It depends on your asylum case and lawyer you hire and your luck. I came 16 years ago and still waiting for my green card and my friend who came in the same year he got his green card after 2 years.

I agree with the previous comment, it all depends. Every case is different and luck definitely play a role as well. I applied for my asylum case around 2018 and I’m still waiting for my pending I485 today.

@Cristina B we r on the same boat i came here in usa 2013 and my asylum dates getting postponed then my asylum approved in 2022 then apply for green card still waiting , its been 10 year here really wanna go to the world tour after getting my green card😫😔

@Cristina B You cannot fly back home (the country of persecution) with a green card obtained through asylum. You will lose your status. The whole purpose of having asylum based green card is the fact that you are unable to go back and have gotten US protection against your persecutors. Even if you are granted a green card, that does not change your asylum situation unless country conditions have changed and no longer have a fear of persecution. but again even though that’s the case, CBP will still pepper you with lots of questions in secondary inspection when you come back to the States. So, it is ONLY safe to head back home when you are finally a US citizen to avoid jeapordizing your LPR status in the US.

@E Hopeful I am not planning to go to my birth country. I will meet my parents in a third country somewhere. I just miss them so much, I haven’t seen them in all these years

@sam k same here!!! world tour it is 🤩🤩🤩🤩

I am planning to travel (not to my country) using refugee travel document while asylum based GC is pending. what do you think guys?

@Job Sem Yeah that works. You can travel to any country in the world other than your home country. I did it myself. I traveled to a few countries before getting the card approved. I went to Canada, Mexico, Europe (the Netherlands, Belgium, and France). No issues at all when coming back to the States.

@Job Sem It appears to be that your I-131 refugee travel document only took 5 months to be adjudicated. That’s very impressive. My first one took 10 months. The second one took less than 2 months since I got approved through an expedited request.

@Job Sem They all say you can, I have the refugee travel document as well but I am afraid

@E Hopeful yeah I raised expedite request for emergency reasons. could you please explain your experience with CBP or Immigration officer at port of entry?

@Job Sem No problem with CBP every time I came back to the States. Nothing to worry about. If you had that document, it is because you have been allowed to travel outside the country and come back. I had to educate a few folks outside of the US when coming back to the US. I did that when I was flying back to the US from Belgium and Mexico for another trip. I showed them my RTD and turned their attention all the way to page 24, specifically toward section 2 under the provision of Refugee Travel Document. It specifically says the bearer will be permitted to return to the US within the validity of this document and may be accorded the immigration status specified therein. I always showed it to the travel agent at the airport everytime they asked if I had a green card. I also told them it is being processed. After that, they would give me my boarding pass and stamp it as follows: DOCS OK. Upon arrival to the US, CBP would just ask where I went and for how many days. how was the trip, etc.? they would also ask that I scan my fingerprint and then the officer would say welcome back home and that’s it. Off to baggage claim. The rest is history.

@Cristina B Nothing to fear. If you are afraid then you should not even apply for it. Because the truth of the matter is that you won’t even use it to travel since you appear to be afraid. You will always be allowed into the Country. They are required do so under the regulations and provisions ratified and agreed to by member states of the Geneva Convention. It states that member states have to accept their refugees/asylees upon return to the country. And upon their return, they should be granted the same status as listed on the RTD. And I have never heard of an asylee or refugee who has not been allowed back into the states. The only problem you can have if you have a criminal conviction after you get granted asylum and eventually before the adjudication of your green card application. So if that’s the case, CBP will find you inadmissible into the US, as a criminal conviction is considered a crime of moral turpitude; therefore, you are barred from entering. But if you are lucky and per the discretion of the CBP, they can still let you back in but will be put in deportation proceedings, as they will refer your case to immigration court for further review due to the issue of criminal conviction. Again, if you have been convicted of any crime, please Do NOT travel until you fix your issues in the States with the help, of course, of an immigration lawyer.

Additionally, if you only have an arrest record that did not end up in a criminal conviction, you will be admitted with no problem, but can be routed to secondary inspection for further checks. After that, you will be out of the airport as nothing happened. The other thing to consider is to expunge your arrest records, if any, after two years for the most part if your criminal charge(s) did not end up in a conviction. The disposition could be a dismissal of the charges or a plea agreement, etc.

@E Hopeful No, my background is clean, no criminal charges. You are giving hopes and you are inspiring 🤩😇 Thank you for sharing your experiences

@Cristina B You are good to go. Safe travels !!!

@E Hopeful thanks for the detailed explanation.

@E Hopeful I have another question. I recently heard from live agent that my pending Asylum based GC is transfered from National Benefits Center to another FO (not my jursdiction). What could be the reason for that?

@Job Sem - No worries. They often do it to balance case workload between FOs and/or service centers. They will approve it without an interview. But if they want you in person, they will definitely send you a appointment notice. One thing for sure is that you’ll be admitted as a green card holder soon. Fingers crossed !!!!

@E Hopeful thanks for the positive words. lets assume they want to do the interview then does it mean they have to transfer the case again to the FO in my jursdiction?

@Job Sem. Thanks. It’ll just be an internal transfer without you being involved. It doesn’t prevent your eligibility of adjusting your status to the of a permanent resident. You should start thinking about celebrating your 10- year green card very soon.

Thanks @E Hopeful. I appreciate for the detailed explanation. By the way congrats for getting greened. So you never got RFE for your I-485?

@Joe Sem Yes, no RFE. I should also be considered a good sign when you get a RFE. It just means that someone ks working on your case. But to avoid any RFE, it is recommended to file a strong case with all required documents (proof of underlying petition, if any, along with the medical).

Hi @E Hopeful. I contacted two live agents recently & they all said my case is at NBC. I asked them when was my case returned back to NBC from FO. Then I asked them if interview was waived. I also asked them when was the last time officer worked on my case. unfortnatley they said no information available to all these questions. They didn't give any further info in which FO it was & when it was transfered. Are live agents becoming reserved to provide info these days? What should I expect from this?

@Job Sem live agents cannot access refugees/asylees’ files due to the confidentiality requirements and sensitivity. The files are secure and can only be accessed when the asylum Unit/division sends them to field offices for interview to the adjudicators when they process I-485s. There are times the files do not make it on time to the field office. This is often the case when an interview is required. and if that occurs, it means that the officer will have to reschedule the interview until the day they receive the file from the asylum unit. Please do NOT panic. You’ll be approved soon.

Hi @E Hopeful . Can you believe it? My I-485 moved straight to card is being produced. It is with out any interview which I highly expected. Thanks a lot for your uplifting messages. You are special person I found in this lawfully community. I have learnt a lot from the comments you provided.

@Job Sem Congratulations !!!!

@Job Sem thank you so much. I appreciate it. Enjoy your green card and permanent stay in the US !!!

@E Hopeful Thanks a lot & keep the good work.