H1B renewal while waiting for green card interview

[VamosATL]

Hi,

Does anyone have previous experience with renewing their H1B visa while waiting for their green card interview? I need to travel abroad and have not received my advanced parole yet (and likely won't before I need to travel).

I think my best option in order to return to the US is renewing my H1B visa at a US embassy. As far as I can tell H1Bs are free to travel abroad and return (without abandoning their application) while waiting for their green card however it would be reassuring to hear if anyone has any first hand experience with this.

Regards,
David

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Field office - Atlanta

USCIS Received

i130, i131, i1765, i485

- 07/01/2019

Fingerprint fee received - 07/03/2019

Biometrics done- 07/23/19

Fingerprint review was completed - 07/24/2019

[sf2019july]

Hi VamosATL, I have applied for my H1B extension to maintain a valid status, until green card is approved. Now my AOS is pending and not yet received the Advance Parole card.

It might be risky to travel out of the country without an Advance Parole, when AOS is pending. I think you can get an emergency advance parole document. https://www.uscis.govhttps://www.imm...ergency-travel

Stormlead86 might be able to provide guidance on this.

[Vpanda85]

Hi,

Does anyone have previous experience with renewing their H1B visa while waiting for their green card interview? I need to travel abroad and have not received my advanced parole yet (and likely won't before I need to travel).

I think my best option in order to return to the US is renewing my H1B visa at a US embassy. As far as I can tell H1Bs are free to travel abroad and return (without abandoning their application) while waiting for their green card however it would be reassuring to hear if anyone has any first hand experience with this.

Regards,
David

---

Field office - Atlanta

USCIS Received

i130, i131, i1765, i485

- 07/01/2019

Fingerprint fee received - 07/03/2019

Biometrics done- 07/23/19

Fingerprint review was completed - 07/24/2019

You are correct that H1-Bs are free to travel abroad and return without abandoning their application. Although, if you travel aboard while your I-131 (Advanced Parole) is pending, they will deny the Advanced Parole. So it's best to wait for the AP approval before travelling, even if you have a H1-B.

What I don't know is what happens when you get a new H1-B visa. From what I can recall, my I-485 application referenced the H1-B visa number. So if you get a new one, does it mean the old one is no longer valid and that is grounds to deny the I-485 (assuming you don't have the advanced parole). You may want to check with an immigration attorney on this.

[VamosATL]

Thank you for your replies.

What I don't know is what happens when you get a new H1-B visa. From what I can recall, my I-485 application referenced the H1-B visa number. So if you get a new one, does it mean the old one is no longer valid and that is grounds to deny the I-485 (assuming you don't have the advanced parole). You may want to check with an immigration attorney on this.

I think this is the key issue. My I-485 application does indeed have my current H1-B visa number. I did consult with a lawyer about renewing my H1-B, though I did not bring this complexity up. I will contact him again regarding this. Hopefully someone with first hand experience can also share their experience.

[Stormlead86]

Hi VamosATL, I have applied for my H1B extension to maintain a valid status, until green card is approved. Now my AOS is pending and not yet received the Advance Parole card.

It might be risky to travel out of the country without an Advance Parole, when AOS is pending. I think you can get an emergency advance parole document. https://www.uscis.govhttps://www.imm...ergency-travel

Stormlead86 might be able to provide guidance on this.

VamosATL Short answer is yes you can travel outside USA while having pending 485 and 131 if you have a valid H1B that will still be active once you get back.

Long answer : 485 will not be considered abandoned if you have another in status condition like L-1, L-2, H1B, H-4, K-3, K-4, or V that is active on your return to USA. however, in 2017 or 18 USCIS again changed policy and according to that 131 will be Denied if you did the above. 485 however will not be impacted and it will still be processed. Still it is advisable not to complicate the situation unless extremely urgent, since you will be going to embassy to renew the H1B stamping it might complicate the situation a little like Vpanda85 said. your 485 should not be denied but knowing USCIS why take chances!! Better try to get an emergency AP by calling the USCIS helpline and sending the documents to them. the agent might be able to schedule an infopass appointment in the local office as well.

[dan_gard]

You don't need to worry, H1B is a dual intent visa and it is completely fine traveling abroad while your AOS is pending. I travelled myself in this situation quite a few times during the last 12 months, never had troubles. If your visa stamp is expired you will need visit an office abroad, this may be annoying and take a while. However, my lawyers advice was to NEVER use my advance parole, because once you do this, your H1B visa is cancelled and your status now is solely depending on your pending AOS. It means that if your AOS is denied while you are under H1B visa, you can still be in US until your H1B status is valid. However, If you used your AP and your AOS is denied, you no longer have a valid H1B visa to remain in the country and you may need to leave. This is what my lawyers told me. They said many times that I should not used AP or EAD to not loose my H1B. Because H1B is such a good visa and does not interfere in your AOS processing, it is worth applying for a new visa stamp and never using your AP at all.

So, I never used my AP document while was under H1B and travelled abroad at least 5 times during my AOS processing. I was about to apply for a new H1B stamp abroad because my visa was about to expire and I did not want to use my AP to return. Luckily my GC was approved last week and I no longer need another H1B stamp.

Good luck

[Vpanda85]

I agree with dan_gard ... I was told the same thing. I travelled when my I-485 was pending and returned on my H1-B. My AP / I-131 was in a weird situation... I got paper approvals for my I-765 and I-131 but I did not receive my EAD / AP card for a month from when they were approved. I travelled internationally in that month and returned on my H1-B visa (I have Global Entry so I just used the kiosk). I was a little worried that my AP would get denied by approximately a week after I entered the country, I got my EAD / AP combo card in the mail.

I would have had to apply for H1-B visa renewal because my visa has expired and the underlying petition expires in March of 2020. But I had my interview 2 days ago and I got the approval notice last night. I would still suggest that you check with your immigration attorney. If I was in a similar situation, I would wait for the AP to be approved before travelling internationally. Once my AP was approved, I would feel more comfortable applying for a new H1-B visa.

[VamosATL]

Thanks Stormlead86 for your advice and thanks Vpanda85 and dan_gard for sharing your experiences. I'm leaning towards doing the travel. I will try and apply for the emergency AP but suspect I am unlikely to get it. Will also see what the lawyer says about having a different visa number to what is in the I-485 application.

---

Field office - Atlanta
USCIS Received

i130, i131, i1765, i485

- 07/01/2019

Fingerprint fee received - 07/03/2019

Biometrics done- 07/23/19
Fingerprint review was completed - 07/24/2019