AOS

[aikorob]

N. and I are getting the documents ready to submit for AOS and Advanced Parole. She has heard from other FSU ladies online that she wil not be allowed to travel for three years---period, no exceptions. I was of the understanding that was what AP was for.
Another question we have is about her immunization record. We were going through the papers she recieved at the medical exam; and there was a form listing her shots, but just a check mark, no dates or other specifics. Will  she need a more detailed shot record? Can we get it from a private doctor or county health clinic, or do we need to see a civil surgeon?

[Bruce]

We have travelled to Russia every summer since my wife came here about three years ago now.  She is on her third I-131.  So, she can travel as soon as it passes, probably within three months and will be good for a year.   I recommend you file it in the event of an emergency back home even if she does not plan on travelling for a number of years out of the USA.  Most women these days, especially from Ukraine, get their green card within six months.  It is only the lost souls from Russia who wait three to five years for their green cards.  Best of luck.  I suspect my wife is on the five year plan. 

[Vaughn]

We were going through the papers she recieved at the medical exam; and there was a form listing her shots, but just a check mark, no dates or other specifics. Will  she need a more detailed shot record? Can we get it from a private doctor or county health clinic, or do we need to see a civil surgeon?

 Any of the three you listed are acceptable, just be sure to get documentation. Local BCIS offices seem to vary widely on requirements for immunizations. Here, in NC, visiting the local
Civil Surgeon was one of the first things we did, even before filing AOS - but that was
because the BCIS here (then INS) had directed us to do so. It was there that our daughter
received her third shot in the series of three Hepatitus shots. The first was administered by the school district when she enrolled in eighth grade; the second was given by the County Health Dept.

 I can't say why your wife has only check marks on her shot record - is this the original
or the translated copy? Were there not any dates of immunization on her original record?

She has heard from other FSU ladies online that she wil not be allowed to travel for three years---period, no exceptions.

Where do they come up with this stuff ??

[William3rd]

They hear from CRIMINAL overstays here in the US that they have to remain here after AOS is filed until they have a green card in their hand and, in several parts of the country, the backlog used to be over two years. There is no eligibility for advance parole for overstays with more than 180 days out of status. To leave the US is a three year bar on returning.

Thus, the story gets twisted for those overseas who hear from a friend who heard from her cousin whose friend had a sister who is hiding in the US and couldnt return home right away.

[aikorob]

Vaughn,
She is chatting with other FSU folks already here--info they gave her on immunization is worse--"only for pregnant women and children".
Part of the problem  seems to be that some of these people are immigrants--not only K1 or K3--the rules are different---I've been telling her this.
The document in question is from the clinic doing the med exam in Kiev--probably only asked her "have you had this vaccination" and checked the appropriate box.
Bruce,
Thanks for the info--any hassles for her when she returns?

[Vaughn]

She is chatting with other FSU folks already here--....Part of the problem  seems to be that some of these people are immigrants--

Been down that road, too. Elvira came home with horror stories during our
transition and AOS period - all from NON-K-1/K-3 FSU ladies. Trust issues
manifested themselves, "Are you sure you filled out the form
pravil'no, Vaw-gun? Olga says that.......and on and on. A few Baltic area
ladies, most of whom arrived on some sort of religious visa, were teaching her
how to play the ropes, that is, become public charges - living off the system,
procuring free clothing, getting assistance, all the while driving fully decked
out RVs. Really ticked me off. I had to explain about accountability - and it
occurred to me that back then she may have thought that anything goes here - so long
as people looked the other way.

 Hearsay and Rumor beget Misinformation - and unchallenged, suddenly seems
more like fact to the new arrival.

Regarding a return to the USA on Advance Parole, good rule of thumb is to
have that Marriage Certficate in hand, as a support document for
FSU departure officials.

[William3rd]

Sounds like the asylum folks. Claim religious persecution and the like. And then milk the system for all its worth.

[Bruce]

Unfortunately, after the two of them get through the line in Kennedy they have to go to a room full with Russians and a bunch of other people, wait in line until they are processed before they can go claim their luggage and leave the airport.  I was with them last time.  It really took over one hour until they could claim their luggage (which in this case I already had and was waiting with them in the office).  This time they will have to go through it themselves (technically the baby is a US citizen but the reality is she is so young it is best she is with her mother).  I told my wife to check in through the US line and bypass the foreign line.  They have to take care of our daughters US passport.

[Jet]

--any hassles for her when she returns?

The reality is, upon her return she's going to be questioned about her AP document and may even be required to sign a "release" of some sort as the document itself looks like something a HS kid made up on his home computer, rather than an official gov't document (you'll understand when you see it  ). At SVO they usually understand it, but at regional airports - forget it, allot an extra 2 hours "arguing time".

When she arrives in the US she will be processed through in exactly the same manner as if she were a visa holder, so allow extra time for that (once it took us 5 hours and 2 supervisors). Again, the average ICE agent has usually never seen one of these advance parole documents and needs to get it cleared through at least one supervisor who actually knows what the hell this document is.

**Note: If she plans to bring a cell phone to let you know she's arrived when traveling alone, BE SURE she knows she must call you while she is en route from the plane to passport control, because once she gets to the "secure area" she will be forbidden to use the phone (at least at IAD, PHL, and MIA it works this way)