Int'l Travel while in-country I-601 pending?

[yvrtonyc]

Hi All,

I have an in-country 601 pending and need to travel. I realise I'm inadmissible (hence the 601) but I've heard conflicting opinions on travel being;

1 - don't travel, once you submit the 601 it's entered into "the system" and they'll see it when you re-enter.

2 - travel as much as you want but don't declare your inadmissible condition. The pending 601 information does not get routed that far down to where border agents would see it.

Note: I am here on an L1 so I don't even need an AP.

If anyone has advice or examples to back either of those two scenarios I'd really appreciate hearing from you.

Thanks.

[pen1137]

i would highly advise against this. it's totally up to the BP agents when you try to come back if they'll let you in or not...if you're willing to take that chance, ok, but be aware you may be stuck out of the country til the 601 is decided upon (and in-countries take many months, if not longer). also, if you don't declare your inadmissability, you could face further charges of misrep down the line...(who offered that option to you?)

good luck either way!!

[Laura]

I would totally advise against this too. It sounds like a disaster waiting to happen.

What is your inadmissibility?

[klaudialaw]

without noticing what you have posted, I asked the same question to the AILA conference thread. Probably, by tomorrow you could get an answer by Laurel.

[emt103c]

If you're inadmissible and you try to exit the United States by definition YOU ARE INADMISSIBLE. . .you would have to lie in order to be allowed to return to the United States thus opening yourself up to a Misrepresentation charge when you reenter if found out.

When in doubt, assume the agents know more than they do about you. . .

[yvrtonyc]

Thank you all for your insightful comments. To clarify a few further facts about my case. I am filing my waiver for health reasons. I am HIV+. My father is actually filing the waiver on my behalf as he is my sponsor and is a naturalized U.S. citizen.

I absolutely agree with your note emt103c about misrepresentation. This is something I had not considered. In Canada (where I am from) one of the first things I was told by my doctors was that I was now inadmissible to the US. HIV+ persons are explicitly told to never disclose this fact to CBP officers and to make sure they conceal their medications when crossing the border or to mail them separately to their final destination the US. It is a very risky venture but given Canadians naturally large reliance on travel to the US for business and leisure purposes our choices are rather limited.

However, I digress. I was reading about the Interagency border inspection system and the various agencies that report information into this system. There is nothing I could find out there that tells us exactly what is in there but I agree with your opinions that it would be a very risky venture for me to attempt travel before the 601 is approved.

Klaudialaw, thank you. I did read that thread and see your question. If you receive a response, I would be interested to learn of the response.