ihearttombrady

I don't think the school is open - it is a crime scene. It sounds like the school or district made counselors available at a local park that has an auditorium.

If you applied for, and were granted, Advance Parole, then do you need to have first left the country and re-entered, in order to adjust? Or is the mere existence of an approved Advance Parole enough?

You must leave and re-enter. This is established by the Board of Immigration Appeals decision known as Arrabally and Yerabelly.

Must you wait for approval the waiver of unlawful presence, before leaving the country? Once you leave the US for your immigrant visa interview, what leeway does the interviewer have to authorize your immediate re-entry, given that the law mandates a 10-year wait?

There are two types of Unlawful Presence waiver, the I-601 Waiver and the I-601A Waiver. The I-601 Waiver has been available for many years and is established in the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). An I-601 Waiver may be applied for by an individual who is outside the United States only after directed to do so by the U.S. Consulate. This occurs during the immigrant visa interview, when the consular officer makes a finding of inadmissibility for an immigrant visa (as a result of unlawful presence, fraud, alien smuggling, or a number of other offenses). Some grounds of inadmissibility - such as unlawful presence - can be waived right away (you can apply for the waiver immediately). Some grounds of inadmissibility - such as failure to attend a deportation hearing - require you to wait for a number of years before you are allowed to apply for a waiver. Some grounds of inadmissibility - such as multiple unlawful entries into the United States, or false claims to U.S. Citizenship, are unwaivable.

The I-601A waiver was introduced as part of a procedural change established in 2013. The I-601A is available to individuals inside the United States, but the only bar it waives is for unlawful presence. A person who applies for an I-601A waiver must wait inside the United States while it is adjudicated, and only after can depart the US for the consular interview. If the consular officer makes a finding of inadmissibility on some other grounds (i.e. fraud), the I-601A is revoked and the individual must then apply for an I-601 waiver.

Another question -

I think I saw that both you and your mentor McLain Ward will be competing next weekend in the Prix de Penn National. How do you feel to be competing against McLain, instead of as teammates?

Thanks for taking the time to do this AMA. I'll be cheering for you both (and Beezie!) next weekend!

How do you handle nerves before you begin a course? Do you ever deal with nerves on course? I find that (especially in competition) if I am riding a would-be spot on round, I often feel my nerves building and end up missing my distance or making some other silly mistake just before the last fence. Any advice to help me stay relaxed?