AP should I travel or Not? I overstayed...

[Bieloanya]

Hi guys, I know that this question has been asked many times already, but I hope that you can give me some feedback anyways.

So here is my situation: I was admitted to the US in March 2020 on ESTA (visa waiver program) and I ended up overstaying and applying for AOS after marriage to USC in May 2020 (for those who are curious, we've been together for years and we were planning to get married in Italy, but then covid happened and we had to change our plans).

I just got my EAd+AP card and I'm planning to go visit my family in Europe in August.
I know that the card is No guarantee of reentry and that there is always the risk of being sent back to my country, but is the risk so high?

I will be traveling with my husband and my daughter (she was born here at the end of 2020), both USC.
Two family members died last month, that's why I absolutely need to go visit my family.. Otherwise I would wait to have my GC to travel.

ANY similar experiences?
Thank you

[Enub4]

Sorry for your loss. I have read several posts from people that overstayed for years, married to USC, received EAD/AP, traveled abroad, returning without problems. There is always a risk but I don't think is a big one. Note: no expert, just reading other people posts.

[Poramin]

An attorney would probably advise against unnecessary travel. But that's what attorneys do. But sometimes you just need to go back and take care of things.

In your case, you're traveling with your spouse and child. That's a bonafide family and only the most overzealous border agent would have issues with that. So I think you're good to go. Were you to travel back alone, that's when you run the most risk of let's call it 'too much scrutiny' can occur.

Last year, my wife really needed to travel so she could deal with her mother and her family. I couldn't go because of an active job search. When she came back in mid-September, she was interrogated for 45 minutes at O'Hare in Chicago. The customs agent really gave her a hard time, accusing her of marriage fraud and such. My wife stuck to her guns and finally told the agent to follow her home and check for himself. Ridiculous huh?