Me and the (American) missus are heading back over there to visit the in-laws in a couple of months, and I need to make sure there won't be any issues.
To clarify the situation, we applied for a K-1 visa, got it, then went to the US, got married, but didn't stay in the US long enough to adjust status. Last time we visited, I got taken aside by immigration and told that I had to abandon my A-number. I can't find a form for this - the only one is a form for abandonment of permanent resident status, that requires you to send in your green card (which I don't have).
Does this sound right to you? Help!
Sounds tricky to me. I'm no expert, but it sounds to me like you may well need to get a visa from the consulate before you travel. I susapect you are no longer entitled to use the visa waiver program.
To travel abroad you need a thingy called a.. hmmm i can't remember offhand, but its a special travel voucher you need to apply to the INS for- otherwise they won't let you back into the US. When Mrs S and I tied the knot it was only the begining of form filling and waiting around to travel back to the UK- which I could only do once I had my green card.
You're going to have to brave the queues and nonsense at the embassy all over again I think to sort this one out. Otherwise you may get here and find yourself being turned straight back around and sent home on the next flight. roll
Servalan - that would be the form for advance parole. I shouldn't need that as I never actually applied for adjustment of status - you need advance parole to leave the country while that's going through. The issue seems to be that I apparently still have some kind of status there, and still have an A-number. It seems you have the A-number for life, so I can't change that, and it seems I don't have a status I can relieve myself of, that I know of.
I've heard from the American Embassy in London, and they say I should be OK as long as I bring proof that we're planning on coming back to the UK (tenancy agreement, work contract, etc).
Ahhh.. I see. They're sticklers for paperwork over here.. its funny that there was nothing to give notice for wanting to leave. Maybe they think nobody ever wants to go home grin
I reckon the A number should be ok, you'll just need to apply for a different kind of visa because the K1 obviously won't apply anymore. Probably just need to talk to the embassy to find out what to do.