Question:
My boyfriend's green card expires 10/10/2006. We are planning on moving
back to England in April/May 2006 after he has applied for the
replacement card, which we understand can only be done within 6 months
of the expiration date.
Is this correct? Can anyone give us any pointers about things we need to
be aware of?
Answer:
Why bother?
He will no longer be a PR anyway.
You have to be permanently resident in the US to retain PR status, see
USCIS web site.
Here is the USCIS page concerning renewal of the green card:
http://uscis.gov/graphics/fieldoffices/GreenCard.htm
It confirms that you can apply no more than six months before the
expiration of the present card.
You are aware of the fact that there are restrictions on how long you
can spend out of the US before being deemed to have abandoned LPR
status, aren't you?
We have family in the UK and US and you never know if we might have to
move back here at some point...it's always good to keep all options
open I think.
My brother (UK citizen, US greencard holder) lived in Sydney for 4 years
and returned to the US each year to maintain his residency. He thought
of immigrating to Australia, but decided to return here.
Then become a US citizen. Together with the UK citizenship, you can live in
either place.
It is *not* and has *never* been enough to just travel to the US once in a while
to keep the GC.
While in the past, people may have gotten away with it, entries and exists are
now recorded by the authorities, so they have gotten better at enforcing the rules.
.Maintaining Permanent Residence
Maintaining Permanent Residence You may lose your permanent
residence status if you commit an act that makes you removable from
the United States under the law in section 237 of the Immigration
and Nationality Act. If you commit such an act, you may be brought
before the immigration courts to determine your right to remain a
Permanent Resident.
You may be found to have abandoned your permanent resident status if
you:
* Move to another country intending to live there permanently.
* Remain outside of the US for more than one year without
obtaining a reentry permit or returning resident visa. However
in determining whether your status has been abandoned any length
of absence from the US may be considered, even if it is less
than one year.
* Remain outside of the US for more than two years after issuance of
a reentry permit without obtaining a returning resident visa.
However in determining whether your status has been abandoned any
length of absence from the US may be considered, even if it is
less than one year.
* Fail to file income tax returns while living outside of the US for
any period.
* Declare yourself a "nonimmigrant" on your tax returns.
AIUI, there are no blanket rules on what you must or must not do to
retain LPR status: each case is individual, but I think that if USCIS
thought he was just making a brief token visit each year to attempt to
maintain status they would be likely to revoke his GC.
He got lucky, then. CBP could have revoked his Green Card on entry every
time *if* they decided that he wasn't in Sydney just temporarily.
After returning to the US, of course he clearly showed that he is a US
resident.
At this point, my best recommendation for him is to remain in the USA for
the time being, and apply for US citizenship as soon as he qualifies
(probably four years and one day after returning from Sydney, but the rules
are complex). US citizenship cannot be revoked for moving out of the USA,
and UK citizens will retain their UK citizenship.
Of course he will have to apply for renewal of his GC unless he qualifies to
apply for citizenship by the time the GC expires.
This dual citizenship is by far the best way to keep all your options open.
Apart from the fact that if you live in a country for a long time, you
really should participate in it and strive to become eligible to vote.
The second best choice is to renew his GC and apply for a reentry permit.
This allows him to stay outside the US for up to two years with a *reduced*
(not eliminated) risk of being found to have abandoned your residency.
wow wasnt he lucky not to lose thr greencard, im going through the whole
immigration process again for not having the right informationa at the
time, I went back to uk for a period less than four years, as all on
here who have read my threards no, and lord knows I regret it. I have a
long journey ahead of me once again to my own stupidity, and lack of
knowledge on immigration law
