Please contact our BDV Client Services team after work authorization and before making any travel plans prior to starting work for your sponsor.

If you are hoping to travel internationally after receiving the EAD or Green Card (whichever comes first):

You should not plan to travel for more than 3 weeks, since your sponsor will be waiting on you to work upon receipt of your work authorization.

See this article for the timing of travel during your EB3 process.

Yes, with prior approval from the BDV Client Services team. Your sponsor can approve a trip of 3 weeks or less, because after that, they will need you to prepare to start work.

Not everyone gets 131-AP automatically on their EAD. So you should make sure prior to travel.

However, please do not depart for international travel without discussing your plans with your attorney. Please bear in mind that Customs and Border Patrol officials at the U.S. ports of entry have discretion on allowing you to enter into the country. As such, there is always some risk in travel on advanced parole and your attorney can help guide you and assess these risks.

With recent EAD surges, many EADs are being approved without AP (travel parole). Therefore, you should start work as soon as you receive EAD (and get settled with the help of the Client Services Department). You should plan your international travel for AFTER your 1-year EB3 commitment.

If your Green Card (or travel parole) arrives after you start working, you should not leave the sponsor for a trip because you could lose your job and this could jeopardize your immigration case. Leaving your sponsor for weeks at a time will also negatively affect their staffing needs, and they may not allow you to return to work after being gone for so long.

Yes, with prior approval from the BDV Client Services team. We can approve a trip of 3 weeks or less.

Once I start working, if I receive my GC after a couple months of working, is it possible to visit my home country for a short time with the promise of returning to the sponsor to finish the contract?

No, the Sponsor will not be happy for a newly hired candidate to take a leave of absence beyond 1-2 days. And since it is almost never feasible to visit another country and visit with family in just a few days’ time, this is strongly discouraged.

Further, it could be grounds for termination dependent upon the employer's attendance policy. And termination from your sponsor position could jeopardize your immigration processes. You could plan the visit after your work is complete or possibly invite family members here to the US to visit you.