Traveling on AP while renewal is pending


EJYM

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Hello All,

 

I have question regarding traveling abroad while AP application (renewal, not initial) is still pending.

 

I am the primary applicant and my spouse is planning to travel abroad as soon as possible and return in February 2014.  My spouse's current EAD/AP combo card expires on May 05 2014.  We are planning to send the renewal application as per 120 days guideline during 1st week of Jan 2014.   Below are some questions. 

 

1.  When AP renewal application is sent during first week of Jan, is the applicant needed to be in US or can an application be sent while the applicant is abroad (considering this is renewal).  In other words, can she travel prior to the "120 days before" date.

 

2.   In case she is required to wait until the renewal application is sent, can she travel during the time when application is pending or does she need to wait until it is approved (even though , previous AP is valid until May) ?

 

3. If allowed to travel while the application is pending,  what date should be the departure date i.e. is it the date when application was sent or is it the date when USCIS receives the application. 

 

Thanks for reading !

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  • 3 months later...

I know this is a delayed reply. But still posting since it might benefit future applicants.

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Travelling outside of USA with current AP , while your renewal AP application is pending, will invalidate the renewal. You will still be able to return to USA based on the validity of your current AP.  If you travel while your AP is pending, your application will be considered abandoned. This is something which Combo card holders would need to possibly think of. You don't want your EAD to be delayed. It is not clear how such a scenario will be handled.

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