permanent residency yet? If so, how's your case going?
I wonder how long would it take for the adjustment.
I could have filed for PR since October, 2006 but I intend to file next month. I have no idea on how long it takes, but will do some research. I'll let you know what I find out.
Freedom, if you wanna take your chances then go,but the chance is always there,that customs might not let you in. If I were you I would not risk it and go with what your OWN attorney tells you.
Another thing,US Custom are very very powerful,once the reject you,you are powerless and gone.U won't be able to fight them legally.
I wouldnt take my chances,nor will I not understand why people still dare to travel if their status here is not even secure,and even after an attorney's advice not to travel,still considering doing it.
Originally posted by HBKHBK: Freedom, if you wanna take your chances then go,but the chance is always there,that customs might not let you in. If I were you I would not risk it and go with what your OWN attorney tells you.
Another thing,US Custom are very very powerful,once the reject you,you are powerless and gone.U won't be able to fight them legally.
I wouldnt take my chances,nor will I not understand why people still dare to travel if their status here is not even secure,and even after an attorney's advice not to travel,still considering doing it.
Thanks HBKHBK for your suggestion. The only reason I wanted to travel is because I haven't seen some family members since about 20 years ago. I think my lawyer is just playing extra safe.
You mention that you don't understand why people still dare to travel if their status here is not even secure, well, I thought that obtaining a Temporary Residency was kind of a Permanent Green card except with an expiration date. Mine expires in 2011. According the approval letter, I'm allowed to travel outside the USA for periods of no more than 30 days per trip and no more than 90 days total for the time period of 2007 to 2011, or until I become a permanent resident.
The problem is that my lawyer planted doubt in my mind now. So I guess I'll be staying put.
Hi freedom1 Last month I traveled abroad for 10 days, When I came back, I had kind of a situation with the officers; first- they didn't even look at my ead, I told them that in my ead said valid to reentry to U.S. they told me that was a mistake. second- I showed them my approval notice/travel authorization, They had never seen anything about css/newman. They let me in but was really akward, seens like nobody knows anything about the css/newman settlement.
quote:
Originally posted by Freedom1: Hi all,
I was granted Temporary Residency under the CSS/LULAC Settlement. Does any one has or knows of anybody that have traveled abroad while being a temp. resident?
I'm filing form I-698 to adjust my temp. card to a permanent resident, but my lawyer has suggested to wait until I've been granted permanent residency because if I travel abroad right now upon returning, the customs officer at the point of entry might miss interpret the laws/regulations thus not letting me in.
I got in contact with Mr. Peter Schey, he said that it's OK to travel abroad and that is expected that officers at POE be unaware of such document since USCIS has not issued those permits since over 10 years ago. He said to make sure to present the approval letter as well, the valid for reentry EAD alone is not enough for them to let you in.
He also made an emphasis about not forgetting to apply for Permanent Residency as soon as one is able to apply. The sooner you get your permanent residency, the sooner you can become a U.S. Citizen. No reason to wait any more than necessary.
No problem getting back in, the officer at the point of entry saw my passport, EAD and the approval letter. It took just a couple of minutes, then he let me in.
Hey Freedom1, I'm done with my interview, I've also posted the details in another blog entry called pending approval. My case is similiar to yours, I was born in 1980 and came here when I was 1 and a half. Can you tell me if the officer had you fill out a I-765 form. He had me fill one out at the end of the interview, I was half way through it when my lawyer pulled out an already completed one he had attached to another document. The officer said thats ok and he changed the eligibility code on it.
I haven't heard of a decision yet, he said I'll get one in the mail either the card or the denial notice. He wrote pending approval on top of my file on a sticker.
Originally posted by Shabber: Hey Freedom1, I'm done with my interview, I've also posted the details in another blog entry called pending approval. My case is similiar to yours, I was born in 1980 and came here when I was 1 and a half. Can you tell me if the officer had you fill out a I-765 form. He had me fill one out at the end of the interview, I was half way through it when my lawyer pulled out an already completed one he had attached to another document. The officer said thats ok and he changed the eligibility code on it.
I haven't heard of a decision yet, he said I'll get one in the mail either the card or the denial notice. He wrote pending approval on top of my file on a sticker.
Thanks
Shabber
Hi Shabber,
At the end of my interview, the officer said that I was going to receive an answer in about 30 days, but I didn't, instead it took 90 days to get the approval. I was not asked to fill out another I-765 as my current EAD was still current. Since USCIS has discontinued the temporary resident card (I-688), what we now get is an extended EAD card valid for 4 years. It also reads it's "VALID FOR RE-ENTRY". The approval letter has your picture on it as well, these two documents have to be presented at the "point of entry" so they can let you in while traveling abroad. When you get your approval, make sure you don't stay over 30 days out of the USA on a single trip, and no more than 90 days in total while under temporary resident status, you can not be out of the USA for more than 90 days, those are the restrictions.
Also, you can file form I-698 to adjust from temporary to permanent resident as soon as you get your approval letter. The I-698 says that you can file right away but your form won't be processed until the 19th month after your approval, the good news is that your approval date is the actually the date when the USCIS received your form I-687 !!!
I heard somewhere else that's taking upto 2 years for the USCIS to adjucate form I-698, so the sooner you can file, the better.
Having read my blog entry under pending approval what are your feelings. My current EAD is based on the LIFE act, he said in the beginning of the interview that my LIFE act case was denied in December, but the reason was that we hadn't presented much evidence in that case compared to this one. I've had an EAD from that case since 2003. At the end of the interview he wrote pending approval on a sticker on top of the file.
Originally posted by Shabber: Thanks for the information Freedom1.
Having read my blog entry under pending approval what are your feelings. My current EAD is based on the LIFE act, he said in the beginning of the interview that my LIFE act case was denied in December, but the reason was that we hadn't presented much evidence in that case compared to this one. I've had an EAD from that case since 2003. At the end of the interview he wrote pending approval on a sticker on top of the file.
Hi Shabber,
How long ago did were you interviewed for your CSS/Lulac case?
My understanding is (after I asked the officer that interviewed me) that all final adjucations are done by the Distric Director based on the interviewer recommendations.
I think your case is pending final review by the District Director. Where do you live, what state/city?