Asylum Based i-485

[chaddhaaman]

A lot of opinions exist as regards to this topic. Back to 10 years ago up until about 2016, it was safer to travel with TD for LPRs based on asylum. With revised USCIS policies, all LPRs (regardless of how it was gotten) are all safe to travel. LPRs based on asylum are also free to visit their COP, but frequent visits become suspicious and may be an issue if and when they apply for citizenship, as this gives USCIS one last chance to review your entire immigration records again and the frequent or extended COP visits might come up. Now if you plan to remain an LPR forever, visiting your COP may not be an issue but just not frequently. At the port of entry, not all border officials are up-to-date with this revised policy and some officials may illegally harass you at the POE for visiting your COP. Some former LPR friends of mine based on asylum are now citizens and their COP travel(s) was barely an issue at their N400 interview. 3 recently became citizens last and this month. A friend, LPR based on asylum, recently visited her COP and returned safely and later visited Canada and upon return to the US, the border official found her COP entry stamp on her passport and wanted to make an issue out of it but his supervisor came out and cleared her and educated him on the latest policy. She also returned safely as well. If you do eventually plan to apply for citizenship, I would keep my COP visits (if necessary) very brief, few and far between.

At the end of the day, you decide which works for you.

Thanks...Mekus21, for your detailed explanation Thailand is not my COP i just want to go for vacation with family my son is in US army and based in S Korea another son is born citizen family from COP will also come there so that we can have good vacation that is the only concern. if i use TD do i need to obtain visa prior to visit cause Thailand offers visa on arrival for most of the countries.
Thanks a Lot for your suggestions.

[Hatori1980]

Thanks...Mekus21, for your detailed explanation Thailand is not my COP i just want to go for vacation with family my son is in US army and based in S Korea another son is born citizen family from COP will also come there so that we can have good vacation that is the only concern. if i use TD do i need to obtain visa prior to visit cause Thailand offers visa on arrival for most of the countries.
Thanks a Lot for your suggestions.

You will need visa if you travel with TD no visa on arrival. And thAiland visa is easy to get one.

[Asylee Expert]

This is a warning: DO NOT TRAVEL WITH THE PASSPORT ISSUED BY THE COUNTRY FROM WHICH YOU HAVE WON ASYLUM. If you wish to travel, Use the United States Refugee Travel Document (Form I-571) to travel. It works nicely, I have traveled to Bahamas, Dominican Republic, Amsterdam in the Kingdom of Netherlands and I am heading to Canada in December. The U.S. Refugee Travel Document (Form I-571) should be used by asylees and those who obtained permanent residency through asylum.

It is important that you know that after an asylee receives lawful permanent residency in the United States , returning to a country from which a person was granted asylum can potentially endangers that person's immigration status in the United States.

When I travelling to Amsterdam earlier in November 2019 on my return, I presented my Permanent Residency Card and my U.S. Refugee Travel Document (Form I-571). I was asked by the Immigration Officer where is my passport and I told her I was not able to use it. Her reply was good, and I asked her if I had have it on my person. She replied she would have confiscated it, I am not to use my national passport. That was my experience. To each his own, If you are having issues with travelling with your U.S. Refugee Travel Document, You are welcome to contact me regarding this through my inbox. I wish everyone well!

[mekus21]

This is a warning: DO NOT TRAVEL WITH THE PASSPORT ISSUED BY THE COUNTRY FROM WHICH YOU HAVE WON ASYLUM. If you wish to travel, Use the United States Refugee Travel Document (Form I-571) to travel. It works nicely, I have traveled to Bahamas, Dominican Republic, Amsterdam in the Kingdom of Netherlands and I am heading to Canada in December. The U.S. Refugee Travel Document (Form I-571) should be used by asylees and those who obtained permanent residency through asylum.

It is important that you know that after an asylee receives lawful permanent residency in the United States , returning to a country from which a person was granted asylum can potentially endangers that person's immigration status in the United States.

