Travel after filing 485

[tg20932]

Hello gurus,

I filed my 485 in October, 2000. I recently got married and added my spouse's name to my 485 application. Her 485 application was submitted on March 1st, 2001. Her passport is stampted with the H4 visa that expires on April 9th, 2001. Something has come up and she needs to urgently travel out of the country for a few months. Here are my questions:
(1) Can she travel right now or does she need to wait for the 485 receipt?
(2) Does she also have to wait for the advanced parole to come? Or, can she leave and when her advanced parole come through, I shall mail it to her and she return to the US with the advanced parole?

Your help is very much appreciated.

Thanks.

[univctzin]

Check this INS memo:

============================================================ ====
INS Advisory on Travel with I-485 Pending

On November 22, 2000, the INS issued a Foreign Travel Advisory
("Advisory") to persons with pending applications for adjustment of status
(I-485). This Advisory provides helpful guidance on the severe
consequences imposed by the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant
Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRAIRA). Specifically, a person who is in the
United States without authorization (generally one who has either
overstayed the expiration date on the I-94 card or has entered without
inspection) for 180 days but less than a year will be subject to a three-year
bar on re-entry if s/he leaves the U.S. A person who is unlawfully present
for 1 year or more would be subject to a ten-year bar after foreign travel.
Even persons who may have overstayed inadvertently or through no fault of
their own may find themselves unable to return from a trip abroad because
of these rules.

"Unlawfully present" is a term introduced by IIRAIRA to describe persons
who may be subject to the bars. Unfortunately, the definition of this term is
so complex that it can be difficult for an individual to determine whether
s/he will be affected. The Advisory therefore warns people with concerns
about their status to consult an immigration attorney before making any
foreign travel plans.

In general, for a person with a pending I-485 to travel, it is necessary to first
obtain a travel document known as an advance parole document. If the
person is maintaining valid H1, L1, H4 or L2 status, s/he can choose to
instead use a valid visa stamp to travel, as opposed to obtaining the
advance parole document.

Please note that possession of an advance parole document will not protect
a person who has a status problem that would subject him/her to the 3- or
10-year bar upon departure. When such a status problem exists, the INS
will generally not issue the advance parole; yet there is often a shortage of
the time and resources necessary to review a person's file and verify
whether the person is subject to the 3-year or 10-year bars. Accordingly,
the INS has started including a warning on the advance parole document
itself, advising people of the possible risk of departure and reentry. A similar
warning is also included in the official instructions to the newly revised
Form I-485.

Please note that the Advisory also indicates it applies to persons with
pending applications to change nonimmigrant status as well; however, the
INS has indicated that such persons were mistakenly included. INS will
correct the advisory, so that it pertains only to persons with the I-485
pending.
===========================================

[babyroman]

Travel

It is best to wait for the Advanced Parole(AP) to be approved. What it is when you travel with out Advance Parole, they consider your application as abandoned.
I know a few people that travelled with out it, even though they were allowed back in the country; when they were trying to remove the conditions on their green card, the process took longer. They were also requested to submit evidence, the RFE mentioned the travels abroad. It only took 2 months and 4 days for them to approve my AP (and that is with the 3 weeks it took me to respond to an RFE), so it is better to wait and travel after she gets her AP.