left US before AOS complete, going home for xmas, help?

Sorry for the long subject line.  I think we're in a kind of unique situation so I wanted to be specific.  I don't know if this belongs here, but it's the closest fit.

Briefly, DH came over in 2003 on fiance (K1) visa, we married, etc. filed for EAD/AOS and had the interview in march 2005.  DH moved back to UK in May and I followed in August.

More here http://talk.uk-yankee.com/index.php?topic=11948.msg125145#msg125145

anyway, we never heard anything back from the INS/USCIS whatever it is.  Now, we are going home for christmas and I want to make sure he isn't going to be detained at customs or other such drama.  Everything I've read so far says that we should be okay but I just wondered if anyone had had any kind of similar issue and how they resolved it.

thanks!

This could be a tricky one as your husband was neither approved nor denied permanent residency.

I would be inclined to take as much proof of your intent to return to the UK at the end of your trip as possible.

There are, however, no guarantees of entry for your husband as there are none for anyone who is not a citizen of the US. It will all be down to the IO on the day. If asked any questions be clear and concise and never lie.

I think it depends on if they have your husband listed as a permanent resident of the US or not.  It's strange that in the past year and a half you never heard anything at all about his status.  If he was approved and you just didn't know, he is entitled to entry to the US.  He can live out of the US for 2 years before his permanent residency is revoked.  Someone who has permanent residency is guaranteed admission to the US at border control.  I can not see why he would be denied entrance as the chief reason to deny entrance is an intent to immigrate- your husband has already gone through the immigration process and thus has proven he did intend to immigrate, and did so legally.  If you are really concerned, I would bring the information proving ties to the UK, but I really can't see why you would have problems and I wouldn't worry too much about it.  Enjoy your trip!

thanks guys!  I've contacted the INS (I know it's changed) about the status of his application and intend to bring a ton of stuff to show in no uncertain terms that it is a vacation and not a move.

once its all done, I'll be sure to post back here how it went.

I forgot to add that you can check his case status online if you have his case number- go to www.uscis.gov- [nofollow] it may be an easier option than trying to get through on the phone.

I think it depends on if they have your husband listed as a permanent resident of the US or not.

If he was never approved then he's not.

If he was approved and you just didn't know, he is entitled to entry to the US.

That's a very big 'if' though. 

He can live out of the US for 2 years before his permanent residency is revoked.

Only if they have applied for and received a re-entry permit. 

Someone who has permanent residency is guaranteed admission to the US at border control.

Not necessarily. There are no guarantees unless you are a citizen.

I can not see why he would be denied entrance as the chief reason to deny entrance is an intent to immigrate- your husband has already gone through the immigration process and thus has proven he did intend to immigrate, and did so legally.

You can be denied entry if you leave the US prior to approval of AOS and you do not have advance parole. It will be deemed that you have abandoned your AOS.

We never got a case number for his AOS (long story) and the USCIS at the embassy are looking into it for me.

I am under the impression that as long as the application is cancelled, he shouldn't have any problems.

Just as a follow-up in case anyone else has this question.

The USCIS at the embassy determined that his AOS was still pending (!!!!!) after nearly 2 years at the Memphis sub-office.  They said that as long as I cancelled his application, he should be okay to enter the US as a visitor (visa-waiver).

So, we Fed-Exed a simple letter stating that we wanted to cancel the AOS effective immediately and took a copy of that letter, a copy of the email from the embassy, and some other things (bank statements, etc). 

The very nice immigration officer at Memphis looked at the email, the letter, and looked a bit confused but we explained everything and assured him that it was a visit, not a move and he stamped DH's visa-waiver card.  No problems.

***This is by no means legal advice nor is it intended to replace legal or consular advice.  This is merely an account of my own personal experience and we happened to have a particularly straightforward case.****

I'm glad to hear that you got through immigration ok. I hope you had a good Christmas with your family.

Thanks for letting us know the outcome - it could come in handy for similar, future queries.

I'm glad he was cleared through so easily!  Hope your holiday celebrations were nice!