When I travelling to Amsterdam earlier in November 2019 on my return, I presented my Permanent Residency Card and my U.S. Refugee Travel Document (Form I-571). I was asked by the Immigration Officer where is my passport and I told her I was not able to use it. Her reply was good, and I asked her if I had have it on my person. She replied she would have confiscated it, I am not to use my national passport. That was my experience. To each his own, If you are having issues with travelling with your U.S. Refugee Travel Document, You are welcome to contact me regarding this through my inbox. I wish everyone well!

This points to my previous post that not all border officials are up-to-date with the revised USCIS policy on asylee status and LPR status (based on asylum). According to the latest/revised USCIS manual, an asylee who willingly adjusts status from asylee to LPR is NO longer an asylee and loses the asylee protections thereof and has, thus, become an LPR just like others and could be deported to their COP if they, just like other LPRs, commit serious crimes that lead to revocation of their green cards. This is because unlike refugees who are mandated to apply for LPR status, an asylee is not mandated to apply for LPR status by law and doing so is optional. That is you can choose to remain an asylee forever, forgo LPR and potential citizenship benefits, and never get deported to COP no matter the circumstances or adjust to LPR, lose the asylee protections, risk being harmed if you do travel to COP, plus potential citizenship benefits. The USCIS revision made it clear that asylee and LPR (even based on asylum) are two different statuses. Before this revision, there was a specific paragraph on uscis.gov about asylee and LPR (based on asylum) travel to their COP but it since got taken out after the policy was revised and now mentions that ALL LPRs are safe to travel.

Now, the underlying presumption that one no longer fears persecution from their home country and may have obtained the asylum by false means still exists among USCIS officials and they will look out for this if and when you do apply for citizenship. Again, citizenship is not mandatory but optional and is considered a benefit. Thus an LPR (former asylee) who wishes to travel to their COP is free to do so, however they want to do so (especially if they choose to remain an LPR forever), but should be careful about doing this so often if they intend to ultimately become US citizens. Thus, when you apply for citizenship, the official is allowed to use their discretion to determine how the applicant obtained their gc and if it was necessary/valid. This applies to ALL N400 applicants. Marriage-based N400 applicants who are still married would have to prove that their marriage is still valid/was entered in good faith thus the gc is still valid, same way employment-based applicants would prove that their green cards were worth their employment at that time. Same stroke for former asylees. Once again, the official here is allowed to use their discretion in deciding when they encounter applicants with frequent and extended COP travels (say 3 to 5 times a year, 1 to 3 months stay per trip, for example) vs applicants with seldom COP travels (1 trip per year, 2 weeks stay per trip, for example). From experience, one or maybe two brief trips per year (if necessary) are usually not a problem, especially if you can give valid reasons about the travel. Better put, you are NOT barred from visiting COP but do it sparingly if you necessarily have to.

Like I said previously, not all officers are up-to-date on this policy. If I encountered such an official, I would ask to speak with her supervisor who would 're-educate' her on latest USCIS policies. By law, she cannot legally confiscate my passport for trifling reasons and that would be considered abuse of power. My lady friend in question had her passport and green card taken from her by the official (thinking she was not allowed to visit COP) to go speak with a supervisor and in less than a minute both officials came out with the supervisor handing over her docs back and telling her 'you're free to go' and educating the junior official on the latest policy. Some of these officials just have the old travel policies in mind.

https://cliniclegal.org/resources/bi...en-they-adjust
Asylees are able to adjust status after one year from the grant of asylum status pursuant to INA §209(b). But what happens to that asylum status after adjustment? The Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) recently answered that question where it held that after an asylum seeker adjusts status to become a lawful permanent resident, the prior asylum status has “terminated.” Matter of N-A-I-, 27 I&N Dec. 72 (BIA 2017).

Travel Outside of the U.S. as a Permanent Resident


Lawful permanent residents are free to travel outside the United States, and temporary or brief travel usually does not affect your lawful permanent resident status. To travel to a foreign country, you will need to present a passport and your Permanent Resident Card (Green Card).

https://my.uscis.gov/exploremyoption...anent_resident

[Fru-Fru]

Sabinan Thank you ! It’s really helpful when you realize that you are not the only one in such a situation. I think we’re all in the backlog. Do you guys think that the state of your residence also may cause the delay?( not only the service center) For future reference- my state is Georgia.

[Sabinan]

Sabinan Thank you ! It’s really helpful when you realize that you are not the only one in such a situation. I think we’re all in the backlog. Do you guys think that the state of your residence also may cause the delay?( not only the service center) For future reference- my state is Georgia.

Agree on that . When you feel some support here it’s comforting. We are from New York. I have seen a lot of cases from New York were transferred to Texas. Originally all cases from New York were sent to Nebraska. This transfer made any good. Long waits . 1-3 years in Texas is waiting time for asylum based green card . Unfortunately

[gunmeikaz]

Agree on that . When you feel some support here it’s comforting. We are from New York. I have seen a lot of cases from New York were transferred to Texas. Originally all cases from New York were sent to Nebraska. This transfer made any good. Long waits . 1-3 years in Texas is waiting time for asylum based green card . Unfortunately

Hi guys, USCIS updated dates for Texas, wait few more months and you can open a claim with USCIS about “outside normal processing time” case

[Fru-Fru]

Why the h they are going back and forth?!

[gunmeikaz]

Why the h they are going back and forth?!

No idea, maybe adjusted workload between offices, transferred cases etc.
But I haven't seen any updates on their website.

[Sabinan]

Hi guys, USCIS updated dates for Texas, wait few more months and you can open a claim with USCIS about “outside normal processing time” case

Yup .but I’m not rising my hopes too high . They could change it any second back to 2017.

[mekus21]

USCIS Begins Producing Security-Enhanced Travel Documents

Last Reviewed/Updated: 10/24/2019

To prevent secure document tampering, counterfeiting, and fraud, we will begin producing on Oct. 24 a new security-enhanced U.S. travel document, which is a booklet that looks similar to a U.S. passport and serves dual purposes. The travel document can serve in place of:

• Form I-327, Permit to Reenter the United States: Lawful permanent residents use the Reentry Permit to return from temporary travel outside of the United States and, in some cases, may use a Reentry Permit for travel in place of a passport; and
• Form I-571, Refugee Travel Document: Those with refugee or asylum status use a Refugee Travel Document if they wish to temporarily travel outside of the United States and, in some cases, may use a Refugee Travel Document for travel in place of a passport.

The new travel document will include a variety of secure features:

• Redesigned booklet cover
• Four montages containing three images, each of notable U.S. architecture, used throughout the booklet
• A combination of first-, second- and third-level security features (overt, covert and forensic)
  • Overt is something you can see with the eye, such as the central image of the Statue of Liberty.
  • Covert is something that requires a tool, such as a magnifying glass, to see fine detail artwork.
  • Forensic is something that requires laboratory examination.

Prior versions of the travel document will remain valid until their expiration date.

[Aisabini]

CASE APPROVAL YESTERDAY TEXAS SERVICE CENTER
Application in may 2018
several info pass and congress follow up past months
interviewed at local office Oct 2019
RFE for expired medicals Oct 2019
RFE submitted Oct 2019
Case approved November 2019
18 months in total to get green card,wish you guys still awaiting Texas center all the best,God bless America.

[Fru-Fru]

Aisabini Congratulations! Enjoy your new “Green” life !

[gunmeikaz]

CASE APPROVAL YESTERDAY TEXAS SERVICE CENTER
Application in may 2018
several info pass and congress follow up past months
interviewed at local office Oct 2019
RFE for expired medicals Oct 2019
RFE submitted Oct 2019
Case approved November 2019
18 months in total to get green card,wish you guys still awaiting Texas center all the best,God bless America.

Hey, congrats!!!

Why they wanted another interview? What was it about?

[Aisabini]

Thanks guys,wish you all the best too.
Few people go in for green card interview and we were one of them,overall it was okay and the key is honesty